Farm-ily,
It’s a safe bet that a good chunk of our daylight during the Summer Solstice on Saturday will be obscured by dark clouds and downpours. This low pressure weather system has been toying with us all week, threatening storms but delivering sprinkles, and never moving on to rain on someone else’s parade. What’s a farmer to do? Well, we do have some eye-popping orange rain gear, and none of us are strangers to wet boots. Work doesn’t wait on weather, but there are some tasks better completed before rainfall, and some made easier in wet soil. Like everything else in farming, it’s a balancing act.
Yesterday, we hustled to get watermelon seeds into the ground ahead of the forecast heavy rains. A little sprinkle helps new seeds or seedlings settle in without needing irrigation, but there’s always an element of risk. Last year, some of our newly planted baby beets were quite literally washed away. Would you believe that every day during CSA season, from the May to November, we’re planting something? The notion of “a time to sow and a time reap” is a bit misleading; if we plan our crops correctly, it’s nearly always time for both. Wet fields can complicate both tasks, if the ground is too soft to drive on with trucks and tractors.
Diversification (or growing many crops) is a farmer’s weapon in a game of strategy against the weather and all the other variables we manage. Running a diversified farm means that if we have a loss in one crop, we still have many others in multiple stages of growth. We’ve already breathed a sigh of gratitude for diversification this year after May’s unexpected late freeze. Have you ever heard of Dr. Booker T. Whatley? He was an African American veteran, farmer, and professor of horticulture at Tuskegee University. Dr. Whatley was an early champion of diversification for small to mid-size farms, regenerative farming, and of a business model he dubbed a “Clientele Membership Club”. If you think that sounds a lot like what we refer to as Community Supported Agriculture, you’re right! He started promoting the notion in the 1960s and later wrote The Whatley Diversified Plan for Small Farms. Thanks to his creative thinking, we have a Farm-ily to harvest for... rain or shine!
Eat well and be well,
Ashley, Collin, John, Lex, Alexandra, Rory, Nate, James, and the hens, hogs, and dogs
Meal Plan Week #4
We have as much (or more) zucchini and summer squash as we do rainfall, so this week’s meal plan is a Zucchini Extravaganza! How many of these can you make in 7 days?
- Trick yourself into eating veggies for breakfast with Zucchini Waffles. If savory is more your style, Zucchini Hash to the rescue.
- You’ve heard of zucchini lasagna, but what about Cheesy, Spicy Zucchini Involtini?
- Pizza night gets a summery update two ways with Squash, Ricotta, & Honey Flatbread or Summer Squash Pizza (kid tested and approved!)
- Fire up the grill for Turkey and Zucchini Burgers, or let your Dutch oven do the work for Black Bean & Zucchini Chili.
- No matter what else you’re having for dinner, it will be tastier if you add Baked Zucchini Fries.
- Zucchini bread is a staple for a reason: it's delicious. Make yourself a decadent Double Chocolate Zucchini Loaf or a healthier, gluten-free option with just a sprinkle of chocolate chips.
**For our members with Farmer's Choice Meat Shares: this week you can expect Willowsford Smoked Ham, Whiffletree Ground Lamb, Pastured Chicken Drumsticks, and Grass-Fed Filet Mignon**
