June 26th, 2024
What’s in your share?
Carrots
Sugar Snap Peas
Snow Peas*
Mini Napa Cabbage*
Kohlrabi
Cucumber*
Zucchini*
Kale
Cilantro
Snow Peas - are not as sweet as sugar snap peas, and they lend themselves to being sautéed because they have thinner pods. Just like a snap pea, remove the “hat” and the side strings. They can be eaten cooked or raw.
Napa Cabbage - is a staple in many southeastern Asian dishes and is also the main ingredient in most of our ferments. It’s an awesome way to bulk up a stir fry or a slaw and has a mild flavor that pairs well with carrots, turnips, radishes, cilantro, and bok choy. We’ve learned over the years that our members prefer smaller heads because they are more manageable, so we’re trying new varieties to accommodate that preference. Perhaps these heads are too far on the small end of the spectrum, but hey, we tried to accommodate.
*Zucchini - is slowly making it’s debut! We are just starting to harvest; the first round of fruit usually has a tapered blossom end, but they taste great. If you know how zucchini grows, you know you’ll be getting your fair share of zucchini this season, so we’ll try to provide some fun recipes to try as we harvest more. Zucchini (and cucumbers) are the only crops we harvest every day because they can overgrow quickly and become undesirable for cooking.
Cherry tomatoes and eggplant, both starting to fruit
STORAGE: Zucchini keeps best in the fridge. We like to dampen a tea towel (or paper towel) and wrap the zucchini, keeping it in the crisper drawer. It should last over a week.
*Cucumbers - If you’ve been with us for a few years, you know that cucumbers have never been our specialty (except last year!) This is because there’s this cute little beetle, called the “cucumber beetle”, which rapidly infests any crop in the cucurbit family (winter and summer squash, watermelon, and cucumbers). The larvae feed on the stem of the plant near the ground and can kill the plant that way. What’s worse, is that they spread a disease called “bacterial wilt”, which causes a completely healthy and vibrant plant to wilt to its death overnight. Cucumbers are particularly susceptible to this disease, and we’ve been struggling with this the entire time we’ve farmed here. Our cucumber crops never last long, if they even make it past seedling stage.
Last season we tried a new method - that of exclusion. We lined an entire high tunnel with insect netting, hoping that the plants could get established long enough to get a harvest before the inevitable beetle infestation. This method is not without controversy; excluding pests means also excluding beneficials, but we were willing to take a chance because we’d like you all to enjoy some cucumbers in this CSA you’ve so bravely dived into. Looking back at our abundant cucumber harvest last season, we decided that this method was right for us, so we did the same thing again. I love cucumbers more than ever knowing how hard it is to grow organic fruits.
Just enough for snacking for the workers, but they’ll be in some shares next week!
Since we’re getting into some more familiar vegetables, perhaps it’s time we introduced ourselves. In 2018, Sam and I broke ground at this farm. Our start was very humble - cultivating only 40 beds, of which we now have 100, - and selling our produce at the Oak Creek Farmers Market and our old neighborhood market, the Riverwest Gardeners Market. Learning to grow on clay soil on a bigger scale than we were used to was a learning curve that forced us to rapidly increase our knowledge and efficiency. After a season of being the cute newbies with not-so-great produce (but awesome fermented goods) we scaled up, building 60 more permanent raised beds which we still grow in today.
Ali, Sam’s sister, joined us in 2019, bringing a lot of farming experience to the table. We were really cranking out the produce, and in addition to the two farmers markets, we started our first CSA season, with just 20 members (many of you are still with us!!) I remember this season being a total grind, but an irreplaceable learning year, with exponential results from the previous season. 7 years in, we’re still at it. We’ve found our personal roles (though they are ever-evolving), and our role as a whole in tending the land. We’ve learned how much work we can take on and have a balanced and enjoyable life.
Speaking of finding the balance, this is the first season where we’re all getting a week-long vacation in the middle of the season! Summer is the best time and it’s hard to get away for an extended period of time. It’s worth working extra hard for those few weeks just to get a little solo time for some of whatever we each love to do other than farming! Sam is on vacation this week, paddling on the rivers on the western side of the state, and our community has been so helpful! The harvest crew worked super efficiently, Ali filled in Sam’s station packing shares this morning, my family picked up empty CSA totes and brought them to the farm, and Sam and Ali’s folks delivered the shares to the north side this afternoon. This type of community support inspired the name of our farm.
Sam is the farm planner. He has a knack for seeing the whole picture through a broad, long term vision. He makes a killer spreadsheet, which we use to keep track of membership, propagation seeding dates, field planting dates, a map of the field, CSA harvest targets, and revenue and expenses; to name a few. Sam thrives when he can be using his organizational skills to make sense of anything. He also takes care of all the farm finances, from banking, to insurance, to taxes; and making sure we’re making the right decisions to be a solvent business that can pay all of us a living wage throughout the season. Irrigation and general building/infrastructure are also areas where Sam takes the lead, being able to see how smaller pieces fit together to make something complete.
Sara (myself) is who you’ve interacted with for anything CSA. I coordinate the emails; getting members signed up, and making sure everyone knows where to find what they need. I’m a creature of habit, using my early morning energy to stick to a routine that keeps me grounded throughout the day. That said, I enjoy other daily routines; checking the rain gauge and making note of storm damage, doing daily field walks and adding to the endless to-do list (while trying not to get overwhelmed), checking the crops to make note of new growth, a weird colored leaf, a growing insect population, and moisture levels. I’m also starting to understand more about soil health and the role that cover crops and nutrients play, and take on the responsibility of ordering amendments, compost, and scheduling “fertility days” where we feed our crops with an extra boost of nutrients, usually through a foliar spray or side dressing. I also manage our website and social media, which is something I never thought would be part of my job description!
Ali has always been a part of the farm, no matter where her travels have taken her. She is currently working on the farm part time while pursuing her Master’s Degree in Mental Health Counseling at Marquette. We call her our “ride or die” because she can jump in anywhere and know what’s going on. She has a very intuitive and nurturing relationship with plants and animals and always seems to know what the crops want and enjoys tending to their needs. Ali is always down to move some dirt from one pile to another, drill some metal on a ladder, and have a good laugh while doing so. She is the best farm sitter, always willing to look after the farm if Sam and I want to get away for a night or a weekend, which is a luxury not all farmers have, and it makes all the difference in being able to push through a season.
Recipes to Try
Pasta Salad with Peas and Parmesan (no need to blanch peas - eat them raw but chop them into thirds)