CSA veggie pickup reminder
Hello everyone,
Well, we are still reeling from our frosty night last Thursday!! We were down below 20 here on the farm{it was 32 in town!!}. We were prepared for it to get down to about 26 here, but that extra 6 or 7 degrees was a shocker!! Did a bit of weather research this week..it just seems like we are way colder than our norms this year..{even cooler than last season!!last season March and April were cool, then May warmed up some..we had 40 degree nights and 60-70 degree days clear through until about mid-June} average temps for May are 43 for the lows and 71 for the highs..went back into weather history to see how low the lows were..found 23 degrees back in 1968, and a couple more low 20's back in 1915-1917..then way back in 1909 it got down to 17 degrees..We didn't set any records, but that didn't help our poor little plants!!I am hopefull that most of them will eventually produce but they have been set WAY back..we may end up with a gap in the amount of produce come June..many of the cool season greens in the high tunnel will be done and the plantings outdoors are just not going to be big enough to harvest..we will still have afew things..chard, kale, onions, green garlic, rhubarb, and herbs..will probably have beets, carrots, lettuce, and a few peas {from the high tunnel} as well..by July we will hopfully be back on track..we'll keep you posted on how things are looking as we get closer to June.
In the high tunnel, most of the cool season crops did well during the cold..the peas got nipped again {we were able to pick a couple of pounds of sugar snaps this week..they don't look the greatest, but still taste pretty darn good!!}..we lost 5 of the heirloom tomatoes and about the same number of cucs..we were able to replace the tomatoes and started more cucs in the prop house..the new zealand spinach is waiting for warmer weather to start really growing, but the malabar spinach and the purslane will need to be replanted. On the other hand we have about 5 tomatoes set on the cherry tomatoes an many of the other are starting to bloom!! The determinate tomatoes in the low tunnel got hit really hard, out of 38 plants we had only one that made it through without much damage..most of the rest froze clear back..some of them may go ahead and put out new growth..some are completly gone..we were able to replace about 1/3 of them so far..need to wait a week to replace the rest..we have some plants that were slated to go outdoors later this month and are just not quite big enough yet to transplant..I was soooo looking forward to fresh tomatoes by the end of June!! May still have a few then, but it will be July before we have a lot.
Outdoors things are really struggling..the alliums {onions, leeks,shallots,garlic,chives}and lentils all look great!! Many of our other plants are just not liking the weather!! cabbage and many of the peas may go ahead and produce..much later and maybe not as much as we would hope for..the broccoli and cauliflower may recuperate some but may not produce many nice heads..the lettuce we just planted will be ok, but the next succession that was out hardening off is about 1/2 gone..the bok choi we just planted is toast as well as the next succession of it..we have more letttuce in the propagation house just waiting until I get brave enough to kick it out and we started more bok choi..the favas have a few more frosted leaves, but I think they will go ahead and produce..thankfully the potatoes have not started growing much yet..they were still protected by their mulch..they are busy making lots of roots and a few of them have sprouts almost ready to come through the mulch..
Much of the tree fruit here on the farm is not going to happen this year..I think this last cold did a number on the apricots that Della was seeing last week..the plums are toast..the apples look like they may be another story though..many of them are still blooming..{Della says we may NOT have to thin the winesaps this year!!}..the pear tree is still blooming..we won't know for a while if we will have the apples and pears yet..they may have gotten more damaged than they look..
That's all the bad news..the good news is we have had RAIN today for the first time this year!! Haven't had any SNOW so far today!! And the weather forcast looks like we will be warming up just a bit during the next 10 days or so!! We have faith that the weather will even out a bit for the rest of the season and we WILL have another great season!!
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 then 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 your 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{will have just a little spinach now..it is almost done until fall}
kale
bok choi
swiss chard
mustard
green garlic
scallions
radishes{just a few untill we have ones from outdoors}
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
more herbs
From the propagation house;
bedding plants.. a few peppers..tomatoes...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