In the Share - Week 1

LETTUCE (2)  a butterhead and a red leaf

BOK CHOY   some are green-stemmed, some are white - either way they make the best stir fry.

SPINACH  we are still picking off the fall planting and the leaves are still sweet and getting quite large.

SWISS CHARD see tom's post for his yummy Cacciatore recipe

GREEN ONIONS AND GARLIC use the green garlic as you would green onions.  

PARSLEY AND DILL both appear to be thriving

ARUGULA  we do not grow baby greens here at Fair Share, so be prepared for big bunches of big-leafed and full-flavored arugula

HAKUREI TURNIPS  some say they taste like they have ice cream in the center, you be the judge.

CARROTS  this was our first winter with the high tunnel and we hope you all are ready for the experiment!  The carrots taste great but are a bit misshapen due to uneven watering, we believe.  We just have enough for everyone to get a 1/2 pound.

NEXT WEEK:  lettuce, leeks, spinach, herbs, endive, radish, turnips, maybe (hopefully!) asparagus

FARM REPORT

What a way to kick off the first week of our new extended season - a brutal cold snap that had us racing across our fields today doubling-up on row cover! We put a second layer on 3800 feet worth of beds doing squats every 20 feet to pin it down. Perhaps we are running on adrenaline, but it went quickly and no frostbite was reported.  

This was after a very pleasant day on Saturday with the first crew of CSA member workers.  With lots of extra hands we cleaned-up the asparagus patch, dug dandelions, painted the picnic tables and filled in the trench for the new drain line from the wash area.

The washing and packing area of the barn got a big retrofit this winter and is ready for business.

And here's a sneak peak at the crops going in the shares tomorrow before we covered them up too.

We were hoping to have asparagus in the shares this week, but the stalks are barely poking out of the ground and for good reason, they'll most likely be frozen in the morning.

Forecasts range from mid-20s to 21 degrees in the morning.  We have cancelled the work shifts for tomorrow.  Our farm crew of four will be able to handle the harvest once the crops thaw.  CSA distribution should continue as planned.  We were able to cover our most sensitive crops, but the fruit trees and the direct-seeded crops are uncovered.  We'll let you know how it turns out.