Full Share: Red potatoes, Carrots, Purple Cauliflower, Sweet Onion, Zucchini, Baby Bok Choy, Heirloom tomato, Sungold Tomatoes, and Music Garlic
Partial Share: Shishito peppers, Sungold tomatoes, Heirloom tomato, Red Potatoes, Sweet Onion, Carrots, and Zucchini.
Hello CSA members!
September, is that you? It’s hard to believe that August is over.
I’ve never lived in a place that has so many nicknames for August. There is a fellow farmer who calls it Ahhhgust, as it if it is a time to start to wind down and relax. Personally, I’ve never found that to be the case at our farm. In fact, we find it to be the opposite. Maybe Ahhctober is more accurate for us. Then, there are the folks in service industries, especially food service, who call it AngryAugust because they are burned out and tired. We try not to go down that road, but I hear you, and it’s real. And then I recently heard “Augxausted”…which is one I think most everyone can relate to. This year especially. But, honestly, if you had asked me back in July, when it was blazing hot and smoky, what August would look like, I would have predicted more hot and smoky. And yet, by the middle of the month it was cool and downright pleasant outside, so I am thankful for that. Here in the Northwest corner of the valley along the Stillwater River, a low band of fog tends to blanket the farm every morning this time of year, making for some great sunrises and enjoyable early morning harvest sessions.
This time of year, the portion of the farm field with crops still in it is dramatically shrinking. That said, there are still large bulk harvests of winter squash, carrots, and potatoes that we are trying to fit in alongside our daily harvest for CSA, market, and the store. But we are gaining on it, slowly but surely. This year I made a concerted effort to seed cover crops in blocks as they were harvested, so instead of having patches of bare soil, we have nice cover crops starting to grow to feed the soil biology and keep the soil covered to protect it.
It’s funny, but every Tuesday morning when I think about writing the CSA newsletter, I think of all the important and complex topics related to farming, food, and health that need attention. Or that need to be discussed with a unique perspective. But then I focus on work all day, and by the time I get around to writing in the evening, I feel like just keeping it light. The folks in our CSA come from all backgrounds, and I’m sure there are some who enjoy my ramblings and other who may not. So, given how emotionally charged the world is at the moment, it seems best not to pile on. These topics are important and inter-related, but they can wait for another time. For now, it’s just focusing on what’s in front of us, and making sure to enjoy and appreciate the little things, like a foggy beet harvest or a dewy cover crop that’s building soil.
I hope you are enjoying the cool weather as well, and we’ll see you at CSA!
Todd
