If you haven't already, please read the info in the featured photo. Some email providers are blocking our emails, and when that happens you don't get notifications about share customization and other important information. Even if you have been receiving our emails, I still recommend that you whitelist us to ensure it doesn't happen to you in the future. If you have been missing emails, you can read past Farm Happening emails like this one here. If you didn't receive the pre-season email with pickup info because of blacklisting or if you signed up later and I forgot to email it to you, just reply to this email and ask for it.
Reminder: When you pick up your Farm Share, please remove the packing list from the side of the box. Look through the list to make sure you have everything in your share. If you have items that need to stay cold, they will be in the cooler bag, and there will be a separate paper for each item.
This is our second week of strawberries (Yummmm!!!) from Detweiler Farm. This short-season fruit is limited in supply, so just like last week the strawberries are available in swaps and extras, but they aren't included in the initial shares. If you love strawberries, be sure to customize early before they're sold out.
Full Moon Mushrooms recently switched their packaging from plastic clamshells to paper bags at our request. The paper bags are more environmentally-friendly, but we have noticed that they don't keep the mushrooms as fresh as the clamshells. So we would like your feedback about them. If you have received mushrooms in your share (or plan to at some point), please fill out this one-question survey. This week's mushroom share is Blue and Pearl Oysters.
It's garlic scape season! We have scapes this week from Glacial Till Farm, Detweiler Farm, and Grateful Life Farm. If garlic scapes are new to you, you're in for a treat! Scapes are the shoot that grows the seed pod in hardneck garlic varieties. Most farmers and gardeners cut the scapes off before the seed pod forms in order to force the plant to put more energy into a larger garlic bulb instead of seeds. These scapes are full of delicious mild garlic flavor. One of our favorite ways to use garlic scapes is in pesto. Pesto is a very adaptable recipe that you can make adjustments to based on your preferences and the ingredients you have on hand. Pine nuts too expensive? Sub walnuts or sunflower seeds. Dairy-free? Leave out the cheese or sub vegan cheese. Have more kale than basil? Sub whatever green you have on hand and adjust until it tastes great. Here's a simple Garlic Scape Pesto recipe to try, but be sure to make enough to freeze for later.
Glacial Till Farm: "It’s starting to come together. I recently purchased two more used 50 ft tunnels, I’ll be transforming one into a greenhouse space and the other into a micro green facility!" This photo was taken from Derek's deck overlooking his gardens. He rotates crops through the various beds, including cover crops to increase fertility. Some beds have breathable row cover to keep insect damage to a minimum.
Spur Hollow Farm also shared a pic of their field this week. The various shades of green and red are gorgeous. You can see their head lettuces that are in CSA this week, as well as their fennel on the left. The areas covered in black tarps in the background will be gardens next year after the grass underneath has died.
It looks like we only have a couple of weeks left until our Webstore is shut down forever. All of those products will be moved over to Harvie to be purchased as extras with your CSA share. But for now, you can place a Webstore order to be delivered with your CSA share with no extra delivery fee.
Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there. If your family does something special to celebrate Dad, enjoy your time together, including great food to nourish your bodies.
On behalf of your NWPA Growers farmers,
Amy Philson
