Our brochures are finally printed and I'm ecstatic over them! We will include a few in your share, and ask that you share them with your friends, family, and neighbors (neighbors especially for you home delivery folks)!
This Week
Typically, I start this section by talking about vegetables, but at the farm we are jammin' out! I added new flavors to our inventory, plus some of your favorites are returning! New jams dropping in your shares this week are: Persimmon Jam, Spicy Satsuma Jam, Elderberry/Elderflower Jelly, Strawberry/Watermelon Jam, Blackberry/Blueberry/Strawberry Jam, Plum/Pear Jam, Blueberry/Lemon Jam, and Mustang Grape Jam. Returning jams will include: Hot Honey Pepper Jam, Elderflower/Pear Jam, and Blackberry/Pear Jam. I love jam. Every step in the process makes me think of my grandmother and my aunt, and being at their side while we harvested and made mayhaw jelly for the Mayhaw Festival contest. For me, making small-batch jam has been a great avenue to explore my love and passion for growing fruit trees and berries, plus foraging for wild edibles. Perhaps fruit trees are a great retirement plan! I hope you see some flavors that you like, and remember that you can swap any vegetables for jam!
It's a loaded farm share this week with lots of leafy greens, roots, salad and herbs! I added a few more early squash than last week, but they are only add-ons right now. The bok choys took a bit of a flea beetle beating, so we will include an extra in each bundle this week to make up for lack of quality. The lettuce mix is different this week, as we are harvesting a new variety for the summer that is supposed to be more heat tolerant. We are adjusting the price, since the new seeds are not as costly as the salanova lettuce seeds. Additionally, because of the large volume of shares going out, we cannot wash the braising greens, kale, mustards, or collards. Last week, after washing, they were wilting before we could dry them properly. I want the leaves to be as crisp and fresh as possible for y'all. Once we finish insulating the wash and pack station, we will resume with the washing all leafy greens. Of course we will always wash every single green that is consumed raw in our salads.
Beets, rainbow, and watermelon radishes are all fantastic selections this week too! This planting of beets has yielded some of the best we have ever grown. I added a new variety of mustard greens, the Southern Curly. Since you did not have this crop in your preferences, it won't be distributed into as many shares as a past crop like lettuce. Trust me, you have to try this leafy green! We have $3 set for the half pound bags, so it's easy to swap or even add it on!
We planted Napa cabbages too close, so we are going to crop out a few mini-cabbages so that we can achieve the size we want for the rest. I forgot how incredibly large Napa cabbages grow. In the shares, we will feature these 'mini cabbages' but expect BIG leaves. We plan on giving them a quick rinse so make washing easier for you. Cook it just like regular cabbage, and you will be hooked! I will include one in everyone's share this week and next week, but don't worry, it's gonna be a great deal at $1.25 each! You can see a photo of them in the 4 week difference photo below-they are the crop in the first row all the way to the right.
Next Week
Looks like potatoes are not far away, we will begin to "scratch" for a few lbs start next week! The kohlrabi bulbs are making significant growth spurts, so look for those to start in the shares soon. Beets and radishes are here to stay. At the end of May we will start our carrot harvests. New jam flavors will be released as well!
Farm Update
I'm always so amazed at how quickly things grow when the heat and sunlight increase. Our mustard family family field block is performing incredibly. We have been preparing the soil for over a year, and I am so happy with the results and yields so far. Here is a photo of the difference just 28 days makes.
We finally planted peppers plus the final round of summer cauliflower and broccoli. If Enoch's keeps ordering the hot honey pepper jam like they are, then we have our work cut out to grow enough peppers for the entire year. The Jammy burger isn't even on the printed menu yet, so it's just word of mouth that as kept us really busy in the kitchen. It's wild that we sold every single jar of jam we made, so it was a much welcome relief to have some extra in the bank to order jars. The Spring is filled with investments for the farm, and finally we are reaping the harvests for all of the hard work put in February.
Opportunities continue to present themselves on a weekly basis! Fiesta on Eighteenth will now carry more vegetables from our farm than just salad mixes, plus our jam has made it onto their shelves! It's all so exciting. In 2015, it was still just a dream of mine to have that produce section filled with veggies I grew, and now that is happening! We were also contacted by Jac's Craft Smokehouse in West Monroe about providing vegetables for a farm to table dinner at the end of May. You can find more info about this event on their social media (I tried to find a link, but to no avail).
Remember that you can find exclusive flavors of our jam at Mercantile Monroe on Walnut St, and our tasty salad in new dishes at Delta Biscuit Company!
Members
We have had an awesome two weeks of new members joining farm shares! Every week, new folks are picking up our vegetables, or having them delivered, so welcome to our farm! Thank you for trusting us to grow food for you and your family! Joining the farm shares is the number one way you can support our farm. It means a lot for you to change how you source food. We will always go the extra mile for any of you.
Sincerely,
Conrad Cable
