Full Share: Green cabbage, spinach, salad mix, carrots, collard greens, stir fry mix, and garlic scapes
Half Share: Spinach, salad mix, carrots, collard greens, stir fry mix, and garlic scapes
Hello CSA members!
So much for June being the rainy month…headed to 100 degrees this weekend! Having water makes all the difference in the world. I can’t say we enjoy continually moving irrigation pipe, but at least we have the water, unlike other parts of the country. And the plants seem to be sucking it up as fast as we can lay it down. It’s hard to believe that summer just officially started yesterday. All the warm weather crops are growing like crazy, and yet the field is still full of beautiful spring crops as well. We just harvested an extremely tender and sweet bed of spinach today (very much a spring crop), and yet the tomatoes are flowering and the potato plants are huge. And there is a lot of kale. So much kale in fact, that we are offering a special to any CSA member who is interested. Whether you want to make kale pesto, freeze it for soup, juice it, go on a cleanse, we will be offering kale by the case (24 bunches) for $30 or half cases for $18. The special will last for the next week (possibly two), and you can buy as many cases as you would like. If you are in Whitefish, you can place your order now, but you will receive it next Tuesday given the short time window between this message and delivery time. Just email us your order.
And last week I promised you a view of our “new” Two Bear Farm location from the overlook trail. Well, here it is:
It’s still a work in progress, but this is the new farm with 13 acres in cultivation
Probably bigger than you thought? Sometimes I wonder what we are thinking 🙂 That’s 13 acres of cultivated land, plus the greenhouse, 4 high tunnels, and 9 hoop houses. Probably still considered a “small farm” but what I think is most surprising is that all this is planted, maintained, and harvested by 6 people….I’m not sure the 4 apprentices understood what they were in for when they signed up this year. All those white row covers at the top of the frame are summer and winter squash beds, and the summer squash are already flowering!
With summer comes grilling season. This past weekend, we experimented with some of our share items. A beet green salad tossed in balsamic vinegar and olive oil was delicious, as were the grilled/roasted beets. But the winner was collard wraps stuffed with sundried tomatoes, parmesan cheese and a sprig of basil we snuck out of one of the hoop houses. Really, any stuffing with cheese would be good. How about thinly sliced garlic scares, fresh mozzarella and a touch of marinara? Rebecca recommends slicing the center stem out of the collard leaf and discarding, and then cutting the remaining leaf into four equal parts. Brush with olive oil and sea salt, then add filling and roll like a little burrito tuckin. Put them on the edge of the grill to wilt the wrap and melt the cheese….mmm, delicious.
Week #6
Also, we have had lots of requests for volunteer opportunities on the farm. Given that planting season is over, and weeding season is in full swing, we thought we would extend an opportunity for any adults that wanted to come out and work for an afternoon. Actually, now that I think of it, maybe it wasn’t so wise to show you a photo of the size of the farm before recruiting weeders. For those brave souls who are still interested, this Friday, June 26th, we will be hosting a work day from 1pm to 5pm. This will be an official work day, not a kids day or a tour day, so please leave your dogs and children (under 16) at home, but be sure to bring work gloves, sunscreen, water, and a hat. We will try to host a more child-friendly fun day later in the season so as to not leave anyone out. If you are interested, an RSVP would be appreciated so we can plan accordingly.
Good luck beating the heat, and we will see you at CSA pickup!
