Farm Update

Down on the Farm Excitement at the farm yesterday! Reporter Melinda Roeder and cameraman Brian from Baltimore's Fox 45 dropped by for a while. Melinda told me to do what I would normally do and they would just follow me around, get some shots and chat. I was planning to do some work in one of the chicken coops. I glanced down at Melinda's open sandal type shoes and thought maybe I should change my plan. I took them out to one of the fields that we were preparing for winter. The soil had just been fertilized with chicken manure and I looked at Melinda's shoes. I made a detour to the bee hives and for some reason many of the bees were in front of the hives in the grass...and I looked at Melinda's shoes. Then I had a brilliant idea. Let's put Melinda on the tractor and teach her to drive it! She was game, so up she climbed into the driver's seat. I explained the basic fundamentals and off she went across the field. When her short trek came to an end, I, as any gentleman would, said, "let me help you down". Melinda said, "I'm fine" and proceeded to step down directly on a rotten tomato. I quickly regained some of the composure that I had just lost and said,"Ah, that's an heirloom tomato, so if you save those seeds that are now stuck to your shoes, you can plant them next year!" She passed on being a seed saver and I hosed off her shoe. The story will air probably Tuesday night. Speaking of heirloom tomatoes..it's hard to believe that they are really slowing down already. We still have plenty of tomatoes, but not as many heirlooms as a couple of weeks ago. Some of the winter squashes are beginning to ripen and come into the market. Butternut and delicata squashes are available now, but many of the summer items are beginning to fade. Green beans will return in a couple of weeks. Our last area of beans were inundated with bean beetles and most of the beans were lost. In the market: Tomatoes Butternut Squash Delicata Squash Beets Patty Pan Squash Zucchini Onions Sweet Corn Mini Red Bell Peppers Green peppers Hot Wax Peppers Radishes Cherry Tomatoes Honey Chicken Eggs Hope you all have a great holiday weekend!

Locally Yours, Vicky and Steve

Week 12

CSA'ers,

Your shares this week will include sweet potatoes and maybe a melon. Let me explain....Our sweet potatoes were harvested last week. Sweet potatoes need to cure a few weeks for the enzymes in the potato to develop the sugars for that sweet potato taste. If you cook up one of these sweet potatoes now, it won't taste like much of anything. So, as you receive sweet potatoes the next couple of weeks, I would set them aside in a cool dry spot and let them sit for 4-5 weeks. The longer you wait, the sweeter they will be.

On the melon front....We had such a hard time with our melons this year for a number of reasons, that I don't need to bore you with. The melons are coming in slowly and their numbers are not great. I thought what we would do is spread the melons, cantaloupe or watermelon, over a few weeks. That way everyone will get at least one. We will take our CSA list and the first five on the list this week will get a melon. Next week the next group and so on.

As you know the Hot Wax pepper's heat increases a bit each week. You'll also get a Long Hot pepper. The heat factor for the long hots is equivalent to a jalapeno.

This week in your share:

Potatoes (a red and white mixed quart)

Sweet Corn

Sweet Potatoes

Spring Onions

Sweet Onions

Hungarian Hot Wax Peppers

Green Pepper

Long Hot Pepper

Salad Mix

Spinach

Tomatoes

Garlic

Zucchini/summer squash

Green Beans

Melon (maybe)

Pick up Wednesday 9a-8p

See you tomorrow.

Steve

Farm Update

Down on the Farm Strange and interesting things consistently happen here on the farm.  Take for instance yesterday...Fall seeds were being planted.   Tomatoes were being harvested and so were beans.  Farmhand Harvey's friend Nicole visited to pick up a few things from the market and to talk to Harvey for a bit.  When she walked into the market she looked stunning.  Beautiful dress, heels, the whole thing.  I asked her why the dress up and she told me she had just been on a job interview.  After our chat, I pointed out to the bean area and said she could probably find Harvey out there.  A couple of hours had passed and I noticed Nicole's car was still in the parking lot.  I thought I had better check to make sure everything was OK.  When I got to the bean field, there they were both picking beans!  Harvey in his grubby farm clothes and Nicole in a cocktail dress and heels!  I casually commented that she was the best smelling field worker we've ever had. Harvey took offense, and immediately reached into his work bag for his Mennen's Speed Stick.  I, of course, have now instituted a new dress code for workers here at the farm.  Woman must where cocktail dresses and men in black tie. After many fierce bargaining sessions, I have caved a little to allow the guys to cut off their black pants to shorts level on the hotter days. In the Market: Tomatoes Sweet Corn Beets Turnips Green Beans Zucchini Yellow Squash Red Onions White Onions White Potatoes Red Potatoes Prairie Blush Potatoes Green Peppers Hungarian Hot Wax Peppers Jalapenos Spring Onions Cucumbers Garlic Eggplant Eggs Honey Herbs Also, I keep forgetting to mention our mint assortment.  We have mojito, chocolate, peppermint, spearmint, apple and lemon mint. We should have fresh chicken by the end of next week. See you soon!

Locally Yours, Vicky and Steve