Hello!

I hope you all stayed cool and found a way to enjoy and embrace that little taste of summer over the weekend. I think most of us here had the attitude of “Yes! Bring it on!” We start work bright and early at 6:00 and are done by 2:30-ish, so we were not out in the heat for too long. And the field crew only works Mon-Fri, so they missed 2 of the super-hot days. It’s nice when weather and work schedule align.

The crops LOVED the heat. Since it had been cool and rainy up until this point, we were caught up on irrigation, so could just move the sets along in the normal pattern. It has been quite reassuring walking through the fields and seeing all the crops perk up and put on growth. Unfortunately, the weeds have also responded to the heat, so now begins the cat and mouse game of weed control. We have a cultivating tractor that, when working (another story), does a slick job of weeding the paths and in between the rows. We then follow with a combination of wheel hoes, upright hoes, hand hoes, and fingers to get the weeds between the plants. (See photos). If we are not careful, we end up playing “Where’s Waldo” with direct seeded crops like carrots and beets. (See photo below)

HOUSEKKEEPING:

Boxes: Some folks were confused about whether or not you are allowed to take the new plastic boxes home with you. Yes, you are allowed to take them home. We just ask that you return them the following week when you pick up your next share. Please rinse, or at least wipe them out so we don’t have to spend lots of time scrubbing out dried bits of lettuce and carrot tops.

Forgetting to pick up your share: If you forget to pick up your share within the specified day/time of your specific location, call the SITE HOST and work out a way to pick it up the following day. Usually, the host can leave the shed open, or place your box outside the shed or garage for you to pick up next day.

Vacation holds/temporary change of pick-up day/location: If you know ahead of time that you will not be able to pick up your box, you can make changes online. It’s super easy! It must be done a several days in advance of your usual pick up.
Example 1: You know you will be out of town Wed July 13 and want to pick it up on Saturday the 16th instead. Log into your account, click on the calendar day you want to change, scroll down to “reschedule single delivery” and then click the new location and new date to receive that box. If you will be gone a whole week, choose the date of your next delivery and you will get 2 boxes that day. Finally, click “change” to save those changes.
Example 2: You are going on vacation for several weeks. You can put those boxes on hold and either suspend them, donate them, or get market credit. We do not offer refunds. To do this, click on the calendar the day(s) you will miss (you have to do one day at a time.). Then click “Hold Delivery”. A box will pop up that asks whether you want to suspend or donate the box. If you want market credit, choose to suspend and then send me a direct email saying you want market credit for those days. If you want to donate your share, we will drop it off at the local food bank.

UNFAMILIAR VEGGIES: For new members, there may be some items you have never encountered or cooked with. We have 2 tools on our website that can help you out. The first tool is the Veggie ID photo gallery. This is an old gallery, so we don’t grow all the items you see. (Yet another project for the winter months….) Another helpful tool is the recipe section of the website. There is a tag cloud at the top of the page. Click on each veggie or herb for ideas.

CAN WE FIND OUT WHAT WILL BE IN THE BOX AHEAD OF TIME? Unfortunately, no. There are many reasons. While we do a field walk every Monday to map out what might be in the box, it is sometimes hard to know how much we will end up with after harvest. We have no way of knowing how many beans we will have until we pick them, for example. We also rotate items around pick up sites. Sometimes it is due to harvest quantities and sometimes so that you don’t get sick of something. So, not every share gets every item every week. Trust that we keep careful records of who got what when and it will even out in the end. I do post a picture on Instagram (there is a link at the bottom of the page) of a sample large share, so that will at least you an idea of what you might get.
WHAT IF I DON’T LIKE AN ITEM OR HAVE AN ALLERGY? We are not set up to custom pack boxes to accommodate personal preferences or dietary needs. However, in a few weeks once we start having surplus produce, we will set up a swap box at each site that we will stock with commonly liked items so you can trade out what you don’t like for something you do.

WHAT’S IN THE BOX: TODAY:
carrots
lettuce
green onions
garlic
garlic scapes
beets or chard
dill
cilantro or Italian parsley
zucchini
lacinato or curly kale

That’s all I have time for right now. Please don’t hesitate to email if you can any questions or concerns!

Jen

CSA Newsletter - Summer - Week 2 - 2022