Greetings all,
We have about a week and a half before CSA Shares start! I will also be sending out an email next week, so don't worry- this isn't your last reminder. Though I do suggest putting a reminder in your phone or calendar because that way it might be easier to remember your share day (especially in the beginning of the season).
A few updates for you. The lettuces look AMAZING. The soil here is so dark and rich that they're growing so fast! Check out the buttercrunch lettuce below-
We are having some issues sourcing strawberries. We need a lot- but we are willing to pay whatever our fellow farmers are requesting. Problem is that we have reached out to 4 farms nearby and all of them have said their work force isn't coming back at full capacity because of the coronavirus. There is also the time frame to take into consideration when making these arrangements- because fresh strawberries are so delicate and perishable. These are 10X as sweet as the ones you'll see at the grocery stores, but they last 1/10th of the time. They are harvested ripe, which means they have the best flavor, but also means they have the shortest shelf life. We are waiting to hear back from 1 farm, and have another farm that said they'd probably be able to get us half of the berries we need. We will keep you updated with the berries. Ben & I want strawberries in our CSAs, and have since made plans for starting our own now that we have our own property. In the past we've considered it, but they are a big investment especially considering up until now we didn't have a place for these precious perennials.
If we can't get strawberries, our plan is to double up on either blueberries or apples. Personally, I would rather see 2x as many apples because there are SO many kinds that we could work with. We already give everyone honey crisps (and then there are the additional honey crisp apple shares some people have ordered on top of that amount), but we would love to introduce some new varieties too. This is all tentative, depending on our success with strawberries.
The wind has been really strong out here lately. Strong enough to where our screen door was literally ripped off one of the hinges the other day. (We aren't used to this country wind!!), luckily it didn't break the outdoor light at our front door. The wind has caused a bit of stress on the plants but overall, it will do them good in the long run because their stems will be very hearty. Especially in the tomatoes and peppers, they're looking SO good!!
We have a covid safety plan that I will be rolling out next week. It entails what we will do to protect the produce, our employees, and all CSA members too with some guidelines for pick up etiquette. For example, if you see someone else at your pick up site, please wait for them to leave. One person at a time, simple measures like this will contribute to the safety of your produce. More details coming soon on the safety measures!
We are looking over the varieties in the field that are ready for harvest, or almost ready and are very hopeful to get some warm weather next week so that they are ready for our first harvest, which starts the week of June 22nd!
More field updates coming soon!! :)
~The Farmer's Wife