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Dear Friends of the farm,
This is week 6 of 18 weeks of CSA. This week you will be receiving red potatoes, onions, slicing cucumbers, pickling cucumbers, summer squash, carrots, garlic, kale, and MUSK MELON!!!!! Let’s go, July!
Fruit Shares: Another delicious week of cherries is headed your way. They will be Rainier cherries, a beautiful white with a blush of pink. Yum.
We need your help harvesting garlic on Saturday the 29th and Sunday the 30th of July from 8 AM -11 AM. Come and go as you please! ***Not this weekend, but the next weekend***First, we roll through the rows of garlic with our handy harvester which lays the bulbs of garlic on top of the soil. We then come through with trays and collect all the garlic. This garlic lasts for the rest of summer CSA and all the way through winter CSA, too. We would be honored if you would come out and help us collect the garlic into trays out in the field. We then make stacks of the trays throughout the field and come pick them up with our tractor. This is a super kid friendly task, and we welcome your friends and family members. Parents, you will be 100% responsible for keeping your kids safe and away from all trucks, tractors, any equipment, and volunteers carrying trays. Bring your whole crew and make a morning of it! Make sure to wear long sleeves and pants, a hat, sunglasses, bring lots of water and snacks for the way here and home. If you want to use bug spray and sunscreen, please apply them at home and then wash your hands thoroughly before coming to the farm. We grow a truly delicious heirloom variety of hard neck, porcelain garlic. The bonus is that you can take home garlic seconds! Come out and help us put the unity in Community Supported Agriculture. You do not need to contact the office if you can join us. Just show up! The more the merrier!
Flower bouquets available! Some of you may have noticed that we are dipping our toes into flower production this year. We are really stoked to be growing blooms. Best of all, we now have enough to offer them to you all. This week, we will be sending out sample bouquets to each of our distribution centers. There will be bouquet sign-up sheets at each distribution center, as well. The bouquets will be $20 each. Please add your name to the sign-up sheet if you would like to receive a bouquet made with the flowers currently abundant on our farm. We choose what comprises each bouquet. We will bill your account accordingly.
Muskmelon: Many people aren’t aware of the difference between muskmelon and cantaloupe. There is actually a big difference! Musk melon has a similar flavor to cantaloupe, but they are stronger and sweeter with a slightly “musky” taste. The higher the sugar content, the sooner the melon needs to
be eaten. For this reason, you do not see them on grocery store shelves. Muskmelon were originally grown in Egypt along the Nile River. They love sandy soil, hot days, cool nights and loads of water. Our farm is very sandy, and we often find fossilized mollusks in the rocks here! Musk melon has the same netting as their cousin cantaloupe except with ridges that run from top to bottom. Hint: They are best eaten at room temperature. If you like them chilled, cut them open and let them sit for ten minutes. Like a fine wine, they need to breathe to enhance their flavor.
Betty Jo’s Quick Scoop Melon Trick
-Wash your melon well
-Cut your melon in half and remove all seeds (don’t have a compost? Scatter them for the birds!)
-Grab a large spoon or an ice cream scoop
-Scoop out melon flesh into a mason jar or storage container, secure lid onto jar or container
(You can get really cute with this and use a tiny scoop for little fingers to grab, or present them tapas style and put a toothpick in each scoop on a platter with or without prosciutto)
-Refrigerate
-Enjoy at your leisure
Thank you for being here with us!
Kyle, Sam, Jerry, Jacquie, Linda, and The Crew
Monroe Organic Farms 