Kelso Acres: A summer of learning, a summer of change

Many people will tell you that the first few years of a new business are what's known as the hardest and those in which we grow and succeed or fail. We have certainly been learning alot during our first year here at Kelso Acres. We have discovered which markets are best during different times of the year as well as what sells best at one market may not sell as well at another. Other growing pains have included surprise costs in canopy's, tons of coolers, building a box for the truck so we can fit more produce to bring to the markets, and trying to find a way to keep tomatoes upright without the aide of tomato cages. Mostly it's been in discovering that what is traditionally done for a personal garden, doesn't quite work well (economically speaking) on a large scale. We have learned that some days harvesting, cleaning and packing can take all day which is why we are looking to implement a few minor changes here at the farm.

We are very excited to announce that we will be attending the Mankato Farmer's Market on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday every week starting the week of 8/7! We will still be attending the New Ulm Farmer's Market on Thursday and Saturday as well and filling in the other markets when possible (if we have enough produce). We hope that by focusing our efforts on our two larger markets it allows us more time in the fields to harvest and weed so that we can continue to provide the best produce possible to everyone who comes to see us. (Hopefully no more dawn to dusk days...or at least that they are fewer and less frequently needed!)

I truly enjoy my weekly walks through the garden on Sunday mornings as it is always full of surprises! Since I always have my camera along (love love love to take photos and scrapbook) I have included some pics to share and of course had a hard time limiting myself. ;)

Cucumbers are coming along nicely now that they have a trellis to climb

The sea of dill

Sweet corn has tasseled out!

The ears are small but they are growing!

We have many different varieties of peppers in our garden such as Serrano Del Sol, Habanero, Jalapeno, Anaheim, Cayenne and of course multiple varieties of bell peppers. So for those who enjoy making homemade salsa and/or pickled jalapenos there will be plenty to choose from this year!