WHAT’S IN THE BOX:
carrots
sweet onion
garlic
green beans
summer squash
lettuce
potatoes (either French fingerling or Russin banana)
dill, cilantro, rosemary, or basil
sungolds or slicing tomatoes (except the AG office, who got them last week)
beets, chard, or slicing cucumber

Summer is certainly upon us. Everything seems to be growing by leaps and bounds. The summer squash in particular is mind boggling. We harvest 3 days a week and cut them pretty hard, yet we still end up with some lunkers. I realize we are sending a lot of squash your way. You wouldn’t believe me if I told you I am practicing restraint. Remember it can be used in just about anything. If only we could feed the world with squash….
Green beans are another crop that is ridiculously abundant. It’s funny how we can plant the same amounts of the same crops at the same intervals and get vastly different quantities from year to year. Weather, fertility, soil texture, weed competition, pollinator presence, deer presence, and a myriad of other factors all play a role in our final harvest numbers. This is the main reason we like our particular business model that balances CSA, farmers markets, and a little wholesaling to local stores and restaurants. It gives us a little more flexibility in dealing with abundance and shortage.

VEGGIE ID:
Tomatoes: The toms are starting to come on in earnest. The red slicer we offer is Early Girl. Yes, we know, it’s a cliché tomato, but it is so tasty, and productive, and reliable no matter how hot or rainy the summer. We have dabbled in heirlooms and other hybrids, but none do as well. Early Girl it is!
Slicing cukes: There’s not much to say about these really, other than they are taking the place of kale in our chard/beet/kale rotation. The kale petered out so we must wait patiently for the fall flush to come on.

ON THE HORIZON: More crops are ripening so keep an eye out for yellow beans, red and storage onions, bell peppers, and corn in the coming weeks.

Meet our farm crew! It is the biggest crew we have ever had. You wouldn’t believe how hard it was to get everyone looking at the camera, smiling, and not blinking. Out of 50 pictures, there were roughly 6 that turned out. As my mom would say, it was like herding cats. Check out our Facebook and Instagram page for more crazy snaps of the crew.
About a month ago we were in a bit of a panic with the weed pressure, increased harvest, loads of transplanting, and all of the other miscellaneous farm tasks that needed doing. But this gang of 19 with their 38 hands and 380 fingers have pulled and hoed thousand of weeds and the fields are looking good. As the saying goes, many hands make light work. We can breathe a momentary sigh of relief until the next wave of craziness comes along. Take a moment as you unpack your box this week and thank this fine group for helping bring so much good food into the world.

Enjoy your veggies and the actual summer weather!

CSA Newsletter - Week 8 - July 31, 2019