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
This is week 11 out of an 18-week season. You are getting red onions, garlic, turnips, cucumbers, pickles, cabbage, squash, broccoli, beans, bell peppers, anaheim peppers, tomatoes, muskmelon and watermelon.
This is an Overview of 2013…. another interesting weather year: This letter sure does look different from this time in 2012. We were in a severe drought and were looking at a severe cut in shares sold as well as produce grown for the members. We had no water at all stored in the reservoir and it did not look like we were going to get any snow to make that change anytime soon. Of course, everything changed by the end of February when it started to snow and continued to snow throughout March. Plus, it rained all of April and half of May. Crops were planted late, but at least we had water to nourish them throughout the summer!
Then the rain came in the fall… Nothing compares to a 500-year storm that hit the second week of September that flooded just about every city along the Front Range. Those of you who were in the area at the time will never forget what happened. Some cities received anywhere from 15 to 24 inches of rain in three or four days. Streets became rivers and houses & basements were flooded. The city of Lyons became an island! Helicopters had to rescue all the residents!
Kyle was doing the Thursday Distribution Route that covers Broomfield, Louisville, Boulder and Longmont. By the time he got to North Boulder, the rain was relentless. He happened to have a friend with him and when he got to the distribution center, water was coming off the hill behind them and directly into their home. Kyle and his friend grabbed shovels and dug trenches around the house to divert the water. Unfortunately, water had been coming into their home for the past half hour, so they still had to completely replace everything in the basement.
Guess where all that rain went? Yep, down river. We were cut off from Greeley to our northwest for several weeks. (No one could cross a bridge until they were inspected to make sure they were stable.) To get to town we had to go south to Hwy 66, west to I-25, north to Hwy 34 and then east to Greeley. A normal 15-minute trip turned into a 45-minute expedition…one way! I could not believe what items the water turned up: tanks of all sizes, vehicles, toys, enclosed trailers, buckets, everything people normally have in their backyards, and tons of trash.
The farm was just east enough to miss most of the rain. But the trash along riverbanks is evidence of the kind of impact a huge rainstorm upriver can create (to this day). Did the farm get much rain, you ask? Yes. We received a total of 6 inches over that three-day event. Our lower fields were flooded for about two full days with standing water for a week. It took a couple of weeks to dry out enough to even drive down there. The rest of the fields were wet but fine and distribution went on as normal as it could due to the crazy weather last year.
Harvard Orange Beets
4 medium beets, cubed
2 tsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp concentrated orange juice
Place beets in water until just covered with a tiny bit of salt. Boil 20 minutes. Drain and reserve, then add butter to warm beet juice. Set aside to cool. Combine orange juice and cornstarch then slowly add to beet juice. Pour over beets and return to heat. Cook until thick and bubbly.
Monroe Organic Farms 