Week 13
Last week we were surprised to find that we had more watermelons on Monday than Korean melons. As a result Monday received watermelons and everyone else Korean melons. Melons are so tricky. They never pick the same year to year. Watermelons in particular are tough. We look for three things, a yellow spot where it sits on the ground, leaf dye down at the junction of the stem and the plant and tendril dye down in the same spot. We also thump them. Not a single one of those things is a guarantee and on every variety it is a different combo of how brown the leaf and the tendril need to be. On top of that there are always watermelons that refuse to follow the rules. We sample a lot of them each year trying to figure out each variety. I frequently get asked at market how to pick out a good watermelon and there isn't really a good answer. Once a watermelon is off the plant it is hard to tell if it will be good.
Everyone will get some sort of melon in their boxes this week and hopefully next week as well. At this point we have only picked Korean melons and watermelons. There are several more varieties we are waiting on.
Carrots
Lettuce
Kale or Chard
Persian Cucumber
Tomato
Melon/Watermelon
Cauliflower - Large Only
Parsley - Large Only
Sunday, August 25, 2019
Sunday, August 18, 2019
Week 12
If you have been a supporter of local farms for a while you probably remember Boisfort Valley Farm. They went to the Oly market and had several hundred CSA members in the greater Seattle area. They stopped farming a few years ago and took on a couple more traditional 9-5 jobs. This year they decided to plant/sell corn and pumpkins along with the 9-5 gigs. Last night they told me that commodity farming is the new niche farming. I have thought about it quite a few times since then and for this area, and I think many more semi urban areas, it is probably true. The current trend in farming in this area is small scale, intensive farming focusing on high profit crops. Land is expensive and small scale farming allows one to farm and support oneself on much smaller acreage(less than two acres typically). Our farm, at seven acres, is not that kind of farm, but we are still a very small farm. We like being diversified, but also have recognized that our scale we can't grow everything. I think the long term health of our local food systems depends on having farms of all sizes.
Grilled cabbage is great. This recipe, with a chimichurii and and mustard maple tahini, turns what most people think of as a pretty mundane veggie into something special. It is really flavorful. I suspect you could get away with just making one sauce or the other and still have an enjoyable dish.
Bell Peppers - Our bell peppers are just starting to ripen. The stand out at the moment is a green to orange bell pepper from Adaptive Seeds. Many of you will have an orange pepper, others probably a golden yellow variety called Flavorburst. Everyone will also get a purple pepper.
Onions - Sweet. These will be of all sizes. Some of you will have more traditional large sweet onions and some of you will have smaller sweet onions.
Zucchini - I made the most incredible pork burgers last Tuesday. I added an egg and some shredded zucchini because I think it helps the texture. I seasoned it with garlic and onion and a bit of clove, cinamon and star anise(I was trying to capture the memory of a vietnamese pate) and we had it with pickled daikon and carrot and some sliced cucumber on a bun - a bahn mi inspired pork burger.
Cabbage
Cherry Tomatoes
Melon - Maybe. We had someone out sick on Friday and Kelly and I didn't make it back to the melon patch to harvest until 6:30pm on Friday. We had yet to harvest a single melon, but we knew they were close. We found a couple Korean melons to harvest and a tested a few watermelons. I have to admit I was so relieved there weren't a bunch of melons. However, there were a lot of Korean melons that looked close and I am hoping we will have them for everyone. I saw this melon's flavor described as cucumber, honeydew and cantolope all in one. It starts off more in the honeydew/sweet cucumber realm and then picks up some richer notes as it gets riper. I actually like it closer to the honeydew/cuke zone. I have also had people tell me it has notes of pear. It is mild but also delicious. It really is its own thing. I don't bother removing the seeds, it is the most flavorful part, but not everyone is into it.
Arugula - Large Only
Lettuce - Large Only
If you have been a supporter of local farms for a while you probably remember Boisfort Valley Farm. They went to the Oly market and had several hundred CSA members in the greater Seattle area. They stopped farming a few years ago and took on a couple more traditional 9-5 jobs. This year they decided to plant/sell corn and pumpkins along with the 9-5 gigs. Last night they told me that commodity farming is the new niche farming. I have thought about it quite a few times since then and for this area, and I think many more semi urban areas, it is probably true. The current trend in farming in this area is small scale, intensive farming focusing on high profit crops. Land is expensive and small scale farming allows one to farm and support oneself on much smaller acreage(less than two acres typically). Our farm, at seven acres, is not that kind of farm, but we are still a very small farm. We like being diversified, but also have recognized that our scale we can't grow everything. I think the long term health of our local food systems depends on having farms of all sizes.
Grilled cabbage is great. This recipe, with a chimichurii and and mustard maple tahini, turns what most people think of as a pretty mundane veggie into something special. It is really flavorful. I suspect you could get away with just making one sauce or the other and still have an enjoyable dish.
Bell Peppers - Our bell peppers are just starting to ripen. The stand out at the moment is a green to orange bell pepper from Adaptive Seeds. Many of you will have an orange pepper, others probably a golden yellow variety called Flavorburst. Everyone will also get a purple pepper.
Onions - Sweet. These will be of all sizes. Some of you will have more traditional large sweet onions and some of you will have smaller sweet onions.
Zucchini - I made the most incredible pork burgers last Tuesday. I added an egg and some shredded zucchini because I think it helps the texture. I seasoned it with garlic and onion and a bit of clove, cinamon and star anise(I was trying to capture the memory of a vietnamese pate) and we had it with pickled daikon and carrot and some sliced cucumber on a bun - a bahn mi inspired pork burger.
Cabbage
Cherry Tomatoes
Melon - Maybe. We had someone out sick on Friday and Kelly and I didn't make it back to the melon patch to harvest until 6:30pm on Friday. We had yet to harvest a single melon, but we knew they were close. We found a couple Korean melons to harvest and a tested a few watermelons. I have to admit I was so relieved there weren't a bunch of melons. However, there were a lot of Korean melons that looked close and I am hoping we will have them for everyone. I saw this melon's flavor described as cucumber, honeydew and cantolope all in one. It starts off more in the honeydew/sweet cucumber realm and then picks up some richer notes as it gets riper. I actually like it closer to the honeydew/cuke zone. I have also had people tell me it has notes of pear. It is mild but also delicious. It really is its own thing. I don't bother removing the seeds, it is the most flavorful part, but not everyone is into it.
Arugula - Large Only
Lettuce - Large Only
Sunday, August 11, 2019
Week 11
I would love to tell you about all the fabulous food I made last week but all I can think of that I ate were eggs, peaches, tomatoes, burrata and tater tots. I will have to see if I can pull it together a bit this week and feed myself a little better. We did get some food put up for the winter though and that is a relief.
With almost all our transplanting done we are focused on weeding and harvesting. We had a year of horrible weed management in the front field by South Bay Road last year and killing weeds has been a never ending mission this season. Most of that field is being doubled cropped which helps push down the weed bank. Of course that is only if we stay on top of all the weeds that germinate this season. When we hand weed beds we are only killing weeds that have germinated from the top couple inches or so of the soil. There are still millions of weed seeds deeper in the soil. Having multiple crops in the same year means you are working the field multiple times, bringing more weed seed to the top to germinate and be killed (hopefully). The downside is that excessive tilling has a negative impact on the quality of the soil. It can damage soil structure, decrease organic matter and effect the ability for the soil to hold water.
Mechanical tilling, when it was first introduced, or even just mechanization in general, was a boon to farmers. Suddenly farming became easier. For example, cover crops and fertilizers could be worked into the soil better. Previous crops could be tilled in quickly and beds made more level. It is interesting to think about how what was once seen as progress and the way of the future is now looked at with concern...kinda like tater tots...which while horrible, really do taste amazing on a tired August afternoon.
Have a great week.
Lettuce
Carrots
Cucumber
Napa Cabbage - I love this stuff!
Celery -
Potatoes - Harvest Moon has a dark purple skin and a gold flesh.
Tomato - Small Share
Cherry Tomato - Large Share
Broccoli - Large Share
I would love to tell you about all the fabulous food I made last week but all I can think of that I ate were eggs, peaches, tomatoes, burrata and tater tots. I will have to see if I can pull it together a bit this week and feed myself a little better. We did get some food put up for the winter though and that is a relief.
With almost all our transplanting done we are focused on weeding and harvesting. We had a year of horrible weed management in the front field by South Bay Road last year and killing weeds has been a never ending mission this season. Most of that field is being doubled cropped which helps push down the weed bank. Of course that is only if we stay on top of all the weeds that germinate this season. When we hand weed beds we are only killing weeds that have germinated from the top couple inches or so of the soil. There are still millions of weed seeds deeper in the soil. Having multiple crops in the same year means you are working the field multiple times, bringing more weed seed to the top to germinate and be killed (hopefully). The downside is that excessive tilling has a negative impact on the quality of the soil. It can damage soil structure, decrease organic matter and effect the ability for the soil to hold water.
Mechanical tilling, when it was first introduced, or even just mechanization in general, was a boon to farmers. Suddenly farming became easier. For example, cover crops and fertilizers could be worked into the soil better. Previous crops could be tilled in quickly and beds made more level. It is interesting to think about how what was once seen as progress and the way of the future is now looked at with concern...kinda like tater tots...which while horrible, really do taste amazing on a tired August afternoon.
Have a great week.
Lettuce
Carrots
Cucumber
Napa Cabbage - I love this stuff!
Celery -
Potatoes - Harvest Moon has a dark purple skin and a gold flesh.
Tomato - Small Share
Cherry Tomato - Large Share
Broccoli - Large Share
Sunday, August 4, 2019
Week 10
Happy August.
Last week's rain was a nice surprise and I am looking forward to this week's heat although it does present some challenges for harvest and transplanting. It is great weather for killing weeds and ripening tomatoes.
We went to a pot luck last night at a neighbor's house and I brought two dishes perfect for the hot weather. One, was a Thai glass noodle salad dish, that was similar to this one, but I skipped the pork and the fresh shrimp since the host was grilling salmon and chicken. I have made it with with pork and shrimp and it is great but it is also great and even more simple to prepare with out them. I love the texture of mung bean noodles and I love dishes that can be adapted to whatever veggies I have on hand. The fruit vendor at market had his first round of free stone peaches and I also made a caprese salad with tomatoes, mozzarella, peaches and Thai basil with a drizzle of an aged balsamic vinegar. I have seen assorted versions on the Internet for a while now and had never tried one. It was a hit and I really liked the slightly more anise flavor of the Thai basil with the peaches but I suspect regular basil would have been just as good.
Lettuce
Garlic
Onion - hopefully bunched tropea longs. They are great for salads and grilling.
Zucchini
Cherry Tomato
Broccoli
Slicing Tomato - Large Only
Bell Pepper - Large Only
Happy August.
Last week's rain was a nice surprise and I am looking forward to this week's heat although it does present some challenges for harvest and transplanting. It is great weather for killing weeds and ripening tomatoes.
We went to a pot luck last night at a neighbor's house and I brought two dishes perfect for the hot weather. One, was a Thai glass noodle salad dish, that was similar to this one, but I skipped the pork and the fresh shrimp since the host was grilling salmon and chicken. I have made it with with pork and shrimp and it is great but it is also great and even more simple to prepare with out them. I love the texture of mung bean noodles and I love dishes that can be adapted to whatever veggies I have on hand. The fruit vendor at market had his first round of free stone peaches and I also made a caprese salad with tomatoes, mozzarella, peaches and Thai basil with a drizzle of an aged balsamic vinegar. I have seen assorted versions on the Internet for a while now and had never tried one. It was a hit and I really liked the slightly more anise flavor of the Thai basil with the peaches but I suspect regular basil would have been just as good.
Lettuce
Garlic
Onion - hopefully bunched tropea longs. They are great for salads and grilling.
Zucchini
Cherry Tomato
Broccoli
Slicing Tomato - Large Only
Bell Pepper - Large Only
Sunday, July 28, 2019
Week 9
This past week a dear friend and her family came to stay with us for a few days. Maryanne and I spent our junior year of college living and studying in Rouen, France. The study abroad program connected her family and mine so that I could catch a ride with them to airport to meet up with the rest of the study abroad group. We were friends instantly, talking nonstop the entire two hours to JFK airport. France was incredible and without that year in France, I don't know that I ever would have found my way to a life in agriculture. I was fascinated by their food systems. I loved the regional pride they took in certain foods that could only be found in one region of the country and was struck by the joy people took in eating. It was the nightly cheese plate that stuck with me the most and I knew I wanted to learn more about making cheese. It took me ten years to follow up on that dream. When I left Colorado for Maine to learn cheese making, I had no idea that it would be the the other most transformative year of my life. I learned a lot about making cheese that year, but more importantly I discovered farming and I met Kelly. Maryanne was living in Maine and I spent a lot of time at her house, sharing food, doing laundry and hanging out on my day off. She has been a part of two of the most important years of my life, not just in terms of my interest in agriculture, but really just in general. We hadn't seen each other in about six years, but it didn't feel that way. It was so wonderful to spend time with her and her family and also to be reminded of why I fell in love with farming and how I got to this spot. I also slacked a bit on doing farm work which was an incredible luxury for July and I feel ready for August! A special shout out to Kelly who was so supportive and who along with our crew picked up my slack so that I could enjoy having my friend in town.
The heat has given us a boost and the first good harvest of slicing tomatoes happened on Friday. I was also surprised to see how much the melons have grown in the past week. Stuff happens so fast this time of year, it can be hard to keep up, but so far so good. I was particularly pleased we got the parsnips and leeks weeded. I don't know how many of you missed getting them in your boxes last year but I really missed having them to both sell and eat.
Carrots - We have a crew member out this week and we are going to save a bit of time by giving you carrots without the tops. The only purpose the tops serve is that they look nice, which admittedly I put a lot of value in, but these will taste just as good.
Beets
Lettuce
Potatoes - We have moved our next planting of potatoes and these will be true new potatoes with very thin skins. If you pick up at our house you can see the potatoes flowering in the back field behind our house.
Japanese Cucumber - Our favorite cucumber - has a thin skin and is more perishable than the type you had in your boxes a couple weeks ago.
Slicing Tomato
Kohlrabi
Cherry Tomato - Large Only
This past week a dear friend and her family came to stay with us for a few days. Maryanne and I spent our junior year of college living and studying in Rouen, France. The study abroad program connected her family and mine so that I could catch a ride with them to airport to meet up with the rest of the study abroad group. We were friends instantly, talking nonstop the entire two hours to JFK airport. France was incredible and without that year in France, I don't know that I ever would have found my way to a life in agriculture. I was fascinated by their food systems. I loved the regional pride they took in certain foods that could only be found in one region of the country and was struck by the joy people took in eating. It was the nightly cheese plate that stuck with me the most and I knew I wanted to learn more about making cheese. It took me ten years to follow up on that dream. When I left Colorado for Maine to learn cheese making, I had no idea that it would be the the other most transformative year of my life. I learned a lot about making cheese that year, but more importantly I discovered farming and I met Kelly. Maryanne was living in Maine and I spent a lot of time at her house, sharing food, doing laundry and hanging out on my day off. She has been a part of two of the most important years of my life, not just in terms of my interest in agriculture, but really just in general. We hadn't seen each other in about six years, but it didn't feel that way. It was so wonderful to spend time with her and her family and also to be reminded of why I fell in love with farming and how I got to this spot. I also slacked a bit on doing farm work which was an incredible luxury for July and I feel ready for August! A special shout out to Kelly who was so supportive and who along with our crew picked up my slack so that I could enjoy having my friend in town.
The heat has given us a boost and the first good harvest of slicing tomatoes happened on Friday. I was also surprised to see how much the melons have grown in the past week. Stuff happens so fast this time of year, it can be hard to keep up, but so far so good. I was particularly pleased we got the parsnips and leeks weeded. I don't know how many of you missed getting them in your boxes last year but I really missed having them to both sell and eat.
Carrots - We have a crew member out this week and we are going to save a bit of time by giving you carrots without the tops. The only purpose the tops serve is that they look nice, which admittedly I put a lot of value in, but these will taste just as good.
Beets
Lettuce
Potatoes - We have moved our next planting of potatoes and these will be true new potatoes with very thin skins. If you pick up at our house you can see the potatoes flowering in the back field behind our house.
Japanese Cucumber - Our favorite cucumber - has a thin skin and is more perishable than the type you had in your boxes a couple weeks ago.
Slicing Tomato
Kohlrabi
Cherry Tomato - Large Only
Sunday, July 14, 2019
Week 7
Many of the crops that like heat get covered with floating row cover when we transplant them. Floating row cover is a very light weight spun poly that adds a little warmth and protection but still allows light and water to pass through it. For things in the cucurbit family like zucchinis, cucumbers, melons and winter squash it also protects them from the cucumber beetle. We like to leave the cover on as long as possible, not taking it off until we see the plant starting to flower. This past week we uncovered the melons and this coming week we will remove it from the winter squash. Typically the winter squash are attempting to spring loose by the time they flower. Yesterday Kelly took the tractor over and rototilled the paths while the squash is still contained. Hopefully we will get a chance to uncover it tomorrow. Before we had cucumber beetles, we still used row cover for heat, but we would be little more casual about it. If we were reusing row cover and it was just a little short we would leave a dozen or so plants uncovered with the idea that we would cover them later (ya, right). One thing that proved to us was that it really makes a difference. Plants that get covered get off to a much quicker start and seem more productive. Looking out at a field of white is less pastoral but the advantages of using it more than make up for the looks and cost of it.
I thought last week's box was lovely as I was packing it. This weeks box isn't as bountiful ,but it will contain some of our first cherry tomatoes. Ahh, summer. We gorged ourselves on apricots, blueberries and peaches this week. Tomatoes and stone fruit are a couple of the things I look forward to most this time of year. I bought some delicious peaches at market the same day I was given a small depression glass mixing bowl by someone who knows I love old dishes of all sorts. The peaches and blueberries looked so beautiful in the blue glass and it gave me a reason to use some adorable pink depression glass custard cups I picked up at a yard sale last winter. I will admit that most of the time I enjoy choosing what plate I want to use for a particular dish as much as I do making and eating the food. As tiring as July can be, it is also a wonderful time of year- good food, nice weather. We ate outside most nights last week. One night as dusk set in we were treated to watching three barred owls fly around. They were making short trips from tree to tree in our orchard sometimes landing on the ground and calling to each other the whole time. They were so close, it was an amazing thing to see.
Hope you all have some nice meals this week! So far the only thing in my meal plan is to make some peach ice cream.
Carrots - I know some of you are keeping up with the carrots because you are buying extra at market. For those of you who need some inspiration we love the carrot salad from the Portland restaurant Kachka. Admittedly, I have never eaten there, but a customer turned me on to the cookbook of the same name. We served it this winter along with a few other root vegetable salads and some pierogis at a dinner party and everyone loved it. The link is a little strange, but it was the only place I could find it. If you look towards the top of the page when you open the link you will see that it is showing on 1 of 5 pages in the cookbook where the salad is mentioned. You will have to click next to see the actual recipe. Russian Korean Carrot Salad
Cucumbers
Cherry Tomatoes
Herb Choice - Mostly basil or parsley.
Green or Purple Bell Pepper
Scallions - I think in most years we are giving you bunched onions at this point in the season. They are a bit behind this year. I am still confident they will size up, but for now we are sticking with scallions
Green Beans - Large Only
Collard Greens - Large Only
Many of the crops that like heat get covered with floating row cover when we transplant them. Floating row cover is a very light weight spun poly that adds a little warmth and protection but still allows light and water to pass through it. For things in the cucurbit family like zucchinis, cucumbers, melons and winter squash it also protects them from the cucumber beetle. We like to leave the cover on as long as possible, not taking it off until we see the plant starting to flower. This past week we uncovered the melons and this coming week we will remove it from the winter squash. Typically the winter squash are attempting to spring loose by the time they flower. Yesterday Kelly took the tractor over and rototilled the paths while the squash is still contained. Hopefully we will get a chance to uncover it tomorrow. Before we had cucumber beetles, we still used row cover for heat, but we would be little more casual about it. If we were reusing row cover and it was just a little short we would leave a dozen or so plants uncovered with the idea that we would cover them later (ya, right). One thing that proved to us was that it really makes a difference. Plants that get covered get off to a much quicker start and seem more productive. Looking out at a field of white is less pastoral but the advantages of using it more than make up for the looks and cost of it.
I thought last week's box was lovely as I was packing it. This weeks box isn't as bountiful ,but it will contain some of our first cherry tomatoes. Ahh, summer. We gorged ourselves on apricots, blueberries and peaches this week. Tomatoes and stone fruit are a couple of the things I look forward to most this time of year. I bought some delicious peaches at market the same day I was given a small depression glass mixing bowl by someone who knows I love old dishes of all sorts. The peaches and blueberries looked so beautiful in the blue glass and it gave me a reason to use some adorable pink depression glass custard cups I picked up at a yard sale last winter. I will admit that most of the time I enjoy choosing what plate I want to use for a particular dish as much as I do making and eating the food. As tiring as July can be, it is also a wonderful time of year- good food, nice weather. We ate outside most nights last week. One night as dusk set in we were treated to watching three barred owls fly around. They were making short trips from tree to tree in our orchard sometimes landing on the ground and calling to each other the whole time. They were so close, it was an amazing thing to see.
Hope you all have some nice meals this week! So far the only thing in my meal plan is to make some peach ice cream.
Carrots - I know some of you are keeping up with the carrots because you are buying extra at market. For those of you who need some inspiration we love the carrot salad from the Portland restaurant Kachka. Admittedly, I have never eaten there, but a customer turned me on to the cookbook of the same name. We served it this winter along with a few other root vegetable salads and some pierogis at a dinner party and everyone loved it. The link is a little strange, but it was the only place I could find it. If you look towards the top of the page when you open the link you will see that it is showing on 1 of 5 pages in the cookbook where the salad is mentioned. You will have to click next to see the actual recipe. Russian Korean Carrot Salad
Cucumbers
Cherry Tomatoes
Herb Choice - Mostly basil or parsley.
Green or Purple Bell Pepper
Scallions - I think in most years we are giving you bunched onions at this point in the season. They are a bit behind this year. I am still confident they will size up, but for now we are sticking with scallions
Green Beans - Large Only
Collard Greens - Large Only
Sunday, July 7, 2019
Week 6
All but a very small section of garlic, Spanish Roja, is pulled and drying in the barn. The garlic field is being flipped for fall carrots that are due to be seeded in one week. The quick flip of fields and getting two crops out of the same space has been a regular strategy this summer. We really haven't downsized plantings much, but our space has been downsized by a little over 20 percent. In my mind it didn't seem like that would be as difficult as it has been. Our labor is considerably higher than last year and I am not exactly sure why, but I suspect loosing Shincke is contributing to it. Every year is different. Every year we hope to be better farmers and better managers. I think both Kelly and I are really struggling with that this year. It is much easier to become better at something when you first start doing it. We are in our 12th season of farming and our drive to always be better is still there, but it seems harder to make large improvements. The transition to South Bay has gone okay, but it hasn't simplified things as much as we had hoped. I still am not happy with the flow of our new washroom and walk-in or the organization of all our stuff. I don't think I realized how many systems we had in place. Those systems just kind of formed naturally and got tweaked a little each year. I thought we would take all that knowledge, bring it to South Bay and set up a perfect system, but it is just going to take a bit more time than either of us expected...story of lives :)
We started going the Oly market all four days last week and we applied for a double stall/permanent stall assignment. Up until this week we showed up at 8:55 and waited for our name to be called based on a seniority system. We then unloaded the van, parked it a couple blocks away and then set up, all in under an hour. We never knew if we would get to spread out into an extra space or not. Now we can show up earlier and just head to our stall! It feels so much better. We also hired another person. She will cover crew taking summer vacations and work on Fridays since we will be loosing a harvest position to work the market on Friday. July is always a hectic month. While you all are still in the first half of your CSA season, July is the month that really sets us up to sell through November. Today I am seeding the last round of cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower, all of which should be planted in the field by August 1st. Seed, weed, harvest, repeat! The motto for July is now or never. Well, there is always next year, but I promise I am still trying to make this year the best yet.
On that note, I am off to seed.
Enjoy your week. Hope you all had a nice holiday.
Lettuce
Carrots
Potatoes
Swiss Chard
Zucchini
Garlic
Cauliflower - If you don't have cauliflower this week you will next week. I am hoping we can harvest enough for everybody but we might have to do one size share this week and the other size next week.
Bok Choy - Large Only
All but a very small section of garlic, Spanish Roja, is pulled and drying in the barn. The garlic field is being flipped for fall carrots that are due to be seeded in one week. The quick flip of fields and getting two crops out of the same space has been a regular strategy this summer. We really haven't downsized plantings much, but our space has been downsized by a little over 20 percent. In my mind it didn't seem like that would be as difficult as it has been. Our labor is considerably higher than last year and I am not exactly sure why, but I suspect loosing Shincke is contributing to it. Every year is different. Every year we hope to be better farmers and better managers. I think both Kelly and I are really struggling with that this year. It is much easier to become better at something when you first start doing it. We are in our 12th season of farming and our drive to always be better is still there, but it seems harder to make large improvements. The transition to South Bay has gone okay, but it hasn't simplified things as much as we had hoped. I still am not happy with the flow of our new washroom and walk-in or the organization of all our stuff. I don't think I realized how many systems we had in place. Those systems just kind of formed naturally and got tweaked a little each year. I thought we would take all that knowledge, bring it to South Bay and set up a perfect system, but it is just going to take a bit more time than either of us expected...story of lives :)
We started going the Oly market all four days last week and we applied for a double stall/permanent stall assignment. Up until this week we showed up at 8:55 and waited for our name to be called based on a seniority system. We then unloaded the van, parked it a couple blocks away and then set up, all in under an hour. We never knew if we would get to spread out into an extra space or not. Now we can show up earlier and just head to our stall! It feels so much better. We also hired another person. She will cover crew taking summer vacations and work on Fridays since we will be loosing a harvest position to work the market on Friday. July is always a hectic month. While you all are still in the first half of your CSA season, July is the month that really sets us up to sell through November. Today I am seeding the last round of cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower, all of which should be planted in the field by August 1st. Seed, weed, harvest, repeat! The motto for July is now or never. Well, there is always next year, but I promise I am still trying to make this year the best yet.
On that note, I am off to seed.
Enjoy your week. Hope you all had a nice holiday.
Lettuce
Carrots
Potatoes
Swiss Chard
Zucchini
Garlic
Cauliflower - If you don't have cauliflower this week you will next week. I am hoping we can harvest enough for everybody but we might have to do one size share this week and the other size next week.
Bok Choy - Large Only
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