CSA Newsletter: 2010 – Summer Week 3
From the Fields: Wow, what a week! Even though we’ve had some hot and sunny days, there’s still been LOTS of rain. In June so far, we’ve received 4.5 inches of rain! It’s been hard to get things in the ground, and the rain is causing us to change our schedules around. Sometimes in farming, the word weekend doesn’t have much meaning. This was one of them. After working until 7pm on Friday night, we woke up Saturday to a full day of work. Cassie started work at 5:30 a.m., loading the truck with veggies to sell at farmer’s market. She worked until about 3:00 that afternoon. Meanwhile, Mike woke up with Zea. Once little Z was off for her weekly Saturday a.m. with her grandparents, Mike began work in the fields. He got off the tractor at 10 p.m. that night. On Father’s Day, it was just dry enough that we realized we could get the winter squash crop planted, and the third planting of corn as well. With more and more rain in the forecast, we knew that it was now or never. So we dropped our Father’s Day plans and got busy planting. With the help of Mike’s folks (babysitting and helping with tractor work) and our employee Alex, (who was willing to come work on short notice on a Sunday – you rock, Alex!), we were able to get 6,000 plants in the ground. Even little Zea helped for several hours transplanting. It tuckered us all out for sure, but when we get to share the sweet corn and winter squash with you, that will be our reward. And of course, our tummies will be happy too. J
Too much rain is also impacting many other parts of the farm. While the water is great to help plants grow, it is also great for the bacterias and fungis that can cause mold. Our turnips, lettuce, broccoli, peas, and strawberries are all good examples of crops that we are seeing much more mold issues with than we do normally. For example, your broccoli isn’t the most beautiful this week. If you have something in your box that doesn’t seem to last as long as normal, excess rain leading to higher fungi/bacteria is most likely the culprit.
Our strawberries have really been impacted by all this rain. In the fields we are seeing much higher levels of mold than usual. This is problematic, because it means fewer berries for our members. Last year’s members will recall that they received many more berries than this year ” and we had excess to sell! Not so this year, unfortunately. In fact, our berry count is so far down, that we may not have strawberries to pick at the Open House this Saturday. We want all of you planning to attend to be aware ahead of time that there will be very few berries to pick, if any. Of course we still want you to come to the open house to meet us and see the fields, but please be advised that you might not be going home with any berries due to all this rain!
Share News: This time of year is so awesome, because it seems like each week there is something new! While this will be the last spinach for a while, it will be the first week for beets, cabbage, parsley, snow peas, and zucchini! This cabbage is the most beautiful and earliest cabbage we have ever had. Coleslaws are always a great way to use cabbage, and just sauteing it in butter is a wonderful way to enjoy it as well. While some of you are doing a happy dance for the beets, some of you may not be as sure how to use them. Mike loves to boil them. Cassie likes them shredded on salads raw, or sliced paper thin and added to sandwiches. For those of you who can’t stand the thought of beets, you can always use them to make cake ” yes, cake! Beet chocolate cake is a classic. Snow peas are great for stir-fries. Similar to the snap peas, however, they don’t make great leftovers. It’s also a good idea to eat your peas first. Sugar snap peas especially tend to get starchier the older they are. So when you plan your menus, think about using your peas first. Last but not least is parsley. One year we had an Israeli volunteer who used parsley in everything he cooked. It was a revolution! Diced parsley sprinkled over a salad; chopped parsley with eggs; parsley in tomato sauce; parsley food processed into salad dressing. And if you aren’t used to eating parsley fresh, you can always hang up your bunch and let it dry for use later on. Enjoy your veggies!!
Sincerely, Mike, Cassie, Zea and Crew
In the Box:
Beets Broccoli Cabbage, Green Chard, Green Garlic Scapes Green, cylindrical, bunched Head Lettuce Parsley, Italian Salad Mix – REGs Salad Turnips – EOs White bulbs, bunched Scallions Spinach Snow Peas – REGS Sugar Snap Peas-EOs Strawberries ” all EOs, various REGs Zucchini, Gold and/or Green
REGs = regular shares only EOs = everyother shares only
This Week’s Recipes:
Announcements:
CSA Open House; Saturday the 26th, 3828 Pioneer Road in the Town of Middleton! 3-5pm
We’d love to see you!
Summer Week 3: Wednesday, June 23rd” Everyother Group A
