CSA Week 4, June 25-29

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June 24, 2018

CSA Week 4- June 25, 27, 29

CSA Week 5 – July 2, 3 and 6 – note that the July 4 CSA will be moved to Tuesday the 3rd

Dear friends,

Remember that next week, the Wednesday folks will pick up on Tuesday, not Wednesday. Monday and Friday will run as normal.

I write this right before going off to the Quabbin Community Band concert that will take place every Sunday night at 6 on the South Barre Common (Barre Town Hall if it is raining). I play French horn and the band is about my only luxury this time of year. But of course it is kind of a luxury to be outside in this wonderful weather every day. I spent a glorious Solstice night weeding cucumbers and corn and hilling potatoes.

The big news here is that our summer crew has arrived. Ben, Luke and Mario came not a minute too soon on Friday as the work is unrelenting, and we have a game of catch up to play. The real truth of farming is that it isn’t economically viable for the most part so there is never enough money to pay staff, or pay them well, for that matter. Jack and I are happy to be able to pay Clare and Brent $15/hour – for the first time ever. The younger guys – Josh, Ben, Luke and Mario range between $10- $11/hour.

The cows got out again last night – must be a Saturday night thing! Managing the pigs, cows, layers and their eggs and the meat birds takes a fair amount of time each day – even when they aren’t out on the town. But they bring such important diversity to the farm and provide a sizable amount of our fertility.

Please enjoy the pictorial tour this week. We accomplished a fair amount of more permanent (perennial) work, and some good planting (though we are still behind on planting), and some weeding and mulching. We are gaining, however, and just bought another 15 round bales of hay so we can get most of the farm under mulch – perhaps by mid July is my hope.

Black and red raspberries are in dire need of care this week, and I hope we can do the same for the blueberries next week – though we will be working with some vacation schedules on July 4th week.

I am looking forward to another rain storm tonight – the rain has been bountiful and very timely. We are fortunate.

Food this week – I am still sending along a lot of lettuce right now. We have it and don’t have a lot of other things besides greens in this early season. I was hoping the peas, which look astounding, would be ready this week, but maybe only for Friday. It will be a very bounteous crop when it comes for you to enjoy.

 

CSA:

  • Garlic scapes – last week for these – now the bulbs will spend all of their energy putting on a lot of mass
  • Chard – I hope to have this every week going forward –chard, like spinach, is a very versatile green for braising or steaming or last minute addition to a stir fry or soup
  • Green onions – last week for these
  • Kale – probably curly kale for all this week, though I hope the Friday folks enjoyed the Russian kale last week. We might share that with Monday or Wednesday
  • Kohlrabi – search on line. You can eat kohlrabi raw, grated or sliced, or cooked with butter, or mashed. And the leaves are just like another bunch of kale, so you get the great greens too. And these are so beautifully purple! Experiment, and if you have a recipe to share, please send it along to the rest of us.
  • Oregano – for some reason the crew always over picks the oregano so we are eating about 6 bunches per week. I find that I really enjoy it raw and cooked. We got our parsley in late – just this week, so we will keep sending it along to you as long as we have it
  • Dandelions – these plants are super packed with nutrition, and their bitter flavor is a perfect stimulant for good digestion. They are in the class of prebiotics that have anti-cancer attributes. They are packed with iron and other minerals. We eat them raw in salad and also lightly steamed
  • 6/3 lettuce – enjoy this while we have it. As the summer progresses it is harder to have good lettuce. We use about 4 heads per day and have huge salads twice per day.

 

Would you like a dozen eggs in your share each week? They cost $7/dozen – are certified organic, free range and the very best. Right now they are getting their organic grain soaked in whey. Let me know and we will set you up with weekly eggs. The price for getting eggs starting this week is $133.

We can use your recycled plastic grocer y size bags

Yes, just leave them in your share bag – don’t forget to return it this week, and we will use them for packing vegetables. We can reuse the rubber bands too!

 Still taking members

Every week the price will go down each week (by $30 for larges and $20 for mediums), and it will be updated on the website – https://mhof.net/2018-csa-share-options/.

Comments from you

Send me your thoughts, observations, questions. I will publish them here.

Check out our Facebook at this address https://www.facebook.com/manyhandsorganicfarm… You can like us, refer us and also write a review if you enjoy what you are receiving. That all helps get the word out for our farm. Thanks for what many of you have already done to help us get the word out.

We are also on Instagram at Many Hands Organic Farm. Clare and Lisa post pictures there all of the time.

NOFA Summer Conference

Check out this wonderful weekend for those who love to eat, grow, or advocate around organic food and farming, and environmental health Check it out here – http://nofasummerconference.org/. Jack and I organized this conference for 24 years and raised our kids on it. You will meet like minded and truly positive spirited change-makers and practical people at this event.

Julie Rawson

For The Many Hands Organic Farm staff