CSA #10

Good Morning CSA ers-
This week’s veggies will include Wild Arugula, Lemon Basil, Muir Batavia Head Lettuce, Spring Onions, Cucumbers, and Swiss Chard.
We are truly in Summer production now! Our eggplant and peppers will be going into the last tunnel to be planted this week. We always start them late, as we are trying to outsmart the nasty flea beetle that devours our small eggplants one nibble at a time. If we wait them out, our baby eggplants will grow big and strong in a matter of a few weeks and be producing beautiful eggplants in about 6 weeks.
Today and tomorrow, our team will be focusing in on planting our sweet potatoes, melons, and potatoes. We are opening new plots on the back of our farm, and this has taken us some extra time to get underway. Ray and I will be raising beds, fertilizing, and covering them with landscape fabric, in hopes that tomorrow Angela can get them planted. We are toying with ways we can add cover crops, that add to our soil fertility and help our soil stay put during heaving rains. I have been searching for ways to intercrop our melons, potatoes and sweet potatoes. One way is to plant corn and clover along side our melons. I have found some research that suggest planting okra along with sweet potatoes makes both plants grow stronger and healthier. Okra is a tough sell on our farm as we cannot get anyone to pick the rascals. When they are small, they are very prickly, and by mid-summer they are so tall that I can no longer reach the okra pods to harvest.
Thank you for your continued support. We appreciate our members and feel that you are farmily. A part of our farm and friends. We enjoy hearing about how you use the veggies we deliver and learning about your lives and families. To me, this connection is so important to the mission of our farm and to my wellbeing. As a farmer I am often tied to this land, rarely leaving, and my circle of friends involve you and the people who farm alongside of me. Sometimes it can be lonely, but it is that smile at the door when I am delivering, and the hug from a long time CSA er, that brings me such joy. I thank you for sharing this journey with me. I know I may be just your farmer, but to me, YOU are my connection to the world. You give me a person, face, family to grow for. YOU are my relationships and I can’t wait to see you each week. I don’t think we do enough sharing with people how important they are to us.
Thank you again for your support and friendships. You are cherished!
Your farmer,
Angela