Friday, June 27, 2008

Veggie CSA Newsletter, Week #12

Full Share:
Melon - 1 medium or 2 small - $3.50
Tomatoes - 4# - $12.00
Basil - 1/8# - $1.00
Eggplant - 1# - $3.00
Sun Gold Cherry Tomatoes - 1 pint - $3.00
Onions - 1# - $2.50
TOTAL - $25.00

Half Share:

CARRBORO
Potatoes - 1# - $2.00
Tomatoes - 3# - $9.00
Basil - 1/8# - $1.00
Cucumbers - 1/2# - $1.25
Onions - 1# - $2.50

RTI
Potatoes - 1# - $2.00
Tomatoes - 3# - $9.00
Basil - 1/8# - $1.00
Leeks - 1/2# - $1.25
Onions - 1# - $2.50

As a reminder, those of you who chose the payment plan, the second half of the veggie share is now due ($162.50). Thanks!


Whats in your box...

As we head into summer, we're filling your boxes with tomatoes. This time of year, theres really just not a lot of variety out there, and we're still waiting for the eggplants and peppers to start producing fruits. Melons looks great, and I'm hoping not too much longer. Yum! Remember, the onions will store just fine for a few months, so don't worry about getting through them every week.

Unfortunately, the dry days are really taking its toll on the crops. I am pumping many hundreds of gallons of water every day (thousands?) as we are running the irrigation just about 24 hours a day. I stop for a few hours during the heat of the afternoon because its no use trying to irrigate when the water just evaporates as soon as it drips out of the hose. As I have mentioned in previous newsletters, I have been unable to prepare beds to plant more, and we have been in a holding pattern for about 6 weeks. We got 1.5" of rain FINALLY, on Sunday night. Much much better, but we definitely need more. That means no new seedings of beans or corn, and to add insult to injury, the deer have decided the beans are theirs for the snacking. Theres one more planting that may produce enough for y'all, but I apologize for not having more for you.

If things stay as they are, we may decide to extend the CSA deliveries a week or more. That way, we can make up for light boxes some weeks, and everyone will feel they get what they paid for (hopefully). I start seeding the fall garden in mid-August and usually have some greens and radishes by mid-September, sometimes a little sooner.

We are always at the whim of Mother Nature, and we just have to go along with the flow of the seasons, and work with what we get. I was fearful that we would face another dry year, because I knew it would be much worse this year because water levels never recovered (yes, Falls and Jordan Lakes filled back up, but theres much more to it than just that - ground water levels never recovered, so thats something we worry about every day as our irrigation source is a 600' deep well.)


On a positive note, we're having a great time growing food for you all. Through all the trials we are faced with every year, we still look at each other and know theres nothing else we'd rather be doing. The community we have created by growing and eating local food is awesome, and we all need to embrace it. By joining CSA and shopping your local farmers markets, you, our co-producers, are helping to strengthen our community. Your support, no matter big or small, means everything to us, and we thank you.

Monday, June 23, 2008

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.

Monday, June 16, 2008

Veggie CSA Week #10

Full Share:
Onions - 3# - $7.50
Potatoes - 1# - $2.00
Leeks - 2# - $6.00
Garlic - 1 - $1.00
Beans - 1# - $3.00
Sungold Cherry Tomatoes - 1 pint - $3.00
Basil - 1/4#- $2.50
TOTAL - $25.00

Half Share:
Garlic - 1 - $1.00
Beans - 1/2# - $1.50
Potatoes - 1# - $2.00
Basil - 1/8# - $1.25
Onions - 2# - $5.00
Leeks - 1# - $3.00
Squash - 1# - $2.00
TOTAL - $15.75

Whats Happening on the Farm...

I feel like we've finally caught up! (Sort of...) Its been a pretty hectic few months. It happens every year, and its always in May. Through the whole month, we're spending all of our time harvesting the spring crops, AND trying to get all the summer crops planted at the same time! Plus we spend a lot of time trellising, laying out irrigation, keeping things mowed, etc. But as always, by mid-June I start to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Everything is looking really great, and so far, it looks like the best tomato, pepper and onion crops we've ever grown. We are almost through all the spring crop harvesting, and we've got most of the summer crops planted, except for a few more seedings of beans and melons and the second planting of tomatoes. At any rate, I'm back! and I'll try to do a much better job on this newsletter, and put up more recipes and stuff like I said I would at the beginning of the year.

So this week marks the 1/2 way point of the CSA season. Amazing. We are starting to see the tomatoes ripening, the first are always the Sungold Cherry Tomatoes. Hopefully we'll have them in everyones boxes really soon.

While things are looking great for most of the summer crops, others aren't so lucky. Potatoes, for one, will not produce the bountiful harvest I had hoped for. Early in the spring, right after we planted the seed, we got a lot of rain all at once and a lot of the seed rotted in the ground because the field stayed too wet. The field they were planted in is a new one for me, and I didn't realize how much it can fill with water (its sorta bowl shaped). So, we'll definitely have some potatoes for a few more weeks, but I'd say we'll end up with 1/3 the expected harvest. The cabbage harvest is my other disappointment. For one, I am still figuring out how to grow good brassicas (cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower) and they've always been hard for me. If we got some substantial rain, the cabbage might size up, but I don't know. We'll see.

Recipe of the week

Potato and Leek Latkes:
1 1/2 lb. potatoes
1 cup chopped leeks
2 t mustard seeds
1 t salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 T all purpose flour
2-3 t peanut oil
Coarsely grate potatoes, squeeze out as much liquid as possible, and place in large bowl. Stir in scallions, mustard seed and salt. Stir in eggs and flour until evenly distributed. Heat a little of the oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Drop 3 separate tablespoons of potato mixture and flatten each with spatula to form small pancakes about 4 inches across. Fry each side about 2-3 minutes until golden. Drain on paper towels; keep warm.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Veggie Newsletter Week #9

Full Share:
Lettuce - 2 heads - $5.00
Leeks - 2# - $6.00
Squash - 2# - $4.00
Cucumbers 1# - $2.50
Potatoes - 1# - $2.00
Garlic - 2 heads - $2.00
Sungold Cherry Tomatoes - 1 pint - $3.00
TOTAL - $24.50

Half Share
Lettuce - 1 head - $2.50
Leeks - 1#- $3.00
Cucumbers - 1/2# - $1.25
Basil - 1/8# - $1.00
Garlic - 1 head - $1.00
Potatoes - 1# - $2.00
TOTAL - $10.75

This will be the last week of the lettuce. I promise. The heat last week signaled the end to the spring crops, including radishes, broccoli, sugar snap peas, lettuce and beets. Beans are a week or two away, along with more basil, garlic, onions, potatoes and the first of the sungold cherry tomatoes.

I realize that the half share boxes only add up to $10.75 this week, which is much under the $15 average. We're in a bit of a lull these past few weeks, one reason being the transition from spring to summer crops, the other being the intense heat we've been having. I feel as though I should not overwhelm you with many, many pounds of squash and cucumbers. We are close to tomato, bean, melon, pepper and eggplant season, so the boxes will be more full in future weeks, therefore the weekly amount will be more than $15.

Have a good week!

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Veggie Week #8

Sorry I'm so late posting this... we just got back from 2 wonderful days at the beach. It was the perfect vacation, but now we're back just in time for 99 degree heat. This will mean the end of a lot of the spring veggies, and probably the last week for the Sugar Snap Peas. But no worries - I see the beginning signs of tomatoes ripening, beans growing and melons!

Carrboro - Half Share
Lettuce - 1 head - $2.50
Cucumbers - 1/2 pound - $1.25
Onion - 1 - $1.00
Sugar snap peas - 1/2# - 2.25
Squash - 1# - $2.00
Cabbage - 1 - $2.00

RTI- Half Share
Lettuce - 1 head - $2.50
Cucumbers - 1/2# - $1.25
Sugar snap peas - 1/2# - $2.25
Onions - 1 - $1.00
Squash - 1# - $2.00
Broccoli - 2/3# - $2.00


Full Share
lettuce - 2 heads - $5.00
sugar snap peas - 1# - 4.50
squash - 2# - $4.00
Cucumbers -1# - $2.50
Onions - 2 - $2.00
Basil - 1/2# - $5.00