Week 6

Well, the peas actually made it and we pulled off the first harvest today. These are shelling peas so while the pods are sweet they're too tough to eat. You can use the pods in stock for a really nice pea flavor. The peas themselves are super sweet right now so eat them as soon as possible before the sugars turn to starch. We've also put in a couple of lettuces and a few more carrot thinnings. I'll post more soon on where we are with plantings and perhaps a few photos of the late summer crops that are maturing right now.

Week5!

From SHF CSA

Here's a photo of today's share. We're a bit lettuce heavy as of late. I've lost track of all the varieties in the share but I believe there's some pirat, blush icy oak, and emerald oak in the share this week. Some of the varieties we're clearing out the beds making space for more plantings, and some we're thinning to let the rest get bigger. We also thinned carrots and kale today. The carrots are yellowstone and napoli, both very tasty little treats that you'll be seeing more of through the year. The kale is another Frank Morton variety, rainbow lacinato.

From SHF CSA

I've realized that you're getting some sizes, shapes and varieties that you wouldn't be seeing if you were buying at a farmers market, or in the store. These thinnings are what you'd get if you had your own garden, and that's kind of what this is, your own garden that we just happen to work for you.

Today we planted some of the fall crops and a few that you might see this summer. A reseed of pole beans for dry beans went in - hopefully not too late but certainly at least a month later than I'd like. We also transplanted some celery and fennel to replace seedings of those that failed earlier this spring. Parsley, scorzonera, and salsify were all seeded as well. I'm hoping to get a few more peppers in tomorrow as well as some root parsley.

Tools of the Trade

From SHF CSA

I'm a big fan of tools. I love tools that are well made and work well and I've found that doing things by hand means I really need my tools to work well, or I end up working much harder. The photo above is a sampling of the tools that we're using on the farm. A lot of the tools are variations on themes for specific conditions and tasks. For example, there are four different versions of forks that I use (three pictured): a spading fork, a compost fork, a potato fork, and a monster sized four tine fork (pictured in previous posts). I just bought a trio of rakes as well and I'm really enjoying the DeWitt seed rake - tines not too close to clog and heavy enough to break clods. In preparing a bed for planting I'll usually use at least five separate tools in succession, each for a slightly different part of the process.

From SHF CSA

One of the other really useful items we just started using is this sprinkler set up for soaking individual beds. The proper soil moisture is as critical for getting a well prepared bed as it is for germinating seeds. We've been using the sprinklers to evenly presoak beds for digging and also for germinating seeds. Once the seeds have germinated and are established we switch to drip lines which are more efficient and don't encourage as many weeds.

Greens!

Here's the share for the week: Plato II romaine, Emerald Oak lettuce, Five Color silverbeet (aka chard), and a little bunch of Arugula. There are a few items we were planing for that aren't ready yet, or haven't worked out, so the shares are a hair smaller than we are hoping for but we're pretty happy with the majority of the crops out here. Peas, carrots, favas and others will all be joining the mix soon. If you ever have questions about how to use, or care for, your share send us a note.

What to do with your share

From SHF CSA

Our job is to pack up the shares every week and get them to the drop sites so that you can pick them up and eat them. Danny and I take home shares as well each week so I thought I'd share a few of the meals I've been making from the shares and we'd love to hear what you're doing with them as well.

From SHF CSA

The quantities of items that we're giving lend themselves to accents and side dishes. A couple of weeks ago when there was spinach in the share I wilted it quickly in hot olive oil and topped a pizza with it. Another pizza got broccoli raab and radish greens. The radish itself got used with a bunch of the lettuces and turned into a nice side salad with a mustard dressing. We still have about six shares available so I got a little extra spinach that week and used it on top of homemade tortillas with green garlic from another farm and new potatoes from my garden.

From SHF CSA

If you'd like to supplement your existing shares with more produce, we have several shares available and we're willing to sell them on a weekly basis to existing members, or you could just buy an entire extra share for the season - contact me if you're interested.

Week 3

Here's the share for the week. I'll post some more details soon when I have something more than my phone's touch screen to type on.