Important Info
- NO pickup on the 4th of July
- All pickups will happen on Thursday, July 5th -- same time, same places -- just one day later
The Cool-Season/Warm-Season Transition
We grow a wide variety of crops, but many -- perhaps even most -- are cool-season crops. That's most of what you've been getting in the shares so far: lettuces, beets, carrots, cabbage, green garlic, radishes, turnips, etc. These crops love warm (not hot) days and cool nights. Once the average daily temperature is creeping above 75 degrees or so, these plants start to struggle. And if you recall, we didn't have much in between this year! It was really cool until late May when, all of the sudden, the heat just exploded and so our cool-season harvests have suffered. For example: you may have noticed that there was no lettuce this week, even though it was on the Friday list. That's because the lettuce we intended to harvest "bolted" -- it went to seed from the heat!
Of course we've got lots of warm-season crops too, and they're coming, but they aren't ready yet. Tomatoes, peppers, melons, squash, eggplant and more are all coming along nicely, but we're starting to hit that hot transition time where cool-season crops throw in the towel and warm-season crops still have some growing to do before we can harvest.
So, unfortunately, the shares will likely muddle through some low-diversity for the next few weeks before tomatoes start coming out of the hoophouse. We've been frustrated with the growing season this year because it has been one of the weirdest seasons we've had thus far. Once the heat came, all the weeds seemed to germinate at the same time and we've been struggling to keep up.
For all you folks new to CSA -- hang in there! We can do better, but the weather this year has really stretched us, and with the cool-season/warm-season transition underway, it'll probably get worse before it gets better. :-(
CSA Pro Tips
- Leon's Members: please bring your share list to pick up (on your phone or printed/written). Your share list is in the email you get from us at around 6am on Wednesdays
- Bring your own bags, or better yet, a soft or hard cooler with ice packs in it to keep your veggies/eggs/cheese as fresh as possible!
- Pick up times: Leon's: 4-7pm, Robinette Farms: 4-7pm, Assurity and FES: 3-5pm
- You have from Friday afternoon when you get the email until Sunday evening at 11pm to edit your share. First come, first serve on the swaps and extra items, so if you want the best swaps, then login as soon as you get the email!
Tips, ideas, recipes, photos, anything CSA related...check the Facebook Group regularly for connection and inspiration! https://www.facebook.com/groups/robinettecsa2018/
Don't use Facebook? That's ok too! We've got a private CSA Training Library that we continue to update! Access it via this private link: https://www.robinettefarms.com/csa-training-library
