Howdy,
Well, it has be a long hot week. We had some of our largest harvests yet this season, both by variety and weight. Much like the tides coming in and out, our wash station and walk-in coolers fill to bursting and then empty out. It is the time of year where we work as fast as we can to keep up with the flow of the veggies coming out of the field. Gratefully, the staff has been in training for most of the summer to get strong enough to handle this level of harvest work. I am so proud of the staff for the work they put into our food.
So, it has been hot. How hot is it, you ask? Well I won't bore you with the cliche's but it has been hot enough all season long that the water we depend on is starting to dry up. The ditch that feeds our Gunbarrel farm will dry up in the coming week. This is something I do my best to plan for each year. By the heat of August much of the vegetative growth has been completed and the fruits are set. Now we start the process of slowly reducing the amount of water our plants receive so they put all of their energy into ripening the tomatoes, peppers, watermelons, cantaloupes and winter squash. This finishing process is triggered by reduced watering. This should stretch out the water we've stored in our pond. Luckily we also have the option of using municipal water for our crops when needed. This option gets pretty expensive so we try to minimize this water use. Gratefully the water situation in Niwot is better but we are still working to be very thrifty with this precious resource.
For those with a Fruit Share: Each year we partner with Ela Family farms to provide a fruit share for our members. This is an additional share that is purchased, just like the veggies share at the beginning of the season. Much like our veggie share, it locks in the fruit for the season. This year I am super grateful that we have a fruit share. Since we purchase and pay for our fruit in advance, we are guaranteed fruit. This is especially important on a year like 2020 when there was a late and very hard frost that impacted the western slope. Yay, supporting local farms always pays off.
This week the fruit for our fruit share members is 2 medium bags of peaches.
Flour - We have just received a small batch of Turkey Red flour that was freshly milled. You can add this and other add-ons to your share when you customize your share for the week.
Other Add Ons - This week we have bulk basil, green tomatoes, medium bags of peaches, eggs, flowers, honey, calendula balm, and cucumbers for pickling.
Have an amazing weekend and please remember to be grateful for all of the wonderful things in your life.
Michael
