Week 2!
We are off to a great start! Springtime in this region means lots of GREENS! This must be the Lord's way of ensuring that we eat lots of greens to detox from all the heavier foods we ate over the winter. That's my theory anyways! :) All of this rain has caused the strawberries to not last as long once picked. The rain thins the skins and they turn moldy quickly. If your house is anything like mine, the berries barely make it home in the car...but if you do have berries left over, make sure that you go ahead and process them before putting them in the fridge. We like to cut them up and have them ready for waffles, angel food cake or even just in a bowl with a little whipped cream. If you put the carton of berries in the fridge, there is a good chance they will start to mold. The farm doesn't spray anything on them - many farms use sprays that will keep the mold down, but our farm doesn't use anything. Just be sure and do something with your berries before you stick them in the fridge - they will last a little longer.
Last week we didn't have enough berries ripe enough to put in every share. We estimated around 140 pints would be ready but we had over 170 shares to fill. We have planted thousands of strawberry plants. The late frost nipped many of our early blooms. This is just farm life. However, when we went out to pick, we discovered there were more strawberries out there and put as many of these extra pints in the shares that didn't receive berries. Please know that farming isn't an exact science. We are not a grocery store with an endless supply. We plan for more than enough shares, but many times the weather or even the plants don't always follow our plans. How many of you have planted a garden only to have pest destroy your plants or have plants that just don't seem to want to produce - or have a ground hog or bunny rip the plants right out of the ground? This is gardening! When you sign up for a CSA your are basically becoming a stake holder in our farm. You're in it for the good, bad, glorious and ugly! :)
We welcome you to come hoe weeds, put in the next field of plants, or lay irrigation pipe. To truly appreciate the ongoing work of the CSA, you have to come see it for yourself. We could always use a few more sets of hands to pick strawberries on Tuesday and Thursday mornings for the deliveries that day. As a member, this is your farm too! Please feel free to join us anytime!
This week we are anticipating the following: Lettuce, Kale, Mustard Greens, Strawberries, Spring Onions, Spring Garlic (Please note: the garlic and onions looks very similar, but the garlic has a flat steam and the onion has more of a tubular stem), maple syrup, lots of herbs, honey, local wheat flour, local corn meal, and even some AH-Mazing baked goods from a local baker.
Thank you so much for your support and encouragement!
