Veggie CSA Newsletter, Week #11

Full Share:
Tomatoes - 1# - $3.00
Onions - 3# - 7.50
Potatoes - 2# - $4.00
Leeks - 1# - $2.50
Squash - 2# - $4.00
Garlic - 1 - $1.00

Half Share:
Tomatoes - 1# or one pint sungolds - $3.00
Onions - 2# - $5.00
Potatoes - 2# - $4.00
Cucumbers - 1# - $2.50
Garlic - $1.00


Whats Happening on the Farm:
We had three chances to get lots of rain from this weekends storms. We ended up with 0.15" total. Needless to say, it didn't really help much, and didn't even wet down the dust on the driveway. I guess its starting to get scary - I'd say things are drier than last year at this time, and I'm assuming its because the ground water levels never really recovered, even though it seemed like a moderately wet spring. Our soil is so sandy (think sandbox sand on a large scale) that I can't even put the tiller through it with out covering myself and the tractor with a layer of dust. The next chance for rain is next weekend, so lets all do the dance. Not only are we trying to get spring crops turned under and plant summer cover crops (our only hope for improving the organic matter in this sandy soil) but we are also trying to get the second planting of tomatoes and melons, and the third planting of beans and zinnias seeded. Oh well, we'll see what happens, I know its all in the job description.

Whats in your box...


Yay tomatoes. This is the very very first few, so there weren't enough of one type to fill all the boxes. Some of you will get the delicious Sungold Cherry tomatoes (ripe when orange) and others are getting a smattering of all different varieties of slicing tomatoes, the most prevalent being the New Girl variety. Small, red and with a pointed tip, this is a new variety for us this year, grown because of its earliness. Let me know what you think.

You're getting more of the storage veggies this week as we are waiting patiently for tomatoes, melons, peppers and eggplant. Remember, the onions, garlic and potatoes will keep for many weeks, don't worry about using them all up every week. The onions should store well for a month or two in a cool dry place, but since they're sweet onions, they don't have the same storage life as other onions. Their sugar content prevents them for storing for more than probably a couple months. Keeping them cool will help prolong their life. Same with the garlic and potatoes.

Those of you at RTI who passed on your basil last week due to my shortage, (sorry about that) will get some this week. Thank you for being flexible. I'm also amazed at how many of you have basil plants growing at home!! I wrote everyone's names down who didn't get any, but if I forget, just mention it when you get your box.