Hi, Friends:
More rain fell at the end of last week ~ such a gift! Late summer and leaning toward fall, the outdoors is showing a familiar complexion: cooler temps, a bit of moisture, lower light levels (shorter days) and a garden a few notches below the wildly fecund state it was in even a few weeks back. With the changes, several crops, such as Chard and Kale, are looking more tender and delectable, while others ~ tomatoes, cucumbers, basil ~ are slowing their ripening considerably. We are virtually done with sowing new crops, except the speediest ones like Arugula, Radish, Spinach, and such. We are putting in extra effort at finishing the plantings that haven't gone in yet: cabbage, late kale, broccoli, and several others that won't ripen until late October into November.
Note: The customization period this week closes tomorrow, Monday, at 2 p.m.
Question from a member: "If I customize my share below its base value (small=$18, Medium = $28, Large = $40) does the unclaimed value become an available credit for future use?" In other words: if some weeks you customize your box by removing items, but don't swap them for others of similar value, does the resulting difference become a credit you can apply to future harvests? I checked with Harvie on this and their answer is "NO" boxes customized below their base value don't generate future credits. The presumption on Harvie's part (ours too) is that a member is prepared to accept the share Harvie creates for them each harvest, and if not, will customize it by swapping items to suit their tastes. Harvie has no system in place to track and credit below value boxes, and we don't either. So to conclude: if you don't like the items in your share on any given week, take advantage of the customizing feature of Harvie to swap or increase some items to better meet your needs for that week. For our part, we plan to increase the number of items we offer each week to create more possibilities for swapping out the items you don't want. We'll also continue to offer additional items from other farms and local processors as for-purchase extras.
This week's photo: While pawing through the weeds in our Onion field, Ashley exclaimed, "Mike look at this lizard!" This little amphibian is not a lizard, but we are a bit stumped if it is a newt or a salamander. If any herpetologists are in the audience, we'd love a more informed assessment. In any case, we see very few reptiles and amphibians compared to our early tenure here, so any sightings are a delight.
This Weeks' Items Available for extra purchase:
* Yellow Potatoes (1st Cut Farm, Mt. Vernon) * Goat Cheese (Chevre) * Fresh Pasta * Shiitake Mushrooms * Pastured Roasting Chicken * Organic Eggs
From Cedarville Farm: Broccoli Raab * Green Onions * Bulk Basil * Hot Peppers (Chiles) * Sauce (Roma) Tomatoes
