We approach this week with our hearts heavy for the friends and family of George Floyd. We stand in support of the peaceful protesters calling for accountability and systemic change to root out the racism within not just the policing and justice systems, but within society at large. We are also saddened by the destruction that has occurred in Minneapolis and St. Paul over the past few nights and hope all of our Twin Cities friends are staying safe.
Though we have been transfixed by the unfolding drama of the past week, life goes on here at the farm. We have seen an abundance of rain over the last two weeks - too much, in fact. We have seen some hindrance of germination in some direct seeded plantings because of soil crusting and prolonged saturated conditions, and we had to delay some scheduled transplanting activities. However, overall, we are staying on schedule and most crops are looking good.
We are bracing ourselves for the hot weather coming our way. It will be great for all the warm-season crops we have recently planted (peppers, tomatoes, watermelons, basil); cool-season greens won't be as happy, but we select heat tolerant varieties that can withstand some heat without getting bitter or bolting, so we should be good.
Oh, and we got three pigs so we have a more productive use for our cull vegetables. They're pretty cute still.
Onto this week's shares, which are the last before our regular season begins. So if you are a Farm Stand subscriber only (and not a Summer Share member), starting next week you will only be notified when we have produce available beyond the needs of our members.
A few notes on some items available this week.
Arugula - it's a little bigger this week. Tender enough to eat raw, in my opinion, but a little spicier than previous weeks and perhaps better suited to wilting or lightly sauteing (for folks with a certain palette - you know who you are). We have increased the bag volume to 1/2 lb this week and kept the pricing the same.
Brassicas (arugula, radishes, kale) - You will see an uptick in the amount pinholes caused by our unrelenting annual spring insect nemesis, the flea beetle. We attempt to exclude these tiny beetles using row cover (see photo below) but they find any hole or small gap in the fabric and cause damage nonetheless. It's really just aesthetic damage, so go ahead and eat as your normally would.
Spinach - We will be harvesting from a new planting of spinach and it will be somewhat smaller-leaved than what we had the prior two weeks. This planting was also under row cover because it bordered arugula, but spinach is sometimes damaged when in contact with row cover during windy weather. We will try to pull out most affected leaves during harvest and washing, but you may see some whitish areas where the spinach was touching row cover. This does not affect its eating quality.
Flowering chives - Last week was our first experiment with chive blossoms. We really wish we had had one more day for the blossoms to mature, as some of the flowers we picked hadn't quite opened up into their optimal culinary stage. This week, they're in more uniform bloom, and we have decided to harvest bunches including both chive leaves and flowering stalks. You can infuse the blossoms in vinegar, add to a salad, or garnish a dish. Just be aware that the stalks that hold the blossoms are fibrous and not edible, so separate those from the chive leaves before chopping them up.
Notes on pickup locations this week
Due to the unrest in the Twin Cities, we reached out to all of the pickup locations scheduled to receive boxes this week. As of now, all intend to be open and able to host the pickups. We have made a couple of adjustment to the pickup windows, described below.
Lakewinds in Richfield closed early yesterday and was closed today. They said they would be open next week, but encouraged farm share members to pick up earlier than usual, as they have been closing the store earlier to allow their staff to get home safely before nighttime protests begin. It's possible they will be closing as early as 5 pm this week, so please plan accordingly.
We moved the end of the pickup window for the Mac-Groveland location to 7:30, up from 9:00 pm. This is because of the 8:00 curfew that has been in place the last few nights.
All other pickups anticipate normal operation, and we will let you know if we hear of any changes.
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Wishing you peace,
Dana
