Russ finds wild bluberries in Alaska

Week 13 News

Our heirlooms from left to right:

Brandywine (pinkish red color), Green Zebra (will be YELLOW and green when ripe and ready to eat), Golden Sunray (low-acid), Cherokee Purple (greenish/brown top that is ripe when bottom is deep in color.

Hope you all are enjoying the long weekend! Tomatoes are sure keeping us busy right now. Be ready for a boatload this week:) It has been a slow start but they are here in full force and should take us towards the end of deliveries. Our last CSA day is October 9th.

Apples and pears are on the way. Some of our trees were knocked out this year including our one very early variety, Transparent apples :( We also only have a few apples on our Red Delicious trees which are usually loaded. Not to worry as we still have plenty of varieties doing well. You will notice more scab this year on our apples as organic fungicide does not effectively control scab. It won't effect the taste! We are also considering adding some locally grown Honey Crisps like we did last year from Versluis Orchards. Nate said his first ones will be ready next weekend. Let me know what you think!


Farm Tour: Things got so busy after the last tour we decided a second in the fall would be best. Will set a date soon!

Asparagus to Zucchini Cookbooks/produce guide still available for $16 - Very helpful!


What's in the Box:

TOMATOES!!! Mix of heirlooms and hybrids
Cherry tomatoes or roma tomatoes - Romas are pear shaped and have less liquid which makes them great for sauce or salsa.
Sweet Corn - Peaches and Cream
Beans
Blueberries - Should still have Brigittas for you all (won't have this variety at the markets)
Peaches
Pears - a couple..
Beets and/or Carrots
Onions - likely
Green Pepper
Eggplant - likely (esp. if you didn't receive any last week) Great crop this year! Store in crisper drawer if not planning to use within a day or so.
Baby Arugula - (Chard or Kale to those of you requesting more cooking greens vs. arugula)
Tatsoi or Mesclun Mix - (mesclun mix includes reg. lettuce)
Basil or Cilantro - Basil hasn't been looking the best but we'll have a fresh row ready soon
Potatoes?
Hot peppers or sweet banana peppers

Radishes?
Cucumber or zucchini?

Coming Soon:
Apples
Pears
Lettuce - looks like next week:)
Raspberries
Red peppers
Rutabaga
New varieties of potatoes

Radishes - two heirloom varieties

New recipes ideas posted this week:
Chocolate beet cupcakes
Rich and Creamy Tomato basil soup
Slow-cooker stuffed green peppers

Eggplant Lasagna

Field Notes from Russ:

It has been a while, but I finally blocked out some time to add to a post. This year we have had a little of everything from mother nature, but right now we could really use some rain. The hot dry weather over the last 4 weeks has hampered lettuce production, don't worry though, we planted about 500ft last week, so if it starts to cool down we should be back on track in a few weeks. I am going to go tour a few lettuce farms to see their methods for next summer.

I was glad to hear that it wasn't just us who had an issue with squash in our area this year. Seems that everyone in a few mile area from the farm had cucumber beetles and bacterial wilt, in the past it hasn't been this bad, but I can't remember a spring this wet. I think I have figured out planting times and transplants for next year to combat the problem.

Oh, and wild Alaskan blueberries never tasted so good when you have been stubbling around the mountains for 16 hours with a 45lb pack and only having jerky and mountain house meals to eat.

Week 12 News

Russ is home and things are returning to normal around here. Russ road his bike back from the farm with some corn Friday night. He sure missed all of our fruits and veggies while he was away eating backpacker type just-add-water meals for 11 days along with fresh meat some nights. No fresh produce at all except wild blueberries they found near camp:)

Lots of sweet corn and tomatoes this week! We have silver queen and more peaches and cream ready (our third planting has caught up with the second). These rows are even better than our first planting. If you are interested in freezing some and would like extra let me know. It's definately one of my favorites to freeze because it is quite simple and tastes so good in the winter - nothing like any frozen corn you buy from the store. Just blanch ears two minutes in boiling water and cut off the husk like you would for someone with braces.

We are picking more and more tomatoes each day and are starting to have some heirlooms including cherokee purple and brandywine. Some have a few cracks but taste just fine.

This week's Forecast:

Sweet Corn

Tomatoes - you may find a cherokee purple heirloom (purple with greenish top) or a brandywine (pinkish red color)

Cherry Tomatoes - with some orange grape heirlooms

Arugula - new variety

Mesclun, tatsoi, or Savoy

Large bunch of beets

Blueberries

Peaches

Pears? One of our early pear trees looks to be ready

Potatoes

Cilantro and or Basil

Eggplant - Likely

Pickles and or cukes

Zucchini and yellow squash?

Swiss Chard or Kale?

Green Pepper

Onions - sweet or bunching likely

Hot peppers or banana peppers - if you don't have jalepenos with your peppers you have sweet banana peppers. You can freeze hot peppers whole to use in spicy cooked dishes later if you have had enough of them...

Strawberries? - the first berries I picked were huge but now it seems we are having to really sort many tiny and strange-shaped ones... Will try to get them to our Monday and Thursday group soon (Tuesday got berries last week) Short shelf life!

New! Asian Green Yukina Savoy this week or next: Shape of Tatsoi with more of a milder spinach taste and texture. Not a shiny green color like tatsoi but same spoon shape.

Cayenne peppers available in quantity for drying if interested. Just dehydrate whole and crumble peppers when needed in recipes that need a little kick. You can also cut tops off and grind in food processor though you will need to evacuate your kitchen for a little while:)

Coming Soon:

Lettuce

Acorn Squash

Rutabaga

Half Bushels of peaches still available this week for $15 - I have had enough room the last couple weeks to deliver some with regular deliveries. You will need to use them up fairly quickly or get some in the refridgerator to keep longer.

Week 11 News

I'm surviving without Russ thanks to so much help from family and some of our members and friends that have volunteered to help. Russ will be back home Tuesday night. It's strange not being able to contact them at all by phone while they're somewhere in the mountains in Alaska...

This will probably be the last week for bushels of peaches so order one soon if interested. I should be able to fit a few bushels in with deliveries if you would like yours delivered. Use them up within a few days or put some in the fridge for longer storage. I made some killer peach salsa last night to can using our cilantro, hot peppers, and red onion. Usually I don't especially like the vinegar taste added in canned salsa but it really worked in the recipe I tried and will post. The recipe I used is for three pint jars (I doubled the recipe). I think I'll try and can lots of salsa this season as I don't think I trust what's making it into the store bought stuff with all the tomato and hot pepper recalls...

We picked our first 5 quarts of our ever-bearing strawberries in the field. I'm very pleased with their size and taste. You will want to eat these up quick as organic strawberries have an even shorter shelf life than conventional. They will last longer if you cut them up, add a little sugar, and keep in an airtight container in the fridge.

We kind of gave up on our greenhouse strawberries as they weren't sizing up and the bugs got pretty unbearable for a while. They might make a comeback...


Produce Forecast for the Week:
Plums
Peaches
Blueberries - we think this is the last week of Brigittas:(
Strawberries???
Greens: rainbow chard, mesclun mix, kale, or arugula (one or two of these)
Green Peppers - Anytime you can't get to your pepper just chop and freeze. Works great! Can also roast, peel the skins, and then freeze for a little more flavor...
Tomatoes
Basil - possibly cilantro or dill also
Silver Queen Sweet Corn- Likely, we finished up the first planting and think our second one will be ready this week. You will notice the first week's picking is a little larger. Sweet corn is sorted and may come without husks on.
Cucumber and pickles - A new crop of cucumbers is ready (they are longer and smoother than the pickles). Just in time as many of our cuke and pickle plants have been taken down by the beetle:(
Beans
Kohlrabi
Potatoes - Fingerlings if you didn't get them last week - otherwise purple or redskins
Zucchini and yellow squash?
Beets - likely (waited on some of the heirlooms last week as they needed to get a little larger)
Eggplant? We are starting to have more eggplant ready. We have a standard variety and a very tasty mini eggplant variety that has very soft edible skin and no bitter taste. It is the cutest plant - I will have to get a pic to post. I tried it simply in a stir fry with zucchini, onions, and tomatoes and it was excellent.

*I might add something tonight after being at the farm all afternoon and remember something I forgot!

Coming soon:
Hierloom tomatoes - our hybrids are ripening faster
Acorn Squash
More greens!!!



We still have the Cookbook/Produce Guide: Asparagus to Zucchini available for $16 (retail $20) - Sounds like everyone is finding it very helpful!

Sunday Afternoon Farm Help

Thanks goes out to the Mitchell and Salik family for helping us out a little last minute! They weeded the monster section of our everbearing strawberries that were getting out of hand. Sure was a perfect day for it!

Also, thanks to my dad and mother-in law and dad for helping double time help while Russ is away!

If only I had my camera out when all the kids were playing in the dirt snacking on raw greenbeans. Russ would have gotten a kick out of that:)

Week 10 News

Peaches, pluots, and plums, oh my! Your baskets will be a little heavier on fruit this week. Some of our plums and our two little pluot trees are ready this week and also many of our peach trees! We aren't sure on our peach varieties but I'll taste test to find the sweetest tree for your peaches this week:) They are all free stone but if you order a half-bushel to can or freeze and want the easiest ones to separate from the pit - let me know. This week through next weekend will be the best time to get a larger quantity of peaches. Think peach pie this winter or homeade peach brandy for a unique Christmas gift... Our half-bushel price is probably a little more expensive than a large conventional farm as we have spent a lot more this year on organic products for our fruit trees, especially since we don't buy these in bulk for our little orchard. $18/half, $32/bushel and $12/half for seconds. I may be able to deliver with your basket this week.

Our tomatoes aren't ripening as fast as I hoped but hopefully everyone will get a couple... We have another week or so before we will have a bunch more salad greens ready. Lettuces like cooler weather so the last couple weeks pushed our greens to seed a little faster also caused tip burn on some greens which make it taste a little rough.


Whats in the Box?
PEACHES!!! Likely 2 Quarts
Mix of plums and a few pluots (eat when they are a touch soft for sweetest flavor)
Blueberries - Brigittas still this week!
Pickles/cucumber
Beans
Green Pepper
Hot Peppers or banana peppers - (If you get jalapenos with your peppers they are all hot but if you just receive yellow/greenish peppers then they are sweet banana peppers)
Onions
Fingerling Potatoes
Cilantro and or Basil - Try the cilantro butter/oil recipe! Store cilantro vase-style in a jar with a couple inches of water with a loose plastic bag over the top. Will last a good 5 days!
Sweet Corn - I will sort so husks will look a little disheveled
Swiss Chard or Young Kale - See recipe ideas & both freeze excellent for later use in soup. Use swiss chard like you would cooking spinach; It is much higher in nutrients!
Beets with Greens- The pretty pink ones are the Choigga heirloom variety with pink and white rings when you slice. Super tasty!!! Steam, let cool a little, and the skins will peel right off.
Carrots - Dragon carrots this week which are purple on the outside! Seem to taste best cooked.
Tomatoes? Hopefully! Not many turning color when I checked all our rows on Friday night and it's much cooler out. Tomatoes like it HOT!
Zucchini and Yellow Squash?
Another veggie I am probably forgetting...

Coming Soon-
Eggplant
Tomatoes
Strawberries??? Starting to see big berries form from our field planted everbearing berries.
Acorn Squash - Just saw a few getting close already

A note on kale: I hear this veggie takes a little more effort if you are new to cooking greens, though I enjoyed it right away. I suggest trying it in a soup or stew recipe for the first time. Cut out any tough stems and chop in food processor if possible. Cook a little longer to soften it up a bit. The bread soup recipe from Rachel Ray is excellent (posted on website).

Week 9 News

A few summer favorites are on the horizon and will likely be found in your baskets this week if enough is ready to go! Our first two rows of sweet corn snuck up on us. Last night we tried a few ears of along with a chicken, bok choy, and carrot stir fry. The kernels were a little small. Our first variety is peaches and cream and it's always the best early on in that we don't have to worry as much about corn bores :)

Peaches should be in your basket also this week. They may need a couple days to soften up a bit on your counter. The first few Russ brought home were a little small but very sweet even when still quite firm.

We brought home some of our first tomatoes that were just beginning to turn orange so they are probably a week away at the most.






We will probably load you up with cucumber and summer squash now and then when we have a lot as we as our plants are being taken down quickly by cucumber beetles. Though Russ keeps planting more. The little menaces spread disease and eat leaves causing bacterial wilt that quickly kills the plant. There aren't any organic cures we have found to be real effective and pests seem to be extra plentiful this season... FYI: A conventional farm would first treat the soil to kill grubs before planting and would spray a contact killer through the field on mature plants to take down the beetle and any other living thing... If ever curious about a pesticide, even an ingredient in bug spray or a lawn care product, you can easily research it at pesticideinfo.org. You can do a product search and learn about it's toxicity, etc. On a conventional farm the soil treatment used in the field would likely be Lorsban and one common conventional pesticide used to kill the beetle in Michigan is Sevin 80S.
Anytime we're having an issue with one our crops this summer I try to figure out what conventional farms do verses organic...

What's in the Box:
Blueberries
Peaches - likely
Raspberries?
Basil and dill
Mesclun or Tatsoi
Sweet Corn
Lettuce, Baby Bok Choy, or Swiss Chard
Cucumbers
Summer Squash and Zucchini
Beets?
Russian Banana Fingerling Potatoes - Soooo good! Tasty heirloom variety
Beans - Green, wax, burgundy, or Romas
Carrots, arugula, tomatoes???
Kohlrabi - esp. if you didn't get any last week


Coming Soon:
TOMATOES
Green and more hot peppers
Kale
Lots more peaches
Plums

Recipe Ideas Added this Week:
Blueberry Liqueur and Slovak Cucumbers (great way to use extra cukes and pickles)