Winter on a farm

"What do you do in the winter?"

This is the question most people (inlcuding my own family at Christmas dinner!) ask me this time of year.  It is true that farmers get to hibernate a little bit, but there is still plenty of farming happening in the winter.  Since the farm stand ended in November, we began prepping our soil for next year.  Soil samples were taken and we applied 32 tons of lime on our vegetable and chicken pasture fields.  Having the correct soil pH is essential for soil health, improving vegetable yields and for growing nutritious grass for animals to graze on.  With the help of the NRCS, we began an erosion prevention program at the farm.  Since Moose Hill Farm's fields are quite sloped and quite wet for most of the year, the NRCS came out with their specialized equipment last fall to help map out the farm's contours much more accurately than I could with the naked eye.  I re-plowed as many of these new contours (and a new separate flower garden!) as I could before the first snowfall came.  This work will be resumed sometime in March when the ground thaws.    

Now that the fields are buried in snow, there is a lot of "indoor" work to be done.  We will continue to grow and sell salad greens in our greenhouse to the Egleston Farmers Market in JP through the end of January.  Then we will have to start prepping the greenhouse for next year's seedlings.  I like for the greenhouse to go through a period of rest the month before our spring seeding begins.  With nothing growing in the greenhouse for that time, we can be sure that all "bad bugs" and plant diseases die off during the hard freeze that usually happens in February.  Speaking of the greenhouse, 6000lbs of potting soil has already been delivered to the farm for the seeding to commence in March.

What seeds will we be planting?  Well, those decisions are being made right now!  There is nothing like flipping through all the colorful seed catalogs this time of year next to a warm fire with a cup of hot tea in hand.  This is the time for a farmer to dream and swoon over all the yummy harvests to come.  And then onto spread sheets; lots and lots of spread sheets.  Spread sheets that manage the farm's budget and what new equipment and supplies to buy.  Spread sheets that manage how much to grow for the CSA, for our farm stand, for our new flower garden and for our new spring seedling sale.  Spread sheets to keep track of how many seeds to order, when and how many seeds to plant, and when and where to plant those seedlings in our fields.  Even the chickens get their own spread sheet.  This means Farmer Molly gets to drink a lot of coffee and listen to a lot of Pandora stations during January and February. 

Then there is the business of deciding what freindly, helpful faces you will be meeting in the fields next year.  Hopefully there will be a nice mix of experienced and new apprentices and work-for-shares to help bring in the 2014 harvest.  This is also the time of year that your farmer and apprentices get to expand their farming knowledge.  Through conferences, online courses, and farm visits, we get to learn about new and improved growing techniques.

This is the time of year to strengthen and make new connections to our community.  We are so excited to be working with the City Harvest Youth Crew again and are very excited about our new connections with the Norfolk Aggie High School in Walpole.  And of course we are very pleased to be working with our hunger relief partners again.  In fact, we have a movie night that we are really excited to tell you about...

Come to the farm on January 16th at 7pm for a viewing of A Place at the Table, from the makers of Food, Inc.  This documentary tackles the hard hitting questions of why there are so many starving and malnourished families here in the United States.  Open to everyone, it is being held in the Main House conference room (the entrance where the eggs are sold out of).  We will have a discussion afterwards about how the farm can play a role in hunger relief in our community.  We ask that you bring either $5 worth of non-perishable goods or a $5 donation.  All proceeds go to the Canton Food Pantry; one of the the food pantries we supplied fresh produce to this past CSA season.  Come visit your farm in the winter! 

Farmer Molly

Salad Greens for sale this weekend!

Looking for a way to stay connected to Moose Hill Farm over the winter?  We are growing salad greens in our greenhouse for The Neighborhood Farm to sell for us at the Egleston Farmer's Market every Saturday.  The market is held at 45 Brookside Ave in JP from 10am-2pm until February.  It's a really great market with lots of local food!  Learn all about it here: http://eglestonfarmersmarket.org/

Last week for CSA Early Bird sign- ups

Just a quick reminder that this is the last week to select either $25 off the price of a 2014 CSA share or a free flower share!  You can sign up here: https://secure3.convio.net/ttor/site/SPageServer?pagename=MHF_CSA

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Farmer Molly

Last week for eggs

All of our chickens have been placed in new homes for the winter months.  They are now part of flocks from North Hampton to Lexington to Hingham!  We will be taking on a new flock in April and eggs should be available by June.  Sadly, this is the last week that eggs will be sold at the farm until then.  Thank you for all the support!

Final Farm Stand this Saturday and CSA Early Bird Special!

Come see us for the last time in 2013!

This Saturday from 9am-2pm will be our last farm stand for the season.  Come stock up on all your favorite fall holiday favorites including: winter squash, onions, shallots, garlic, sweet potatoes, leeks, rutabega, turnips, salad turnips, beets, cabbage, daikon radish, kale, potatoes, baby salad green mixes grown right in our greenhouse and more!  Of course we will have our delicious eggs, too.  Due to popular demand, we will be sampling AND selling Appleton Dairy cheeses this week.  But wait, there's more!!  Another local chef will be there with delicoius recipes to sample made from our produce and there will be free local popcorn and cider as well!   

 

And don't forget about signing up for the 2014 CSA.  November 30th is the last day for the early bird special and if you come out to the sale and sign up, you get TWO free dozen eggs!  If you can't make it to the sale, you can sign up online here: https://secure3.convio.net/ttor/site/SPageServer?pagename=MHF_CSA.

 

Hope to see you there!

Farmer Molly and the crew

 

 

Layer hens for sale!

As you know, we need to disperse our laying flock for the winter.  Unfortunatley we do not have enough staff to tend to the flock this winter, but hope to change that for next season.  So eggs will continue to be for sale until about Thanksgiving and then we will take on a new flock in the spring and have eggs again by next June! 

If anyone is keeping backyard birds and wants to increase their flock, email Farmer Molly at mdellaroman@ttor.org.  We are selling them for $4/bird and would like to have all of them in a new home before Thanksgiving.

Salad Greens for sale!

This week only, we will be selling bags of baby salad greens along with our eggs that are normally for sale, Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm, in the main house.  Come out to the farm for some pea tendrils, Asian greens and arugula!  These greens are being grown in the greenhouse and are very tender - it's nice to have something so fresh on these cold, autumn days!

Farm Stand this Sunday!

Miss coming to the farm already?! Come see us on Sunday!

We are holding two last farm stand days this season; Sunday, November 3 and Saturday, Nov 16th from 9am -2pm.  Local chefs will be preparing tasty samples from the farm's veggies and there will be free freshly popped Powisset Farm popcorn and local cider. 

We will also be sampling Appleton Farm's dairy; there will be milk, yogurt, blue cheese, a tomme cheese and asiago cheese to try.  We are thinking of offering a dairy share to CSA members next season, so come try it for yourself!  Learn all about the dairy here: http://www.thetrustees.org/email/find-your-place/whats-in-a-name.html.   

These farm stand days also mark the time that the general public (in addition to the renewals that started in October) can start signing up for the 2014 CSA program.  For the month of November, anyone that signs up for the CSA can choose to recieve either a free flower share or a $25 discount.  Sign up for the CSA at either farm stand day and receive 2 FREE DOZEN EGGS!  Don't miss out!

Veggies you can enjoy at the sale include butternut and acorn winter squash, onions, shallots, garlic, carrots, parsnips, sweet potatoes, turnips, rutabega, beets, potatoes, cabbage, kohlrabi, radishes, popcorn, kale, chard, spinach, and tender greenhouse-grown salad mixes.

See you there!
Farmer Molly and the crew 

Moose Hill Farm: A review of the first season

We did it!  We started a brand new farm and you helped make it happen!

Last week marked the end of our first CSA season.  CSA members received a total of $717 of fresh produce!  That is a surplus of $117 over the value of the share (see chart below).  That is one of the perks of belonging to a CSA program; you share in the risk and the bounty.  This year happened to be a bountiful year and we feel very grateful. 

Moose Hill Farm has been able to donate ~1500 lbs of produce to area food pantries so far and will continue to donate until just before Thanksgiving.  That is equivalent to ~$2500 and your membership to the CSA helped to provide this very important service and was very much appreciated by your fellow community members. 

Thank you to all who responded to the feedback questions posted in the CSA pick-up area over the last few weeks.  We loved reading through all your thoughtful responses and are already planning to make changes and additions for next year.  We learned that about half of you are brand new to belonging to a CSA program - Congrats!  It was fantastic seeing the list of veggies that were new to people...from ground cherries to kohlrabi to exotic basil varieties, we are so excited to have you hooked!  We plan to provide more tips and resources on how to make the most out of your CSA next year; from storage, to preserving techniques, to recipes, to learning more about the health benefits of the different families of vegetables, and to hosting more CSA potlucks/recipe swaps.  We also plan to make the PYO section more centralized and provide more information on how to pick the ripest and tastiest vegetables.  Based on all the really positive responses to the PYO portion of our CSA program, we are expanding it!  You may have noticed the mobile chicken coop close to the greenhouse a few weeks back.  The chickens were working the soil for our new flower/perennial herb garden.  CSA members will now get to pick a set amount of perennial herbs as part of their share (mint, thyme, oregano, lavender, etc).  The flowers at Moose Hill will now be open to the public (as well as CSA members who purchase a flower share).  A set price will be charged/stem and the flowers will be accessbile 7 days/week when in season.  This is also a nice option for CSA members who do not wish to commit to a flower share. 

Most of you commented that the amount of produce you received was just right but several people mentioned that they were glad they shared with other families. Just a reminder that we are now offering half shares for the 2014 CSA program and also look for a "swap" basket next year (leave a veggie behind/take a veggie you love).  We were excited to hear that you want more peas, beans,
and carrots - we do too!  Because our soil had been plowed for the first time ever this year, there was a lot of sod that needed time to break down.  This made crops that grow directly from a seed in the field (versus being seeded in the greenhouse first and then being transplanted into the field) quite difficult to grow this year.  Those crops included peas, beans, carrots, radishes, parnsips and some herbs.  We're looking forward to much more of those crops next year!

A lot of you expressed interest in the farm either growing fruit or providing a fruit share.  This is definitely something we are looking into.  Sadly, we had a crop failure on our musk and watermelons this year but we will try again next year.  Berries are perennial crops and we are in the process of deciding where perennial crops will be planted at the farm.  Hopefully in 2-3 years we will have our own strawberries, blueberries and raspberries but in the meantime, we are looking into offering a local fruit share that will include berries and/or tree fruits such as apples and peaches.   Other perennials we are considering growing at the farm are rhubarb and asparagus...stay tuned!

There was also some interest expressed in a meat share at the farm.  There are two scenarios we are currently looking into.  One is to provide meat grown on other Trustees of Reservations' farms which would include beef and pork.  The other option we are running budget numbers on is raising meat birds at Moose Hill...either just chicken or chicken and turkeys.  We will be sending out a separate survey to judge the interest in purchasing poultry from the farm sometime in the next few weeks.  We also have just found out that we would be able to offer dairy shares from Appleton Farms next season if there is enough interest!  Come to the fall farm stands to try cheese, yogurt and milk made from the pastured cows at our sister farm in Ipswich, MA.  We think you are going to love it!  And of course we will have our egg-cellent eggs again next year :)

We are really looking forward to expanding community events at the farm next year too.  Besides CSA potlucks, you all made some great suggestions for Farm Festivals, cook-offs and farm-to-table dinners.  The crew and I have already started to brainstorm events too, including a Spring Egg Hunt, Egg Painting contest and work days followed by Contra dances and polucks.  If anyone is interested in helping to make these happen, just email Farmer Molly!

Really looking forward to spending next season with you all,
Farmer Molly and the crew

CROP	AMOUNT	PRICE	VALUE
lettuce	20	$2	$40.00
spinach	2.5	$6	$15.00
bok choi	6	$1.50	$9.00
kale	12.5	$2	$25.00
scallions	6.5	$1.50	$9.75
herbs	20.5	$2	$41.00
broccoli	8	$2.75	$22.00
arugula	3	$8	$24.00
radish	4	$1.50	$6.00
turnip	5	$1.50	$7.50
chard	11.5	$2	$23.00
cabbage	8	$2	$16.00
kohlrabi	2.5	$1.50	$3.75
peas	8	$3	$24.00
radicchio	2	$2	$4.00
beets	6.5	$2.50	$16.25
caulifower	1	$2.75	$2.75
squash	11.5	$1.50	$17.25
carrots	4	$2.50	$10.00
scapes	2	$1.50	$3.00
onions	8.25	$1.50	$12.38
potatoes	13.25	$1.50	$19.88
cukes	9.5	$1.50	$14.25
beans	12	$3.00	$36.00
eggplant	19.25	$2.50	$48.13
lettuce mix	3.25	$5	$16.25
tomatoes	24.5	$2.50	$61.25
padrons	0.25	$2.50	$0.63
leeks	5.5	$2	$11.00
hot peppers	12	$0.25	$3.00
asian greens	2.25	$6	$13.50
cherry tomatoes	21	$4.00	$84.00
peppers	10	$2.50	$25.00
ground cherries	7	$4.00	$28.00
beet greens	0.25	$5.00	$1.25
garlic	4	$1.50	$6.00
tomatillos	2.5	$2.00	$5.00
pie pumpkins	2	$2.00	$4.00
shallots	1	$4.00	$4.00
rutabega	1	$1.50	$1.50
butternut	1	$3.00	$3.00
TOTAL			$717.25

A bird's eye view of the making of a farm

Here at the top of Moose Hill, we see a lot of small private planes flying over head every day.  They usually are flying fairly low and my guess is that they are heading into land at the Norwood airport.  Sometimes I wonder how much detail the pilot can see of the farm.  Has the pilot been making this trip for years?  Have they made it several times this season?  How cool it must be to have seen the growth of this farm from up above!

I can imagine them seeing the very first fields being plowed this time last year - brown soil where there had always been green grass.  Just one lonely farmer on a tractor for several weeks.  Then maybe they noticed the tall well-digging equipment last winter.  Land was cleared for a building - what are they trying to build in all that snow?  Oh, a greenhouse slowly takes shape.  Last spring they would have seen a new tiny building and what are all those brown specs running around it?  Why, those are chickens! And each week their tiny house is in a new spot and over time that pasture turns more and more green thanks so those little fertilizing machines.

Maybe the pilot peered down last spring and summer and saw more and more people moving around the fields.  The brown plowed fields are now green with life.  There is a large group of people on hands and knees planting and weeding and over there is a family picking cherry tomatoes. In all kinds of weather the people can be seen working; the crew's bright yellow raincoats and rainpants must have been quite the sight!

In our last week of Moose Hill Farm's first-ever CSA, the crew and I would like to extend our thanks again for joining us.  Not just to receive tasty vegetables every week but for supporting a farm that believes in using sustinable growing practices, that believes everyone has the right to healthy food, that livestock should be treated with the utmost care, that training new farmers is essential to rebuilding a local food system, that protects the surrounding ecosystem, and that is trying to bring balance back to the way we eat, grow and view our food.  Thank you for being a part of everything that Moose Hill stands for and we hope you join us again next year. 


In your final week, please enjoy spinach, chard, scallions, a choice of leeks or onions, a choice of kohlrabi or cabbage, rutabega, turnips, and butternut squash.  More peppers are for sale also.  Need more winter vegetables?  Don't forget about our fall farm stand days on Nov 3rd and Nov 16th.  More details coming next week!  Also don't forget that sign-ups for next year for current CSA members is going on now...the general public will be able to sign up starting on the fall farm stand days. 

Our chickens are famous!

Check out this great article about our chickens! 

http://smallfarms.cornell.edu/2013/10/07/the-first-year-egg-farmer/

We have been so excited to provide you with eggs all season - they will be available at the farm until about Thanksgiving.  Don't worry, they will be back by the start of next year's CSA!

It's the little things that matter the most...

...just wanted to say "thanks!" to all that came out to our first annual CSA potluck 2 weeks ago.  It was so lovely for the farmers to have the chance to sit and reflect with you.  And let's not forgot about the highlight of the potluck - the amazing food!  The list of items included dishes like Swiss Chard, Egg and Feta Bake; Roasted Broccoli, Radish and Leeks; Dill-icious Potato Salad; Tomatillo Salsa; Grilled Chipotle Chicken Caesar Salad; Eggplant Parm; and Pumpkin Pie, to name a few.  Smiling faces abounded - a special thanks to Joe Perez, one of the farm's workshares, for taking these lovely photos - I am already looking forward to next year's! 

 

For those of you that weren't able to join us, we would still love to hear feedback from you.  The list of survey questions that were posted at the potluck will be hanging in the CSA distribution area for the rest of the season (only 2 pick-ups left!!) for you to add your thoughts as well.  And feel free to contact me at mdellaroman@ttor.org with any other additional thoughts or questions you may have.

 

 

This week you will enjoy lettuce, spinach, choice of herbs, kale, scallions, broccoli, salad turnips and beets.  And as a special bonus, we are having a stock up sale on peppers!  We had our first frost Sunday night but the peppers had already been safely harvested and are being stored in the cooler.  You can buy peppers all week for $1/lb! 

 

Peppers are really easy to preserve – they freeze really well and you don’t have to blanch them.  Just chop into bite-size pieces and put into freezer bags (make sure to get all the air out of the bag).  I throw them into chili and stir-fry all winter.  Or, fry them up with some onions and freeze those – that way you can enjoy a sausage and pepper/onion sandwich for the Red Sox’s  opening day next April before pepper season has even begun J

Farmer Molly and the crew

 



 

Three weeks to go...

...I can't believe it, but we are in the last month of the CSA!  Whoa!

The month of October, the traditional harvest month in New England, is here.  So many good veggies still left in the fields for your final weeks coming out to the farm.  Don't forget, the final pick up is October 26th. 

In case you just aren't ready to say good-bye to the farm yet, we are having 2 Fall Farm Stand days!  Come out to the farm on Sunday Nov 3rd and Saturday Nov 16th (9am-2pm) for all kinds of root veggies, greens sweetened by the colder temperatures, and winter squash.  There will also be local chefs with samples and recipes on how to make these veggies even more mouth-watering.  Local cider and freshly popped local popcorn will also be provided. These events are open to all so bring family and friends and help us spread the word.  What a wonderful way to say farewell to the farm for the winter!

If you are thinking about joining us again for another season (and we really hope you do!), October and November are the months to do it.  The CSA is now open for current members to re-register. Sign-up forms will be available at all pick ups and on-line registration will be up and running by the end of the week.  Look for an email this week with details of how to sign up on line.  And because we love you guys so much, you get a gift for signing up during October - you can pick either a free flower share or $25 off your share! Starting in November, the CSA will be open to the general public and we are adding 25 spots so spread the word to anyone you know who would love to be a part of this farm.  Anyone that signs up on the days of the fall farm stands will receive 2 FREE dozen eggs!! Current members are eligible for both the eggs and the discount if you come out to the Fall Farm Stands - I told you we loved you guys ;)  Hope to see you there!

This week you will enjoy lettuce, spinach or chard, napa cabbage, kale, radishes or salad turnips, broccoli (and lots of it!), shallots, garlic and pie pumpkins...don't you just love autumn!!

Farmer Molly and the crew

Potluck reminder!

Come out to the farm tomorrow for some great food!  Join us from noon-2pm tomorrow to share the bounty of Moose Hill Farm's first CSA - looks like the rain is going to have us inside the main farm house. 

See you tomorrow!
Farmer Molly and the crew

Potluck and CSA sign-ups

Our first annual potluck is almost here! 

Don't forget to join us on Saturday, Oct 5th from noon-2pm for the CSA potluck.  Please bring a dish to pass with one copy of the recipe (we will make additional copies) so it can be shared with other CSA members.  The farm will provide cider and if you forget your place setting, we will have some extras.  We will eat outside at the picnic tables; feel free to bring an extra picnic blanket.  If it is rainy we will meet inside the main farm house.  The farmers are really looking forward to hanging out with you in a relaxed setting and chatting with you about how the season went and to listen to your ideas for next season!

The potluck will also be the first day that you can sign up for the CSA next year!  All during the month of October, our current CSA members get first pick of rejoining the Moose Hill Farm CSA.  And, because we love growing food for you folks so much (!!), if you sign up during the month of October you have your pick of receiving a free flower share next year or $25 off the value of the share. Yay for the pioneer members of Moose Hill Farm!  Thanks so much for supporting us!

This coming week in the share you will enjoy lettuce, choice of spinach or broccoli, turnips, garlic, peppers, eggplant, leeks and potatoes. 

Farmer Molly and the crew

P.S. This week's posting is early because Farmer Molly finally gets to take a vacation next week!!

Fall Farm Stand Days

Now that autumn is officially here, we would like to share some fun fall festivities!

In lieu of offering a Winter CSA share, we are going to be holding 2 special farm stand days in November.  Come out to the farm on Saturdays, November 2nd and16th, from 9am-2pm for all your favorite fall vegetables!  The farm stand is open to all so invite your family, friends and neighbors.  More details to come in the upcoming weeks...in the meantime, don't forget about our CSA potluck on October 5th from noon-2pm.  Bring a dish to pass and the recipe to share with fellow CSA members - the farm will supply local apple cider.  Hope to see you there!

This week you will enjoy arugula, Swiss Chard, kale, spinach, a choice of herbs, beets, peppers, eggplant, onions, tomatillos, hot peppers and as many ground cherries as you can find!  The flower share will last until the first frost. 

"To stay in one place and watch the seasons come and go is tantamount to constant travel: one is traveling with the earth." ~Marguerite Yourcenar 

Farmer Molly and the crew

First Annual CSA potluck!

Come join us for a potluck picnic on the farm!

We will be holding our first ever CSA poltuck on October 5th from 12-2pm.  Come share a tasty recipe made from Moose Hill Farm veggies and celebrate with us a great first year on the farm!  We will be outside at the picnic tables if it is sunny and inside the big white house if it is raining.  Bring a copy of your recipe and we will make extra copies for people to swap. We are hoping to have a kids activity too - stay tuned for that!  Please bring your own place settings and an extra pincic blanket if you can.  We can't wait to have lunch with you!!

This week in your share you will enjoy a choice of lettuce mix or arugula, spinach, a choice of kale or chard, a choice of herbs, fennel, leeks, beets, peppers, eggplant and tomatillos.  Pick as many cherry tomatoes as you like - the first frost may come any day now!

Farmer Molly and the crew

"A Place at the Table"

Over the weekend, I had the chance to watch a great documentary from the makers of "Food, Inc."  It is called "A Place at the Table."  It tackles the concept of food insecurity in America in a very eye-opening and heartfelt way.  It helps bring to light the concept of being obese and malnourished at the same time and also the troubling issue of food deserts.  It also does an excellent job of highlighting the major flaws with the Farm Bill and the role of food stamps and healthy school lunches in this country...very timely as we have still not passed the Farm Bill. 

It made me feel very grateful and proud to be a part of a farm that donates fresh, nutritious produce to our local food banks; a commodity that is rarely part of food pantry distributions.  We also made the decision in starting up this farm to sell food to our local Sharon school system to get more fresh produce into the diets of our children - I am happy to report that we will start selling veggies to the schools next week now that they are back in session.  So thank you for joining a CSA that is trying to make a small difference in the lives of others and in our nation's food system!

This week you will enjoy a choice of herbs, lettuce mix, arugula, bok choi, kale, chard, hot peppers, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, tomatillos.  There are still lots of cherry tomatoes, beans and ground cherries to pick in the fields. 

Farmer Molly and the crew

The Definition of 'Farm"

If you ever have to look up the definition of the word "farm," you can find some really uninspiring meanings.



A shot of Blue Hill behind the farm

According to Wikipedia, "A farm is an area of land...including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food..."  Ask.com says a farm is "an area of land and its buildings used for growing crops and rearing animals..."  By these definitions, Moose Hill Farm became a successful farm this year.  But I think we need to change our definition of "farm" to be so much more.  If we are to be part of a vibrant local food movement; a movement that will help create significant and long-standing benefits to our food system, we have to go much deeper.  What is missing from the standard definition of "farm" is the people.  When people look forward to walking out to the fields to have a quiet moment picking flowers; or when parents bring their children to the farm on non-CSA pick-up days to say "hi" to the chickens; or when CSA members bring friends and family with them to show them the farm that they enjoy coming to each week...then we have a successful farm.  We need people to care about this particular piece of land in a very special way, and I see that happening here everyday.  So the next time someone asks me if I helped to start a farm this year, I can say "absolutely".  And to celebrate this, we would like to invite you to a potluck on October 5th, from noon-2pm, so save the date!  We would love to finally have the chance to sit and visit with you...we'll have more details for you in the coming weeks!

Chickens in the shade of trees...the way it should be.

This week you will enjoy a choice of herbs, lettuce mix, arugula, mizuna, leeks, a mix of potatoes, cucumbers and summer squash, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, hot peppers and there are lots of cherry tomatoes, ground cherries and gourmet beans (purple and yellow with purple streaks) for waiting for you in the PYO.  More sunflowers for flower share members to enjoy, too.

Farmer Molly and the crew


This week in  your share you will enjoy a choice of herbs, garlic (courtesy of The Neighborhood Farm), a choice of beet greens or Asian greens, mizuna, peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, and potatoes.  There are plenty of cherry tomatoes and ground cherries for you to pick in the field and flower share members have sunflowers to add to their bouquets this week. 

Farmer Molly and the crew

Your CSA cup is half full!

We are half way there...  I don't know whether to feel relieved that we have made it this far or sad that it is flying by so quickly!

This week I wanted to give you an update on the value of your share since we only have 10 weeks left.  We are trying to reach $600 and we are right on target (and your $20 food donation is right on target as well).  The second half of the season tends to contain more abundant and valuable crops so $289 is a great value to be at this point of the season (see chart down below - I love seeing such a wide variety of veggies too!).  Thanks for a great first half and here is to a fabulous finish to the season!

This week you can enjoy picking up mizuna, lettuce mix, scallions or kale, summer squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, hot peppers, leeks, and onions.  More cherry tomatoes are waiting in the field for you...there are several different varieties throughout the planting so be sure to check out all 3 beds (there are orange, red and purple varieties).  There are also ground cherries ready (they are a funky fruit/vegetable from the tomatillo family...we'll have some samples at the pick up for you to try!)  Flower share members will enjoy another colorful bouquet this week. 

Farmer Molly and the crew

Here is a break down of what you have received so far:

CROP	AMOUNT (bunches or lbs)	PRICE	VALUE
lettuce	14	$2	$28
spinach	0.5	$6	$3
bok choi	4	$1.50	$6
kale	6.5	$2	$13
scallions	4	$1.50	$6
herbs	14	$2	$28
broccoli	2	$2.75	$6
arugula	1	$8	$8
radish	3	$1.50	$5
turnip	1	$1.50	$2
chard	5	$2	$10
cabbage	6.5	$2	$13
kohlrabi	2	$1.50	$3
peas	8	$3	$24
radicchio	2	$2	$4
beets	4.5	$2.50	$11
caulifower	1	$2.75	$3
squash	10.5	$1.50	$16
carrots	4	$2.50	$10
scapes	2	$1.50	$3
onions	5	$1.50	$8
potatoes	7.25	$1.50	$11
cukes	8.5	$1.50	$13
beans	4	$3.00	$12
eggplant	3.75	$2.50	$9
lettuce mix	1.5	$5	$8
tomatoes	6.5	$2.50	$16
padrons	0.25	$2.50	$1
leeks	1	$2	$2
hot peppers	4	$0.25	$1
asian greens	0.75	$6	$5
cherry tomatoes	1	$4.00	$4
TOTAL			$289