CSA #8

Dear CSA-ers,
For this week there will be no preassembled bag (unless you have prior arrangements with Angela). Custom orders may now be placed on the online market: https://magneyfarm.locallygrown.net/market

We are aware the selection of produce we are offering this week is limited. In light of this we are not listing preassembled bag and are waiving our $20 minimum order for this week. This is the difficulty of the early Spring shoulder season we have alluded to in previous newsletters. After some discussion the team came to a consensus that this would be the fairest way to address this temporary shortage. Next week we expect to have more abundant variety of the produce that you love packed into your bags. The team will continue to work hard to plant and harvest, making our CSA the best it can be for you, our customers.

Planting season is going full steam on the farm with broccoli, kohlrabi, herbs, and cucumbers going into the ground this week. In the direct-seeded plots, we see emergence on beets, carrots, radishes, spinach, and arugula. Some of our very earliest outdoor plantings are starting to reach maturity such as the arugula, swiss chard, radishes, and kale. This is still very much the early Spring and as we have previously stated, bags will contain a lot of greens in the next month. Though our high tunnel greenhouses offer us some capacity to get vegetables out earlier, there are still seasonal limitations on what we can and cannot grow. Please be patient during this time and embrace eating seasonally. We hope, in doing so, you feel more connected to our region and its cycle of seasons.

Speaking of seasonal limitations, this past week of extremely late frosts has thrown us for a bit of a loop. Despite a very mild winter, we have had two significant frosts since our last newsletter. This is unusual for Mid-April. Taking inventory of the fields there seems to be little more than some nipping on our cool weather loving Spring crops, but one of the varieties of cucumbers set in the high tunnels took severe damage. This took us by surprise. It is our hope that this row will recover, though it is possible it will have to be replanted. Agriculture, particularly the sustainably minded organic agriculture we practice, is full of challenges. Yet on a crisp morning, hearing birdsong, breathing the clean air, and watching the dawn light illuminate a field of kale bejeweled in dew, all the challenges seems worth it.

Okay, so we went a little wild with Kale this year, planting 4 different varieties. Think of varieties as a unique “twist” on a crop. To start with, there is ‘Darkibor’ variety, a classic sea-green kale with heavy curled leaves, great for steaming. Another returning favorite is ‘Toscano,’ an ice blue Italian kale with thick, bumpy leaves that is great in soups. Similar in appearance, but with a dramatic purple ribbing is the ‘Dazzling Blue’ variety; its flatter leaves make it perfect for easy kale chips. Then new to the lineup is ‘White Russian’ which is our most tender kale with frilly leaf edges perfectly textured for fresh eating with dressings in Kale salads. Our ‘Mixed Kale Bundle’ will contain multiple varieties, but we invite you to get to know each of them individually. Some of how we choose which varieties to every year comes from customer feedback, so let us know if you have a favorite!

CRUNCHY KALE SALAD WITH CRANBERRIES

WHAT INGREDIENTS GO INTO THIS KALE SALAD?
• Kale
• Carrots
• Red bell pepper
• Dried cranberries
• Sunflower seeds (toasted or raw)
• Hemp hearts
Dressing
• Orange juice
• Apple cider vinegar
• Pure maple syrup
• Dijon mustard

As always, thank you so much for supporting our effort to establish an organic farm in Western Kentucky. We look forward to serving you the best of our land’s bounty.
Sincerely,
The Magney Legacy Ridge Farm Team