CSA Newsletter for Week 6

Farm Update

Yikes!  The weeds are taking over!  This is the path
to the door of our greenhouse, and it feels like
going through a mini forest every time we walk in!

Hi everyone!  It's been another busy and productive week at the farm!  We finally got a good rain last night, and there's a pretty good chance of getting more tonight, so we're really excited about that.  Another exciting bit of news is that the blueberries are finally ripe, and we'll have them in the shares this week!  We won't be doing any bulk orders this week, but if it looks like we have enough to do bulk orders, I'll have some information about that in the newsletter next week.  Things are really growing around the farm now with all this heat, including the weeds.  The farm actually looks like more of a jungle at the moment, so we're going to try and hack through some of the tall weeds in the next few weeks so they don't completely swallow up every inch of ground that isn't a plant bed or a path.  Because that's definitely where we're headed right now.  The tomato plants are also going crazy, but those are plants we actually want, so we're pretty thrilled with that.  The vines are huge and healthy-looking and covered with blossoms right now.  We've also started to harvest the first cherry tomatoes, but they won't be out in full force until the next week or two.  In other news, our farm cat, Molly, had her kittens sometime yesterday or the day before.  We haven't seen them yet, because she has them hidden away in such a good spot that not even we have been able to find them.  But we know she had them because she's looking a lot skinnier than she was, and she's definitely acting like a nervous new mama.  So probably in a few weeks, we'll have a whole mouse catching team!  So that's what we've been up to at the farm lately!

What to Expect in This Week's Share

If you are picking up at one of our traditional style drop-offs (Alma, Mt. Pleasant, and Midland), here’s what the options will be at the different stations.  If you have a half share, you’ll choose one item at each station, and if you have a full share, you choose two items at each station!

• Blueberries
• Carrots
• Kale, bunched greens, or fennel
• Beets, lettuce, or cucumbers
• Microgreens, pearl onions, or basil
• Potatoes
• Zucchini

If you have a prepacked share (Midland hospital, St. Johns, Lansing, Okemos, or home delivery), here are your options.  If you have a half share, you’ll choose either share A, B, or C, and if you have a full share, you can choose two of them.  So just email me by the lunchtime the day before your drop-off to let me know which share you want for this week!  If I don't hear from you, I'll just choose for you. :-)

Share A: Blueberries, carrots, green curly kale, beets, micros, potatoes, zucchini

Share B:  Blueberries, carrots, red curly, lettuce, pearl onions, potatoes, zucchini

Share C:  Blueberries, carrots, fennel, cucumbers, basil, potatoes, zucchini

             

Recipes

One thing I hear pretty consistently from folks in the CSA is how much they love our carrots!  I have to agree that our carrots are pretty much the sweetest and yummiest carrots I've ever had, and I'm only just a little bit biased. :-)  If you're looking for ideas on what to do with your carrots this week, check out 5 Easy Ways to Bring Carrots into Your Kitchen this Summer!  Not only does this site give you several great carrot recipes for summer, it also has fun tidbits on how to store them, how baby carrots are made, how to make carrot flowers, and more!  Definitely check it out!