Dear Farm Friends,
The past few days have been a sprint of watering and prep to ensure the plants (and their people) were ready to beat the heat. Irrigation scheduling was on overdrive as we doused roots and their surrounding soil with the necessary moisture to keep them hydrated. We hung up row cover along the west facing side of the tomato trellis to prevent burning, harvested tender lettuce, liberated cabbage from the heat to avoid steamed interiors, and sprinkled and spritzed the greenhouse. It paid off for the plants. And it paid off for us. We just came home after 7 hours at the river, feeling like we'd been gone a week, and everything had survived our absence. Imagine that? It's amazing what a couple 16hr days can accomplish?! (THANK YOU Conner. Today was super special, and very rare, family time off the farm!)
What else went on around here this week?
- We prepped and planted a slew of fall/winter crops. The last seedings of carrots and beets went in and a bunch of Brassica family seedlings touched ground for the first time.
- We stressed out about finding a freezer for all the meat we have to pick up at the butcher (let us know if you have one to sell!).
- We received a quote back for having a crew come clear blackberry and other invasive weeds from the riparian area along our creek. We've been so happy watching all the natives that we planted put on new growth.
- We ate our first very sour blackberries.
- The kittens caught their first mice!
- We ate this slaw, this garbanzo bean salad with tons of herbs and celery, lots of pesto (I make mine vegan with cashews) and tomatoes, and our first shishito peppers (my favorite summer snack)!
There will be plenty of veggies to make add-ons and swaps for the rest of the season. We encourage you to take full advantage of this opportunity. For instance, we noticed that not a single share has celery in it but it's awesome and perfect for summer salads so we know that some of you will swap it in (wink, wink).
Also, a gentle reminder, please set a reminder on your phone, on your wall calendar, and with your family to remember CSA pick-up. We know it's inevitable that life happens and we definitely have our moments of forgetfulness too but we try to spare our hosts the trouble of weekly coordinating and we want you to get your veggies!
Lots of love,
Sarah + Conner
