Full  shares:  Carrots, Napa cabbage, Lacinato  Kale, Broccoli, Zucchini, Basil, Head Lettuce, and Spinach

Partial Shares:  Carrots, Broccoli, Napa cabbage, Zucchini, Basil, and Head Lettuce

Hello CSA Members!

Happy Independence Day!  Small farmers are a notoriously independent lot, and so this holiday always resonates with me.  Why, you might ask?   Small farms exist for many reasons, but I believe at their roots it’s often because the farmer is pushing back against a system that he or she does not agree with.  It is, at it’s most basic level, a form or rebellion and advocacy for making things right.  For growing food the right way.  For feeding people good food. For strengthening our local communities.   Delivering CSA boxes may not be as bold an act as throwing tea into the harbor, but farming is a way for us to improve our community on a scale that is obtainable.  To make our food independent of a system that does not have our bests interests in mind.  And, in spite of my concerns with some of the trends in our society, in this country we are free to be small farmers.  Yes, their are economic systems and government policies  that work against us, but we are still free to choose this course for our lives and to express our views through our work.  And that’s a big thing that we should not take for granted.  My dog, however, does not understand any of this, and is simply fixated on why there must be loud fireworks involved.  Speaking of dogs, Reba showed up to work today ready for the 4th!

Farm Dog Reba really embraced the holiday today!

While the weather seems to be shifting to a cool trend, the summer crops on the farm are starting to arrive.  We harvested the very first zucchinis of the summer yesterday, the tomato plants look great in the high tunnels, and the refreshing smell of basil fills the processing barn.  But then their are the poor sugar snap peas, which would typically be in the shares this week. In spite of such a good growing season, the peas have not enjoyed the same level of success as their neighboring vegetables.  And the reason is pest pressure from the Pea Weevil.  This dastardly little bug ate the vast majority of the peas as soon as they germinated out of the ground, hence reducing the plant numbers as well as the yield of the remaining crop.  We replanted and covered the new beds with row cover, and the crop looks much better, but it is bit behind schedule.  The first broccoli beds continue to pump out beautiful big heads, and so you will be seeing those again this week in your shares.  And the Napa’s are reaching record size, so this week might be a good week for some cole slaw.

Did I ever tell you I love pesto.  I don’t know why, because in spite of growing up on a farm, I never tasted pesto until I was an adult.  Did you know that broccoli is one of the best additions to pesto?  And this is supposedly the best broccoli recipe ever…it would be a good opportunity to use up some of your garlic scapes. And I’ve never come across family-unfriendly broccoli, but it obviously must be an issue, because here is a list of some family-friendly recipes.

Enjoy the mild weather….I know we will!  We’ll see you at CSA distribution!

Todd and the Two Bear Farm Crew