Hello Everyone and welcome to the 2020 CSA season! I know you have all been waiting a long time for this first share and its set to be a very full one with a lot of great spring greens! Besides the crops and our new website I have been working hard to put a crew together and adapt to these changing times and I think we have a solid team this year and the crops are looking good out the door this first week. The CSA has grown quite a bit this year and over doubled in size so that will be the focus of the farm this year with markets taking a backseat. The greens you will receive this week were planted and started way back in March so we’ve been working on them a while and working hard on the preparation of planning a planting schedule and adapting it to a large increase in shares. I know there are a lot of new members this year due to increased demand and since it’s the first week I want to emphasize the two most important things for all regular non market share members to make sure this season goes smoothly for us all. First of all you must know what share size you have to pick up correctly. That means you are either large or small box. The large box is for standard and bi-weekly members, the small box is basic share members only. Please make sure you take the right size box when you pick up. We may not have time to label every box this year and this will also avoid people having to dig through the larger piles of shares to get their box with a name on it, they are the same color but the large ones are clearly taller in comparison. Secondly you must bring a carryout bag to the pick up site and do not take the box your share is in. Unpack the veggies into your carryout and leave the container behind so we can bring them back for washing and reuse. Home delivery members you should put a cooler out if possible for receipt of your home delivered share. I will unpack into the cooler for you upon delivery. Besides that enjoy these crops coming your way for week #1!
Our crops are looking great for the first half of the year so far and this week we have some great greens for you. Here is the list for week #1.
-Spinach: Large saved leaf can be chopped for raw use or holds up well to cooking. Tons to go around so expect large portions of this awesome vitamin packed goodness.
-Bac-Choi: This lime green on green stem choi is great as a sautés green. You must cut the base of the stems to open them up better for cleaning. Rinse the individual stems then sauté or even grill on low indirect heat.
-Spicy Saute Mix: Our sauce mix is bundled this week and includes red and green mustards, mizen, choi, arugula, kale, and napa cabbage. There may be a bit of lettuce in some of these bundles too this week.
-Radish: Our red radishes are great with butter, perhaps an herbed or flavored butter, use them on salads, or just enjoy them as a snack.
-Pea shoots: The first micro green I started growing is one of the heartiest and can be used as a salad green or a sauce green if cooked lightly.
-Cilantro: I planted this herb extra early this year and its looking awesome, I like cilantro in everything and fresh cut is just so much better. Try it in a salad or make a pesto for tacos etc.
-Kale mix: This kale mix contains over 5 types of kale and will be bagged up. Not quite baby kale but not quite full size either it is packed with protein, vitamins, and great flavor. This is my favorite item this week. Can be used raw massaged with oil for salad or cooked with for a powerhouse saute green good on anything really. Kale is also great for juicing since it has so much nutritional value.
Thank you all for choosing my farm as your CSA Farm. I’ve been farming here for 14 years since 2007 the year my daughter was born and have been raising her and my son here and slowly growing the business as much as possible every year. I’ve always wanted to have a larger CSA and thats why Community is in the name of the farm. It is really fantastic to see so much enthusiasm this year as we finally broke 100 shares for the first time. Last year we had around 65 but we’ve gone as high as 93, this year we have 136 shares. For me it reflects the strength we have working together to support small farms and local business and feed people well as a result. I look forward to feeding local families and going to farmers markets less often this year which will give me a little more time to rest hopefully as our focus shifts from being a 70 percent market farm and 30 percent csa to about 70 percent csa and 30 percent market. Thanks for trusting me to do that for you and hopefully we can keep this new growth going through this season and into years beyond!
