Hello Members! (Please click on "Continue reading" to read the whole newsletter from us!):
First off, there was a little confusion about the salad mix last week. When I send out the final newsletter and email on Wednesdays, there are sometimes still things to harvest. We ended up not having enough salad mix but I couldn't update. I did put that information in the Delivery Email sent out on Thursday. Please read all emails!! And we are sorry that we did not have enough for all members to get some. There will be more!
On the farm this week we have a lot going on. We got more Scottish Highland cows! We are taking on a whole herd from a farmer who is getting out of the businesses after decades. We are excited to do some intensive grazing on a larger scale and work on renovating our pastures and increasing our soil fertility. They are really beautiful! Pictures below of them on their first night in our permanent paddock. We are moving them to pasture Thursday, but wanted to get them settled down in a fully fenced in area before putting them on 2 strand electric. We don't want the cows out!
We are also in full swing of harvest, weeding and general farm upkeep this time of year. We lost some hoop house plastic on 2 tunnels this year in severe storms and are working on putting them back together. There is always tomato trellising to do and now we have sweet corn to harvest!
We hope you are enjoying the boxes and would like to hear from you about how customization is working out for you. There are a lot of things to it that are new, but at the end of the day, we just want to make sure you are getting a box of vegetables that you are able to enjoy. That is the whole point (other than supporting a local economy, keeping small farmers in business, keeping food nutrient rich, fresh and yummy, and sustaining healthy soils for our future generations...phew...!).
As always, here are a few things for you to remember about the CSA and the boxes:
If you ordered meat, PLEASE RETURN YOUR FOIL PACKS TO US!
PLEASE RETURN YOUR BOXES ASAP! WE ARE RUNNING OUT, WHICH MEANS FOLKS AREN'T RETURNING THEIR BOXES!
ALWAYS take the box with your name on it that is from BLACKBROOK FARM! If someone is picking your box up for you, please tell them to take the box with your name on it from BLACKBROOK FARM! This is very important.
IF you can't pick your box up on THURSDAY, please communicate with me about this so I can arrange for it to be kept at the dropsite instead of donated or used.
Please return your box either the same week (bring a bag to empty your veggies into) or the following time you pick up your box. Please collapse your box and neatly stack it or put it where the other boxes are.
If you are half share, your box is delivery every other week ( unless you have rearranged your schedule with Harvie). Please remember to check if this is your week or not. Full shares are delivery every week. When your box is delivered on Thursday, a delivery email is sent out. EVERY one at that dropsite gets that email, even if you do not get a box that week. So it is important for you to know which weeks you pick up. Please email me with questions. Here is information on how to access when and where to pick up your box
We also have 100% pastured Pork extras for SALE! If you order pork from us in your share we put it in a foil pack very frozen and deliver it to you in your box. It will either be partially frozen or very very cold when you receive it. We also have Pastured Pork Packages for sale that we home deliver to your door. This is a great way to load up on all the cuts of a hog and get your good healthy fats! You can find our sign up share for that on our website or our Harvie site under shares. Let us know if you have any questions! Raising animals is a large part of what we do at Blackbrook Farm! You can also buy Pork Shares from us and we do free home delivery! This is a one-time share that you can sign up for anytime, and the price a little reduced depending on the size of the share you choose.
This is what may be in your box this week:
Sweet Corn- This was a BIG harvest today! 12 ears a box! Most are big and beautiful, there are also some smaller ones in there, but they are ripe too. Please keep corn refrigerated and eat soon! It is best fresh within a few days. It is REALLY easy to cut the corn off the cob and put it in a freezer bag if you find it is too much. Otherwise, here are a few recipes. But our favorite recipe is: peel and eat raw!!!! so sweet.
Look at all these sweet corn dishes!!!
Beets- These are some nice bunched beets this week! Some beets are really big! Some are just the right size. Top to keep from becoming soft. Use the greens, too!
Cucumber (s)-The usual 2 cucumbers thus week. Great to add to any tomato and corn salsa or salad dish!
Summer Squash / Zucchini- a few this week for you. These are tapering off, but we still have a couple week left of them! try this recipe:
Squash, corn and Tomato Gallette
Onions- This will be the last week for fresh bunching onions. The tops have started to die down, which you will be able to tell by your bunch this week. We will harvest our onions next week and cure them
Tomatoes (cherry and/or large heirloom or red)-We are really starting to get tomatoes now! Most folks will get cherry tomatoes and big tomatoes, while some will get just more big tomatoes. We have a mix of red. heirloom and cherry.
Peppers- Quite a large harvest of these this week, too! Everyone gets at least 3 peppers- mostly all bell type.
Arugula- It's not been a great year for arugula, but I know a lot of you love it, while some of you really don't like it! It is holey, large and not the prettiest, but chop it up and give it a wash and there you have it!
Eggplant- Some of you got eggplant this week, still pumping along but not the larget harvests ever due to the Colorado Potato Beetle.
Beans- .75 lb a mix of heirloom Dragon's Tongue and Green this week still. Keep in the plastic bag to keep fresh and crisp.
Broccoli- A head or 2 per member. There are lighter harvests these days, but broccoli is something we always can have in our fridge!
Cauliflower- Some of you got cauliflower this week, too. We love grilled and roasted cauliflower!
Hot peppers- Jalapeno and /or cayenne this week for ya. Mix these with the corn, tomato and onion for a great salsa!
For mushroom shares:
From Jeremy at Northwood Mushrooms:
On the pick list for next week:
Sweet Corn
Tomatoes
Melons???
Eggplant
Peppers
Cauliflower/Broccoli
Squash
Cucumbers
Cabbage
Carrots/Beets
Fennel
Herb
Garlic
Garlic Harvest went well!
Last weeks Kale Harvest
Melons soon...next week?
So many peppers!
Fiona
Have a great week!
Your farmers
