Adjusting to Change?!

As most of you may have noticed (with the exception of those who came later on Tuesday) we have made some adjustments to the way you are putting your weekly produce together.  Our hope is that we will have a wide enough variety of vegetables each week to allow you to choose the vegetables that you want to take home, and not feel compelled to take home food that you don't particularly want.  

We appreciated that the vast majority of you last week were excited about the potential to have more choice in your weekly harvest.  While we had scallions last week, some people still had theirs from the week before and didn't want to double up on this in the fridge.  However we know  a few of you were less than pleased - this tended to be people who have been coming to our CSA for years, and were quite happy with the system in place.  

Why are we changing things up?  

We ask CSA customers for feedback at the end of the season.  While feedback is always quite positive, (thank you!) we always hear both, "Too much kale!" and "I wish there was more kale!"   Each year we are always looking to improve and make this CSA model work for as many people as possible.  So to solve the too much kale - not enough kale problem (in addition to always seeing people leave the CSA to shop at the farmer's market where they can get what they want) we researched current trends in CSA models.  We visited friends of ours in NH who offer this "choice" model CSA where you take a certain number of items each week, choosing from a wide variety of options.  We liked it so much we decided to give it a try.   That being said, there may be some weeks where we are not able to offer as much choice - this will really depend, as always, on all the elements that go into growing and harvesting. 

How am I going to keep count of how many items I take?  How am I going to decide? 

When we visited the NH farm and saw their system of choice - one of the first things I (Maura) thought of was the challenge of keeping track of the number of items as you make your decisions of what you want.  As I observed over the course of a few hours, I was surprised to not see anyone struggling with the counting.  They seemed to choose their items with ease.  This system has been in place for some time, I suppose they've gotten used to it.  Our hope is that we will get used to it as well.  We will try to post on this blog by Monday night what we expect to harvest, and as always, this is subject to change as we harvest hours before the pick up.  Please keep in mind that the foundation of our farming practice is our relationship with you.  Our goal is to make this farm experience the best it can be for you.  As we go forward please continue to talk with us so we can troubleshoot issues together.  

Speaking of too much not enough kale...

I've had some questions about how to prepare the vibrant kale we've had for the past few weeks.  Some easy go to ideas that are staples in our house include:

  1. Chop & saute kale with olive oil and garlic (and/or onions/scallions).  Add to frittata or omelet for a quick option, or a quiche if you have more time.  Of course this allows you to add other veggies, herbs (in the upic!), or of course, bacon. 
  2. We use variations of spanikopita recipes using any of the greens we have on hand.  I always use lots of basil (coming soon in Upic!). Also, I usually don't have time for the fillo dough topping, so I just top with toasted bread crumbs or panko, toasted sunflower seeds, or even crushed up tortilla chips (a little more kid friendly).  
  3. Pesto!  You can steam (or not, but the hearty greens might be good to steam) greens & throw in the food processor with basil, garlic, walnuts, cheese, olive oil - however you like to make a version of "pesto" and toss with pasta or other grain dish.  Kids and those "learning" to like kale love this. 
  4. Pizza toppings!
  5. Smoothies! 
  6. Let us know if you're still not feeling the love for the kale or other greens and we'll try to help!

Whats in the share

Garlic Scapes

Scallions

Cabbage Kohlrabi

Arugula

Radishes

Spicy Salad Turnips

Spicy Mustard

Overwintered Onions

Cucumbers

Zucchini

Chickories

Whats in Upic

Sage

Parsley

Chives

Oregano

Strawberries

Snow/Snap Peas

Quick, utilitarian newsletter today. Here's the bullet points:

  • Strawberries in Upic (yea!)
  • All add-on shares (except flowers) begin this week!
  • Rain saves farmers from nervous breakdown
  • Compost program in swing. Talk to us about how to get a bucket and participate.
  • Local Beer Fridays start next week. Last Friday of the month come for your share and have a short glass of local session brew. More info in next week's newsletter....

Whats in the share

  • Lettuce
  • Kale
  • Radishes
  • Winter onions
  • Cucumbers
  • Chicories

What's in Upic

  • Strawberries
  • Herbs
  • Peas soon!

We have reached fluidity. Not the kind that comes from the sky unfortunately but almost as good as far as the farm is concerned. Each summer we hit a point where the length of the the to do list meets our peak in productivity and we surf the zero sum of tasks being completed as new ones are added to the list. The board is still full and there is no end in sight but there is a balance (of sorts). Last week we finished hand weeding an acre of onions, set 5,000 sweet potato plants, sowed down 3.5 acres to green manure crops and figured out how to harvest and pack for our new delivered share software system. This week we added hand weeding .25 acres of carrots, prepping 2 acres for canteloupe/watermelon, pruning and tying 1000 tomato plants (along with a few other things). The completion of the old task fuels the desire to jump into the next.To those with very structured days or clearly separated work and home lives, finding satisfaction from the perpetuation of a work cycle instead of it's end may be a foreign concept. If you have ever owned a small business (or grew up in a family that ran one) you will likely know what I'm talking about. It can be thrilling and very tiring to work towards more work but nothing beats riding that crest in-between the end and the beginning...especially if you can keep a good sense of humor through it all.

So Much Good Stuff on the Way

We have been a little light in the greens department this spring. Dry days, excessive pests (look up leaf miner for some gruesome pics) and variable growth have all hampered our expected harvests to date. That said there is a lot of great food coming in the next few weeks. Strawberries are really close, spring onions (something new for us) will be in next week and lettuce, though moving slowly is making good progress. It's been great to see all of you at the farm and your excitement is infectious to all of us.  Thank you!

We Like Leftovers

We have a good supply of Crystal Spring Farm compost buckets at pickup! Composting has never been easier!  Toss in your vegetable trimmings, produce leftovers, and other kitchen scraps.  Each week simply leave your full bucket at the farm & grab an empty one.  After some time in our big compost pile on the farm, we will spread this "black gold" on the fields. Buckets are $6 and have a cool farm sticker on them....

What's in the share...

Radishes

Broccoli

Summer Squash

Scallions

Kale

What's in Upic

Thyme

Chives

Oregano

Savory

And We Are Off

The farm season is officially underway this week as we start our CSA pickups at the farm. As I write we are getting our first rain in many weeks and I can almost hear the ground drawing the moisture in. This is our third "dry" spring in a row. Our hope is that this year's the lack of rain isn't drawn all the way through summer and into fall like the last two seasons. Fifteen years ago when we started this farm, spring was wet and cold with the sun coming out just enough to keep the plants (and people) alive until July came. July was dry and first half of August too before fall rain began and fell regularly right until it changed over to snow. Is this May-September dry season the new normal? Time will tell but until then we keep irrigating and enjoying these few days of cold wet.

We are cow sitting agin this season for our friends and Old Crow Ranch. These 11 Angus crosses will be with us for the next 8-10 week eating our grass and pooping everywhere. Just the way we like it.

Compost program buckets will be ready for those that want to jump into the pilot program....

Pick-Up Your Share

Come to the farm this week on Tuesday or Friday, 2-7pm for produce. Please bring bags to carry your share home.

Add-On Shares, Take Them for a Test Drive

Add-On shares of yogurt, cheese, eggs, mushrooms and bread will begin in two weeks. This week we will have samples of bread, cheese and yogurt.

What's in the Share

Spinach

Lettuce

Chickories

Scallions

Radishes

What's in Upic

Mint

Thyme

Savory

Marjoram

Sage

Chives