Hello All!
The drought continues and we have depleted our neighbors well. But this week lives on! We will continue to water our plants and pray for rain and a good harvest.
This week exciting we did get some zucchinis, onions coming along not as abundant. But enough for our CSA members! Our farm is looking to improve the soil health and have networked with the University of Minnesota for resources. We are now shopping for cover crop to help with putting o. rganic matter back into the soil. In Hugo this is our first year farming it was previously in hay for the last 5 to 10 years and now we are just breaking ground. We have just created different zones for drip irrigation and just planted the watermelons and squash and pepper plants. We did put in a sunflower garden and hope that this summer your family can come have a visit your farmer day/pick your own csa for those of you who want to come out and visit. We will keep you updated depending on how the season goes. We are happy to annouce that this past few months we were highlighed as winners of the Rodale University and the Market Gardener program.
The article is below. I'm also attaching the video for the season extension on high tunnels for tomatoes that we just hosted.
About the farm
In 1980, May, her husband Chue, their children and May’s mother immigrated to the United States from Loas as refugees. They found work farming conventionally, but when May’s mother was diagnosed with cancer after working with pesticides in the United States, May knew she needed to start farming organically.
May’s daughter Mhonpaj was connected with the Minnesota Food Association (MFA) and learned about their New Immigrant Agriculture Program (now called the Farmer Education Program). The Lee’s were accepted into the three-year program, which gave them access to the MFA’s 60-acre certified organic incubator farm, Big River Farm, and connected them with a Hmong-speaking coordinator who helped them find resources and answer questions about organic farming. Together they resolved issues ranging from drip irrigation setup to product liability insurance to insect control.
In 2010, the Lee’s “graduated” from the MFA program and went on to become the first Hmong-owned certified-organic farm in Minnesota. May and her family now farm leased land along the St. Croix River.
In addition to farming, May spends lots of time educating other growers about organic practices through the MFA and as a Master Gardener volunteer for Ramsey County. She and her family also share their culinary heritage through cooking demonstrations and classes.