CSA Newsletter -- Week 11
Greetings All! I hope you guys are doing well! This weekend is going to be a fun one here for us at the farm, we're just starting to harvest watermelons!! I hate to even admit this- but it's been almost 3 years since we've had a decent watermelon crop. The last couple years we have been very, very wet here at the farm. Obviously, that's not the case this season! (Last fall we did put in drain tile to make sure we weren't going to run into the same problems with waterlogged soil this season, but being in a drought did the trick anyways!) Needless to say, this is SO EXCITING for Farmer Ben!!! Such a morale boost to go out and see so many watermelons and muskmelons!! In case you're wondering, this is what "winning" looks like in the farm field if you're a produce grower- and these melons are so sweet!!! You'll see 😍
At this time of year Ben and I are actually making lists of what we still want to get into your CSA Shares this season. Now we're on the 'count down' and we have 5 weeks left with ya'll, and a LOT of produce to fit in! The must-haves and the if-we-have-room crops too. Ben listed off a lot of produce that we could harvest this week for your Shares, and I can't even fit it all in the boxes!! We've got so many varieties in harvest right now that we're focusing on the short-lived varieties that ripen and 'expire' faster- meanwhile the beets for example, will just hang out in the field because they're going to have to wait their turn to get into your CSA Shares again!
HOUSEKEEPING
This week we will have a normal schedule! This is Week 11: August 31st- Sept 2nd, please pick up your CSAs like normal. The following week, Labor Day Week, we do not deliver on Monday September 7th. We push all of our deliveries back one day, so our Monday folks will actually pick up on Tuesday Sept 8th, and so forth. PLEASE put a reminder in your phone/ calendar for next week!!
If you don't pick up on the specified day within the normal time frame, your CSA will be forfeited.
ADD-ON SHARES DEADLINE: I will be turning off online ordering for our Fall and Apple Shares on Monday, August 31st. That is the last day to order for this Fall! APPLES: It is important to know that everyone will get apples IN their CSA Shares, even if you don't order extra!
FALL SHARES: It is important to know that you'll still get all of the varieties in your CSA Shares too (squash, carrots, russets, reds, dried onions, beets). The Fall Share is a larger portion, above and beyond what we'd expect you to use in a week (which is what we send in your CSA Shares), so folks like to store the extras you'd get with the Fall Share into the off-season. I wanted to explain this so that you know we're watching out for you- you won't miss out on anything if you don't order the Add-ons. It's just larger quantities of varieties you'll see either way!! Yes, you could argue this isn't the best sales pitch but honestly- I don't care!! I'm here for you guys to make sure you get the best experience and deals for the season ;)
Speaking of deals...
WE ARE HAVING OUR BACON SALE RIGHT NOW AT THE STAND!!!
Every package of bacon is $2 off!! Most packages are right around $11-$13 per package, so it's a pretty good discount that doesn't have limits on how many packages you buy! Buy 10 packages and get $20 off, if you want!!
This is something we do for one weekend a season. I just posted online to our FB page too- I've been trying so hard to be more active on there!! I even made a video the other day about our tomatoes, even though I was being photo bombed by our needy dog (who is never more than an arms reach away from me lol) and then Joe- (one of our farm kitties- also Luna's bestie), and a rooster, haha!!!
Follow our FB page here to keep up to date between newsletters too 😉
Of course, we have a ton of other produce up at the stand too, and we still have some chicken as well as plenty of pork chops, brats, breakfast sausages, snack sticks, patties and more!
Visit us this weekend at Hardware Hank in Zimmerman, this is the ONLY place to buy ala carte produce, pork and chicken from us!! They also have a full selection of canning supplies too so if you need more jars or rings- check out their selection in the store!
Hudson's Hardware Hank: parking lot 12860 Fremont Ave, Zimmerman MN 55398
Hours: Fridays 9-6, Saturdays 9-6 and Sundays 9-5 (through the end of Sept, or after we get frost).
WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT IN YOUR CSA SHARES: Jumbo & Family Shares: Watermelons, Muskmelon, Broccoli, Carrots, Lemon Basil, Roma tomatoes, Regular Slicing tomatoes & Grape Tomatoes!! Single Shares: Watermelons, Acorn Squash, Muskmelon, Zucchini, Carrots, Lemon Basil, Roma tomatoes, Regular Slicing tomatoes!!
WATERMELONS!!!
We do NOT put these into your CSA Share boxes!!! That means that when you pick up your boxes this week, it's going to be very important that you TAKE A MELON FROM THE PILE OF MELONS! They will be in plastic bags off to the side of your CSA Shares. Jumbo Shares get TWO melons, Family & Single Shares each get ONE melon!
We are going to have seeded and seedless melons for you guys!! We did not get as many of the yellow melons to set this season- which is a real bummer. We'll be sending everyone watermelons this week and we'll document which type every CSA site gets so that we can alternate next week :) By now- you understand that the reason we do it this way is so that we're using ripe fruits when they're in their prime- so everyone gets a good quality melon instead of harvesting the entire patch and hoping they're ripe enough, but not overripe.
The trick is- Ben goes out every morning and harvests the ones that are ready. He's the best melon picker in the Midwest 🤣 and he doesn't even let anyone else help him because he wants to make sure our CSA Members get really good melons!!
Did you know that the first year we were growing produce, back when we were little itty babies, we only grew seedless melons because that's what folks wanted. Well that turned out like crap for us because we didn't realize this important factor- you NEED seeded melons next to the seedless melons for pollination. The first year we grew watermelons we didn't harvest a single melon- because we didn't grow seeded melons next to them!! So if you're wondering why every seedless melon seems to have a seed or even a handful of seeds in there, it's because it is a result of being pollinated to a seeded melon. I.e. you can not avoid having a few seeds even in your seedless melons! Of course the level of development can vary, so sometimes you'll see little white under-developed seeds and other times they're hard black seeds.
Last thing about watermelons- we're going to need to plan to get watermelons in your CSA Shares for the next 2 weeks. This week and then Labor Day week. The reason for that is because right after that, we'll already be starting the Fall Shares or Apple Share!! If you ordered those- just fyi- you'll get emails from me with reminders so it's not a surprise! Fall and Apple Shares always come week 13-15 (the last 3 weeks of the season). VARIABLES
We are banking on being able to harvest hundreds of ripe melons a day- so I'm sure you can understand that with farming not everything necessarily works on our schedule. We'll be doing our best to make sure to follow the crop list above, but just know that if it varies, I will have documented so I can even it out the following week.
CARROTS We're going to include these with your CSA again this week!! These are such a treat to have on hand, eat as they are or roast in the oven with other root crops too. Remember to cut the greens off the top and place them in a tupperware or glass container to stop respiration (air-flow) because if you put them straight on a shelf in the fridge, they'll be floppy in no-time. If you have floppy carrots- simply put them in a bowl of cold water to rehydrate them. Green beans work the same way too, along with broccoli and plenty of other varieties. If you soak them in cold water they'll firm up!
TOMATOES Holy smokes we're really into the tomatoes now! We harvested thousands of pounds last week and I know we'll be picking on the tomato patch for weeks to come too.
We're going to send you both romas and regulars this week!! (& Family Shares are getting grape tomatoes, too!) Farmer Ben really wants to load you guys down with tomatoes this week because it's only a few weeks until we won't have them anymore anyways!
If you don't have time to get to them, or you don't know how to can/process tomatoes but you want to put some up for the off-season- you can freeze tomatoes!!
Wash them and then core them with a pairing knife or you can get a tomato corer. Coring a tomato just means cutting off the stem part, and a little underneath that too. Anything that isn't red basically. Buying a tomato corer is not a big investment, I think they're just a couple bucks at wally world. It's worth it if you're doing a bunch of tomatoes because it has little teeth on it and makes it a quick job! A paring knife works just as well but it'd take a little bit longer (which makes a difference if you're doing a lot of tomatoes!)
When you pull them out of the freezer, the skins fall right off. Which completely negates the need for blanching the tomatoes. Most folks do blanch their tomatoes by marking the bottom of a tomato with an "X" and then dropping it in a pot of boiling water. Then you take them out after a couple minutes and peel the skins off. But freezing them helps the skins come right off anyways! Nice little short cut ;)
Also- you can freeze them in quart baggies which can be transferred to a pot mid-winter and cooked down. Just add a little oil, some garlic, salt, and you can get as creative as you want with that! I have a shaker of the Italian seasoning that I keep on hand for making small batches of sauce like this too, that works great! Tomatoes are still available on the online store if you want to get them delivered with your normal CSA Share. We've also got peppers and onions on there too! If you want to pick some up at the stand this weekend just make sure to tell Ben you're a CSA Member so he gives you the discount ;) FARM STORE
LEMON BASIL It looks very similar to regular basil but the leaves are more pointed, it grows just as fast as regular basil too. It can't be refrigerated, so keep it on the counter in a glass jar full of water. It'll actually make new roots and it'll continue to put off new shoots! I had a friend tell me about the basil from a couple weeks ago- it's like we gave them a basil plant because they've been harvesting off that bunch for several weeks now! This is STRONG and it's definitely lemon basil because it literally tastes like lemons!! It is a treat in teas/ lemonades, mixed drinks (think mojito, but with lemon basil), even baked goods! Another good idea is chopping the lemon basil and adding it to butter or oil, then using that to top chicken, potatoes, etc!!
ACORN SQUASH!! This is the second type of squash we've encountered together this season together. I want to add that this is a traditional type of winter squash. Cut it in half and take out the seeds and membranes. Save your seeds for roasting, they're great!! Then place face down on a baking sheet in the oven for about a half hour at 350. Do a fork test- it should push through easily, like a baked potato. Then it's done! You can also steam the squash or even peel the squash and cube it- but acorns arent' the best for that method because look at the shape- it would be a lot of work to peel it haha! The acorn skin is edible, it won't hurt you, but it's not good. Some squash like the delicatas have nice thin skins and folks eat that. Personally, I just don't like having it on my squash so I always scoop the flesh out of the skins. I eat mine with salt and pepper but a lot of people like squash with brown sugar. Acorn squash are notoriously dry- that's why they hold so long! They're also one of the most popular squashes by far. When folks stop by the stand and ask for squash it's always one of the three: acorn, butternuts or buttercups. We'll get into that next time ;) BROCCOLI- We have to use broccoli in our Family & Jumbo Shares this week because it's heading and it can't wait. The acorn squash can wait- it's not going to go 'over the hill', so that's what I was referring to above when I mentioned that we're actually picking and choosing priority of what is in your CSA Shares week by week now! If for some reason we fall short on broccoli in the Jumbo/Family Shares, we'll sub it out with acorn squash and then you'd get broccoli the next week, just fyi. I don't see that happening but I just want to menition it. WRAPPING IT UP: HOLY CRIPES this is a big week coming up!!! For harvesting and also delivering!! It takes some serious planning to get all those melons packed into my delivery truck with all your CSA Share boxes too. I LOVE melon season!!! It's a side to every meal from here on out- easy to prep and everyone loves it!
The kids are mostly done getting school supplies but there is always that one last thing that we can't find in any stores so I'm going to give up and visit amazon this afternoon for a few things. We still have to do a lot of the clothes shopping- the problem is that now that they're older and they each have their own style, they don't even want to shop in the same stores anymore! So it's not like I can take all 3 kids with me shopping without WWIII in the backseat to fight over where we're headed lol!
I prepped a bunch of tomatoes for today and will be making my first batch of salsa for the season this evening. It'll be the first batch of many but once I get the kitchen set up for it, I'm basically a machine haha! Lot of peppers/onions and chopping in my future, lol!! Hopefully I can get a few batches made this coming week too- we need to start stock piling for our family and for selling at the stand too! I actually use my salsa as a chili base too- it's just tomatoes, peppers, onions, canning salt and a little bit of apple cider vinegar. No seasonings added. So when I go and make chili, I use the salsa, and then just add the beef & seasonings to make chili!!
For all of you guys who want to learn how to can - just start!!
I'm not saying it's not hard, because there is definitely a learning curve, but you've gotta start somewhere. And if canning feels like too much right now, freeze the tomatoes! They're so easy to pull out in the middle of winter for soups, sauces, chili, etc.
I wish I had a kitchen where I could take how-to videos for you guys, but that's not in the cards quite yet. (Though it is a dream of mine to make educational content for the farm!) The good thing is that there are SO many great videos out there on "YouTube University" haha!
I have a journal for my canning, and every single recipe I make goes in there. I even make notes about every single batch, if I did anything differently and how it turned out. I love looking back at my notes from when I first started teaching myself almost a decade ago compared to what I know now. I've learned SO much just by doing it hands-on, making (plenty of) mistakes & figuring out what works.
Books and videos can teach us a lot, but they can only take us so far. At some point, you just have to get in the kitchen and try it!
In the words of our beloved late Dolly Parton: "If I fail, it's no big deal. If something doesn't work out, I'm not afraid of failure, because to me I never feel like a loser. 'Cuz even when I've lost, I still feel like I'm winning because I'm earning some sort of experience."
That works for canning and just about everything else in this life, too!! 💕
Have a great week!!
XO
~The Farmer's Wife
