CSA veggie pickup reminder

Hello everyone,
The weather this week has been pretty good..we did have a bit of frost early{Sat. night I think}, but the rest of the week has been very warm..high 40's at night..edging up to 80 and above during the day..Not so much wind this week..nice breezes here and there..We have been doing the siesta thing mid day this week..getting out at the crack of dawn to plant, plant, plant..breaking until early evening ..then going out to plant some more!! It has been a bit hazy and cloudy the last few days so all our new transplants aren't out baking in the hot sun..so far they all look great..I think we have a little delTufo magic going on!!
Outdoors we have been busy, busy ,busy!! On our workday Sunday we got more beds ready to plant..Thank you to all of you who came out to give us a hand..we got a lot done..fed the chickens at least a gazzillion weeds!! So far this week we have planted more summer sqash, celery, peppers, eggplants, sliceing cucs..this evening we are finishing up the artichokes and Aunt Molly's ground cherries..Everything is really growing!! I think the potatoes grew at least 6 inches!! The peas are finally blooming..setting a few pods now..hopfully we will have a few before it gets too hot for them..the favas are blooming...the onions, shallots, and leeks have really shot up this week!! Mom has been working on weeding cabbages, favas, broccoli, and Cauliflower..Della has been working on her beds and getting the alliums mulched...Della and Mom went out to pick the rhubarb this morning..they didn't get but a few small bunches..it is getting a bit too warm for it to grow well..we may get a bit more in the fall after the weather cools..
It looks like next week we are starting into that lull in the veggies..we will still have chard, kale, carrots, beets, spring onions, green garlic, and a few other fresh veggies..we will try to fill some of the gap with larger bunches of herbs to preserve for the winter..cut flowers {mostly peonies}..bedding plants..Please bear with us while we wait for everything to grow and mature..

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 have the final information on the fruit share.. It will be one basic size..those who can use more fruit can get several shares..We need to know by June 15 who is interested..You will need to pay the total amount up front by July 15..to keep things as simple as possible for the folks at Ela Family Farm please make checks out to Circle A Garden..we will combine them all together and send one check to them..the information from Ela's is at the end of the newsletter{I hope} if you have any questions, please let me know..

June workdays..Wednesday June 16 and Wednesday June 30  5-8pm
If the workdays we schedule do not work out for you we can set up other times for you to come out..

June farm tour Saturday June 12  10:30 am..Come see how the garden grows!!

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
beets..just a few
sugar snap peas..limited quantities right now..please be kind to fellow members and share..
carrots
lettuce
kale
bok choi
swiss chard
mustard
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;
herbs..not sure just what she is picking from there..so many herbs are growing well outdoors now..

From outdoors;
rhubarb  {the last few bunches; Della says we may have more once it cools off this fall}
green garlic
 green onions
more herbs
lambs quarter..a great wild edible that can be used in place of spinach
purslane..another great wild edible..very high in omega 3
cut flowers..mostly iris..but maybe some peonies..they are almost ready to cut..

From the propagation house;
bedding plants.. a few peppers..tomatoes...pansies..herbs..summer squash and more

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..

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.
Thank you all for talking us up..we are getting a few new members and many calls for more information!!
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 if you will be here for the workday  and if you will be joining us for the soil talk in June.

See you Saturday!!

All of us at Circle A Garden