This week was a doozy, but we made it to September and Friday with lots of silver linings! We are heading into Week 14 this coming week, so there are 3 total deliveries remaining in your summer share. In this newsletter I will: give you the nerdy farmer update on some of the field issues going on affecting broccoli (and other things potentially) that we alluded to if you had cauliflower subbed in for your broccoli this week, I'll hit you with some critical getting-to-the-end-of-the-season-housekeeping, and some thoughts on food and hunger in your communities in the face of the coming colder weather.
Housekeeping - Don't get caught with unscheduled held shares!
Rescheduling and holds are a critical part of our adding some convenience to the CSA model, and we love that you can do it! But if you've put shares on hold for a week in the past NOW is the time to reschedule as we do not credit for held shares unredeemed nor can we reschedule shares for coming seasons (Summer shares rescheduled to fall, for example). So please, please, please use this link HERE to check if you have shares on hold and reschedule them for this week (by Sunday at 7PM) or in the coming weeks (last Summer deliveries are the week of 9/19/22). We will be doing our best to add bulk items (as harvest allows) over the coming weeks that can be processed or stored to help folks use up those shares. Check out bulk pepper, tomato, and watermelon options this week for your shares, or just as extras!
Alternaria Leaf Spot... dun dun dun....
If you want to nerd out and understand a little bit more about the risks of farming, read on. If you don't want to be bummed out by the effect of climate change on farming, maybe skip this part. We are dealing with some unfortunate fungal issues on the farm that are really bumming us out, me (Beth) especially as growing fall brassicas (eg Broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, etc) is one of my favorite things. For about 3 weeks now, we've been watching Alternaria Leaf Spot march through our fall plantings, most distinctly impacting our broccoli. This fungal issue can spread incredibly rapidly, and we've seen beautiful healthy plantings go from stunning to practically melting in a matter of days. We've been mowing affected crops to try to keep spread minimal, but it hasn't worked given the quick time for the spores to multiply. There are no organic fungicides that are proven effective :( Anyway, we're learning too lessons here. The first is that the wetter, warmer falls we are having, and the higher humidity levels (CLIMATE CHANGE), are definitely causing changes to the traditional planting plans and schedules that I was trained on, and two, that even the best management methods (the field that is an issue has not had host plants in more than three year, is weed and relatively pest free) can't mitigate the weather. The coming planting are giving us hope that we've slowed the spread, and we're not giving up yet on having broccoli and cauliflower through the fall, but we're looking seriously at coming years as to when we plant certain crops and how we account for acres of loss in the budget.
September is Hunger Action Month Support your local anti-hunger organization!
One of my other hats in on the board of the Bowdoinham Food Pantry, and we had a somber board meeting last night. Need at our little pantry has almost doubled since I started a few years ago, with most of that jump in the last few months. Open pantry nights are seeing more and more working families with children, and our delivery program (which focuses on families with school age kids that can't get to the pantry) has expanded 40% this year. On top of that, food costs are way up! For both the pantry AND for clients. Meaning clients need to take more food to get by, and food costs more for the pantry to purchase to fulfill those needs. As the board, we're planning now, to meet a large anticipated growth in need in the coming colder months. All this to say, if you have the means, please check in with your local pantry, food bank, or kitchen and consider donating or volunteering. Pantries and food banks are not the most efficient way of getting food to those who need it, that would undeniably be SNAP, but they fill a real need in Maine communities. If you live in the B-ham community (or even if you don't) you can donate to our awesome little pantry here: https://bowdoinhamfoodpantry.org/ also wonderful is MidCoast Hunger Prevention https://www.mchpp.org/. And of course Good Shepherd Food Bank. I am less familiar with Portland area hunger organizations or pantries, but if you are familiar with one or work with one in your community let us know, so we can highlight them to other members who may be in your area!
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