CSA veggie pickup reminder
Hello everyone,
We are soooooo confused!! Weren't we supposed to be over the snow and cold thing sometime in early April?? We woke up Friday morning to 22 degrees..warmed up slightly..I think it got up to about 45..felt much colder than that though..Saturday morning it was 26 degrees..was a bit warmer out while the sun was shining..cold again Saturday night but only down to about 28..Sunday Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday it was much warmer..back up in the 70's..nights about 40..Been a bit breezy though the last 3 days..The wind today has a bit of a nip in it and there is a freeze warning out again for tonight...Not sure how our fruit is fairing..Della says she can see little tiny apricots on some of the trees..the plums,pears, and apples are still blooming this week..some of the blossoms were kind of brown and icky but most seem alright..time will tell..we've got our fingers crossed that it just thinned the Winesap apple so we don't have to!!
Most of the crops we had planted came through the cold well..the older leaves on the cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and onions got a little nipped, but all have nice pretty new leaves growing..the cold set them back a bit, but they are looking good!! We were worried about the rhubarb freezing but so far it is looking good..Della picked it today..had to cull some because it was damaged, but still have quite a bit..we are making ketchup, chutney, and all sorts of goodies with what we culled out!!
We are almost through with plants in the propagation house..we started the last few things this week..summer squash and zucchetta..the basil is almost big enough to prick up..Now we just have to keep all the plants watered and cared for until we can get them planted out!!
In the high tunnel, everything came through the cold with flying colors..even the tomatoes!! A few of the snow peas got a little nipped, but they are much taller than everything else!!
The determinate tomatoes in the low tunnel look great..I think they have grown a good 4 or 5 inches since we planted them out!!
Outdoors we get a few more things in each week..this week we planted out lettuce and bok choi and weeded some of the early plantings..Denice, mom, and I have been working on getting beds ready to seed..salad greens, radishes, turnips, beets, carrots, parsnips, salsify, scorazera, kohlrabi, greens, and more..
I don't think the peas grew much at all this past week..they look so small compared to the ones in the tunnel!! Lentils are doing well, a couple leaves on the favas got nipped, but they are doing well also..the potatoes are barely starting to sprout..a little slower than I anticipated, but we should be starting to see them peeking out of their mulch layer soon..
Work days for May will be Sunday May 16, Wednesday May 19, and Sunday May 30 All workdays will be 10:00 am-3:00 pm..with a potluck lunch..I am thinking maybe I'll make rhubarb dahl this time..and Micheal and Denice would like to make a salad of some sort..The refridgerator pickles Denice and I just started with the left over radishes should be ready by thne as well..Come join us for the day or for a few hours..Projects will be either getting beds ready to plant or planting them.
Farm tour on Saturday May 15 {weather permitting} We will start about 10:30 am. Come and see how the garden is growing!!
Special program on soils..Monday, June 7 10:00 am..We work with Dr. Ron Godin {CSU extension agronomist for the Tricounty area}on our soil fertility..The last five or six years he has come out to the farm to share his knowledge of our unique soils with our interns..This year we are inviting our CSA members and the folks from the Ridgway Community Garden. Please come join us for this very informative program. You will be able to learn about what makes up soils..what nutrients are needed to grow good plants.. what all the numbers on a soil test mean..how to figure out what yoour soils need..what indications your plants show to tell if you have a nutrient deficiency and much more..The soil talk will be followed by a question and answer time..We will have a potluck lunch afterwards and a tour of the farm.
We are still working on adding a fruit share from Ela Family Farms this year..to simplify things on Ela Farms end looks like we will do only one smaller size share of fruit..Those folks who would like more fruit can sign up for multiple shares..we are not certain on the cost yet..what the weather does in the next 4 or 5 weeks will determine what the fruit crop will be..So while you are sending us those warm thoughts, please send a few up Steve's way!! We are hoping to get pricing information out to you by mid-May.
I have been adding more recipes to the website..some of the new ones use some of the things that are in season now..greens, spinach, radishes, carrots, and rhubarb. The recipe pages also have a searchable database by type of produce..there are over 200 recipes now to give you ideas on how to use your weekly veggies
What's available for the CSA this week?
From the high tunnel;
beet greens {yes!! we almost have beets!!}
carrots
chinese cabbage
lettuce
spinach
kale
bok choi
swiss chard
mustard
green garlic
scallions
radishes
salad turnips
salad greens
edible flowers {pansies}
chives and oregano
Please be aware that our spinach and salad greens are not "ready to eat"..we do chill them in a cool water bath but recomend you wash them before eating!! also please use a bag over your hand as a glove when you are weighing them out!!
From Della's green house;
a good selection of herbs to chose from; camphor, rosemary,mayan mint, marjoram, pineapple sage, sage, lemon balm, thyme
From storage {these are crops that were harvested last fall and stored over the winter}
shallots
From outdoors;
rhubarb
green garlic
possibly a few green onions
From the propagation house;
bedding plants.. a few peppers..tomatoes..broccoli..pansies..herbs..we will have more as the weather warms.
Our setup this season will be pretty much the same as in the past..we will have several catagories of veggies for you to chose from..not sure just what they will be untill we start picking tommorow but it looks like it will be set up as follows;
choice of spinach and /or salad greens
choices from kale, bok choi, and mustard
choices from scallions, shallot, green garlic, radishes, turnips, bedding plants
choices from carrots, rhubarb, chinese cabbage
choices from more greens and lettuce
choice of herb
amount and number of choices will depend on what we harvest tommorow and what size share you have..we will be on hand Saturday morning to help you out and answear questions..
Please remember to check your name of the check off list so we know who's been here..if someone is going to pickup for you please remind them to check you off
A few basic guidlines for the season..
*Pickup is 9:00am-noon April to about mid October when the time changes then it will be 11:00am-2:00pm..it takes us about 2 hours to set up {hence the time change in Oct..it starts getting awfully dark and chilly of a morning when we go back to MST} If you are running late, please give us a call so we know you are on your way..If we do not get a call before 11:30 we will assume that you don't want your veggies and will feed them to our interns or donate them to Christs Kitchen!!
*If you are unable to pickup your veggies on Saturday morning, please make arangements ahead of time..We will be happy to bag them for you {up to 6 times/season, more than that there will be a charge of $2.00/week to help cover labour and cooling expences} You will need to pick them up by Monday evening so we can clean out the cooler. We do have several folks that we bag for each week..The cost for bagging is $75.00 for the season..If you are interested in this option, please contact me to make arrangements.
*For everyones convenience we have a new feature on our website so you can check your balance. If you go to our homepage and look under our products..click on Your membership status..it will ask you for your e-mail address and should sent you an e-mail with your membership information..Please let me know if it doesn't work so I can fix it!!
*We will try to schedule a couple of workdays each month this season. We will try to mix up days and times..some on the weekend, some weekdays, some evenings..If these workdays do not fit into your schedule, please make arrangements for other days or times that will work better for you. If you have children and would like to set up a special time for them to come out to the farm we have a "Kids Program" as well..we do a small project geared toward their age and abilities..do a short tour..and harvest a few veggies that they can take home for their supper..it generally takes about
1 1/2 hours..then each week when you come to pickup your veggies they can visit "their" veggies and watch them grow..
*We love having folks visit us and tour the farm..BUT... please do not just drop by..If you want to visit the farm other than veggie pickup day or scheduled workdays..PLEASE call first.. one; we may not be available and two; we do have a watch dog..For her comfort and your safety, please let us know if you are coming out so we can put her in the house before you get here!!
*We encourage all our members to bring their own bags or boxes for their produce..we do have bags available if needed though.. We ask that everyone bring back any clamshells or fiber boxes that your produce is packaged in so we can re-use them.. we can also re-use other clamshells as well..It keeps them out of the landfill and reduces our packaging costs..
*This season we want to encourage you to bring us your compostables!! {unless you have your own compost bin going!!} We will take kitchen scraps {no animal products except eggshells,please!!}..please contact us before bringing us any lawn clipping or yard waste..we need to make sure they're organic and don't have a lot of weed seed!!!
*Each week throughout the season you should get an e-mail update on what's happening here on the farm and what veggies may be available for Sat...Please be aware that our produce is seasonal!! While we try to grow a pretty good variety what the weather is doing will affect the type and amount of veggies.. cold, heat, wind, hail, rain,{or no rain!!}, frost, snow, etc. may dammage certain crops, or delay when we can harvest them..That is one reason we grow so many differsnt things..if one crop fails, we have several others to take its place..I will try to keep you posted on what the weather is affecting us..if you have questions about a specific veggie, let me know and I can give you an idea on what's happening with it..
*Many of our veggies can be preserved for the winter..if you are interested in preserving, please let me know so I can keep you posted on when and what we will have in larger quantities..
*We thank all of you for supporting small-scale local farms!! If you have any questions or concerns, please let us know!!
We need your help.. ..we are hoping for a full membership this season {50-60 members}..Please talk us up with your friends, families, and co-workers..I can tell folks all about what and how we grow our veggies, but it is your enthusiasm that bring in the most new members!! Please let me know if you have anyone who would like a tour or needs more information about our CSA..we can set up additional tours in the coming weeks.
Note: ...Please let me know if you need a partner. I will add it to this newsletter to see if we can hook you up with someone....
we have an Ouray group forming..they would like a couple more folks from up that way to share pickup.
May have a new member looking for a partner to share with..also looking to join a pickup group in the Ouray or Ridgway area.
New members will need to go to the website {www.circleagarden.com} and use the member signup.
Hope you all have had a good week. Please let me know what workdays you are planning to come to, if you are going to do the farm tour in May and if you will be joining us for the soil talk in June.
All of us at Circle A Garden