CSA Share Notes

Special treats in your boxes this week, grown by friends! Read on for more details.

Garden Forecast:

The spring crops are winding down early. With the unceasing rain and rising temperatures, we predict we just have another week remaining in the Spring harvest.  And it might not even be quite enough to go around to the whole group so it may just be half of you getting a share next week.  (This might be your final box for some of you!)

But not to fret! We’re rapidly establishing a healthy and beautiful summer garden and we hope that you’ll enjoy that season with us too.

There is still very limited room in that season membership. So if you haven’t joined yet, you should do so soon! Join Summer 2024 here. If you would like, log in to your member account to check and see if you’re registered for the Summer 2024 season.

Your vegetable line up:

• Fennel Bulb — This crop is so fragrant and delicious. It’s excellent shaved thin into a salad with carrot and beet, it’s also wonderful roasted (with carrots and beets, no less!)  The fronds are fantastic cooked with fish. I love this zero-waste chef blog for inspiration and she’s got an article on using up fennel
• Kohlrabi — Large shares received the last of our Spring kohlrabi. This crop is wonderful peeled and thinly sliced and either on top of a salad, or eaten with salt and lemon. It’s excellent in a slaw or stir fry, too. Or roasted with your fennel!
• Carrots — Everyone received lovely rainbow carrot bunches this week. But I have an important note! We had to sort these HEAVILY for rotten spots, and with all the mud caked onto them, it’s possible we missed a few bad ones. Please check through your carrot bundles thoroughly and chop off any rotten bits. CARROT TOPS ARE EDIBLE folks!  Google search carrot top pesto, or toss them into soups and stews or even salad for loads of flavor.
• Beets — for everyone! The greens are pretty trashed from the rain and wind, but the roots are delicious. We love roasted carrots and beets atop a hearty salad, alongside goat cheese, pine nuts, and fresh or dried cherries. Or let me encourage you to try this wonderful beet spread recipe that we’ve made and loved for years now.
• Leeks — 3 for the Large shares, 2 for the regular and 1 for the mini shares. You’ll clean these well, as dirt can get down into the leaf folds, but they’ll be delicious in any soups or sautes you make this week. If you haven’t tries the Scape, Chard, and Leek Quiche , it’s a winner. We also used them in a wonderful Asian beef and kohlrabi stir fry this week.
• Potaotes — For the large and regular shares, our first harvest of red new potatoes.  We’ve got to try and get this whole crop out of the ground next week to save it. We’re doing our best, but all this tricky weather makes for lots of extra work.
• Onions — Red onions for all, Yellow for the large shares. Delicious, sweet, flavorful.
• Kale — Curly kale for the large shares, Lacinato kale for the Mini shares. These crops can be used interchangeably in any recipe that calls for kale.  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 Regular shares.  We love making a raw 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!)
• 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 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.

Veggie Storage tips:

Consult the e-book we sent you for a comprehensive veggie storage guide! 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:  Rainbow carrots. collards, leeks, red onion, and Fennel. (bottom row) peaches, beets, potatoes.

Large Share

 

Large Share top left to right: Rainbow carrots, curly kale, leeks,  red and yellow onion, and Fennel. (bottom row) kohlrabi above peaches, beets, potatoes.

 Mini Share

 

Mini share: Rainbow carrots, lacinato kale, red onion, Peaches below, beets, leek, and Fennel.

Floral Bouquets

This week’s bouquets typically consist of Sunflowers, Gloriosa Rudbeckia, Dill, Zinnias, Giant Marigolds, Lemon Basil, Yarrow, and a little bit of Ammi, a little bit of Veronica. Soon we’ll have beautiful zinnias coming out of our ears!  Can’t wait for more.