There's only three weeks left in this farm share season! We're excited about all of the incredible produce available right now, and thankful for every leaf that survived the cold season. I can almost smell the tomatoes yall! Well, I did re-pot several hundred tomato plants today, so...
What's Fresh This Week?
- Yellow Carrots
- Red Russian Kale
- Salad & Shoots
- French Breakfast Radishes
- LOUISIANA STRAWBERRIES
- Oyster Mushrooms!
Limited Harvest
- Broccoli
- Edible Flowers
- Cauliflower
Louisiana Strawberries!
The first fresh fruit of the season is always exciting! As Spring approaches early in South Louisiana, we can enjoy some of the fruits of our hard working, southern neighbor's labor. Fresh strawberries will be available weekly until the end this season! I ordered more strawberries this week now that I have an idea for the demand. I absolutely love these strawberries, and I have gotten some great feedback from members who ordered them last week. Keep in mind these berries are not grown on our farm. Just because we don't spray our veg with pesticides, doesn't mean other farms abide by that rule. I do wash the strawberries I eat in baking soda before slicing and dicing.
Spring Season Update
On Saturday, we planted more rows in a single day than we ever have. There's so many crops that I can't wait to watch grow. First, we planted some upland cress. A cousin to watercress, I think this is going to be a new farm share favorite! I'm also excited about a new salad green called claytonia. This plant is a nutritional powerhouse, and absolutely stunning and delicious. It's going to be in our salad and shoots mix. I also planted red/purple varieties of napa cabbage, bok choy, cauliflower, and regular cabbage. I think a huge aspect of making our farm shares successful is growing food that makes our members excited to cook. I feel like if a particular vegetable causes the farmer to be excited to grow it, that that energy will translate to our farm share members!
As I mentioned earlier, we just potted up tomato and pepper plants. We are about three weeks away from planting our first succession of tomatoes! Today, we transplanted squash into a tunnel and planted 5, 100 ft rows of green beans. We also directly sowed storage onions, so we will test our green thumbs to see if we can grow some yellow and red onions for the Fall. I ordered ginger and turmeric tubers, and we are planting our second succession of potatoes tomorrow. It's really looking like a dadgum farm around here right now!
With just a few weeks left in this season, I just wanted to say thank you for supporting our farm! The Spring is one of the most costly seasons upfront. Normally, this is a pretty stressful financial time for me, but because of all of our new farm share members, we had the finances to order all of our seeds, soil amendments, and compost. We also have enough weekly revenue so that Kaden and I could set up automatic drafts for our paychecks. Since July of 2022, we have only taken enough payment from the farm to cover our mortgages, bills, and gas. I just wrapped up taxes for 2023, and BOTH Kaden and I were reimbursed a combined total of $32,000 last year. I remember venting frustratingly to my wife, "I'm tired of being poor". I'm hoping that moment of honesty is enough to convey just how much receiving a weekly paycheck means for us. Growing food for my community is a dream come true, and it's an incredible feeling to be back on track to making a living from tending the soil. Selling our veggies directly from our farm to the consumer is so important to us. Yeah, we could grow 3-6 crops a year for retail/commercial sales, but farming to solely make money is not the reason we started a farm. We started Current Farms to make our community a better place by increasing access to food directly sourced from local farms. We want for people to know who their farmer is, how their food was produced, and to reconnect with eating seasonally and the incredible flavors that make North Louisiana our home. After 7 years of providing vegetable subscriptions, I feel like the farm shares are finally growing to a point that will ensure that Kaden and I are farming for years and years to come. Thank you so much for giving us this opportunity to grow food for your and your family.
Your Farmers,
Conrad and Kaden Cable
