June 30, 2025
Summer Crops Trickle In
by Farmer Derek

Harvest #9 (Week A) should include kale, komatsuna, scallions, cilantro, dill, garlic scapes, lettuce mix, head lettuce, Italian dandelion, fennel, cabbage, chard, beets, zucchini, and carrots. Some items will be a choice.

U-pick should include snap/green/string beans, herbs, and flowers (bring scissors and a container for your bouquet).

June 30, 2025
Workshifts this Week (6/30/25)
by Farmer Derek

This week's workshift schedule:

Bring gloves, water, a hat, sturdy shoes, and a pad for kneeling (if necessary for you).

We meet under the large red maple at the end of the barn by the pick up room.

Please be there by the scheduled start time (it might be hard to find us in the fields otherwise).

Workshift Guidelines - Workshift Sign Up Instructions

June 30, 2025
Summer Veggies!
by Linda Dansbury

When zucchini and beans make their annual appearances, I know summer has arrived. Here is some info on crops we will receive starting this week or next. U-pick is returning so make sure you make the time to harvest your own beans and flowers (additional crops coming soon).

Beans - these will keep in plastic in your fridge for about a week. Enjoy them in your favorite ways. A couple of my favorites for this heat of the summer veggie is to steam or boil until tender and then turn them into a salad, mixing in other veggies such as scallions, celery, and fresh herbs. Complete with a nice homemade vinaigrette. To make it more substantial, add some chick peas or white beans. Yummy! Beans are also really good when cooked on the grill. Place in a grill basket and drizzle with olive oil and grill until barely tender and just a bit charred - keep watching them - they only take about 3 minutes.

Zucchini - these keep for at least a week in the fridge - as with other veggies, make sure they are not sitting in water. Many, many ways to enjoy these, both hot and cold. Again, grilling is one of my favorite ways to enjoy them. Once grilled, then can be eaten as is, mixed into pasta with other veggies and herbs, added to a pasta salad, and the list goes on and on.

Cabbage - again, try to keep fairly dry in the fridge. Slaws are popular in the summer. On a rainy day, or when it is too hot to stand over a grill, try slicing it thin as you would for slaw and sauteing in a little butter and olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste and allow to cook until it gets a bit brown - it creates an almost nutty flavor. Top with scallions, fresh herbs, grated cheese or just as is.

Beets - still a much maligned veggie but very delicious, nutritious and actually, quite versatile in what you can do with it. These keep for quite awhile in the fridge, but they do lose their sweetness it kept longer than a few weeks. They are easiest when roasted in a 400 degree oven until tender, which depending on the size, is anywhere from 45 minute to an hour and 15 minutes. The skins slip off easily when done while still warm. They are delicious sliced and mixed with a Dijon vinaigrette, with dollops of goat cheese or feta and fresh chopped parsley.

Celery - eat this up pretty quickly - farm fresh organic celery doesn't keep very long. Chop into salads, eat stuffed with a nut butter or hummus for a healthy snack, or saute with onions and herbs for a delicious side dish.

Fresh garlic - once the scapes are finished, we will receive "fresh" garlic - it's not been cured, so the outer skins aren't dried and protective for long term storage. I have read that fresh garlic should be stored in the fridge, but I find it keeps fine in the house on the counter until used up. Beware, this fresh garlic is potent and delicious!

June 30, 2025
Heat Wave Goodbye
by Farmer Derek

Last week was difficult. The heat during the first three days made working outside very challenging and we had quite a bit to do that couldn't wait. We muscled through, drinking plenty of water, starting earlier, possibly working a bit slower, taking additional breaks, cooling off in the walk-in refrigerator.

Overall it appears the crops survived unscathed for the most part. Some young plants in trays in the hoop house burned up but field crops, especially traditional summer ones, grew by leaps and bounds.

With the regular rainfall missing us last week and with the fruiting summer crops starting to yield, irrigation will now need to be set up and regularly run for tomatoes, tomatillos, zucchini, cucumbers, watermelon, cantaloupe, peppers, and eggplant. When beds for these crops are established, drip tape is applied, so the hook-up will go relatively quickly and we should be running water where needed by midweek. Hopefully between tonight and tomorrow we'll receive enough rain for the bare ground crops and won't have to irrigate those beds.

This past Friday we transplanted 7,000 dormant strawberry plants for a 2026 harvest. This task unofficially marks the transition between heavy spring planting and heavy summer harvesting. It's a nice change as less ground needs to be worked for planting and we begin bringing in literal fruits of our labor: zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant. Heavy root harvests commence soon too: garlic, beets, carrots, onions, potatoes.

Enjoy the harvest!

June 30, 2025
Surviving the Heatwave
by Linda Dansbury

Last week's heat wave made it difficult to want to turn on any type of heat source. But here are a few things we enjoyed.

Kale - made a Kale Caesar salad. Haven't done so in awhile so we enjoyed it. To make it a meal we topped it with some leftover chicken.

Romaine, cilantro, scallions, scapes - made lettuce wraps - cooked up some shrimp and made a simple Vietnamese dipping sauce.

Fennel, mint - made the fennel salad again - mandoline the fennel, add some chopped mint, olive oil, fresh squeezed lemon and finish with a bit of sea salt.

Radicchio, scallions, fennel - grilled them all and served along side lamb chops. Used leftovers in a pasta salad in which I also added chopped scapes.

Kale, chard - I had a bunch of extra greens. Learned from a fellow member years ago that you can wash and rough chop greens and place in a large colander. Boil a pot of water and when boiling, pour it over the greens. When cool enough to handle, squeeze the water out and make the greens into a balls. Freeze. They can be pulled out as needed for soups and stews.

June 30, 2025
Anchor Run Farmer Rides For Anchor House Foundation
by Farmer Craig

This summer I will pledge to partake in a cycling, walking or running endurance adventure to support the mission of Anchor House, a multi-service charitable agency in Trenton, NJ for abused, runaway and homeless youth and young adults. This is a challenging and exciting event, which I have been fortunate enough to be involved with over the past few years. I am very hopeful that we can partner together for this great cause.

Please consider supporting me by making a tax-deductible donation toward my goal of $750 so that Anchor House can continue their mission to help children, teens, young adults and families.

To learn more about the ride:

For more information about Anchor House and their mission, please follow the link below:

https://www.anchorhousenj.org/

Thank you in advance for your support. I truly appreciate your generosity. Together we can make a difference.

Best - Craig

June 23, 2025
Flower Flow
by Farmer Derek

Harvest #8 (Week B) should include kale, scallions, cilantro, dill, garlic scapes, lettuce mix, head lettuce, escarole, Italian dandelion, radicchio, fennel, cabbage, chard, and romaine. Some items will be a choice and we may see a transition midweek as escarole, romaine, and radicchio depart while cabbage and chard arrive.

U-pick will be somewhat light again this week but should include herbs and flowers (bring scissors and a container for your bouquet). Green/string/snap beans should be starting soon.

June 23, 2025
Workshifts this Week (6/23/25)
by Farmer Derek

This week's workshift schedule:

Bring gloves, water, a hat, sturdy shoes, and a pad for kneeling (if necessary for you).

We meet under the large red maple at the end of the barn by the pick up room.

Please be there by the scheduled start time (it might be hard to find us in the fields otherwise).

Workshift Guidelines - Workshift Sign Up Instructions

June 23, 2025
Heat Battle
by Farmer Derek

From a high of 60 to a high of 100 in just over a week sure is extreme! But at least we have a few days to work with dry soil and get caught up on tractor work, cultivating, and weeding.

Quite a powerful storm rolled through last Thursday but we were lucky and didn't sustain much damage and our power stayed on. Receiving one final rain event prior to this heat wave was a good thing.

A 12-hour day today in challenging conditions has left me physically and mentally drained to say the least. What kept me going was knowing I wouldn't have to do the work tomorrow. Plus multiple breaks in the 38-degree walk-in cooler. Twenty-three beds were finalized for arriving 7,000 dormant bare-root strawberry plants for next year's harvest.

Stay cool!

June 23, 2025
Multitude of Uses with Fennel Fronds
by Linda Dansbury

The spring fennel is abundant and delicious, especially this year. The fronds are not only beautiful, they add a subtle anise flavor to almost a countless number of dishes. They can be enjoyed fresh or cooked. Here are some delicious uses:

Garnish: Finely chop the fronds and use them to top salads, soups, pasta dishes, roasted vegetables, or fish and seafood.

Salads: Add chopped fronds to salads for a subtle anise flavor and a pop of green.

Pesto: Blend fronds with nuts, cheese, garlic, and oil to create a flavorful pesto.

Dressings and Sauces: Incorporate chopped fronds into vinaigrettes, sauces, or marinades.

Infusions: Add fronds to vodka or other spirits to create an infused liquor with a unique flavor.

Tea: Steep fronds in hot water for a soothing and flavorful tea.

Save the fronds and stalks when trimming fennel and add them to your homemade vegetable or chicken stock for a subtle anise flavor.

Use fronds as a bed for fish while cooking or as a garnish after cooking, as fennel pairs well with fish.

Incorporate chopped fronds into sautéed vegetables or meat dishes for added flavor.

June 23, 2025
Yummy Fennel and More
by Linda Dansbury

While the weather was nice, we enjoyed the grill. Here are a few things we prepared.

Escarole, scapes, scallions, herbs - Charred the escarole, scallions and scapes on the grill. Then chopped them up and placed in a large saute pan with a bit of olive oil. Added a can of white beans and a bit of stock. Added cut up grilled sausages and simmered for a few minutes. Topped with fresh herbs and some grated parm cheese and served with crusty grilled bread.

Head lettuce, herbs, scallions - grilled shrimp and made lettuce wraps with the farm goodies.

Radicchio, scapes, scallions - grilled everything and added to leftover plain pasta. Added olive oil, basil and feta cheese for a delicious pasta salad.

Kohlrabi, lettuces - lots of salads are being enjoyed!

Fennel, mint - made a delicious fennel salad - Removed core and sliced fennel on a mandoline. Added chopped fresh mint, lemon juice and olive oil. Mixed well, plated, and added a bit of sea salt to each serving. Yummy!

Fennel fronds - I laid salmon filets on a bed of fronds, placed it all on foil with olive oil, salt and pepper and wrapped it up. Grilled it for about 8 minutes and enjoyed.

June 16, 2025
Allium Additions
by Farmer Derek

Harvest #7 (Week A) should include kale, scallions, kohlrabi, cilantro, dill, garlic scapes, lettuce mix, head lettuce, escarole, Italian dandelion, radicchio, fennel, and romaine. Some items will be a choice.

U-pick will be light this week but should include herbs (bring scissors). Unfortunately for the peas and us, the copious rainfall over the past month and a half decimated plant health and yields. Strawberries yielded for four weeks, the norm, though the ripe fruit probably didn't enjoy all of the wet weather either. Starting very soon will be green/string/snap beans and flowers, followed by cherry tomatoes in late June or early July.

June 16, 2025
Workshifts this Week (6/16/25)
by Farmer Derek

This week's workshift schedule:

Bring gloves, water, a hat, sturdy shoes, and a pad for kneeling (if necessary for you).

We meet under the large red maple at the end of the barn by the pick up room.

Please be there by the scheduled start time (it might be hard to find us in the fields otherwise).

Workshift Guidelines - Workshift Sign Up Instructions

June 16, 2025
Weather Coaster
by Farmer Derek

An unexpected and surprising amount of rain just landed at the farm again this weekend (1.3" and counting). Fortunately wet weather was planned for, albeit in lesser amounts per the defunded forecasts, and much work was accomplished at the end of the work week while dry soil was present and available. The regular rainfall at least is good for some crops and alleviates the need for outdoor irrigation. The 3,000 bare root sweet potato slips that went in two weeks ago appreciate the regular doses of rain. Additionally, weeds germinate and can later be extinguished with subsequent passes of the tractor while we prepare beds for planting, reducing future weed pressure. Also additionally, the rain stimulates soil organisms to facilitate decomposition of organic matter in the soil, making nutrients available to crops, as well as making final bed shaping passes a bit easier.

But wet and (sometimes) warm weather means any weeds that aren't cultivated out while young slurp up excess moisture and compete with growing crops. Cultivating crops is a regular weekly job and workshifts typically pull any weeds we miss. Having good attendance at summer workshifts is crucial to growing crops successfully because it's the only way we can truly stay on top of weed pressure during peak months. It takes a village, or a community, and many hands make work lighter.

We're getting ready to plant the final round of summer staples like zucchini, cucumbers, cantaloupe, beans, and edamame. Very soon we'll begin seeding traditional fall crops like beets, broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage. Harvests are slowly transitioning away from abundant spring greens and lettuces as we continue to welcome new crops like scallions, scapes, fennel, cabbage, beets, and carrots and eventually summer loves sweet peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, and cucumbers.

June 16, 2025
Now What?! Workshop Recap
by Gia Yaccarino

I say it every year because it’s true – I love hosting the Now What!? workshops! I meet so many wonderful people, I get to talk about the farm with them, and I LOVE to talk about the farm!

The farm has been my “happy place” for over 2 decades! I didn’t see it coming and I was not looking for it, but it just happened! Maybe it is the 10 MPH speed limit when you enter the farm driveway – I am usually in a rush from one thing to another and then I enter the farm driveway and it’s a reminder to slow down. Even my thoughts stop racing.

Whether I am picking up my share in the barn or going to the fields to do the U-Pick for the week, a true sense of calm washes over me.

Anyway – I love the farm and I love to share it with others and help make their CSA experience a success!

This year, the very first workshop was a much more personal experience – I was able to interact one on one! And there were more members at the second workshop and even more members at the third and fourth workshops!

There were a few common themes at the workshops – among them how to store the produce and what to do with all the greens!

In my household, the more delicate greens (like the lettuce mix) are consumed first. The kale, radish and turnip greens are blanched and then squeezed into a little ball and stored in a Ziploc bag in the freezer to be used during the non-growing season for soups or to stir in pasta.

Before I blanch the kale, I take it off the center rib and while it is compostable – I have a better use for it! Kale Stem Pesto (but without any nuts or olive oil!) – I combine kale stems, garlic and parmesan cheese in either liquid from a jar of Kalamata olives or tomato water. I had both types of Kale Stem Pesto to be tried at the workshops.

What’s tomato water? Just what it sounds like – the liquid that ends up all over the counter when you are slicing tomatoes! I slice the tomatoes in a container so I can use the liquid later.

Have fun substituting one green for another in recipes – if a recipe calls for spinach and you don’t have spinach, but you have bok choy – use the bok choy! You will have more success swapping in a green with a similar bitterness profile.

One member this year admitted – “I get bok choy – I think stir-fry. I get romaine - I think Caesar Salad.” I had that same mindset for a long time! Once you free yourself of that mindset – the possibilities are endless!

And how about those lovely large romaine leaves? How about using those for a sandwich wrap!?

The romaine and escarole are great grilled. I cut the heads in half and rinse, then place in a large cast iron skillet with some olive oil cut side down first and cook for a few minutes. I flip it over and cook for another few minutes. Once it is done cooking, I turn off the heat, spray with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and sprinkle with parmesan cheese and cover so the cheese gets all melty. Yum! This was another treat that participants got to try!

I use specific containers by Rubbermaid which have a tray on the bottom to keep the vegetables away from any condensation. You can accomplish the same end effect by placing a paper towel in the bottom of the container or in the plastic bag.

This year, a member said that she has had great success with using empty cereal bags to store the greens. I need to try it this year and I will report back!

I don’t know what I was thinking – but I said the herb articles I wrote for the newsletter were included in the 2017 newsletters! I was off by 5 years! It was during the 2022 Growing Season starting with week 8, I wrote a weekly article for the newsletter about the different herbs available at Anchor Run CSA. Please check it out!

Of all of the cookbooks I own, my very, very favorite is From Asparagus to Zucchini. It includes storage tips, cooking tips and a bunch of recipes, arranged alphabetically by vegetable. It has been indispensable! It is available on Amazon. It is also available as Fair Share CSA Coalition’s website but you have to pay for shipping!

Another recipe I brought was a little different between the first week and the second week

• Week 1 included Bok choy, Komatsuna, sliced radishes and sliced turnips. I started cooking the Bok choy and Komatsuna stems (chopped) with the radishes and turnips in olive oil. Once they were done I turned off the heat and mixed in the thinly sliced Bok choy and Komatsuna leaves.
• Week 2 included sliced radishes, turnips and kohlrabi which I cooked in 1 cup of better than bouillon.

The next part is the same for both weeks – I created a sauce from teriyaki sauce, Bragg’s Ammino Acids (or soy sauce) and peanut butter. I then added the cooked veggies to the sauce and stirred to coat them.

Tasting this recipe was a great way to answer the second most common question – what to do with Kohlrabi and all the root vegetables!

The hakurei turnips are also great with hummus!

I also shared some of my dehydrated treats – cucumbers, zucchini, beets, carrot, radish, tomatoes, cantaloupe and even watermelon! These seemed to be the favorite of all the treats I brought!

During some of the workshops, we also spoke about using a solar oven – but with the recent weather on the weekends – it wasn’t the right time to demonstrate!

One of the workshop days, we spoke about composting. There is a space in the farm parking lot to drop off your compost if you don’t have a compost pile at home. Things to avoid in a compost pile include dairy products, bones and plastic bags. And did you know – the product stickers are non-compostable!

Painter’s tape is great for labeling (except on silicon) and does not leave a residue and it stays on in the freezer.

I hope everyone who attended the workshops gained a little bit of knowledge to help make your CSA experience a success. If you have a question about what to do with something in the pick-up room – ask the other members – I bet they will have great suggestions! It was my pleasure to get to meet you all and hopefully I will see you at a potluck!

Thank you!

Gia

June 16, 2025
New This Week: Fennel and Scallions
by Linda Dansbury

Veggies will slowly become more dominant than spring greens in the shares. This week's additions are fennel and scallions.

Scallions - everyone knows about scallions. As with so many other veggies, do not store them wet so the tops stay fresh. Not only do I use scallions raw in dips, salads and sandwiches; they are also great in stir fries, short simmered saute's, and stirred into scrambled eggs. Did you know they are delicious grilled? Trim the roots off and drizzle with olive oil. I like to cut them into sizes that work for how they will be consumed and place in a grill basket for easy cooking and turning. Grill until just charred, about 3-4 min, shaking to turn them halfway through. Eat them as a side dish, add to salads/pasta salads, great in tacos, and so many other uses.

Fennel - another versatile veggie that is good raw, sauteed, braised, in salads, grilled. It keeps in the fridge for quite awhile and pairs well with other veggies, such as radicchio. There are a lot of recipes on this site, including Shaved Fennel Salad with Parmesan, Braised Radicchio, Escarole and Fennel, Roasted Fennel and White Bean Dip, and more.

June 9, 2025
Whole Lotta Lettuce
by Farmer Derek

Harvest #6 (Week B) should include kale, salad radishes, hakurei turnips, kohlrabi, cilantro, dill, garlic scapes, lettuce mix, head lettuce, escarole, Italian dandelion, radicchio, and romaine. Some items will be a choice.

U-pick should include strawberries, peas*, and herbs (bring scissors).

*A note on the peas: they did not enjoy the extremely wet and cool month of May and yield has been negatively impacted.

June 9, 2025
Workshifts this Week (6/9/25)
by Farmer Derek

This week's workshift schedule:

Bring gloves, water, a hat, sturdy shoes, and a pad for kneeling (if necessary for you).

We meet under the large red maple at the end of the barn by the pick up room.

Please be there by the scheduled start time (it might be hard to find us in the fields otherwise).

Workshift Guidelines - Workshift Sign Up Instructions

June 9, 2025
Catching Up, Getting Ahead
by Farmer Derek

June began and we enjoyed our first taste of incoming summer. Ample sunshine, warmth, and wind provided us with the driest and most workable soil in weeks. Needy potatoes were hilled and cultivated. The same toolbar, minus a set of discs, was used on the winter squash and raspberry beds, which were also manually cultivated near the plants. Beds for 3,000 sweet potato slips were finalized and planted as well as the final round of leeks. Weekly plantings of lettuce, herbs, beans, and edamame also went in.

With dry soil I also must cast my vision towards a future two and three months hence, planning for the homes of mid-summer and fall crops. All of these locations have already been worked out during the winter months while crafting our crop plan, but minor adjustments along the way have seen some shuffling of space. Therefore mowing all remaining cover cropped plots and opening them with the chisel plow became pertinent. It helps to have available options due to unforeseen circumstances such as robust organic matter needing weeks to break down enough for planting into or areas that take forever to dry out. After today, all fields will now be worked and our responsible footprint will be at its maximum.

As spring crops depart the field, though, our footprint simultaneously shrinks. Once contiguous areas have been cleared of crops, we'll begin sowing warm season annual cover crop mixes of cowpeas, buckwheat, sorghum-sudangrass, sunn hemp, and sunflowers. This typically takes place in July when we actually have available time to devote to the clean up, rest, and repair phase of seasonal farming. For now it's only prep, plant, progress but we're very near the peak, pinnacle of planting.

June 9, 2025
Bag Donations
by Farmer Dana

If anyone has extra grocery bags at home they're hanging onto, we would be happy to take them in the pick up room. Feel free to drop them off in the bins under the pick up room tables. Many thanks to everyone that responded to our call for donations already!

June 9, 2025
New this Week - Scapes and Radicchio
by Linda Dansbury

New veggies are coming each week now. Lettuces are abundant so enjoy salads by adding sliced kohlrabi, radishes, and/or turnips. There are several salad dressing recipes on this site - much healthier than most store bought and you can adjust amounts and added herbs based on what's available at the farm and your tastes.

Garlic Scapes - these are the flower stalks of the garlic plants. If left on the plant, they steal energy from the plant so that the bulbs do not get as large. We benefit from the farm cutting them off by getting an additional garlic crop. Scapes are mild and best used raw or added at the end of cooking. They store quite well in a plastic bag in the fridge. A couple of delicious recipes on this site are Garlic Scape Pesto and Garlic Scapes and White Bean Dip.

Radicchio - is a slightly bitter green, although the farm radicchio is milder than that from a grocery store, since it is so fresh. It is quite nutritious and stores well; as with other greens, a towel added to the storage bag or container helps keep the head from rotting. Radicchio is a versatile veggie - delicious added to salads for a different texture and flavor. It is also wonderful quartered, brushed with olive oil and lightly grilled. Then chop it up and add a bit of balsamic vinegar, some good quality oil - a nut oil works well, as does olive oil. You can get fancy and crumble some feta or blue cheese and/or toasted nuts. Or chop it up and add to a pasta salad or hot pasta.

June 2, 2025
Berry Grateful
by Farmer Dana

Harvest #5 (Week A) should include kale, salad radishes, hakurei turnips, kohlrabi, cilantro, dill, parsley, komatsuna, green garlic (or maybe scapes), lettuce mix, head lettuce, escarole, Italian dandelion, and romaine. Some items will be a choice.

U-pick should include strawberries, snow peas, and labeled herbs like garlic chives, sage, lemon balm, lavender, oregano, catnip, anise hyssop, and bronze fennel (bring scissors).

June 2, 2025
"Now What?!" Workshops (i.e. How to Use Your Share)
by Gia Yaccarino

Hosted by longtime member Gia Yaccarino on Saturday 5/31, Sunday 6/1, Saturday 6/7, and Sunday 6/8, all at 11 am.

Maybe you are a new member, maybe you’ve been a member for a while. Either way – this workshop is for you!

In the barn, everything made sense while you were putting your share into your bags to bring home. At home, it suddenly became very overwhelming once you began unpacking! We have all been there; it is part of the CSA learning curve.

Let us help you make the most of your farm share!

Being a member of a CSA opens the door to so many topics! At this workshop we will talk about:

- Resources: books, websites, Anchor Run CSA website (Recipes and Veggies 202 – it has pictures)
- How to keep your veggies as fresh as possible once they are in your refrigerator.
- The pros and cons of different preservation techniques (freezing, fermenting, canning, dehydrating).
- “Tools of the trade”, which I find invaluable.
- Before you compost: radish greens are edible!
- Composting, composting at the farm; what and what not to include in a compost pile, vermicomposting.
- Solar Cooking.

We will share recipes based on farm produce that our families love. And by share – I mean taste and provide copies of the recipes. Pestos - don’t limit yourself to Basil. What to do with all those greens? Veggie Hash! The list goes on! This is a casual, enlightening event that will enhance your experience of the CSA. Hope to see you there!

June 2, 2025
Workshifts this Week (6/2/25)
by Farmer Derek

This week's workshift schedule:

Bring gloves, water, a hat, sturdy shoes, and a pad for kneeling (if necessary for you).

We meet under the large red maple at the end of the barn by the pick up room.

Please be there by the scheduled start time (it might be hard to find us in the fields otherwise).

Workshift Guidelines - Workshift Sign Up Instructions

June 2, 2025
June Transition
by Farmer Derek

We exit tied-for-our-wettest May and welcome June. Almost nine inches of rain fell during the month, accompanied by days of cool and cloudy weather. As of now it looks like we'll have most of this week to dry out and hopefully get some much needed field work done before the next round of rain arrives. At least rain isn't forecast until the very end of the traditional work week, rather than smack in the middle like it's been the past three weeks. First quasi heat wave looks inbound, too. If it accelerates soil drying, I'm all for it.

We're still busy planting like mad. Last week watermelon, zucchini, cucumbers, beans, edamame, lettuce, dandelion, cilantro, dill, basil, chard, and eggplant went in. This week (plus next probably) we'll transplant additional successions of many of those plus cantaloupe, leeks, scallions, parsley, and sweet potatoes.

As soon as the ground dries out enough 10,000 feet of potatoes need to be hilled, 4,000 feet of winter squash needs to be cultivated, 3,500 feet of beds need to worked for future strawberries, the last of the unopened fields needs to be chisel plowed. Today's sun and wind are helping our cause. I'm excited to work with some dry soil.

June 2, 2025
U-Pick Information
by Farmer Dana

- Check the u-pick board in the hallway for u-pick crops and amounts before picking. Amounts listed are per share.

- Only crops listed on the board are available for u-pick.

- U-pick crops and weekly allotments can be harvested any day of the week, 8am–8pm, Monday through Sunday of your pick up week. So if you can’t do your u-pick on your scheduled pick up day, feel free to come back any other day that week.

- BYO scissors for herbs and flowers.

- We provide half-pint, pint, and quart u-pick baskets for members to measure and harvest into. Please save these and reuse them as much as possible. If you have some that are still in good shape at the end of the season we'll gladly accept them back.

June 2, 2025
Slow Shift of Veggies
by Linda Dansbury

Another week, and some nice additions to the pick up room. Here are some notes on new items. As an aside, I talk about most new veggies and how to store and enjoy them typically the week right before or right after they first appear in the shares. If you are a half share member and only read the newsletter during your pick up week, you are missing out on quite a bit of useful information - from Derek and Dana about farm happenings and share/pick up information, and from me on new veggies and how to enjoy them (last week I talked about escarole and kohlrabi). So please, take advantage of all of the info.

Swiss chard - might be in the share, depending on whether or not the leafminers are still wreaking havoc on the crop. For me, chard is one of my favorite greens. It is great stir fried, sauteed, added to soups and stews, used as a "wrap", as in Stuffed Chard with Marinara, in frittatas, small leaves can be added to salads and even creamed Swiss chard. If you saute or stir fry, chop up the stems and cook them along with the onions or garlic. Or save the stems for another use, including freezing for use in veggie stocks. As with other greens, make sure you store them in plastic in the fridge, but make sure the bunch is not soaking wet.

Dandelion - many people say they don't like it because of the bitterness, but there are a lot of ways to counteract the bitterness. Adding nuts, cheeses and/or beans is a really good way. Cooking them along with other greens "dilutes" the bitterness as well. I have found that the variety and young leaves from the farm are much more mild than others I have eaten. Two of my favorites on this site are the Garlic Braised Dandelion Greens with White Bean Puree and the Dandelion Salad with Warm Hazelnut Dressing. To go a bit easier, a mixed green salad topped with chopped walnuts, blue cheese, a good quality olive oil and either white balsamic or champagne vinegar is a nice way to go.

June 2, 2025
It's Not Easy - all of these Greens!
by Linda Dansbury

Are you starting to get overwhelmed by all of these greens every week? If you missed this week's work shops on "Now What" with long time member Gia, try to go next week to get A LOT of ideas and insight on how to get the most out of the farm harvests! And...check out this site. Go to the website, click on For Members (you don't even need to log in), click on Recipes. Then use the search bar to find many, many ideas and recipes for the farm's veggies.

Komatsuna, kale, bok choy, green garlic, turnip tops, cilantro - I made a huge batch of chopped up veggies. I sauteed mushrooms in a bit of sesame oil. Added ginger, green garlic and a chopped up chili pepper that was in the freezer from last year. Or you can add chili flakes. Cook for about 2 minutes. Add a couple tablespoons of soy sauce, tamari or Braggs Aminos and then start adding the greens: Bok choy stems, kale and turnip tops and saute until fairly tender. Add komatsuna and keep sauteing until desired texture. First time, it was a delicious side dish with grilled chicken. Next day I mixed it in with basmati rice and then finally I finished it up with scrambled eggs and toast.

Snow peas - these are so fresh and delicious - the plan had been to grill them, but the rain wouldn't stop so I put a tab of butter in a non stick skillet and sauteed them for about 3 min moving them around often - they were browned a bit in spots, but still crunchy and so delicious - sprinkled a bit of sea salt and fresh ground pepper - so little effort for such amazing flavor.

Green garlic - we have been using it in so many things: marinades, dips, sautes, in pesto - everything that calls for garlic. So, so much more flavorful than the "old, stale" garlic in the stores this time of the year.

June 2, 2025
Bag Donations
by Farmer Dana

If anyone has extra grocery bags at home they're hanging onto, we would be happy to take them in the pick up room! Feel free to drop them off in the bins under the pick up room tables. Many thanks!