My apologies for not writing a newsletter last week. There was just too much to do in the fields, barn, and greenhouse and I figured you could recognize everything in the box. I can’t skip out this week though since you have several new items. I’ll get to that in a minute…. Oh, and please pardon my typos in newsletters. I am usually in a massive hurry, as there so much else to do. I like sending the letter, but I don’t have time to proof read as much as I should. I figure in imperfect newsletter is better than no newsletter.

It’s getting downright hectic around here. As more crops come on, we are spending more and more time harvesting and less time weeding, which is not ideal. It is a little stressful walking through the fields right now because we see so many little fires everywhere. Sometimes it is hard to know where to put the focus because it all needs to be done NOW! We are not in danger of losing anything per se, but we would like to get a little more ahead of the game. On many conventional farms, the fields are sprayed with chemicals (herbicides) that kill all of the weeds whereas organic farms rely on tractors, tools, and people to keep the weeds at bay. Around here we use an old 1940’s cultivating tractor to weed the paths and between the rows within the beds. Some crops like broccoli are spaced far enough apart within the row that we can then come through with upright hoes and get the remaining weeds. Other crops like carrots, that are mere inches from each other, require people to skootch along on hands and knees the pull the weeds by hand. Most of our carrot beds are 300 feet long, 3 rows per bed. Now imagine yourself weeding it. It can be tiresome and monotonous, so the crew uses this as get to know you time while working near (but not too near) each other. A lot of stories are told, recipes shared, jokes uttered, and many many hours of games like contact (similar to 20 questions).

In addition to weeding woes, this is the time of year where entropy really shows itself in the mechanical realm. We have a “fleet” of old junky pick up trucks that we use to ferry produce out of the field. It seems that at any given time 1 is down for the count. It’s usually a simple fix, but that takes time away from weeding. I joke that this farm is where old trucks go to live out the remainder of their days. A good way to retire, I suppose.

Alright, enough about that…on to tastier topics.

WHAT’S IN THE BOX:
Carrots
Green onions
Russian Banana potatoes
Lettuce
Green beans
Zucchini
Pickling or mini salad cucumber
Beets or Chard
Dill or cilantro

LET’S DISCUSS:
Green beans-How exciting! Check out this recipe link for some ideas. And be sure to snack on a few raw. They are so sweet and crisp.
Russina Banana potatoes- They are dense and waxy like most other fingerlings. They are lovely steamed, oven roasted, in potato salad, in pot roast, soups, etc
Cucumbers:-We grow 4 types:. Pickling, mini salad, standard slicer, and lemon. Today you either got a mini salad cuke or pickling cukes. Pickling cukes aren’t just for pickling. They are great in a salad or with hummus, or in tabbouleh, etc.
Green onions-You might be saying “enough with the green onions already! When is the real deal coming?” The regular onions are still a few weeks out. We use green onions instead until the others are ready. It is a fine substitute in most recipes.

That’s all I have time for right now. Enjoy your veggies!

Jen

CSA Newsletter - Week 5 - 2020