Newsletter – June 27, 2022

NOTE: This blog is posted by a volunteer. No one from the farm checks or responds to messages here. You must contact the farm directly with any questions, comments, etc

Dear Farm Friends,

Produce: We are so happy to be giving you peas, garlic, summer squash, kohlrabi, yellow onions and fennel. Not only are the bulbs of this plant edible, but so are the greens. They can be used in salads such as coleslaw or potato salad to give it a kick. They are most commonly used on fish….just chop, sprinkle and bake! The bulb itself is excellent shredded & cooked under a roast (along with onion of course!). Keep in mind, if we give you the greens to any plant, they will be edible and can be used as an herb or cooked as…well as greens!

Introductions: As Jerry and I get closer to retirement, we are trying to make the farm more self-sufficient. Recently we hired a new office assistant and her name is Linda Snyder. She is a wonderful addition to the farm and we are very excited to have her here. If you happen to be around, stop by the new office on the east side of the barn (south door) and say hello.

Basic Canning Instructions: Since we are getting closer to pickle season and I’m sure we will get enough fruit at some point in the season, I thought I would share these tid-bits with you.

Here are my basic canning steps for the Front Range:

1) Sterilize jars and lids. Keep hot while filling other jars.

2) Pack produce tightly while jars are hot.

3) Add hot brine/syrup & cover to half inch from top of jar.

4) Add lid and rim, tighten and set into canner.

5) Hot water bath for 15 min. plus 5 min. for every 5000 feet above sea level. I sit at just over 4800 feet, so that makes my canning time set at 20 minutes.

These steps have served me well for many years. My mother and grandmother used the same rules and we have never had a problem with any of our canned goods! Canning can be very therapeutic…if you can get used to the heat! You know the saying…”If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen!” It comes from canning sessions. Good luck!

Creamed Zucchini Over Pasta, Serves 4

¼ olive oil

1 cup dry white wine

5 cups zucchini, sliced

1 cup parmesan cheese, shredded

1 onion, chopped

4 Tbsp butter

½ cup fresh basil leaves

salt & pepper to taste

4 cloves garlic

8oz pasta, your choice, cooked

½ cup fresh parsley

Heat olive oil in saucepan, then add zucchini, onion, fennel, parsley, garlic and white wine. Cook until zucchini is tender. Transfer to a blender and blend with parmesan cheese and butter. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve over pasta. Variation: Shred zucchini, slice onions, Substitute fennel leaves for the basil, substitute cheddar cheese for the parmesan and stir in ¼ cup plain yogurt at the end of cooking and serve over linguine.

Thank you and have a great week.

Kyle, Mike, Jerry & Jacquie

Newsletter – June 20, 2022

NOTE: This blog is posted by a volunteer. No one from the farm checks or responds to messages here. You must contact the farm directly with any questions, comments, etc

Dear Farm Friends,

Our first week was as exciting as ever, but this week is even better! We are so happy to be giving you peas, green garlic, garlic scapes, squash, (poss variety – zucchini, round zucchini, yellow squash), kohlrabi, spinach and Magenta lettuce. 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, minced and added to salads & eggs (like green onion) and it is wonderful chopped up in lengths for 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 made with scapes. Kohlrabi is in the cabbage family. Peel and grate it in salads or coleslaw. It can be cook either sliced or cubed like a potato and eaten like a vegetable.

Fruit: We are expecting to start getting fruit in July with one of many varieties of Bing cherries!

Honey: Those of you who ordered monthly and bimonthly will be getting it this week.

Olive oil: There will be a delivery of oil to those who ordered monthly, bimonthly & 1 time only this week.

Pickles: It’s Pickle Picking Time!! If interested in u-pick pickling cucumbers, please call or email and get on the Wait List. Remember, I need to know when you can come to the farm: weekends, weekdays or both and your phone number. I will not be sending email notices when it comes time to pick pickles and more than likely you will only get a 2 day notice.

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. 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! Stick a box in your car for extra produce not already bagged or to capture the dirt falling from your bag.

Please Remember: Food safety is everyone’s responsibility. We do not wash anything so the produce you get will be dirty. Please clean it before eating! Do not let produce go bad in the bag and take the time to dump or shake out any extra organic material left in the bottom. Please do not leave bags where animals can get to them or where people can walk on them! And do not store anything else in these bags. Thank you!!!

Facebook/Blog/Website/etc.: Please be aware that I do not work from these social media sites; I don’t even have an account. Several members took it upon themselves to start these up and continually update them. Everyone needs to contact me directly by phone when you have any questions or changes. I will not only need your name but also your Distribution Center. Always repeat your phone number. Email is the same; always identify your distribution center. FYI: I never look at the Blog; I simply send the newsletter to a member for posting. To register go to Monroeorganicfarms.wordpress.com

Thank you for a great first week. I know a lot of DC’s were on vacation either the week before or the week of our first delivery and you may have gotten a late notice or had someone doing distribution that was not your Distributor. As the summer goes along, things should even out!

Veggie Wash (Especially for store bought produce!)

Juice from a whole lemon

2 Tbsp vinegar

1 cup water

1 spray bottle

Mix and spray onto surface of veggies. Let sit for a minute or two. (Longer if trying to remove wax.) Scrub lightly on soft skinned veggies and more & scrub brush aggressively on hard skinned produce like winter squash, cucumbers, root veggies and melons. Leafy greens simply should be sprayed, let sit 5 min. then rinsed.

Jacquie, Kyle and Jerry

Mushrooms – Are You Interested?

NOTE: This blog is posted by a volunteer. No one from the farm checks or responds to messages here. You must contact the farm directly with any questions, comments, etc

Dear Friends of the farm –

Kyle has been talking with three mushroom growers and was wondering how interested members might be in receiving mushrooms.  He wants to know if you would want a 1/2 pound or 1 pound packages.  He was hoping to be able to get mushrooms 3 or 4 times for members this summer.  Would you please email jacquie@monroefarm.com and let them know how much you would want.  We are trying to find out how much interest is in this.  Information about prices and variety would come when orders could be placed.  This would be an all in for the summer; you could not order based on variety or just a couple of times.

Jacquie Monroe

Newsletter – June 13, 2022

NOTE: This blog is posted by a volunteer. No one from the farm checks or responds to messages here. You must contact the farm directly with any questions, comments, etc

Dear Friends of the Farm, 

Welcome to our first week of Distribution!!  The entire farm is really looking good.  This past May was cold & windy but June has been warmer.  So far, we have kept up with planting, watering and weeding so everything looks terrific!  Because of the recent heat, the crops are rapidly growing and have a wonderful green color.  We have an exciting year ahead of us! 

Produce:  This week you are getting garlic, garlic scapes, squash (either zucchini or yellow), peas and head lettuce.  This is a normal start to our season.  It is very difficult to grow produce and have it ready this early in the season.  If there is not enough squash to do all three days, we will make up for it the following week.  Each week new crops will be added and your bags will have a wonderful assorted produce before you know it! 

It is very important that you return all your bags every week!  Food safety is important to everyone.  Please take care of your bag and make sure animals do not lay on it, it’s not left lying on the floor of your car where people can step on it and please remove all food debris before returning to your distribution center. 

It is a good plan to pre-wash produce outside to get the majority of the soil off in your yard (or an extra-large bowl set in your kitchen sink) and not down your drainpipes.  Children especially love this task.  Getting your kids involved in the pre-prep work, talking about the produce & asking them what they want to eat may help get them motivated to try the different varieties.  Did you know children have to try something nine times before they get a taste for it? 

Your Distribution Center:   Please do not forget that your DC is a member too.  They have offered to be a DC to make it as convenient as possible for you to get your produce.  They too have busy lives and are trying hard to please everyone.  A majority of our DC’s have 30 to 40 Members coming by.  Respect their hours and if you need to pick up at a different time or have forgotten to pick up during normal hours; please call and make new arrangements; do not just show up after hours!  They will hold produce for 24 hours.  If there is no contact from you within that time period, the produce will be donated to a place of need; including your fruit.  We encourage Members to donate their produce when going on vacation.  Last year the Membership donated a whopping 1100 pounds of produce to various organizations. If you plan on having someone pick up your produce for you while you are gone; your DC will need their name and phone number.  This gives them permission to hand out your produce to someone other than yourself and it gives them a contact number when they forget to pick up.  Ask your DC questions!  They are a wealth of information and will help you use your share.  Consider getting our cookbook.  There are ten recipes for every veggie we grow.  It  was lovingly put together by members of the farm!  It is useful and the recipes are excellent!!!  All DC’s normally have an exchange box for produce you do not want.  You are welcome to add to it and take something in exchange. 

4^th of July:  This holiday will not affect the farm this year and distribution will go on as normal.  

Your Expectations from the farm:  You are sharing the risk of farming with your farmer.  This is no different than gardening yourself.  Mother Nature does not always cooperate with our plans.  It is unrealistic to expect everything to be perfect all the time.  We grow varieties for their taste, not necessarily for their beauty!  If there is an abundance of produce, you will get it.  If there is a shortage of produce, you will see that too.  Along with June/July rain we sometimes get hail.  Don’t be surprised to get produce with scabs from the damage this causes.  We work very hard to catch produce that is badly bruised.  But sometimes this slips by us.  We apologize ahead of time!  We do not intend for this to happen.  We love what we do and care deeply about the land we live on, the food it produces and the people it feeds.   

Statements:  We will send statements each month.  For those of you who did not pay in full at the time you joined the farm, your first produce payment (including fruit, oil, honey & eggs) is due July 1st.  You may pay these fees in full or in half and the other half will be due by September 1st.  If you are paying monthly, then continue making your agreed upon scheduled payments. 

First Year Members:  This year will be your hardest summer.  It takes time to adjust to getting your produce this way!   Plan on going to the grocery store after you get your share.  You need time to process your produce by sorting and washing.  If you are willing to put up with the soil, don’t wash until you are ready to use it, and it will last longer.  Produce breaks down as soon as it gets wet.  We also understand you might not want dirt in your crisper drawer!  The more tender a crop is, the sooner it will need to be eaten, i.e.  greens, summer squash, peas, beans, broccoli, cantaloupe, cucumbers, and tomatoes.  We will give you hints on storage as we go through the summer. 

Newsletters/Blog:  A Member with a better Internet system (than we have) will post our newsletters to the blog.  Please notify your DC if you prefer to get a hard copy at the distribution site.  It is important to read your newsletters because they will inform you of additional “bonus” picking days, other events that may directly affect you or the produce you’re getting and fun things that are happening on the farm.  Access the blog by going to:  monroeorganicfarms.wordpress.com.   Do not forget to check out our Facebook page or Instagram for pictures and videos.  Please continue to contact us through the office by email or phone if you have any concerns rather than social media messaging.  We do not check them.  They are run by members for members! 

   The next u-pick crop coming up is on right now and its strawberries.  We do not have a lot of them, so names will be put into a lottery and pulled for pick days.  Please give us your phone number and whether or not you can pick during the week or weekends only.  Next u-pick crop will be pickling cucumbers and that will be sometime in July.  We can start taking names of members who would like to pick pickles for canning.  Again, let the office know if you can come during the week or just weekends or both.  This option is for you and your household only.  It is not to be shared with another member and especially not with a household that does not have a membership! 

How to contact us:  The best way to reach us is by phone.  We are very good about answering phone calls!  However, you can email us if you do not need an immediate response. As the summer gets busier it can take us up to three days to return an email.  If you need to make a change in your share or DC, please call us.  We pick veggies on Monday for Tuesday, Tuesday for Wednesday and Wednesday for Thursday.  Keep this in mind when you want to make a change!  Whenever you call about your share, especially if needing to make changes, always identify your Distribution Center!    

Thank you:  Welcome to the 2022 farming season with Monroe Organic Farms.  We hope you enjoy every morsel!  We can’t tell you how excited we are to get started!  This is just a sample of what is to come.  Our family is looking forward to sharing a fantastic summer with you.  Thank you for giving us this opportunity; we are thrilled to be your farmers! 

Kyle, Sam, Jerry, Jacquie Linda and Crew 

Strawberry Picking & Summer Distribution

NOTE: This blog is posted by a volunteer. No one from the farm checks or responds to messages here. You must contact the farm directly with any questions, comments, etc

Dear Friends of the farm –

This blog is posted by a volunteer. No one from the farm checks or responds to messages here. If you wish to sign up for strawberry picking YOU MUST CONTACT THE FARM DIRECTLY.

We are really excited to start distribution next week.  (You should hear from your DC no later than Sunday.)  Please don’t get too excited about quantities of produce.  We can not grow and have plants producing significantly this early in the season, therefore the bags will be light.  But never fear, we will easily fill those bags through the season.  

Exciting news – Strawberry season is starting.  Email or call the office to get your name on the wait list for picking.  There is no guarantee that we will be able to get everyone out here to pick.  Names will go into a lottery and will be pulled for pick times.  Please let us know if you can come out during the week or weekends only.  The more flexible you are, the better the chance you will get a pick time.  We only pick at 8am in the morning.  This is due to the hot temperatures we deal with throughout the day.  

Thank you and we are so excited about the start of the season!

Jacquie Monroe