Wow, are we so glad to make it to this point of the week!
First, sorry for this very late delivery email. I usually aim for Sunday or Monday morning, but wanted to make sure we would have product available for this week. Then, a delivery truck accidentally took out the internet cable and utility pole to our farm as it was departing so we have not had internet access.
We spent a lot of time to prepare the farm for this heatwave. We mudded the tunnels (literally flinging mud on them, see photo) in an effort to cool them down to prevent flowers from dropping in our fruiting crops. We moved animals to shady areas, built more shade shelters, spent a lot of time hauling and refilling waters. I serviced the irrigation pump (water literally = life) and stocked up on gas to make sure we could run the pump for hours and hours each day to keep crops alive. We have been starting each day around 5am to harvest and irrigate and letting our crew go home early to ensure everyone stayed safe. We tried really hard to make sure everything survived, but will probably have some crop losses and we hope you will understand.
After 10 years of farming, not much scares me, but this situation really scared me. Farmers and farm workers have been feeling the effects of climate change for awhile now and I have so much gratitude for those who don't have a choice but to labor across the globe for our sustenance. We are extraordinarily privileged to have a cold river to jump in, a place to escape the heat, to set our own schedule, and off farm income in case of total crop failure. We work really hard but we chose this life. We can not confront the climate crisis without also addressing these very real human costs and social injustices.
Reminders:
Bread is back for our Tacoma pick up location!
Flowers start this week! Make sure to pick up your bouquet!
Crops:
Snap Peas- we had some difficulty with germination earlier this year (bean weevils) and they definitely did not like this heat.
Garlic Scapes- last of the season! These keep very well in the fridge so stock up if you want them!
Elephant Garlic/Fresh garlic bulbs- These are not cured, so store in fridge! Elephant garlic is quite mild with large cloves. Unfortunately, we harvested these a little late due to the heat and they have started splitting. It should still taste delicious though!
- Bitter is Better! Our personal favorite salad green. Soak in ice water to remove some of the bitterness and pair with a creamy dressing. Or radicchio is great charred on the grill!
GARLIC PARTY?
We will have our annual Garlic Party this Saturday July 3 afternoon. It is an open farm afternoon so come anytime after 1pm. We will be prepping the garlic for curing and you are welcome to tour the farm, visit the animals, and jump in the river. We had planned on it last weekend, but... you know. We know many of you have holiday plans, but if not, we would love you to come join us! If you plan on helping with the garlic, please bring a chair to sit in. We will provide the garlic and some cold beverages!
