week 7

this is what it looks like around here on a harvest morning.



our first experience with tomato wilt. We have had to pull a few plants, maybe ten, not a lot on the grand scale of things, hopefully it will not spread any further...




onions bulbing up!




ducks at king bird farm, glad to get to see another farm during the busy time of year, went on a tour over the weekend!


hello happy (we hope) eaters!
we wanted to take a moment and let people know that due to the generosity of you, our members we now have six low income families getting half price CSA shares. It has been super fun to see people's faces light up when they get to pick their items at the market. we feel really rewarded to know that those low income folks are getting to be involved in our farm. the exclusion of poorer members of our community due to the initial cost has always been a concern for us, and we were wowed and warmed by the number of people who choose to give extra money to subsidize a low income family.

we were also surprised at how hard we had to work to find families to join at half price. We started the journey to low income members four months before the CSA started, with the thought that people could pay $50 per month and that would not be too much of a strain on the budget. We sent a letter to everyone who gets food from the food bank in our county. got some interest but no members. We visited the food pantry three times (two locations), went to headstart, talked to office of the aging, went to the WIC office hours and tabled twice, and yet didn't have a single person willing to try the half price CSA concept! Finally we started talking to everyone at the watkins market especially people who we knew we had received food stamps from in the past and we asked the managers to get the word out. We were glad through word of mouth that we filled them all! but our eyes were really opened to many of the factors affecting those in our community with less financial resources.


new this week:
you'll see the first of the pickling cucumbers coming in soon. don't think they aren't tasty and delicious just because you don't plan on pickling them!

still here:
chard, kale, lettuce, scapes are still sticking around somehow, fresh onions, summer squash and zucchini, tomatoes (a few cherry tomatoes), cucumbers, parsley, basil, and new potatoes!

try this yummy quinoa tabouli recipe from the greenleaf:
1 cup quinoa
1 tsp coarse salt
fresh ground black pepper
1 cup flat leaf parsley
1/2 cup fresh mint or 1/4 cup dried
4 scallions
4 T lemon juice
4 T extra virgin olive oil
1 large ripe tomato

rinse quinoa well. bring to a boil covered in 2 cups salted water. cook over very low heat until water is absorbed (~15 min)
chop herbs and onions
remove quinoa from heat, remove lid cover with a clean towel, replace lid. allow to cool, fluff with fork.

combine with herbs, onions, lemon juice, olive oil and pepper serve at room temperature.


planning a jam making event here in july, word will come by email in the next day or so. have a super week!
liz and matthew