Farm Happenings for May 12,13,14

Greetings from Fresh Start Farms!

Welcome to the 6th week of the spring FarmShare! This week, you can look forward to fresh salanova mix, mint, and chives from Sylvain, scallions and radishes from Isho, spinach and asparagus from Isha and Sidi, and much more!

We also have 2 new veggie burgers available this week! Sweet potato burgers from Vermont Bean Crafters and Beet Burgers from Blue Mango are a perfect way to start the grilling season!

Happy African Eggplant seedlings almost ready for planting! Excited for you to enjoy these this summer!

We're just getting started!

The spring FarmShare is almost over, but don't worry, the summer share starts immediately following! Sign up today for your summer share and you won't miss a week of farm-fresh veggies!

The 12-week Summer FarmShare will include all the summer staples like lettuce, carrots, greens, herbs, summer squash, cucumbers, green beans, peppers, and more. This share will include earlier season items like asparagus and parsnips as well as a taste of tomatoes, eggplant, and sweet peppers at the end of the share. The Fresh Start farmers will also bring you crops from their home countries like amaranth greens, lauki squash, African corn, and more!

Have you signed up yet? The share is filling up fast!

Keep reading for important member info, pick up & delivery info, highlights from this week's harvest, recipe of the week, and featured pantry, dairy, and protein items!

Highlights from this week's Bounty

Salanova Mix, Chives, Mint, Scallions, and Mustard Greens from Sylvain
Asparagus and Spinach from Isha and Sidi
Fiddleheads, Brookford Farm
Organic Purple Daikon, Black Spanish, & Watermelon Radishes, Brookford Farm
Organic Purple Kohlrabi, Harvest Tide Organics
Red Potatoes, Dagele Brothers Produce
Empire, Jonagold and Ida Red Apples, Dutton Berry Farm
Sweet Potatoes, Juniper Hill Farm

Important Member Info

Don't forget to return your boxes! We are happy to reuse the cardboard box your farm share is delivered in. Just leave it out for the delivery driver or bring it back to your pick-up location. Thank you for helping us cut down on waste!

Find resources on how to customize your box, how to hold or reschedule a delivery, how the payment plan works, and more in the Members Help Section.

Recipe of the Week

The Gilfeather turnip, a rutabaga-turnip hybrid, is a root vegetable that is normally harvested after the first hard frost of the season. It is white rather than yellow inside, and it is sweet and creamy, not having the bite of a normal turnip.

It was first cultivated by John Gilfeather in the early 1900s at a farm on Gilfeather Road in Wardsboro, VT. Gilfeather was a secretive man. He wouldn’t say how he originally grew this unique turnip and went to great lengths to make sure he was the only one who could grow them. He carefully shaved the individual root hairs and cut the tops off each turnip before bringing them to market.

Somehow, William and Mary Lou Schmidt got a hold of some seeds and in the 1970s, a few decades after Gilfeather’s passing, they commercialized them and got them trademarked and certified as an heirloom botanical through the Vermont and United State Departments of Agriculture. In May 2016, the Gilfeather Turnip became Vermont’s state vegetable. (Source Cedar Circle Farm).

CULINARY TIPS

Peel it first to remove the rough outer layer
Roast it, mash it, puree it, or make a soufflé
Use it in soups, bhaji, and latkes

3 WAYS TO PREPARE

Latkes! Grate and mix with eggs, scallions, flour, salt and pepper then fry ⅛ cup of batter on a skillet.
Cheesy mash! Cube, boil, and mash a medium turnip, then fold in ½-¾ c. of Vermont cheddar.
Gilfeather Soup! Sauté onion and garlic in butter. Add stock and turnips, cook until tender, and drain. Puree, then add half and half, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Garnish with sautéed spinach.

New Proteins!

Blue Mango's Beet Veggie Burgers are made with beets, Onions, Black Beans, Panko Breadcrumbs, Spinach, Rice, and Fresh Ginger. They are handmade in Maine and vegan and soy free!

Vermont Bean Crafters takes local, organic vegetables, herbs, heirloom beans and grains and turn them into thoughtful, soulful variations of whole food plant-based products. The burgers are entirely GLUTEN-FREE, VEGAN, and GMO-FREE. Try out the new Sweet Potato burgers or Falafel Burgers!

Featured Dairy

Garlic & Herb Goat Cheese Dip!
Vermont Creamery's classic goat cheese dip blended with savory herbs and fresh garlic! Perfect to dip chips, pretzels, crackers, raw veggies, pita bread, and more!

If you are new to Fresh Start Farms, welcome!

We are a collective brand for immigrant and refugee farmers participating in the New American Sustainable Agriculture Program, a program of the Organization for Refugee and Immigrant Success. We work alongside new American farmers to bring farm fresh ingredients to your table via neighborhood farm stands, farmers markets, our FarmShare, wholesale and through NH Farm to School.

Twenty-three new American farmers make up Fresh Start Farms. Nine farmers are part of the New American Farmers Co-op and grow at Our Farm on Story Hill in Dunbarton, NH. An additional 14 farmers, the Umoja Farmers, grow on land at the St. Paul's School in Concord, NH.

All producers in the Fresh Start Farms collective implement organic practices. While not certified organic, the farmers grow nutrient dense produce without chemicals and in a way that promotes healthy soil, habitat, and environment.

We speak 13 languages, represent 7 countries and grow over 50 different varieties of produce!

To learn more about our organization as a whole, please visit us at http://www.refugeesuccess.org

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Important Member Info

CULINARY TIPS

3 WAYS TO PREPARE

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