Monday, June 19, 2017

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
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FARM SHARE 2 - What's in the share

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


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Wednesday, June 14, 2017

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.  

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



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Thursday, June 8, 2017

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.
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Thursday, June 1, 2017

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


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