Farm Happenings at NWPA Growers Co-op
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CSA Week 14

Posted on September 3rd, 2020 by Amy Philson

No, we don't have strawberries available now, but I bet the photo caught your eye.  Local strawberries are only available in June.  A farm update from Detweiler Farm, one of our Amish farms.  

We have been working on our strawberry beds, getting them ready for next season.  We are weeding them and mulching with straw.  We have about 5,000 strawberry plants right now.  We replant some of them every year, because strawberries begin bearing fruit in their second year and produce well for only a couple of years.  Strawberry plants send off runners that make new plants, and some people replant those to keep their strawberries going.  But we have so many that it's more efficient to buy new strawberry plants every year.  We have also harvested all of our storage onions for winter.  We are beginning to harvest winter squash and potatoes.  And this week we will be harvesting sweet corn!  Our first two plantings of corn failed, so we had to wait a long time for the third planting to mature.

And from Grateful Life Farm:

What a busy week!  We harvested 184 chickens on Saturday and spent Sunday cutting and packaging them.  I'm extremely proud of our crew for pulling this off!  We were short one person and had two new people, but we all pushed hard to make it happen.  Monday we cleaned up.  Wednesday and Thursday we harvested and packaged another batch of rabbits.  Tuesday and Thursday we cut the grass in the pasture and moved the pens and the fences to get set up for the next batch of chicks to move to the pasture.  Now we’re just waiting for this desperately needed rain to pass to make the move from brooder to pasture.  Sunday is looking like our day.

Watermelons are just about finished (we have a few in Webstore this week but not enough for CSA).  Our first winter squash (delicata) is available this week.  The nights are turning cooler and sundown is coming earlier.  Fall is definitely approaching.  When you grow a garden or purchase local food from a CSA or farmer's market, you become more accustomed to eating seasonally.  Does your menu change drastically throughout the seasons?  Or do you eat many of the same foods year-round?

Apple season is upon us, and we are offering apple dumplings from Dinner Bell Farm this week.  Dinner Bell Farm joined NWPA Growers earlier this year, bringing us delicious baked goods.  We have only offered their products on our Webstore so far, but this week you can get them in your CSA box as a swap or extra.  But be sure to eat your veggies, too!

Our farms had 3-7 inches of rain last weekend, which the ground and plants soaked up readily.  After that much rain we usually have a muddy mess, but not this time since the ground was so very dry.  And the rain has made shiitake mushrooms fruit, so those are available as extras this week.  Yum!

It looks like a beautiful week coming up with lots of sunshine and cool nights.  Enjoy the September weather.  

On behalf of your NWPA Growers farmers,

Amy Philson