CSA Share Notes

The final Spring CSA box!

Garden Forecast:

The spring crops have declined significantly since the 9 inches of rain that came last week. The garden was already way too wet from an unseasonably rainy spring, and that deluge was the nail in the coffin for many of our crops. All good things come to an end so we’re turning our focus towards a great summer season.

We’ve been cleaning up the storm damage, feeding and weeding and trellising our plants, and I even harvested my first tastes of summer this week!

Yes! A few pints of sungolds and small baskets of squash will be headed to the farmers market this week – which means our big summer CSA harvests are nearly here! I hope you’re looking forward to those, too. If you didn’t join Summer CSA, then today is your final box. We hope to see you in future seasons, and you can catch us at our favorite ETX farmers markets in the mean time.

Your vegetable line up:

• Beets — This variety is called Chioggia and it’s a wonderful heirloom. Sometimes called Bullseye beets for the concentric red and white rings displayed when you cross-cut the root. They are beautiful inside! Roast them and serve in thick slices to get the pretty effect on the plate.  We love roasted beets finished with a mapley-citrusy glaze. Or atop a hearty salad, or a spring pasta. Don’t steam or boil- ROAST! drizzle with oil, wrap in foil, roast at 425 for 45-60 min until fork tender. Cool to handle, peel, slice, and serve.
• Scallions — nice big bunches of tender green onions, perfect for your salads, baked potatoes, tacos, etc.
• Cabbage — Large and Regular shares. This crops was very unhappy in the wet soil conditions and about 90% of it succumbed to rot, but we were able to salvage a few! They are teeny tiny, but they’ll be tasty and enough for a slaw side salad, or to use a topping for some yummy street tacos, or to roast/grill/steam cut in half, and drench with melted butter.
• Potatoes — For all shares, red new potatoes.
• Onions — Red onions for all
• Kale — Curly kale for the regular shares. We’ve enjoyed two amazing massaged kale salads this week- one topped with red wine vinegar, olive oil, red onions, and Winona Orchard peaches (We’ve heard they’re going to have a wonderful peach year!). So simple, and so good. The other massaged kale salad was topped with asian plum vinegar, avocado oil, green onions, Winona peaches, and toasted sliced almonds.
• Collards —  for the Large shares.  We love making a collard slaw, or cooking it in place of cabbage in any recipe, and it’s also great Southern Style (method has been included in share notes regularly this season look back to find details!)
• Chard — Mini sheres received this crop. It has regrown really well after the wind ripped it to shreds 2 weeks ago! Hopefully it hangs on in the heat and we can continue to enjoy it a little longer. The prettiest spring crop of all.
• Peaches — These gorgeous peaches were grown by our friends down the road at Winona Orchards, the highest quality peach orchard around these parts. While they’re not organic, they limit their spraying to well before harvest time, and deliver with exceptional quality. Give them a baking soda soak, rinse, and chow down!  If any of yours need to ripen a little, leave them on your counter for a day or two until they have just a little bit of “give” when gently pressed.
• Blueberries — These were also grown by Winona Orchards and are sweet and delicious! Wash in a baking soda bath, rinse, and enjoy! Why baking soda, you ask?? Read this article!

Veggie Storage tips:

Consult the e-book we sent you for a comprehensive veggie storage guide! Potatoes, peaches, and onions will be happiest at room temperature. Blueberries in your fridge. All leafy greens will keep longest stored in the fridge sealed up in produce bags. Root crops should be severed from their tops to keep the roots from getting rubbery, and the greens stored separately, sealed up to stay fresh. Everything will need a gentle washing before cooking, but you can leave the dirt on until you’re ready to use them to prevent spoilage.

We’d love to hear stories and recipes of your culinary adventures this week. Tag us in Stories, send us a note, or post comments of how you’ve used your CSA share!

Your farmers, Jess & Justin

 

 

Regular Share

 

 

Regular Share top left to right:  Curly kale, blueberries, red onion, (bottom row) Cabbage, peaches, beets, potatoes, and green onions.

Large Share

 

 

Large Share top left to right: Collard greens, blueberries, red onion, (bottom row) Cabbage, peaches, beets, potatoes, and green onions.

 Mini Share

 

 

Mini share: Swiss Chard, blueberries, red onion, (bottom row) peaches, beets, potatoes, and green onions.

Floral Bouquets

These contain zinnias, cosmos, sunflowers, a little bit of rudbeckia, ammi, dill, and  yarrow. A few bouquets received Lisianthus

 

These contain lots of Gloriosa rudbeckia and sunflowers, hotpink celosia, cosmos, dill and/or ammi