Wednesday, June 29
CSA Summer Harvest Week Four
Tomorrow is the last day of June. Time does fly. Happy Independence Day! We wish you good fireworks, good food, and good company.
Your summer crops are chugging along. Cukes, zucchini, tomatoes grow more robust each day. Yellow flowers and pollinating insects equal fruit in the near future. The last planting of spinach succumbed to fusarium wilt, but the New Zealand spinach looks promising; this is a crop we've not tried before, but I'm told it is tender and delicious. Soon, we can all be the judges! Yesterday, we planted Jericho lettuce, celery root, and red noodle beans. Tomorrow, the second crop of zucchini plants get settled. Bring on the sun, sun, sun...
In this week's share:
1) CHOICE: one bottle cherry stomp juice OR one bottle Joe's Summer Blend juice from Red Jacket Orchards. Red Jacket in Geneva, NY is one of our fruit grower farm partners. Their juices are to die for!
2) 8 garlic scapes: Did you use these last time? They are so versatile. Chop off the flower head and a small portion of base, which can be tough. Dice the remaining stalk and add to almost anything. Saute briefly in butter or olive oil to create a crisp, tasty topping for pasta, eggs, bread. Use raw in salad dressing. Endless possibilities. Freeze and use all year long!
3) 1 bag arugula microgreens: baby leaves for a stand-alone salad, sandwich ingredient, garnish. Packed with fresh flavor and nutrition.
4) one pint strawberries: It's been a tough season for strawberries. Lots of rain and overcast days during ripening. Enjoy the end of a fleeting harvest. Grown sustainably by Red Jacket Orchards.
5) one pint sweet cherries: Where strawberries end, cherries begin. Also grown by Red Jacket.
6) two pounds tomatoes: A few days of sun brought the return on March Farm early season tomatoes. We eat these while we watch our plants grow.
See you tomorrow!
Cheers,
Joe and Ilsa
Your summer crops are chugging along. Cukes, zucchini, tomatoes grow more robust each day. Yellow flowers and pollinating insects equal fruit in the near future. The last planting of spinach succumbed to fusarium wilt, but the New Zealand spinach looks promising; this is a crop we've not tried before, but I'm told it is tender and delicious. Soon, we can all be the judges! Yesterday, we planted Jericho lettuce, celery root, and red noodle beans. Tomorrow, the second crop of zucchini plants get settled. Bring on the sun, sun, sun...
In this week's share:
1) CHOICE: one bottle cherry stomp juice OR one bottle Joe's Summer Blend juice from Red Jacket Orchards. Red Jacket in Geneva, NY is one of our fruit grower farm partners. Their juices are to die for!
2) 8 garlic scapes: Did you use these last time? They are so versatile. Chop off the flower head and a small portion of base, which can be tough. Dice the remaining stalk and add to almost anything. Saute briefly in butter or olive oil to create a crisp, tasty topping for pasta, eggs, bread. Use raw in salad dressing. Endless possibilities. Freeze and use all year long!
3) 1 bag arugula microgreens: baby leaves for a stand-alone salad, sandwich ingredient, garnish. Packed with fresh flavor and nutrition.
4) one pint strawberries: It's been a tough season for strawberries. Lots of rain and overcast days during ripening. Enjoy the end of a fleeting harvest. Grown sustainably by Red Jacket Orchards.
5) one pint sweet cherries: Where strawberries end, cherries begin. Also grown by Red Jacket.
6) two pounds tomatoes: A few days of sun brought the return on March Farm early season tomatoes. We eat these while we watch our plants grow.
See you tomorrow!
Cheers,
Joe and Ilsa
Arethusa Dairy
Good press in New York Times for Arethusa Dairy's milk, yogurt and ice cream!
Can you read this? Let me know!
Can you read this? Let me know!
Wednesday, June 22
CSA Summer Harvest Week Three
In this week's share:
1) three stalks rhubarb: What to do with this? Look here.
2) one bunch deep purple scallions
3) one bag pea shoots: These are the growing tips of pea plants and provide full pea flavor without the work. They can be eaten raw alone or in salad or thrown into a pasta or eggs. Recipes here.
4) CHOICE: one bunch chioggia beets OR baby Scarlet Nantes carrots
The Chioggia (pronounced kee-O-gah)beets are also known as lollipop beets due to the striking striped flesh. Read about this lovely beet here. The carrots are sweet orange fleshed.
5) one bag simple salad mix
6) one pound wildflower honey from White Oak Apiary. Owner Mike Bruen keeps hives here at the Garden of Ideas and many other area locations. He is based out of Brewster, NY.
1) three stalks rhubarb: What to do with this? Look here.
2) one bunch deep purple scallions
3) one bag pea shoots: These are the growing tips of pea plants and provide full pea flavor without the work. They can be eaten raw alone or in salad or thrown into a pasta or eggs. Recipes here.
4) CHOICE: one bunch chioggia beets OR baby Scarlet Nantes carrots
The Chioggia (pronounced kee-O-gah)beets are also known as lollipop beets due to the striking striped flesh. Read about this lovely beet here. The carrots are sweet orange fleshed.
5) one bag simple salad mix
6) one pound wildflower honey from White Oak Apiary. Owner Mike Bruen keeps hives here at the Garden of Ideas and many other area locations. He is based out of Brewster, NY.
Wednesday, June 15
CSA Summer Harvest Week Two
One week ago, the thermometer hit 96. This morning I wore a fleece. !!!!
But we can't deny summer. The longest day of the year is next Tuesday. The eggplants and peppers are in the ground. Beans are germinating. And the flea beetles are eating the brassicas (arugula, bok choy, etc). Comforting cycles.
And, an even surer sign of summer: strawberries and garlic scapes.
In this week's share:
1) one quart strawberries: grown by Red Jacket Orchards in Geneva, NY. Sustainable growing practices, but not certified organic.
2) one head lettuce: loose leaf type that is delicious and crispy
3) two pounds tomatoes: from March Farms in Bethlehem, CT
4) garlic scapes: these are the flowering stalks of the garlic. The green stems, not flower bud at tip, can be used just as you would garlic cloves. The effect is slightly milder and delicious. Can even be used for pesto. Read more here.
5) one quart half & half: from Arethusa Dairy in Litchfield, CT. To complement your berries, or a cream sauce with tomatoes and garlic scapes?
6) one bag simple salad mix
For those of you who don't do dairy or don't want the berries, utilize the swap option.
See you tomorrow!
Ilsa & Joe
But we can't deny summer. The longest day of the year is next Tuesday. The eggplants and peppers are in the ground. Beans are germinating. And the flea beetles are eating the brassicas (arugula, bok choy, etc). Comforting cycles.
And, an even surer sign of summer: strawberries and garlic scapes.
In this week's share:
1) one quart strawberries: grown by Red Jacket Orchards in Geneva, NY. Sustainable growing practices, but not certified organic.
2) one head lettuce: loose leaf type that is delicious and crispy
3) two pounds tomatoes: from March Farms in Bethlehem, CT
4) garlic scapes: these are the flowering stalks of the garlic. The green stems, not flower bud at tip, can be used just as you would garlic cloves. The effect is slightly milder and delicious. Can even be used for pesto. Read more here.
5) one quart half & half: from Arethusa Dairy in Litchfield, CT. To complement your berries, or a cream sauce with tomatoes and garlic scapes?
6) one bag simple salad mix
For those of you who don't do dairy or don't want the berries, utilize the swap option.
See you tomorrow!
Ilsa & Joe
Wednesday, June 8
CSA Summer Harvest Week One
Good golly. The heat. Hello summer! And hello summer harvest shares! We look forward to getting to know all our new shareholders.
We've been busy pulling out spring crops (spinach, radishes and bolting greens), planting for summer (tomatoes, beans, eggplant, cukes, peppers), and watering, watering, watering.
The snapping turtles have been coming ashore to lay eggs in the mulch piles. The chipmunks are eyeing our microgreens. And we have baby birds (finches, I think) in the window box. Keep your eyes open during your visit tomorrow; who knows what you'll see.
In this week's share:
1) two tomatoes (approximately one pound total). Talented growers at March Farms in Bethlehem, CT produced these beautiful and tasty gems. They are the best tomatoes you can find in June. Although March is not certified organic, we find their practices sustainable.
2) one head green lettuce: we harvested two varieties to choose from, a crispy romaine called Green Towers and a luscious looseleaf called Nevada.
3) one bag baby bok choy: here are some recipes
4) one bag simple salad mix: we are renowned for our salad mix. This mix is a blend of lettuce leaves only.
5) CHOICE: one bag baby kale (variety if Red Russian) OR one bunch baby white turnips with greens. I know you're scared of the turnips. No need. They can be chopped and sauteed in butter and salt for a delicious side dish. Greens may be cooked also. Kale is great sauteed as wilted green side dish or can be added to salad mix, soups, pasta.
6) one bunch asparagus from Pedersen Farms in Geneva, NY. They are certified organic growers.
See you tomorrow!
Ilsa & Joe
We've been busy pulling out spring crops (spinach, radishes and bolting greens), planting for summer (tomatoes, beans, eggplant, cukes, peppers), and watering, watering, watering.
The snapping turtles have been coming ashore to lay eggs in the mulch piles. The chipmunks are eyeing our microgreens. And we have baby birds (finches, I think) in the window box. Keep your eyes open during your visit tomorrow; who knows what you'll see.
In this week's share:
1) two tomatoes (approximately one pound total). Talented growers at March Farms in Bethlehem, CT produced these beautiful and tasty gems. They are the best tomatoes you can find in June. Although March is not certified organic, we find their practices sustainable.
2) one head green lettuce: we harvested two varieties to choose from, a crispy romaine called Green Towers and a luscious looseleaf called Nevada.
3) one bag baby bok choy: here are some recipes
4) one bag simple salad mix: we are renowned for our salad mix. This mix is a blend of lettuce leaves only.
5) CHOICE: one bag baby kale (variety if Red Russian) OR one bunch baby white turnips with greens. I know you're scared of the turnips. No need. They can be chopped and sauteed in butter and salt for a delicious side dish. Greens may be cooked also. Kale is great sauteed as wilted green side dish or can be added to salad mix, soups, pasta.
6) one bunch asparagus from Pedersen Farms in Geneva, NY. They are certified organic growers.
See you tomorrow!
Ilsa & Joe
Thursday, June 2
Spring Harvest Share Survey
Now, that spring harvest share is over, we request any suggestions for improvements. Please do so in comments below.
Here are a few things people have mentioned. Feel free to second.
1) Label crops - we don't know what they are.
2) Earlier notice of share contents.
3) Love the recipes.
Thanks again for your support of our farming endeavors!
Here are a few things people have mentioned. Feel free to second.
1) Label crops - we don't know what they are.
2) Earlier notice of share contents.
3) Love the recipes.
Thanks again for your support of our farming endeavors!
Wednesday, June 1
Certified organic
HOORAY!
We completed the mountain of paperwork and passed all inspections. We can now say our crops are "certified organic." Our practices have not changed, but by submitting to independent oversight and intense recordkeeping to prove we adhere to the program standards, we are allowed to use the term "organic" for marketing, a term near and dear to many consumers.
Obtaining this certification was a big step for us. Now, we can speak with greater authority as we work toward a new standard for crop quality: nutrient dense crops. We hope this term eventually overtakes organic. If you'd like to know more, click here.
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