Newsletter – June 29, 2015

Dear Members,

This week you are getting swiss chard, turnips, beets, onions, carrots, garlic, snap peas and squash. We are thinning the beet crop. You are not going to get a lot of them. So eat them raw shredded in a coleslaw or salad. It doesn’t look like the snap peas were very productive, so you may get snow peas too or instead of snap peas. There will be a very slow start to the season. The cold and rainy days stalled the growth of all the plants. So when we start harvesting crops, you will not get very many. You will have to be creative by combining the wonderful treats we are getting to make a meal.

Fruit: Unfortunately you will not be getting fruit this week, as we expected. The deal fell through with Eat a Peach Farm. But you will get fruit next week; probably apricots.

Boxes: I’m sorry. I guess I didn’t finish my thought process last week about the boxes! At some point you will need to add a cloth bag or box to your vehicles to pick up additional crops. We do not bag things like corn, melons and tomatoes. You will need a container in order to take these things home. Do not expect the Distribution Center to provide you a bag…more than likely, it will not happen and you will need to place these crops on your seat or floor of the car! Some members bring extra bags or container, transferring their produce right on the spot at the DC and leave their bags right then and there. This way they do not have to remember to return them.

Crops: Things are really starting to come out of the shock from the storms in May. The farm is looking great! Now, if we could only tame Mother Nature’s explosive temper that flares up from time to time! (No more rain, no more hail!!) I know several of you have been hit by the recent bad weather…basements are flooded, your streets & cars may have been affected, hail damage to roofs and vehicles, toppled trees, etc. Know we are thinking about you and hope you were not affected to badly.

Thank you to those of you who made it out to the farm Sunday. We got a tremendous amount of work done and the crops look wonderful. Jerry was so happy that all the row cover was removed and the side of the plastic was hoed. It was a big project and with so many people coming to help, it really made it seem easy! We all went home tired but filled with great accomplishment. Thank you!!!
Jacquie, Jerry and Kyle

Newsletter – June 22, 2015

Dear Friends,

Our first week was exciting, but this week is even better! We are so happy to be giving you peas, turnips, squash, garlic and garlic scapes. The scapes are the tops of the garlic. This has become the new favorite of our members! It is extremely versatile. It can be grilled and eaten as a vegetable, chopped and added to salads (like onion), it’s fantastic in eggs and it’s wonderful in stir-fries. One member told me the best pesto she ever had was prepared with garlic scapes. Another told me she made green garlic hummus with scapes. Don’t be afraid to experiment with these little buggers. They are mild eaten raw or cooked.

You will not receive greens this week because the second planting came on with the first planting. So even though it was nice to get two different kinds of greens last week, it shorted you this week!

Fruit: You are receiving cherries from Ranch Durazno this week. And we expect more cherries and possibly apricots from Eat a Peach Farms/Farmacy Farms next week. Both are from the Western Slope.

Crop reveal: We need as many hands as we can get this Sunday (28th)! After replanting so many of our early crops, we covered them with hoops and row-cover. It is time to uncover our crops and give them direct sunshine and fresh air! Think of this as a barn rising, except this is a crop reveal! You won’t know what you will discover until we get it uncovered! Not only the crops have recovered and grown, but the weeds have too. After removing the cover, rolling it up & getting it off the field, it needs to be hoed on the sides of the plastic. It will take all morning to get the job accomplished and the more hands to help the sooner we can get it done! Come join us for a day of delight as we uncover and discover what is underneath! Plan on getting to the farm at 8am and working all morning until noon.

Bags and Boxes: I forgot to tell you how important it is to return your vegetable bags every week. We reuse them as many times as we can. This includes any small produce bags for beans or peas. Please take the time to dump or shake out any extra organic material left in the bottom. Distribution Centers will be keeping track of this, so don’t be surprised if they remind you how often you have forgotten or how many bags you have not returned.

Something interesting: I want to share a story that touched me. A member took home a barn kitten from the farm 19 years ago. His name was O’Malley (from the Aristocrats). He was part Siamese and part Tabby. O’Malley passed away last Friday. I was told that O’Malley was the best cat she has ever had! He was a wonderful companion and I’m so glad he had a wonderful home. Thanks for sharing your story Adrienne! 19 years, can you believe it!

Have a great week! Jacquie, Jerry and Kyle