Category Archives: wash area

In the Share – Week 2

hail, radish, spinach, wash area

RADISHES F/P  Red and crisp.  My favorite way to eat radishes is lightly cooked in a stir-fry.

HAKUREI TURNIPS F/P  The “eat ’em like an apple” turnips are especially big and juicy now.

BUTTERHEAD LETTUCE F/P  Lovely and delicious

STRAWBERRIES F/P  We are hoping we can pick enough berries tomorrow AM (rain permitting!) to get all the Wednesday folks a pint or thereabouts.  By Saturday and next week we should have plenty!

FORELLENSCHLUSS ROMAINE F  They are supposed to be charmingly splotchy.

GREEN GARLIC F/P  Use like green onions.  See Tom for some thoughts.

ASIAN GREENS F/P  Bok choy and tat soi

KALE OR CHARD F  See Tom’s post for a kale salad recipe.

BROCCOLI & GAI LAN P  Gai lan is broccoli’s smaller, but tender cousin.  There is a bit of both in each bunch this week.  We hope to have enough for all by next week. 

HERBS F tarragon, garlic chives or arugula

NEXT WEEK:  More lettuces, greens, turnips, broccoli and strawberries.

FARM REPORT:

The farm received 4 inches of rain Saturday night along with lots of wind and some small hail.  Water from our rolling hills flows into Clear Creek and the Fishing River before making its way to the Missouri.  Both Clear Creek and Fishing River overflowed their banks sending out first reponders in boats to rescue some folks.  Here on higher ground we saw some damage from the hail.  You may notice that the tender greens have been roughed up a bit.  The spinach suffered the worst of it.

It has rained every Saturday morning of the CSA season so far and it looks like this Saturday will be no exception.  We share our muck boots with whoever shows up and we keep busy bringing in the harvest.  Greens coming in from the fields need a good rinse before being packed and its a good job for the whole family.  

tat soi rinse
 

In the Share – Week 11

cucumbers, potatoes, wash area

POTATOES F/P  Purple Viking potatoes are a new variety for us.  The one we ordered didn’t come and these were the replacements.  We think we’ll grow them again next year. 

GARLIC F/P  More hardneck varieties that have been drying in the barn.

TOMATOES F/P  Along with the red tomatoes, there are heirloom yellows, oranges, pinks and greens.  We put them in the shares less than fully ripe so that they will last you all week. Wait for them to be brightly-colored and give to a gentle squeeze.

CHERRY TOMATOES F 

CUCUMBERS F/P  I am looking forward to trying the cold cucumber soup recipe that Merri posted on the FB group page. 

WALLA WALLA ONIONS F  Sweet onions aren’t the best keepers so enjoy them while they are here.

EGGPLANT F

PURPLE AND YELLOW PEPPERS F 

SUMMER SQUASH P 

SALSA PACK F/P

NEXT WEEK:  More tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, eggplant, peppers and salsa packs.  Carrots and red onions return.

FARM REPORT: 
Most of our days are spent hauling in the heavy harvest. 

eggplant, pepper and tomato plants
 
We are fortunate to have a great crew of farmers, farm apprentices, part-timers and volunteers getting things done.  
 
Olivia, John and Dustin
 
We also had help from my mom, Sharon, this week while she was visiting from central Missouri.  She took the train back tonight and is undoubtedly already working in her own garden of flowering plants, fruits and vegetables. 
 
 


In the Share – Week 11

cover crops, csa, high tunnel, tomatillos, wash area
Tomatillos 

SALSA PACK (F/P) The lovely tomatillo shines this time of year. Just add a tomato and chop it all up. Or roast it and it’s even better.

TOMATOES (F/P) More reds and pinks this week with a smattering of other colors.

CARROTS (F/P) Big, orange carrots out of cold storage.

GARLIC (F/P) The first garlic of the season: Musik, a hardneck type with big, juicy cloves.

SWEET PEPPERS (F/P) More sweet yellows and purples. Ripe red peppers are coming soon.

EGGPLANT (F/P)  Lots more of these beauties.  Check Tom’s posts for the past few weeks for recipes.

CHERRY TOMATOES (F) We will get some to the partial shares next week.

BEETS OR CUCUMBERS (F) The last of both for a while.

THAI BASIL, ITALIAN BASIL, SUMMER SAVORY OR HOT PEPPERS (F)

NEXT WEEK: more tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and salsa packs. Potatoes and onions.

FARM REPORT: Rain at last. It had been about two months since the farm had any, so the 1.3 inches that fell on Monday was much appreciated. We got a lot of seeds and transplants in before it came so things are off to a good start for the fall.

flail-mowed sorghum Sudan grass

Tom mowed down the high tunnel’s cover crop of sorghum sudan grass and will soon incorporate it with the spader. The soil will get a month to digest its green dinner before we start planting in September.

 During the summer harvest season we spend many hours in the wash and pack area. All of the remodeling we did this past winter is paying off with plenty of cold storage, tables for sorting and sinks for washing. It’s a pleasant place to be during the heat of the day or during a rain storm.

Rebecca and Lauren.  Luke with Shawn and Monica.  The Rouyers:  David, Amelia and Frido.  

In the Share – Week 1

asparagus, frost, high tunnel, row cover, wash area
LETTUCE (2)  a butterhead and a red leaf
BOK CHOY   some are green-stemmed, some are white – either way they make the best stir fry.
SPINACH  we are still picking off the fall planting and the leaves are still sweet and getting quite large.
SWISS CHARD see tom’s post for his yummy Cacciatore recipe
GREEN ONIONS AND GARLIC use the green garlic as you would green onions.  
PARSLEY AND DILL both appear to be thriving
ARUGULA  we do not grow baby greens here at Fair Share, so be prepared for big bunches of big-leafed and full-flavored arugula
HAKUREI TURNIPS  some say they taste like they have ice cream in the center, you be the judge.
CARROTS  this was our first winter with the high tunnel and we hope you all are ready for the experiment!  The carrots taste great but are a bit misshapen due to uneven watering, we believe.  We just have enough for everyone to get a 1/2 pound.
NEXT WEEK:  lettuce, leeks, spinach, herbs, endive, radish, turnips, maybe (hopefully!) asparagus
FARM REPORT
What a way to kick off the first week of our new extended season – a brutal cold snap that had us racing across our fields today doubling-up on row cover! We put a second layer on 3800 feet worth of beds doing squats every 20 feet to pin it down. Perhaps we are running on adrenaline, but it went quickly and no frostbite was reported.  

This was after a very pleasant day on Saturday with the first crew of CSA member workers.  With lots of extra hands we cleaned-up the asparagus patch, dug dandelions, painted the picnic tables and filled in the trench for the new drain line from the wash area.

The washing and packing area of the barn got a big retrofit this winter and is ready for business.

And here’s a sneak peak at the crops going in the shares tomorrow before we covered them up too.

We were hoping to have asparagus in the shares this week, but the stalks are barely poking out of the ground and for good reason, they’ll most likely be frozen in the morning.

Forecasts range from mid-20s to 21 degrees in the morning.  We have cancelled the work shifts for tomorrow.  Our farm crew of four will be able to handle the harvest once the crops thaw.  CSA distribution should continue as planned.  We were able to cover our most sensitive crops, but the fruit trees and the direct-seeded crops are uncovered.  We’ll let you know how it turns out.