Greetings from the farm!
Please read this entire newsletter.
Summer is officially in full swing and new crops are coming in nicely. On the menu this week we have several new items, including sweet cherries from Catoctin Mountain Orchard! We also have our own peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, and more available for you. If you like pesto, make your own! We have bushels available as extras this week.
This hot weather has been stressful on the plants and our staff. We are doing our best to leave the fields by lunchtime and give the plants plenty of water to drink. As many of you know, we do not have access to water at the farm. All rinsing and irrigation water has to be trucked in. This is very difficult logistically and financially, but we have it figured out. Ben uses large coolers and 50-gallon drums to haul rinse water and buys irrigation water from pool water trucking companies. As they say...'you gotta do what you gotta you do".
We removed all of the spring crops that were finished and are now waiting for a rain to saturate the empty fields so they can be turned over for the next crops. We tried plowing and the ground, but it was hard as cement! Our soil is a balanced mix of sand, silt, and clay, so when it dries out completely it quite literally turns to cement. Wet soil is much softer and will be much easier for our equipment to handle. Fall plants arrive July 20th...fingers crossed we have a place to plant them.
Pictured above is most of the 2020 garlic crop. We harvested over 7,000 plants in just a few hours with our crew of 6 people. Ben added an under-cutter to his implement line up last year and it really speeds up the harvest and makes it easier on everybody. This machine has a large, sharp, steel blade that cuts underneath the garlic plants and frees them from the soil. We also use it to remove the larger plants that are finished producing, such as cabbage and broccoli. The plants are then composted and spread on the fields the following season to increase fertility.
If you have not already, please make sure you have rated your preferences for the products we offer. This will help you to have the best CSA experience if you do not have time to customize your share. Also, please take your time to scroll through all of the extras offered. We know it is somewhat tedious because we offer lots of extras, but Harvie is working on making it more user friendly with drop down menus to select items (i.e. veggies, fruit, cheese, kombucha, meat, pantry items, etc.)
Farm Extra Shares will be betting a quart of Blackberry Sage Kombucha.
Extras Available include:
all vegetables
blueberries
!New! sweet cherries
Honey-Clover and Wildflower
Cow Cheese-Cheddar, Gouda, Havarti, Garlic and Chive
Goat Cheese-Jalepeno, Cheddar, Feta, Chevre, Garlic and Dill Chevre
Kombucha-several different flavors
Canned Peaches and Applesauce
Basil
Olive Oil-Tuscan Herb and Garlic
Vinegar-Champagne and Mango Pulp
!New!-Tuscan Dipper Spice Blend
Whole Chickens
Eggs
Be Healthy, Be Happy,
Your Friends at Pleasant Hill Produce
