Camaraderie

Billy, Kyle and Boi share stories while harvesting collard greens.

A new employee remarked on the camaraderie among the work crew.  That’s how we get through difficult jobs.  Yesterday we sent everyone to pick peas in a muddy, muddy field.  People sank ankle-deep into the mud.  By this morning, everyone had a funny story to tell about the experience.  Steve and I were relieved – we knew it had been a difficult task.  But it was OK because everyone was together, it was warm, the rain had stopped, and the peas were in beautiful shape and therefore were enjoyable to pick.

It was a dry month for us – until Friday.  Surprised?  The storms drenching southern Wisconsin slipped by our farm until Friday.  It was eerie to watch them on the weather maps.  It’s been so dry that we began irrigating two weeks ago.  We can put the irrigation equipment away for a while.  We got six inches of rain in six days.  That’s plenty.  We hope it will stay dry for the next week to protect our strawberry crop.  The berries we picked this week are quite soft because of the rain.  Plan to eat them right away, as they will not store well.

Strawberry U-Pick
Check this week’s email for u-pick information.

Reminder:  We will make our Thursday deliveries on Wednesday July 3 next week.  Friday deliveries will be on July 5, as scheduled.

Veggie List and Veggie Notes
Strawberries, 2 quarts
Sugar snap peas, 1.75 lb
Zucchini/summer squash, 3+ lb
Collard greens, 1 bunch
Rhubarb, about 1 lb
Garlic scapes
Broccoli (about 1 lb) OR kohlrabi (1 – 2 bulbs)

Next week’s box will probably contain strawberries, sugar snap peas, zucchini and summer squash, spinach, basil and more

Strawberries – The berries are soft because of the rain, and should be eaten promptly.
Garlic scapes (curly green things) – We buy these from John Hendrickson of Stone Circle Farm who is growing organic garlic for our CSA again this year.  The scapes grow at the top of garlic plants.  John snaps them off to direct the plants’ energy into forming garlic bulbs underground.  Use scapes as a substitute for garlic cloves.  They can be minced, mixed with olive oil, and added to stir fries or simple pasta dishes.  The scapes can be sautéed, but will not brown like garlic cloves.  Expect them to retain their crunch even when cooked, and to be milder than garlic cloves, closer in pungency to the green garlic we’ve sent.