CSA Newsletter for Week 16

Farm Update

This is one of the nice pictures
Savannah took of us while she was
following us around for her
photojournalism project.  Timmy's
little face cracks me up every time!

Hi everyone!  It's been another full week at the farm!  The last two weeks, we had Savannah, a CMU student, following us around and documenting our lives for a photojournalism project she's working on.  We had a great time getting to know her as she followed us around at the farm, at some of the drop-offs, at home to see how we live when we're not working, and even for Sunday dinner at Fred's folks house!  The pictures she took were so great, and they totally captured what this stage in the life of our family looks like.  What a totally fun experience!

And things keep moving along at the farm in their seasonal rhythm.  It's been pretty wet lately, but we were able to turn under a lot of field plantings that have run their course.  Some of the beds are still full of vegetables we've recently planted, and the carrots and lettuce are looking especially good.  Now we're primarily planting in the hoophouses; we planted one of the coldframes with lettuce this week, and we're in the process of planting a few more.

We also decided that we need to start looking at a possible land expansion.  We've got fantastic soil at the farm, but pretty much none of it is sandy, and there are several crops that would do better in sandy soil.  After this wet spring, we realized that having some sandier ground would benefit us, so we're on the lookout for 2-10 acres near the farm.  We'll see what turns up!

And here we go into week 16!  See you at the drop-off!

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!

• Butternut squash
• Snap beans
• Carrots or sweet potatoes
• Potatoes or beets
• Tomatoes or spring mix
• Kale, cabbage, or 2 sweet peppers
• Onion, shallot, or microgreens

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 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:  Snap beans, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, potatoes, spring mix, 2 peppers, onion.

Share B:  Snap beans, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, beets, tomatoes, kale, onion.

Share C:  Snap beans, butternut squash, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, 2 peppers, microgreens.

             

Recipes

We always like talking to people at the drop-offs about what they like to do with different veggies, because we often get a lot of good ideas we've never tried.  And butternut squash are one of those veggies that you can prepare so many different ways!  I've heard several different go-to squash preparations that CSA members have, many of which are represented among these 23 Butternut Squash Recipes to Try this Fall.  You'll find everything from Roasted Butternut Squash to Butternut Squash Soup to noodles made from squash!  Check it out for some delicious fall squash recipes!