Ready, set, go! CSA Week 1

Farm Update

While it will still be a few months before the
cherry tomatoes are ready to harvest, the fact that
they have tons of blossoms bodes well for lots
of delicious tomatoes to come!

Hi everyone!   The CSA starts this week, and we are so excited to see you all!  If you happen to have missed last week's newsletter and you have any questions about what to expect at the drop-off, check out last week's newsletter for details!  The end of June is always crazy at the farm, and this year is no exception!  The heat and dry weather mean that we are irrigating like crazy so we can keep all the thirsty plants healthy!  They're growing by leaps and bounds right now, and so are the weeds, which means we're also doing a ton of weeding.  We're past our main planting push of the spring, but Fred and the crew were still planting lettuce, carrots, green beans, cilantro, and cabbage this week.  We'll actually be planting every few weeks throughout the rest of the summer, because in order to always have vegetables that are the right size to harvest, we do what's called succession planting.  That means that throughout the summer we're always planting, and constantly harvesting, and perpetually weeding.  Right now the insect pressure is on the downturn for a little while.  A few weeks ago when the plants were smaller and more stressed from repeated frosts and freezes, they were really vulnerable to attacks from insect pests, so of course the bugs availed themselves of that opportunity.  But now the plants are bigger and stronger, and we're not having to expend as much energy fighting insects on our crops.  Which is good, because once the CSA starts, it's going to be all hands on deck to harvest, wash, and pack enough veggies for 350 CSA shares each week, as well as the veggies we provide to our stores and restaurants.  It's an incredible amount of work, but we genuinely love coaxing food from the soil and providing it to our friends and neighbors in the community.  And you can't beat getting to work outside in the sun all summer!  So it's ready, set, go! for us at the farm!  Thanks so much for joining us for another CSA adventure, and we'll see you next week! 

What to Expect in This Week's Share

If you are going through the line 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!  And if you're unfamiliar with any of the stuff on the list, you can just follow the links for more information about how to choose, store, and prepare each item!

• Spring mix for everyone!
• Strawberries for everyone!
• Green onions for everyone!
• Kale, cooking greens mix, Swiss chard, or bok choy (at this station, people with a half share will choose 2, and people with a full share will choose 4)
• Radishes or garlic scapes
• Zucchini, microgreens, or cilantro

If you have a prepacked share, 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 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:  Spring mix, green onions, strawberries, kale, cooking greens, radishes, and zucchini.

Share B:  Spring mix, green onions, strawberries, Swiss chard, bok choy, radishes, and microgreens.

Share C:   Spring mix, green onions, strawberries, kale, bok choy, garlic scapes, and cilantro.

Recipes

Stir-Fried Bok Choy with Ginger
and Garlic

This is officially our 10th CSA season, which now that I think of it, is a pretty incredible milestone!  Over the last decade, we've been through pretty much every up and down you can experience in the life of a small farm, and we've gained a lot of knowledge and experience.  And after years of doing this, I have a pretty good idea about which veggies people are going to have questions about.  So if you're new to the CSA and you've never tried bok choy or garlic scapes before, never fear!  Here's a super easy, super quick, super yummy recipe for you to try that includes both of those ingredients!  (Actually, it calls for regular garlic, but you can use garlic scapes in exactly the same way as you'd use regular garlic.)  So check out this recipe for Stir-Fried Bok Choy with Ginger and Garlic from the Food Network!  Enjoy!