WeeK 11

Hello Farm Friends,

Week 11 finds us beginning to be overwhelmed with...........you guessed it tomatoes. They are really starting to come on now and you will find a hefty quantity in your crates this week. Paul Robsons, Cherokee Purples, Brandywines, Goldies, Big Beefs, Early Girls, Big Mamas and orange, red and yellow cherries. In "pepper world" a new pepper arrives this week it's a Hungarian Hot Wax pepper. They look somewhat like a banana pepper and are yellow-orange in color. They are a hotter pepper. We have had a couple of requests for green tomatoes. They are wonderfully tart when they are fried. Let us know if you're interested in having some.

This week's crate includes:

Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Zucchini
Yellow Squash
Corn (butter and sugar...yellow and white)
Onions
Garlic
Peppers
Basil

If you would like a fresh chicken, as opposed to frozen, the next batch will be in the coolers 8/5-8/8. These should run 5-6 pounds.

Also, you folks at Rohini's pick up on Park Heights, we would love to have you visit the farm and see where your food is coming from. Feel free anytime you would like.

BTW Thank you for the recipes. They are all posted on the web site under recipes.

Steve and Vicky

Week 10

Hi Friends,

Wanted to thank everyone for their recipes last week. They haven't shown up yet because we are trying to construct a separate recipe page on the site. It should be done soon.

Week 10 is here and you will find some new items in your crates this week, eggplants and a variety of peppers. One of the peppers you may find is a long, crinkled up red one that looks deadly, it is not, it's a Jimmy Nardello sweet pepper that is supposed to be one of the best frying peppers there is. The drought didn't do any favors to the tomatoes, you may find some with cracks in them, but they still taste real good! Speaking of tomatoes you will find a horribly ugly heirloom tomato that is green on top and reddish on the bottom. It won't look ripe but it is, it's a Paul Robeson tomato and we think you'll find it delicious. Paul Robeson was an African-American opera singer in the fifties that was a star in Russia. They loved him so much they named a variety of tomato after him and that's the one in your crate this week. We've been experimenting with some lettuce during this scorching summer and most has not been successful, but the arugula is tender and tasty. It has a few holes in it, which proves it hasn't been sprayed with something to kill everything. It's really got a nice spicy kick to it.

Hope all is well and we'll see you this week.

Week 10

Arugula
Eggplant or Carrots
Peppers
White Potatoes
Green and Yellow Zucchini
Cucumbers
Tomatoes
Sweet Corn

Week 9

Hi all,

Thank you all so much for performing your rain dances! I understand many of your neighbors called the authorities while observing your strange behavior, but you at least got the rain here. We received nearly 6 inches of rain between last Friday and this past Wednesday. It's an incredible phenomenon to see what a good rain does to the crops. You can water your brains out, but it's just not the same as a natural rain. Things are looking great right now. We had almost given up on the last summer crops we had planted and then the rains came and everything has popped out of the ground and are beginning to grow.

We extracted 5 gallons of honey this past week. It's delicious. $7 a pint, that's about a pound and a third, and $12 a quart that's 3 pounds.

This week in your crates you will find:

The first of the tomatoes (yahoo)
Blush (a cross of red and Yukon gold) or white potatoes
Cucumbers
Zucchini (green and yellow)
Yellow Crookneck squash (buttery)
Green Beans
Carrots
Swiss Chard (new recipe on www.rousedalefarm.com
Sweet Corn!!!!!!!!!!

If anyone else would like to share any recipes, please do.

Have a great week!

Steve and Vicky

Maryland Farms

For more information on local farms and their offerings check out

http://www.marylandagriculture.info

We were honored with having web site of the week on their site this week!

Honey, Chickens and Eggs, Oh My!

I keep receiving inquires about the chicken, eggs and honey and whether they are available to just the CSA members or can non members enjoy them as well. The answer is that they are available to everyone. We always have eggs. We have chicken whole and cut up year round now and I am extracting, what I hope will be, many pounds of honey tomorrow. So if you're interested, just drop by the farm or drop us an email.

Week 8

I'm sitting here Saturday morning writing to you as the rain is falling. You have no idea what a relief it is to us. So much of our time has been taken away from other projects so we could water every day and deciding what was the most important to water each particular day. Not only that, but the constant fear that you're stressing the well or well pump. So far, on our way to an inch and it still is a beautiful steady rain. OK...geez, I don't think I've ever been so emotional about rain.

You will notice that your shares will be in new 1/2 bushel wooden crates with the Rousedale Farm logo on the side. You're number is on the bottom and on the support corners on the top. These are solid, should last forever, and you won't have a crappy cardboard box to look at all week.

Week 8

Green Beans
Summer Squash
Onions
Garlic
Potatoes
Cucumbers

Cherry Tomatoes are ripening and the rest of the tomatoes are starting to move away from green. Corn next week?..could be.

Vicky and Steve

Week 7

Hi Everyone,

Week 7 is here already and the farm is a very busy place, as massive watering has been added to the daily chores. We have had 5/8 inch of rain in the last 20 days and most crops like an inch a week, so we are very dry. The summer squash is coming on like gangbusters and the cucumbers have begun along with the red potatoes and carrots. The beans, corn and tomatoes aren't far behind. This week's share consists of:

Red Potatoes
Summer Squash
Pickling Cucumbers (you don't have to pickle them to enjoy them or be pickled to enjoy them)
Swiss Chard (recipe on web site)
Onions
Garlic
Golden Beets
Carrots

Remember we still have a stock of chicken in the freezer, eggs are always available and we will be extracting honey in another week or so with our brand new shiny extractor!

All the best!

Vicky and Steve