CSA Newsletter - Week 15 - September 18

Week 15

This is the last week for the HEIGHT OF THE SEASON shares. Summer Share folks still have 3 more deliveries after this. (It ends the week of Oct. 9th) If you have a Height of the Season share and want to keep going for 3 more weeks, send me an email and I’ll adjust your account. The cost for a continuing a small share is $75 and the large share is $105.

FALL SHARES STILL AVAILBALE!
We offer 2 fall CSA sessions that are 3 weeks each. Check out the CSA description page of our website. The early Fall Share will start on October 19th. Late Fall share begins right after the Early one ends. You can sign up on line. Please note that we only deliver fall shares on Saturdays or Sundays. Pick up site options are the farm, the Olympia Farmers Market, and the Proctor Market.

STORAGE SHARES STILL AVAILABLE!
This is a one-time delivery occurring on the last day of the Main Summer Season. It consists of garlic and several varieties of onions, potatoes, and winter squash. The cost is $75. Follow the link above for more specifics. You can sign up online for that as well.

How about that rain, huh? It was downright ridiculous on the farm Tuesday. Everyone was shrouded in rain gear and it was hard to tell who was who from a distance. Just a bunch of green and black figures harvesting for your boxes. In fact my own son came to the door during lunch and I waved him in like he was a random crew member who had come to ask me a question. Had to laugh at myself over that one.
Tuesday was also the day of our annual Organic inspection. We have been certified through the WSDA since our humble beginnings in 1994. The torrential downpour and blustery winds made for a less than pleasant field tour with our inspector, but we didn’t let it deter us and carried on, business as usual. We spent over an hour walking the fields, greenhouses, and barns. He asked lots of questions, verified the materials we use, poked through seed containers, and asked us about the highs and lows, successes and challenges of this season. We then retreated to the kitchen where our inspector combed through stacks of receipts, invoices, maps, harvest logs, planting spreadsheets, etc to make sure we are following the rules. (meanwhile my son, the one I didn’t recognize earlier, was in the background canning tomatoes. Proud mama moment right there. But I digress….) The inspection took about 6 hours all in all. To be certified organic, we must go through this process every year and pay a hefty certification fee to boot. I have mixed feelings about the whole thing. On the one hand I see the importance of and value in having a specific set of rules and guidelines to follow and for there to be an official inspecting entity to make sure that growers are living up to the organic label. Consumers need some kind of assurance that what they are buying is truly organic. The parts I struggle with are the fees borne by the farmer and the amount of record keeping that needs to be done in order to prove we are following said rules. We have been farming for over 20 years so it feels annoying and cumbersome to keep detailed records of what we do on a daily basis. Imagine having to document all the little things you do throughout your day:
Brushed teeth with this brand of toothpaste purchased on June 15th from the Co-op. Wore the brown wool socks, purchased on July 6th from Target. Ate eggs for breakfast purchased from…. I’m being a little dramatic I know, but that is what it feels like sometimes. Some of the records they want to review are ones we keep anyway, or aren’t too far outside of our routine. But there are others that are not helpful to us as a business. They don’t make us more efficient, or provide valuable insight that will make our business better. Rather they are one more little detail to keep track of, organize, file away, and have ready for the next inspection. Despite all I’ve said, we will continue to be Certified Organic. I just might grumble a little around inspection time. Luckily our inspector was pleasant and respectful and made the process tolerable. (It is not the person, rather the process.) Okay, moving on…..

THE FIELD REPORT: It makes us a little nervous having so much rain so early. We still need to harvest the rest of the potatoes, all the winter squash, plant the garlic, till in old crops, and get the cover crop planted. We will need a stretch of several dry days to make all of that happen. Furthermore, the recent precip and cooler night temps will unfortunately hasten the demise of many summer crops. The tomatoes will go downhill fast as the inevitable blight moves in. Basil will start to get black spots. Cucumber vines will shrivel and decay with alarming speed. So sad. All we can do is think fondly of our fleeting summer favorites and embrace the new menu additions that fall weather will bring. Soon to appear in your box: leeks, shallots, winter squash, parsnips, rutabaga (is that loud cheering I hear?), and new potato varieties.

WHAT’S IN THE BOX:
cabbage
carrots
beets or chard
kale
kohlrabi
dill or cilantro
yellow onion
garlic
potatoes
summers squash
green beans or slicing tomatoes
slicing cucumber
sweet orange pepper
green peppers-half of you
broccoli-a few of you. It’s making the rotation.

ELABORATIONS:
Carrot bunches: We are into a new planting of carrots and are noticing more rust fly damage than usual. It is hard to see the damage until the bunches are washed. Just cut out that little bit and the rest is fine. We hate to give out produce with damage, but if we didn’t let a little slide, there would be no carrots. Don’t worry, there aren’t any bugs still in there!
Broccoli: I know everyone (well, most everyone) is chomping at the bit for broccoli. We cut back on the amount we grew this year, so you will have to wait your turn. It is hard to nail down the “correct” amount of broccoli to grow each season. I feel like we are either swimming in it, or are rationing it out like it was the last broccoli on earth.

BULK CROPS:
If you are wanting to stock up on basil, onions, potatoes, winter squash, carrots, beets, etc. check out the canning and storage page of our website for pricing. We can deliver it with your share or you can come to either market we attend. If you want basil, order it within the next week or two.

That’s about it for this week. Happy eating!

-Jen