Monroe Family Organics CSA Newsletter for Week 3

  Farm Update

 

Swiss chard, growing bright and beautiful
in the field!

Hi everyone!  I hope you're all enjoying your veggies!  We've certainly been enjoying the abundance of wonderful fresh food that this time of year has to offer!  

One of the things I love most about this farm life is that when I sit down to a meal, I know exactly where the carrots or lettuce or kale on my plate grew.  I saw it in the fields, I pulled out the weeds around it so it could live its best carrot/lettuce/kale life, and I might even have pictures of it on my phone that I took with the intention of putting them in this newsletter.  And I love being able to give you all a glimpse into the place where your food grew up as well!  This week, we've been doing a little less planting, because we've been focusing on weeding.  We did plant green beans and winter squash that will make their appearance in the shares this fall, and we launched a major weeding offensive of various carrots, lettuce, tomato plants, peppers, and Brussels sprouts.  Aside from the constant battle with the weeds, we've also seen some increased pressure from the animals who like to hang out at our farm. This is a problem because they too love veggies, and if left unchecked, they can do a whole lot of damage.  We've seen a few deer getting a little too comfortable despite the 8-foot-tall deer fence that surrounds almost the whole farm. (There's a gap in the fence in the back field where we think the deer are getting in.) And we've had a lot more woodchucks than normal lately, for whom Fred has set a few live traps, but now we just need to wait and see, and hope they don't eat too many veggies before we catch them.

I am also excited to report that our blueberry bushes are looking fantastic!  There are tons of green berries on them, and it's looking like they'll be ripe and ready to harvest in two or three weeks!  We also have broccoli available in the shares this week, but it's just the beginning of broccoli season, so we don't have tons of it yet.  We'll be including it in the shares, but it's still pretty limited, so I wouldn't base your whole meal plan on it just yet.

I also just wanted to remind you all about the 4th of July on Monday!  If you normally pick up at our Alma drop-off (or you have home or workplace delivery in the Alma area) and you have plans that prevent you from picking up your veggies as normal, just let me know!  You can either postpone your share this week and get a double share next week, or you can arrange to pick up at one of our other drop-offs this week.  If you want to go with any of those options, just let me know on Sunday so I can adjust our harvest list for Monday.  You could also have a friend pick up your share for you, but I don't need to know about that beforehand.  Thanks so much!  Have a wonderful holiday, and I'll see you at the drop-offs!

The finger weeder attachment on our cultivating
tractor helps grab the little weeds out of this 
planting of green beans.

What to Expect in the Shares this Week

 

If you pick up at our Alma, Mt. Pleasant, or Midland drop-off, here are the options for your shares!  If you have a half share, you’ll choose one item from each choice category, and if you have a full share, you’ll choose two.  And if there is something you don’t like or can’t eat, you can bring it to the trading station at the end and trade it for something you like better. 

• Potatoes or beets
• Carrots or broccoli
• Basil, frisee, or dill
• Kale, Swiss chard, or Napa cabbage
• Spring mix, romaine lettuce, or iceberg lettuce
• Fresh garlic, kohlrabi, or microgreens
• Zucchini or cucumbers

 

If you pick up at our Lansing, Okemos, St. Johns, Midland hospital, or Alma hospital drop-off, or if you have home or workplace delivery, here are your options!  We have three different prepacked shares, and you can let me know which one you want by filling out this quick form by lunchtime the day before your drop-off.  If you have a half share, you can choose one of these options, and if you have a full share, you’ll choose two.

Share A:

• Potatoes
• Carrots
• Basil
• Swiss Chard
• Spring mix
• Kohlrabi
• Zucchini

 

Share B:

• Beets
• Carrots
• Basil
• Kale
• Spring mix
• Garlic
• Zucchini

 

Share C:

• Potatoes
• Carrots
• Dill
• Kale
• Romaine
• Garlic
• Cucumber

 

Recipes

 

Napa Cabbage Wedge Salad with Apples and
Buttermilk Dressing

Every week when Fred lets me know what's going to be in the shares for the upcoming week, I get really excited.   There is almost always some old veggie friend that I haven't eaten since the last season, and some weeks, there are so many that it's like my birthday, opening several exciting presents!  This week, the exciting presents are broccoli, Napa cabbage, and fresh garlic!  Fresh garlic is slightly different than the cured garlic you buy in the store, and it can be used in two different ways.  It has a fantastic fresh, punchy flavor, and you can either put it in your fridge and use it up within a week or so, or you can leave it out on your counter to dry so that it becomes more like the garlic you're probably used to from the store.  Another veggie I'm really excited about this week is Napa cabbage!  If you've never cooked with Napa cabbage before, it's pretty similar to your standard green cabbage (and you can interchange the two in some recipes), but it has a more delicate flavor and soft crinkly leaves.  If you're looking for some inspiration on what to do with it, here are 17 Best Napa Cabbage Recipes from Food 52!