Share #7 - What's in your share?

Share # 7 - Fennel, Greens (kale, chard, or turnip), carrots, green garlic, hot pepper, mesclun, head lettuce, basil, herbs (mint, dill, cilantro, etc.), snow peas, 1 choosing item  (in this share, beans)

Share # 6 - What's in your share?

For fun, we took a picture of the the six delivered and saved shares, all together.  Lots of veggies and fruit!

Big Share - carrots, beets, basil, currants, cucumber, mesclun, Chinese cabbage, chard, green coriander, extra carrots as a choice

Sample Mini Share - beans and beets

Share # 5 - What's in the share?

Sample Big Share - greens (kale, chard, or turnip),  herbs (apple mint, basil, cilantro or dill), head lettuce, garlic scapes, cucumber, carrots, snap peas, 1 choosing item (beets in this share)

Sample Mini Share - kale and garlic scapes

First carrots today!

Not many flowers yet but we did have these beauties - Clary Sage!
(plus one yellow Hot Poker flower)

FARM SHARE # 4 - What's in your share

Farm Share # 4 - June 29, 2017

6/27/17

Hi folks,

Summer is here and the plants are growing!

Tiny beans, carrots shaping up, basil ready for its first picking, peas filling out, chard looking like real greens...

We continue to plant but most of the main plantings are in and we're working on succession crops for fall.  It's time to plant fall/winter carrots, beets, radicchio, and escarole.

Robin brought the ducks to the butcher today and will be bringing them home this afternoon.  We have some extras, if you want to buy some fresh, organically-raised duck.  By Thursday they will be in the freezer.

Peas have started to produce.  We've picked some snow peas and the snap peas in the PYO garden are about ready!  There will be some for Thursday if you want to pick some.

On Thursday, we are expecting friends for supper and shape note singing.  There may be a few extra cars starting around 6:00.  Stay for singing, if you are interested!

There aren't many flowers this week but they are growing.  Yarrow, cosmos, snapdragons, and zinnias are in bud.

THIS WEEK'S HARVEST:

mesclun

head lettuce

garlic scapes

kale

Asian greens

chard

turnips

snow peas - some

herbs - dill, cilantro, fennel, basil, etc.

cukes - some, just starting

See you Thursday!

Robin and Laura

PS If you want duck, let us know so we can save some for you.

FARM SHARE # 3 - What's in the share

Plenty of Sweet William today.

Mesclun - 1/3 #
Head lettuce - 2 heads
Salad turnips - 1 bunch (Hakurei or Hanna Kabu)
Garlic scapes - 1 bag
Herbs - 1 bunch (apple mint, cilantro, dill, lemon balm, catnip or sage)
Cooking greens - 1 bunch (chard, kale or Sensapoi)
Choosing shelf - 1 item (rhubarb, scallions, garlic scapes, or hot peppers)
Flowers

Farm Share # 3 - June 22, 2017

June 19, 2017

​Anemones - Growing these for the first time this year.

Hello farm members!

FARM NEWS:

Ducks are full sized.  Fresh, tender duck available after June 27.  More on that in a separate email.

Still planting!

We are getting into the rhythm of the farm week with the shares on Thursdays, market on Friday, and Extras on Saturday.  It's pretty exciting for us to have both increased the membership in the CSA and to be going to a weekly market.  So far, so good.  The CSA will always get priority in terms of what we have growing. We really appreciate your support and encouragement.

Chicks will be arriving in about a week.  These will be Red Rangers that we are growing for meat.  Also, our one adult female duck fooled us.  We thought she had stopped laying eggs but really she got better at hiding them.  She is now devotedly setting on her eggs, hoping to hatch out ducklings.  That takes 35 days so we have a bit of a wait but they will be cute, for sure.

HARVESTING THIS WEEK:

chard

kale

Asian greens

rhubarb

turnips

mesclun

head lettuce (Buttercrunch & others)

herbs - dill, cilantro, leaf fennel...

flowers - Sweet William, Painted Daisys, Peonies, etc.

COMING SOON (but probably not this week)

snow peas and snap peas

garlic scapes

carrots

cucumbers

basil

​Snow peas are starting to form!

See you Thursday,

Robin and Laura

Sweet Morning Farm
910 Greenfield Rd
Leyden, MA 01337
413-773-8325
sweetmorningfarm@gmail.com

http://sweet-morning-farm-csa.blogspot.com

https://www.facebook.com/SweetMorningFarm
http://sweet-morning-farm.blogspot.com/

FARM SHARE 2 - What's in the share

Big Share - Mesclun, head lettuce, chard, turnips, scallions, rhubarb, mint
(plus a bouquet of flowers)

FARM SHARE 2 - June 15, 2017

Lupine

June 13, 2017

Hello, farm members!

FARM NEWS:

We are happy to report that taking a week off from the shares was very helpful to the garden.  Veggies are starting to grow at last!  Plus we did some important planting for summer and fall.

Our moveable electric fencing is working well, protecting the animals and the pasture.  Locations change so keep an eye out for both the white mesh fence and the black insulated wires between areas.  

Pigs, ducks, and pullets (young chickens) are all growing well.  We'll be getting some more chicks in a few weeks that we will be raising for meat.  Many are spoken for already but if you want to reserve some, they will be ready in September.

Fruit set is pretty good this year.  We are excited to see tiny plums, peaches, and currants.  Hopefully, there will be lots that ripen and if so, we'll share with you.  Keep your fingers crossed.

The shares are still relatively small and mostly green and leafy but there are signs of more goodies to come - tiny carrots, peas starting to bloom,  and teeny cucumbers.  We're picking chard this week!

THIS WEEK'S HARVEST

Arugula

Mesclun

Head lettuce - tender butterhead lettuces

Salad turnips - round white ones (Hakurei) and long white and purple ones (Hinona Kabu)

Radishes - just a few left in this planting, more later

Greens - turnip greens, Asian (Sensapoi, Yokatta-Na, Bekana), mustard greens, and chard!

Herbs - dill, cilantro, sweet cicely, more

Scallions

Rhubarb

Flowers! - a few are ready, Sweet William, painted daisy, lupine, maybe some peonies

Pick Up is this Thursday, between 3:00 and 7:00.  On Thursdays, we will send a quick email when everything is ready for you.  (Delivery Folks, we'll send you an email when we are about to go to town.)

RECIPES & PICTURES:

We will be happy to answer any questions you have about your share and will share recipes from time to time.  Check out our farm recipe blog. You can the search tool to look for recipes for particular vegetables.  If you have ideas for cooking your veggies, please send them along.  Pictures are also very welcome!  You may also share and find food preparation ideas and pictures at our Facebook page

SOME TIPS:

Many people find it useful to unpack and look at all their share when they first get it.  Some items will do well stored as is and other things do better if washed and dried before storage.  We "field wash” your vegetables but they are not ready to eat.  Look at everything and make sure you know what it is and how to use it.  (Don’t worry, most things will be familiar favorites.)  If you are not sure what something is or how to use it, ask us or check the CSA blog.  We post the contents of each week’s share there and sometimes include recipes.  

CSA blog

BRING TO PICK UP:

Tote bags or baskets to carry food and a vase or jar for your flowers.

SOME OF THIS WEEK'S BOUNTY:

Chard

Butterhead lettuce

IMPORTANT CSA NEWS: Farm Share #2 - DELAYED

Just in case you missed this email, No Farm Shares Today.  Sorry, See you next week!

6/5/17

Hi folks,

We surveyed the garden yesterday and made the decision to delay the second farm share until a week from this Thursday.

***FARM SHARE #2 will be on June 15.***

It was hard to make this choice but this is what the garden is telling us to do.  So far this year we have been relying primarily on what is growing in the tunnels.  The outside gardens have been very slow to grow this spring because of the cloudy and cool weather.  The plants need sun to photosynthesize!  We hope that by giving the plants a bit more time to develop, we'll have a more plentiful harvest next week.

This is unusual.  Usually we just keep going week after week and we have every confidence that the garden will be bountiful once the sun starts shining.  Thank you for your patience and understanding.

We'll take the extra time for planting and tending the garden.  See you on June 15.

Robin and Laura

Sweet Morning Farm
910 Greenfield Rd
Leyden, MA 01337
413-773-8325
sweetmorningfarm@gmail.com

https://www.facebook.com/SweetMorningFarm
http://sweet-morning-farm.blogspot.com/

FARM SHARE #1 - June 1, 2017

Big Share: Rhubarb, Radishes, Salad turnips, Head lettuce, Mesclun, Parsnips, Arugula, Scallion garlic, Greens (choice of mustard, turnip, thick-stemmed mustard, Yokatta-Na, Senposai, Tokyo Bekana, spinach, chard), Herbs (choice of dill, fennel, catnip, apple mint, wild peppermint, tarragon, cilantro)  This share has Yokatta-Na and wild peppermint.

A new cooking discovery this week is an easy and tasty one.  Roasted Radishes!

Just cut into chunks, coat with oil and spread in a baking pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast until tender.  These were SO delicious and easy to make AND they are sweet, with no bitterness or spiciness, even the radishes that had gotten kind of large and pithy.  I recommend them.  These were especially yummy eaten with some seasoned rice from our friends at Spirit Fire Retreat Center and a fried egg.  This lunch was so good I had to make it again for breakfast!

Check out our farm's recipe blog for some rhubarb recipes.

Here's a recipe I want to try from our friends at Leyden Glen Lamb for Persian Lamb and Rhubarb Stew

SaveSaveSaveSave

FARM SHARES 2017

CSA MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION:

* Fresh, delicious, organically grown vegetables, fruit, and flowers..  Eat with the season and share in the bounty!  

* All shares come with flowers.

* Pick up at the farm on Thursday afternoons, 2:00 - 7:00
* Delivery available in Leyden or Greenfield.

* Pick-Your-Own – Big shares come with PYO privileges on certain crops including snap peas, cherry tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, and extra flowers.  Mini Shares may add PYO to their shares, if they wish.

* Each week includes a variety of crops, usually including salad greens, cooking greens, some kind of onion, some kind of root crop, some herbs, and whatever else is in season.  Most weeks farm members also get to choose what they prefer from a range of items, depending on what is ready for harvest.

A mini share in September

A September farm share

2017 FARM MEMBERSHIP

SWEET MORNING FARM

910 Greenfield Rd.

Leyden, MA 01337

To reserve your share of the harvest:

(1) SELECT SHARE SIZE:

[   ]  FARM SHARE  $400 - $450, sliding scale
(1-2 adults, 20 weeks)
[   ]  DELIVERED FARM SHARE  $500 (Leyden and Greenfield only)

[   ]  MINI SHARE  $120

[   ]  MINI SHARE with PYO  $140

(2 items/week, 20 weeks)

(2) SEND YOUR PAYMENT TO THE FARM:

Sweet Morning Farm

910 Greenfield Rd.

Leyden, MA 01337

$100 will reserve your share.

All shares should be paid in full by May 1, 2017.

Pay in full by March 20 for some FREE EGGS! 

(3) INCLUDE YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION:

Name:

Address:

Phone number:

Email(s):

All Big Shares include flowers and Pick-Your-Own privileges.  
Mini Shares include flowers.  Add PYO for $20.  
All farm members agree to share with us the risks and rewards inherent in growing farm fresh, organic food.

Shares will start by June 1, weather dependent.

QUESTIONS?  Please ask!

Laura Timmerman & Rob Creamer

Sweet Morning Farm

Leyden, MA 01337

413-773-8325

sweetmorningfarm@gmail.com

An August Farm Share
FARM SHARES are great for two people or one person who loves vegetables and lots of variety in their share and enjoys a bit of preserving or entertaining.

A July Mini Share

MINI SHARES are small.  Two items a week plus flowers for $120.  Add Pick-Your-Own privileges for $20 more.  The mini share folks can choose what they want from an assortment of vegetables when they pick up their share.

A PARTIAL LIST OF WHAT WE GROW:

SPRING – lettuce, mesclun, chard, kale, arugula, cilantro, radishes, spinach, salad turnips, microgreens, bok choy, eggs

SUMMER – beans, carrots, beets, peas, snap peas, cucumbers, summer squash, peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, sweet onions, shell beans, mesclun, New Zealand spinach, garlic, scallions, flowers, peaches, raspberries, crabapples, garlic scapes, eggs

FALL – lettuce, mesclun, escarole, radicchio, daikon, radishes, cooking greens (kale, mustard, spinach, New Zealand spinach, etc.), beans, cut flowers, cucumbers, winter squash, Chinese cabbage, onions, carrots, beets, garlic, leeks, chicken, duck, eggs

WINTER – microgreens, leeks, kale, mesclun, spinach, eggs, onions