Farm Update
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| The very first drop-off of the season, last Monday in Alma. |
Hi everyone! Well, the first week of drop-offs went really well, and now we are officially entering the busiest weeks of the season. Usually the second half of June is about as crazy as it's going to get, and it tapers off gradually throughout July. We also finally got some really good rain, and it is amazing how everything at the farm perked right back up. We also planted the strawberry plants this week that will start bearing fruit next year. Speaking of strawberries, we started harvesting them Friday, and everyone will be getting some in the shares this week. We also had some bad news; our neighbor's dog killed about a dozen of our chickens a few days ago, so we won't have quite as many eggs until we can get some new chickens to replace the ones we lost. But on the upside, our field crew is back together again! Charlie just got back from his trip to Zambia, so we'll be starting out this week with all of our guys, which will make all the craziness of the next few weeks a little less crazy.
What to Expect in Your Share This Week
- Choice of bok choy or kale
We don't have blueberries this week, but they are starting to ripen,
so it will be soon! - Strawberries
- Choice of broccoli or spinach
- Choice of radishes or green onions
- Choice of salad mix or head lettuce
- Choice of Kohlrabi or dill
- Choice of garlic scapes, frisee, or chard
Fruit and Veggie Spotlight: Strawberries
Strawberries are not around for very long during the season,
but when they are, they are one of the best tasting fruits of the season. The
strawberry has been cultivated and eaten for centuries in both Europe and the
Americas well before Columbus. However, it
was in Bretagne, France in that the modern day strawberry was born in the 1750s
by breeding North American and European varieties. This yielded larger fruit, as most of the
berries before more closely resembled the small berries often seen in wild
pasture areas. We are really glad to be growing them in this day and age, because we can't imagine picking all of those pea-sized berries!
The strawberries we have here at the farm start their lives as dormant plants shipped to us from another grower in Dowagiac, MI. We plant them in the spring and they grow for a full season with no fruit
being harvested the first year. This
first year, they produce a few little fruits but the focus is on developing the
plant’s vegetative growth for the next year.
As the plants get into their dormant period towards the fall, we spread
straw over the plants to ensure better winter survival. In the spring, as the plants begin to come
back, we push this straw back and it acts like a mulch around the plant. This mulch helps the berries stay cleaner later in the season. Then a few weeks
after pushing the straw back, the plants get flower clusters and the fruit
begins to develop, ripening sometime in June.
There are many risks to strawberry production here in Michigan. Last year we lost half of our fruit because of a
late frost that killed many of the developing flowers. Also, heavy rains during the harvest period
can cause berries to rot or lose quality in other ways. However, this year seems to be shaping up to
be a good strawberry season for us, and we are very excited to get our first
fruits of the season here at the farm.
This last Friday we started picking some and they are fantastic! We hope
you enjoy them as well!
Recipes
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| Strawberry salsa! I can't wait to try this! |
Just in case you're at a loss to do with the strawberries in your share this week, here are 10 Surprising Things to Do with Strawberries, courtesy of Better Homes and Gardens.
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| Frisee Salad with Dijon Vinaigrette |
Also, last week at the drop-off, one of the most common questions I was asked is "What do you do with frisee?" So here is a delicious recipe for Frisee Salad with Dijon Vinaigrette. It calls for chives, but you can use your green onions instead. Enjoy!
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