Hello CSA Members!
How was the rhubarb last week? I would love to hear your rhubarb creations from the past week at the pickup tomorrow. I hope you had fun with that treat!
Please remember to return your wax boxes to your pickup location. You can give it directly to me or Pearce if you see us, or you can leave it at your dropsite and we will gather them next week.
Please keep letting me know when you plan on using your vacation days. Everyone is allotted 2 vacation weeks each season. The CSA runs for 18 weeks, but you only paid for 16. Please let me know when you’ll be on vacation so we don’t harvest for you that week!
On the farm…
The Potatoes!
If you were with us last season, you know that our potato crop was a bit of a plunder… We planted 600 lbs of potatoes at a piece of land in Shafer, MN RIGHT before the drought in June. The potatoes struggled to sprout and once they did, they didn’t have enough water to keep them strong. The weeds quickly took over and we couldn’t keep them weeded and healthy. We were able to harvest around 500lbs at the end of the season, less than what we had planted.
This year, we were determined. Determined not to let our failure last season deter us from planting potatoes. We planted potatoes on the land in Shafer, MN again and I must say… They look STUNNING. There are lush, green potato plants growing up there! As long we we keep getting these weekly rains, and we can keep up with hilling and weeding, we will have a true potato crop.
The potatoes are essential to feeding our Minnesota community local food in the off season. They can be stored until March of 2023 and they will nourish our fall CSA members (sign-up HERE!) as well as restaurants and food banks in the off season. It is so important for farmers to think about the whole year and how we can grow food to support our communities even with it’s below 0 degrees outside! We’re grateful to have the opportunity to do that.
What do your farmers do when they’re not farming?? Hang out on boats of course! This week we were able to practice a little self-care and spend some time off the farm. I attended a wedding last weekend on a boat in Stillwater, enjoying all the St. Croix river has to offer. On Monday and Tuesday Pearce and I traveled up north to spend some quality time fishing and swimming with his parents at a cabin. It was a much needed respite from the busy season. We have been so grateful for this time to recharge and we’re ready to beat the July weeds!
In the box….
This week was hard to harvest for. We’ve harvested most of our spring greenhouse crops, and our outdoor field hasn’t fully come into production yet. This is the calm before the storm. The breath before the summer food bounty comes crashing onto our plates. We will continue to relish what the earth can provide each week and be grateful for what CAN fill our plates.
Large Share
Speckled romaine lettuce, kale, basil, head lettuce, chard, parsley, purple green onions, sugar snap peas.
Small Share
Speckled romaine lettuce, purple green onions, head lettuce, basil, chard, parsley.
Inspiration….
I hope you enjoy the big pile of BASIL this week! It smells SO amazing. I think it’s time to make a big batch of pesto, or bruschetta to share with friends! I love to eat whole basil leaves mixed into my salads and I love chopping it up on just about anything! for you pesto makers out there, any recipe will do, but this one from Andrea Bemis (Dishing up the Dirt author) looks particularly intriguing. You can find the recipe here:
I was also able to harvest more chard for you all. Chard is the one crop on the farm that just gives and gives, no hesitation. We eat a lot of it out here! If you’re all chard-ed out for the week, follow these instructions from Oxbow Farm on the best method to blanch and freeze chard to eat later.
Enjoy the food this week and we’ll see you tomorrow!
Enjoy the bounty of this season! All the veggie love
Your farmers,
Eleanor and Pearce