CSA :: Week 12

We are two thirds of the way through the CSA season with delivering the Week 12 boxes this week. The boxes were bountiful & unable to close! This the season :)

You can find the newsletter for Week 12 online here. If you would like to get on our mailing list, please just shoot us an email--we have some produce for sale at this time of the year & we will send out updates to our mailing list, or you can also see these updates on facebook here.

August 28th, 2012 CSA Box ~ Week 12

In the box this week: bread zucchini, baby beets, celery, apples, ground cherries, broccoli, baby cabbages, cucumbers, kale, cherry tomatoes, tomatoes, All Blue potatoes, Dragon's Tongue beans, onions.

Orchard Photo Update :: Apple Picking 8.26

We had a wonderful volunteer day out at the orchard on Sunday! We had a nice crew of about 12 people helping us to clean up the orchard floor, from dropped apples and harvest ripe fruit.

 Getting ready to start the day--John had a little demo area all set up.

 Heading out into the orchard to pick!

 John's dad Larry, John and Mark Dauer, previous orchard manager from about 10 years ago. Mark came over to help in identifying the apple varieties that were ripe. We believe we have some McIntosh, Wealthy, Harelson, Honey Gold, and State Fair, among others. What an amazing help! Thanks Mark. Also a big thanks to Larry for helping to map and take notes!

 Thanks Megan, Matt & Miles for your help :)

The Orchardist

John picking apples, in between instructing volunteers.

 Loading up the dropped apples. Some will be burned, to eliminate pests. Some will be pig food.

 Nicole and Ben--thanks for your help!

 Beauty.

 At the end of the work day, after a generous meal of Goose Stew--cooked with apples from the orchard--made by orchard owner Marv Augustin. The crew all had a great time, and we have some great apples!

CSA :: Week 11

Week 11 boxes are delivered, you have find the newsletter here. We were very excited to included 3 new items that are all FRUIT in this weeks box--watermelon, tomato and apples! It is very exciting to start picking apples. Copied below is also a note about the orchard we included in the Week 11 boxes.

In the box this week: baby Detroit Dark Redbeets, Golden & Forhook giant swiss chard, red & yellow apples, Kentucky Wonder green beans, genovese basil, Creme de Saskatchwan watermelon, Aunt Molly's ground cherries, Early White Vienna kohlrabi, Red Baron & Yellow of Parma onions, Costata Romanesco zucchini, Early Jalapeno peppers, California Wonder green pepper, tomato mix: Black Krim/Valiencia/Costoluto Genovese, DeCicco broccoli.

"The weeks until apple harvest are quickly arriving and we are already starting to pick the fruits of our labor.  Although this is very early in the apple season, due likely environmental conditions, apples are beginning to ripen—and WOW are they good.  To an apple eater, drought during the ripening period is a good thing, since it concentrates the sugars in the apple, making them sweeter.  In your box there are a variety of apples of different sizes, flavors and colors.  When we started managing the orchard there was no map or identification of the individual trees, so at this point, until we identify them when they are fully ripe we are only guessing at varieties—but I assure you that your pallet will be pleasantly surprised.  Take the time to sample the apples separately and enjoy the different flavors, some are super sweet and some are more tart—one even tastes like wine!"

CSA :: Week 10

Week 10 boxes were delivered yesterday. It was exciting to deliver the first tomatoes--even if they were little yellow pears! The Week 10 newsletter can be found online here.

August 14, 2012 • CSA Box Week 10

In the boxes: Snap beans (Kentucky Wonder), Wax Beans (Dragon's Tongue), Basil, Ground Cherries, Broccoli, Beets with greens, Poona Kheera (yellow) cucumber, Suyo Long cucumber, Dino Kale, Onion, Kohlrabi, Shallots, Green Peppers, Yellow Pear tomatoes.

Photo Update 8.8.12

 Aunt Molly's heirloom ground cherries--2 pounds worth. They are really starting to produce now, which is a great way to tide us over until we start getting tomatoes!

 Last weekend we were working on the packing shed a lot! The cooler structure is officially DONE now, which is a great, great feeling. We just need to install the CoolBot device and throw a coat of paint on the walls. The CoolBot is installed into the AC unit to help us get the cooler temperatures we need.

 Thanks to John's folks for coming out and helping paint & build the cooler! We got one coat of paint on the outside of the packing shed as well.

 Mammoth Red Rock heirloom cabbage.

Our three varieties of cucumbers we are growing this season: Suyo Long, Double Yield (regular green slicer, pickler), & Poona Kheera (whiteish-yellow, turning brown when sweetest, good fresh slicer).

CSA :: Week 9

Week 9 marks a half-way point in our CSA season! All our boxes had a special little treat in them this week--a reusable snack bag! Even better, they were made by one of our very own CSA members, Megan Burris, of Megan Louise Designs. Find the Week 9 newsletter online here.

CSA Box August 7, 2012 ~ Week 9

In the boxes: beets, red cabbage, 2 varieties of snap beans, sunflowers, ground cherries, reusable snack bag, onion, kohlrabi, zucchini, sweet green peppers, 2 varieties of cucumber.

Rhubarb!

I have to say that I am really excited about our little rhubarb plants!

Glaskins Perpetual Rhubarb

I started these from seed on June 15th, so they are about 6 weeks old. I just potted them up last week and they are doing great. We have 27 plants here, and this variety is reputed for being able to cut the first year--hopefully we will have some to cut for our CSA boxes, and ourselves, for 2013 and general sale for 2014 and beyond!

This was just great--instead of buying potted rhubarb roots for $4-5 apiece (that would be over $100 for this amount), I paid $2.00 for an heirloom variety (a lot more choice of selection this way). Add a couple more dollars cost for soil and fertilizer and I saved $90 or more! Sweet.

Mmmm...rhubarb crisp.

Photo Update 8.1.12

Wow! It's August already, crazy stuff. We are working our way towards peak season, with new veggies becoming mature each week. This week our first green beans ripened and we picked our first jalapenos :) Good stuff. So far this season, all of our produce has gone to customers who had pre-payed for the season--CSA & Farm Share members; we have a made a few on-farm sales as well. Anything beyond this we have been using for our family. Here's a little peak of what's in the garden!

Waltham Butternut

Squash is on the vines!

Copenhagen Market

We've been harvesting cabbage for a couple of weeks now, and getting ready to make our first batch of kraut!

 Wildlife in the garden--we love those pest eaters!

Aunt Molly's Ground Cherry

 I am ready to make jam with these ground cherries! What do you do with your ground cherries? have you tried them before? Such a sweet little treat :)

Four successions of beets and kohlrabi.

 The next crop of beets is coming in strong!

Young green peppers! 

We have green & red sweet peppers, as well as jalapeno,
serrano and ancho hot peppers.

Three rows of peppers in the garden--lots of fruit on the plants!

Beautiful zinnias.

Sage.

Curing produce.

Drying chantrelle mushrooms foraged up North, curing shallots, onions and potatoes.

Stuttgarter white onions curing.

Rostov sunflowers, grown for seed.

Acorn squash, affected by squash vine borer.

We have been battling the squash vine borer pest on most of our squash. We have lost about half of our acorn squash and pie pumpkin plants. Thankfully they did not impact our other members of the cucurbit family--butternut squash, watermelons, cucumbers.

Dragon's Tongue snap beans.

I love garden fresh green beans! I might eat a few while I'm picking...  I am excited to have green beans  ready--we'll have several more varieties over the next month.

Butternut squash and corn.

 That's some tall corn! We are growing three varieties of sweet corn and bloody butcher decorative corn, and Bear Island flint corn (meal/flour).

St. Valery carrots.

CSA :: Week 8

Week 8 boxes are delivered this week, first peppers of the season, and the ground cherries are really going now! The Week 8 newsletter is available online here.

July 31, 2012 ~ CSA Box Week 8

In the box: zucchini, small bunch of flowers (sunflower/zinnia), bunch of kale, ground cherries, 3 varieties of cucumbers (Poona Kheera-yellow, Suyo Long-long, Double Yield-front), broccoli, bunch of basil, carrots, white onion, red onion, garlic, shallots, green beans, jalapenos.