CSA Newsletter -- Week 6

Greetings All! I can't believe we're rolling into our 6th week of CSA Shares for the season! Don't worry, we still have a lot of goodies ahead of us and by the time we're wrapping up for the year you'll think "Wait, we're still getting boxes?" haha! It gets really cold at the end of the season, but we have crops that will last through some soft frosts, and lots of root crops and storage crops ahead of us too! This is going to be a big newsletter- lots to share with you!! Let's start off with the first big hit- Ben just went and dug the first of the potatoes for the season!!

These potatoes were just dug and I think you'll be able to tell the difference in flavor between the potatoes at the grocery store & these super fresh taters! Again, our specialty is harvesting produce and then selling right away- it seems simple but a lot of farms over-harvest for farmer's markets and then bring leftovers day after day. We don't do that; everything is harvested fresh for our CSA Members and our Farm Stand! These potatoes will be in your CSA Shares this week!!

HEAT WAVE We haven't turned off the irrigation to the fields in over 10 days. It's impossible to water the whole farm at once, so he has "runs of irrigation" that he turns on. Ben has our irrigation all set up so that he can switch from one field to the other without even turning the water off, haha! Right now the cukes are getting some water (for the 3rd time this week!) and we let it run those lines for about 8 hours every time they're watered. Then at the 8 hour mark, we switch it to a different patch, I think tomatoes are up next! We have drip tape irrigation, so if you drive by you won't see big sprinklers out there; the water lines are at the base of every row of crops out there. Hundreds of thousands of feet of irrigation lines run. If you have a home garden- do not water in the heat of the day!! The water droplets on the leaves themselves can literally burn the leaves because of the reflection and how hot it is (think magnifying glass and starting a fire). If you're watering at ground level without touching the leaves, you can water whatever you want to, but I caution folks against watering mid-day especially in this heat! Ben is on his way home from the farm stand right now and we still have lots of work to do to unpack and get ready for tomorrow's CSA Shares. Did you know we have employees at our house every day of the week starting at 7am? There is no "Saturday morning" sleeping in around here; not until the snow flies!! But we are AOK with this and expect it- gotta make hay when the sun is shining!!

HOUSEKEEPING

I am getting this question a lot so I just want to remind everyone: What happens if you forget to pick up your CSA?

If you forget to pick up, you're welcome to swing by and look for your box outside but do not knock and ask for your CSA. The host has no idea who is even picking up at their house, they're not even provided any of your contact info, so they won't know anything. The produce is either donated or gifted away. Our hosts are instructed not to take the actual CSA box away from the site though, because that needs to be emptied and put back in the return bin so it gets back in the rotation for the following week.

SUMMER SALE

We have not announced this yet or even made a facebook event- but I want to share it with you guys first!!! We are going to be welcoming customers out to the farm on Saturday August 8th from 10am-5pm. It's an all-day event where we'll have the pole shed set up like a retail shop with tables full of produce all over, glasstop freezers to shop for pork and chicken, and more! I finished making my first batch of pickles- which will also be available at this sale in addition to the raspberry jam I'll be making this week too!

We will have a big spread of veggies available and we sell them by the tray or by the box full. This is a great sale to stop by for if you're into processing, freezing or canning produce! Or just getting some extras of your favorites and checking out the farm too ;)

We aren't doing 'tours' around the fields because I have to stay up at the shed and Ben will be at the Farm Stand in Zimmerman, but our hogs are right next to the house and you're welcome to feed them some scraps! We'll also have our chickens outside by that time, I'm sure! Plenty to see here 💗

Pastured Chicken will be available, too! We are raising 3 batches of chickens this season. The first batch was pre-sold in January to our CSA Members and we sold out right away. Keep this in mind for next year- in 2027 we will offer the same deal to our Returning Members and it's Members-Only. I won't even post it online- it's just for you guys!! What we have in our freezer right now is our second batch of chickens that were raised outside at our farm on fresh air and organically grown grains. They're moved in their chicken tractors every day so they get new ground (and more bugs!). Of course they don't get antibiotics or vaccines, no hormones or any funky crap. Just chicken, the way it should be!!! (Raised to the same standards as our hogs!!) I just finished labeling all the chicken packages last night with price tags and we do have quite a bit here, but I want you guys to get first dibs if you haven't tried our chicken yet. We have some at the Farm Stand in Zimmerman on the weekends too!! But I'll have a whole freezer designated for our pastured poultry at the sale at the farm here on the 8th. Hope to see ya'll here!!

WHAT TO EXPECT IN YOUR CSAs THIS WEEK: Jumbo & Family Shares: Sweet Corn! Cabbage, Cauliflower, Red Potatoes, Summer Squash, Slicing Cucumbers/Pickles, and Green Beans! Single Shares: Sweet Corn! Cabbage, Cauliflower, Red Potatoes, Zucchini, Slicing Cucumbers/Pickles, and Beets!! We will be sending Purple Cauliflower for those who haven't gotten it yet- and white for everyone who has gotten purple already. I'm sorry that this cauliflower patch came in so hot and heavy- that was not the plan but this weather caused both patches to start putting out at the same time- so we were a little overloaded! If you're over the cauliflower, consider blanching it and freezing it for winter use! We blanch cauliflower in quart bags and I make a really nice cauli/brocc cheesy casserole in the winter time with a flour and milk rue. Or we add it to the broccoli alfredo- because that cauliflower is so good in there too! A little different texture added in :) If you want to learn about blanching cauliflower- I copied the Farm to Table Storage Guide here: To freeze: Blanch 2-4 minutes, rinse under cold water, drain, let dry, and pack into ziplock containers. Cauliflower will not be firm when thawed and is best used in soups and stews. We like to use it to make a cauliflower casserole that has bacon and cheese, it’s a great side for supper and an easy way to enjoy a serving of veggies 😉

**Blanching is just partially cooking it in boiling water for a few minutes, then cooling it down and putting it in freezer bags. I do have a fancy vacuum sealer but I never use it for broccoli/cauliflower because the bags are so expensive and we've had great luck with just using freezer ziplocks and squishing out the air. Don't be afraid to "smoosh" the cauliflower a little bit to get the air out of the bag. The less air in the bag, the fresher it stays!

Sweet Corn will be coming in your boxes for a few weeks in a row- this is the best time of year and there is nothing like having fresh sweet corn as a side for an easy dinner!! I'm sure that you guys aren't sick of sweet corn yet but if at any point you don't want to eat it fresh, you can always blanch and freeze it too. Blanching is a process that par-cooks the produce so that it stays nicer in the freezer for long-term storage.

Get a big pot of boiling water and put your corn in there- let it boil for 2-3 minutes or until the color has changed a bit. Then take it out of the boiling water and put it in a sink full of cold water. Some folks say to use ice cubes in the water but I've found that running cold water in the sink is just as effective- we're just trying to stop the cooking process. Then cut it off the cobs and put it in plastic freezer bags! Grandma Dawson swears by adding a tab of butter and salt to each bag but we don't add anything to ours, we just freeze it as is and then add what we want when we take it out of the freezer. I think Grandma D is onto something but we prefer to add the calories when we take it out because we might be adding it to a chowder, a corn dip, or even stew.

This next patch of corn is going to be awesome for freezing- the cobs are a lot bigger and if you want to freeze some, wait until I make the announcement, if you want the best deal ;) Ben says he thinks we'll be harvesting on this next patch in about a week, and those cobs will yield a lot more corn! We grow several varieties of sweet corn, and the first one is a short day corn so the cobs aren't as big, but they're very sweet! The mid-summer corn is the best in my opinion- but you can be the judge of that!!

Check out my super fancy set up, haha!!! This is our old kitchen table with a bunch of towels on it because once you start cutting, you'll notice there is a lot of liquid and it's sugary and sticky! This is just how I do it- blanch a ton of corn at once and then move onto cutting it all off the cobs at once. Then it goes in the big bowl and gets portioned out for meals in the

winter. (But some of it always ends up in a mexican corn dip right away haha!)

BEETS! Our Single Share Members will get beets this week! We're going to get you guys a mix of red and gold beets. Remember that you can enjoy the beet greens, and depending on how you use them it doesn't require a ton of effort. If you're already making a salad: fold the beet greens in half and cut the stems out, then cut the leaves in ribbons. If you like the crunch, slice the stems and add them back in! I had a recipe last week for Balsamic Beets & Greens. That is another winner- balsamic is my absolute favorite!!

Cucumbers Once the plants get a little older, they start putting out some funny shapes! That can happen with stress and not-enough-water too but what we're seeing looks like these plants are about to start winding down. You'll notice I put on the list for every CSA Share size: Slicers/Pickles, because the yields are going down too. Of course we'll keep track of who gets what and try to alternate it in the future. Just wanted to throw this out here- you'll likely see some funny shapes in the next week before this patch pitters out. We do have another patch coming up, but it'll be a bit before we can start picking that patch.

RED POTATOES: Did you know that each potato we grow has a different starch level that will dictate what you should use it for? I know- I've never met a potato that I didn't like either, but if you want to get technical- the red potatoes are low in starch and that's why they're best for salads, stews and soups. They hold their shape well. They aren't the best for mashed potatoes; though we do make mashed potatoes with reds all the time!

Russet potatoes are the best for mashed potatoes because they have a higher starch content. Ever wonder why every restaurant serves baked russet potatoes and not baked red potatoes? It's because russets are buttery, soft fleshed and mash up beautifully. Those won't be ready until this fall though- that's an end of the year crop because they take so long to grow to size. Green Beans For the Family Shares this week we're going to be sending green beans home! If you've noticed- the last 3 weeks we've alternated who gets green beans because the patch is slowing down a bit. With our CSAs we need about 400 pounds of beans a week, eeek!! So we offered them to the Single Shares last week and this week the Jumbo & Family Shares will get another portion in their boxes.

CABBAGE

We're cutting green cabbages for everyone this week! These plants are enormous. The leaves are about 3 feet around, they take up a huge space!! When we cut the head, we trim off some of the outer leaves if they have pest damage but keep in mind we're not spraying. The nice thing about cabbage is that it's easy to see if there is any damage and we just peel off a leaf at a time until it's perfect 😍

To store: Cabbage has a remarkable storage capacity. Just stick dry, unwashed cabbage in the refrigerator, preferably in the vegetable bin. The outer leaves may eventually get floppy or yellowish, but they can be removed and discarded to reveal fresh inner leaves. Cabbage can keep for 3 months even with high humidity! Once cut, wrap it in a sealed plastic bag and continue to refrigerate; it will keep for several weeks.

When you're ready to use it, I always start by cutting it into quarters and then taking off the stem area and cutting out the core (this will be a solid mass- it's obvious what needs to be cut off). Then slice diagonally across the wedge to get the cabbage shreds (or use a food processor if you have one).

Zucchini/Summer squash

If you haven't tried this yet- a great way to incorporate them is grilling with a tin foil pack. I always start with potatoes in my tin packs on the grill, then I'll add the other veggies and some seasonings too. (You could also do this exact same stir fry concept in the oven too- but there is no way I'm turning on my oven this week haha!) I've also added cauliflower, beans, onions, etc. and then at the very last minute I'll add the summer squash or zucchini. If you add it at the same time as the potatoes, it turns into a mushy mess. I've also frozen shredded zucchini for winter baking, which turns out great. I always add a little extra zucchini though because when you take it out of the freezer the water will separate and you'll pour off most of that water (I don't squeeze out the water, but I pour off excess). So instead of using 2 cups for my recipe if I'm making it fresh, I freeze it in 3 cup portions for winter baking.

WRAPPING IT UP This week was a fun one, and we had a couple days of "nice weather" mid-week where it was in the 70s, so that was a win! We're seeing so much growth in the fields and with our hogs too. This heat wave is beating us down because we just have to work so hard to get the same results as if it was raining ;) But the one great thing is that this heat helps the plants thrive- there are so many crops out there that are doing so good!!

Ben just sent me some pictures from the squash patch and told me that he thinks we'll be able to 'walk across the squash this fall'. Translation: a farmer phrase for saying- there will be more squash out there, than bare ground... which is not an exaggeration from what I am seeing 🤯

This weekend my Mom came and helped us can some pickles and then she took William home at the end of the day. So he's living the high life at Grandma's house- fishing with Grandpa at the river every day, going on walks at Fort Snelling (my parents' favorite place to get their steps in), eating ice cream, not having little sisters hanging on him... Since my Mom has retired (my Dad retired last year), they've taken one of our kids for a one-on-one stay at their house in Apple Valley. So all 3 of our kiddos have had their turn. I just called my Mom to ask when it's my turn, haha!!! I want to take long baths and eat ice cream, too!! Here is my Mom peeling all the dill heads off the stalks for me! 💗

We finished just a few pickles (55 jars!) I will need to be making a lot more dill pickles though, they go fast! I also made some pressure-canned green beans for Great Grandpa Brown and we brought them over there today after church. It was nice visiting with him, he has the best stories. The girls ran around playing with toys while we were there. It's a lot of commotion but I think he enjoys the chaos for a time. Grandma passed away this spring and she always made the best green beans. When we stopped by today, I confessed that mine will not be as good as Grandma's, but he should be set for this winter now.

OK LAST THING I PROMISE I have been posting on social media a lot more lately. First, because it's actually easier to post every day with little things that help folks see into the farm and share more about what we're doing. I feel like folks know more about what we're offering too, and they feel more comfortable buying from us when they see how we grow our produce and livestock. & I have a lot to say, all the time, haha!! Secondly, because I want to eventually be able to make money on our social accounts. It's mostly a pipe dream of mine, but I'd love to be able to make a little extra and put it aside for more farm ground. I have not made a single penny- by the way- so if anyone is good at this, please reach out and help a farm gal out with some tips ;) Or just shatter my dreams and get it over with, haha!! We grow everything we can at our house here (and then some!) and we already rent 5 acres from our awesome neighbors for our sweet corn, and we rent another few acres down in Elk River from Uncle Dan where it's really sandy for our potatoes. If I had my way, I'd love to get another 10 acres of tillable ground near us someday. I didn't even want to confess this because it seems so silly... and what if it never amounts to anything? Failure is hard to share with others!! I am not looking to be an influencer or famous- I couldn't care less. But if I was to be able to get more eyes on our content and monetize from it, think how awesome it would be to have another income stream for the farm and our future goals.

Meanwhile- I am still learning the difference between reels, stories and posts, hahah!! I still can't even get my instagram and facebook linked for cross-posting...

Really starting out at ground level 😬 but that's how we started our farm too. We were 21 and 23 when we started our farm. Ben had a lot of experience working for the neighbors' farm growing up, while I came into the mix with zero experience creating a website, excel docs for sales, marketing, etc. I used to work for the DNR when we first started farming. We started with 18 CSA Members in our program and now we grow for 400 families every week! Just look what we did with the nothing we had... we sure turned it into something!!

Thank you for supporting our farming endeavors and believing in us 💓 XO ~The Farmer's Wife