CSA veggie pickup reminder
Happy Summer!!!
The 15th veggie pickup of the 2017 season is this coming Saturday..July 15th..9:00 am to noon!!
Note: next payment due..thanks!!
It has been a much cooler week than the last few. Highs have been upper 80's to low 90's..so much better than those almost 100 degree days!! Lows have been mid to high 50's..still almost warm enough for the okra. We've had varying amounts of clouds rolling in almost every afternoon..and sometimes in the mornings to help cover the intensiveness of the sun. A few days we have had lots of thunder and lightning..but no rain..And a few times we have had lots of thunder and lightning an a bit of rain. I don't think we have gotten more than maybe 1/4 inch all together here on the farm..but, hey, we are happy for even that little bit. And even happier for the cloud cover and a bit of humidity..{ok so a few times those of us who were born and raised in Colorado were complaining that it seemed just a bit sticky} Next week it looks like the temps are still going to be a bit lower, but the chance of rain is lower as well. We are all still doing our rain dance, hoping that we will get at least one nice gentle overnight rain.
Food for thought.. the question for the week is..so how much income do you think farmers should be making??
The plants in the tunnels just keep on a growin'..eggplant is about 18 inches tall..we harvested the first casper yesterday and it looks like there will be many more next week. Some of the peppers are almost waist high and just loaded..those are mostly hots..the sweets are not quite as tall but are blooming up a storm and some have little tiny fruit. The tomatoes in the high tunnel..well many of them are already a good 3/4 of the way up their trellis and are just loaded with tomats..we picked the first 5 black cherry this morning..they were delicious and even better..they have LOTS of friends!! The early riser italian bean is almost to the top of the trellis and has buds already. The chard and the kale really appreciated their side dressing of fertilizer, mulch from the favas..not to mention the cooler temps and humidity!! The cucumbers are getting ready to boom..the vines are loaded with fruit and blossoms. It was a bit scary picking greens right next to them this morning..I was half afraid they were going to grow right over the top of me!! Just planted a few herbs and the malabar spinach this week..they are looking happy. I went into the low tunnel yesterday to check if any of the tomats were ripening..well, just found lots of green ones and 31 tomato hornworms..I thought maybe we weren't going to have any this year..they just seem to be late!!
Once again outdoor adventures involved water and weeds!! We may be starting to catch up on the weeds!! All the plants benefited from the lower temps and the extra moisture in the air..they all{including the weeds unfortunately!!} just spread out their leaves and said a huge thank you!! Harvested a few firsts this week..a bit of basil, a bit of parsely..the first garlic..not to mention the first of the beets and carrots from the great outdoors. The winners of the harvesting this morning were kohlrabi and cabbage..we have LOTS of them!!
If you haven't checked out the website or our facebook group, please do..it is so cool!! We would like feedback as well!! www.circleagarden.com there is a link to facebook on the homepage.
More news this week..Terry and Rylan's babies are now about 7 or 8 weeks old..they are starting to look like the adults.
we are still asking for help from you, our CSA members!! I will be hitting the fields about 6:30 or so{earlier if it heats up} Monday through Thursday, weeding, prepping beds, planting, and more!! Please, Please come and give us a hand!! Please call me {970-249-9725..ask for Betsy} to let me know when you can make it so I can plan my days..Thanks!!
What is available for the CSA this week?
Note:..we have many recipes on the website to give you ideas about how to use some of our many veggies!!
This is my best guess on Thursday evening..sometimes we can't really tell just how ready a crop is for harvest until we get in there to harvest it..
Food safety reminder!! Please remember that none of are veggies are considered ready to eat..We chill them to get the feild heat out and remove a bit of soil. Please wash your veggies before you eat them!!
We are still a bit low on goodies from the garden..things are growing well and many are just almost ready for harvest..please bear with us a couple more weeks..we promise we will have something other than kohlrabi!!
From the high tunnel
Swiss chard, kale
a few more cucumbers,herbs
From the great out of doors
herbs, kohlrabi, portuguese kale, collards, cabbage, garlic
NOTE: we have a line on a local source for eggs..one of our CSA member's dad raises chickens just down the road..have more info this week..The grower is Don Arnold at lower 48 farm..just over on Kinikin Road. They are free range and supplement their all natural feed ration with a goodly variety of bugs and weeds. We will have a few here at the farm for Saturday pickup.
Hope you are all finding cool spaces during this heat!!
Looking forward to seeing all of you on Saturday!!
Betsy, Terry, Jeanne, and all of us here at Circle A