Basket contents: Leeks, choice of Brussels sprouts or squash, carrots, peppers, spinach, lettuce, tomatoes, choice of fennel or asian greens, choice of chinese cabbage or turnips.
Recipe of the week: Turnip Puff
This is our second last basket in the summer season! Remember that everyone gets a basket next week (even all the bi-weekly folk!), and then we have a week off before the first winter basket delivery.
This week I want to do a little review of the season to get your thoughts rolling before filling out our end-of-season survey. These surveys are so important for us because they allow us to adapt our production and distribution to better suit your preferences. That is one of the special parts of being a partner in a farm- we are literally doing it for you, we want to meet your own particular needs. You can fill out the survey online here.
From our side of things, we think this has been a pretty great season. Each year has challenges of its own, but a second year is inherently smoother than a first, and that was true for us this year. Here are some highlights from our side of the picture:
- The wet spring created some weeding challenges at first, but we were mostly able to catch up, and production didn’t seem to suffer at all. Pest pressure generally seemed low, except for the deer, who munched substantial quantities of lettuce, beans, carrots and beet leaves.
- We had fun growing a wider diversity of vegetables, including Chinese cabbage, radicchio, edamame, celery, watermelons, cantaloup, winter radishes, jerusalem artichokes… and the list continues.
- We started doing monthly activities on the farm with partners- June we held an open house with over 70 visitors! In July we held a work day with about 10 people who helped us harvest, squish potato beetles, and remove pea trellises. In August we hosted a canning workshop, and in September our harvest party consisted of an afternoon work session with over 25 people- even in the pouring rain- followed by a potluck dinner and music in the barn. We’ve really enjoyed the opportunity to get to know our partners better, and allow them to connect with their farm.
- This year we decided to stop doing farmers’ markets to allow us to focus more on our baskets (and take Saturdays off!). We love the change, and much prefer being able to get to know our partners each week. Baskets allow our production to be much more predictable, and unlike at the end of a market, we never come home with wasted veggies.
- We provided 6 baskets at a reduced price to folks who made a request. Thanks again to all those who donated a little extra so that everyone can have access to good, organic food.