2010 Spring CSA News Week 4: May 28, 2010
Dear folks,
It has been a roller coaster ride weather-wise this week. Wednesday we were driven inside by the heat at 11 am. Luckily we had hundreds of tomato and pepper seedlings to deal with. We took our older seedlings out of the hoop house that day, for fear that they would expire. This morning I am shivering as I write this. This is more like the New England I have grown to know and love (21 years in hot Illinois is still strong in my memory).
We have been extremely industrious. This week we filled up the north and the south fields with potatoes, brassicas, beans (already germinated), flowers, dill, cilantro. Tomorrow we will put out the winter squash, summer squash, and melons to add to the corn we planted in the west field (across the street). The fields will be approximately ¾ full by the end of Saturday.
Desperate to keep ahead of the weeds, we put some major weeding into our schedule this week - rhubarb area, strawberries and brassicas all got some help this week - though none are finished.
Brian made hay with which we will today mulch our earlier planted seed potatoes.
Next week - more carrots and beets, tomatoes, empty and refill the hoop houses with hot weather crops. Also we will move our chickens to the field. The pigs moved into a new area yesterday- enticed with some Robinson farm milk.
Today this is what you will receive. Sorry the lettuce will be a little shy today, but otherwise the pickings will be good! Gotta go.
- Spinach - we are really happy with this field grown spinach
- Green onions
- Lambs quarter - a nutritious weed - serve it like spinach and get more nutrition than spinach
- Chard - beautiful stuff from the field
- Lettuce
- Arugula and mizuna - Asian mix for brasiing or salad
- Radishes
- Mint - make some sun tea - put it out in a jar of water all morning and sip marvelous mint tea all afternoon
- Rhubarb