Turkey Hill Newsletter - 2009-7

 

Turkey Hill CSA Newsletter - Week 7

Notes From the Farm

I took a few more pictures today that I'll post soon. The garden looks beautiful, with the latest round of tilling and mowing clearing things up quite a bit. The beans are just starting to grow, and are loaded with flowers (soon to be beans). The summer squash is flowering and we'll have zucchini and other summer squash starting next week. Unfortunately, the winter and summer squash took a real beating this year; a cool may/june meant slow seed germination and lots of weed competition, then once we had weeded out the baby squash, the squash bugs and grasshoppers decimated a portion of the crop, leaving about 30-40% of my original planting; although a sad loss for the farm, my ambitious attempt to plant two acres total of winter squash means what are left with should still be a reasonable quantity. If certain varieties are missing, I'll shop around for another farm that might be able to supply it.

Speaking of shopping around, I left a little money in the budget to buy (local, organic) veggies from other growers to help fill in weak areas in our season. One upcoming crop is sweet corn. The last few years we've been able to get famous Olathe Sweet corn - organic - usually starting around the beginning of August; We'll have a bit of our own 'Delectable' sweet corn in September. I'm also hoping to buy some tomatoes from my neighbor Mark at Thistle Whistle Farms - he has thousands of georgous, trellised, earlyish tomatoes; our own tomatoes are still weeks away from ripening.

We hilled up the potatoes for the last time this week and a tiny bit so we can offer you a little it for the box (the rest will come in the last 4-5 weeks of the season). The spring carrots are nearly done, the fall carrots are looking great. The beans are just beginning to be ready, and the summer squash is close. Come visit the farm, and don;t forget about Aug. 22 - keep that date open for our soon to be announced farm day.

 

More Notes:

The flowers are now available; we have bundles of flowers for $10; this week I have beautiful Gladioli that last 2 weeks in water (trim the bottoms every few days); I've also got snapdragons and statice available - let me know what colors you want and we'll put a $10 bundle of fresh flowers aside for you (delivered in your tote or at the farm).

Please send me your questions, let me know what you want to know!

  
Send me your questions! Need a recipe? We have a recipe page on the website, or try  allrecipes.com. Want to know when a certain vegetable is coming in? confused about something in your box? email me! 

This Week's Box

NEW:  Onions, fresh washed spring onions - dried onions to come

NEW:  Potatoes - we dug a little up while hilling the patch so you can try them out. lots more coming towards the END of the season

NEW:  Broccoli, cauliflower red cabbage and 'mini' green cabbages, these are just starting, varieties will vary each week.

Peas - some boxes - finishing up, we'll try for more in the fall.

Artichokes - some of you will get these this week more for everyone soon!

Carrots - end of the spring crop, more coming in a few weeks

Beets - the end of the spring beets.

Chard or kale - bunched - lots more greens

Head Lettuce - frilly red & green types. head lettuce will last a few more weeks

Salad Mix - we'll try to have this mix every week

Garlic - still drying, don't put garlic in a plastic bag or it might mold

Spinach  - the last of spring

NEW:  Herbs - Chives, Thyme, Savory (one of the above)

Peppers - little purple hot peppers are ripening up this week (delivery customers - look in the bottom of the bags)

 

Fruit

Last of the bing cherries from First Fruits, Paonia CO

2-3 weeks until peach season begins!

Coming Soon (1-3 weeks)

Beans - green, purple and yellow beans

Collards - email me if you want them, we only have a few plants.

More cilantro and dill

Flowers by the bundle, details soon

Basil for pesto (special order $12/lb - wholesale price!)

Pick your own basil - email

3-5 Weeks

Cucumbers, we'll have a ton

Parsley - flat and curly

summer squash - zucchini 

and beyond...

tomatoes, corn, winter squash, eggplant, etc...