Turkey Hill CSA Newsletter - Week 12, 2009

Turkey Hill CSA Newsletter - Week 12

Notes From the Farm

This is Valentin and Lizzie's last week at the farm, a big thanks for all their help this summer! 

We have lots of summer crops coming in now and everything really looks great. The beans are past their peak, but the cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes are really just starting to produce. If the frost holds off for a few weeks we should have plenty more of these crops.

We added up the value of this weeks full box (may vary slightly from what you got, this was the farm box) and got to $45! The full share cost is $500/year for an average of around $26/week. While some of the early and late boxes may be closer to $25 in value, the average is certainly higher. Here is what we added up for this weeks box, these are our farm prices (if we were selling these items at the crested butte or gunnison farmers market we would charge about 20-30% higher prices, which offsets the delivery fee you pay):

Salad - $3.75; Beans - $3; Thyme - $1.50; Chard - $2.50; Kale - $2.50; Collards - $2.50; Artichokes - $3; Tomatoes - $7; Corn - $3; Cucumber - $1.25; Broccoli & Cauliflower - $6; Bulb Fennel - $1.50;  Carrots - $2.50; Eggplant - $2; Peppers - $1.5;  Parsley - $1.5

I hope this helps illustrate the value you are getting with the CSA, and I want to let you know that the farm appreciates your financial support and the fact that you are taking and using all our produce. We hope you enjoy the last upcoming seven final weeks of the season. Box sizes will begin to decline over the next few weeks as cooler weather prevails and the days shorten

 

More Notes:

Last chance to reply to Valentin's CSA survey. You can fill it out online.

Questions and Answers

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

Cucumbers - still more to come - call or email for special orders pickling cukes

Bulb Fennel - we harvested the rest of the crop this week- great sliced thinly in a salad

Corn  - Olathe Sweet Corn, Certified Organic
Beans - Green, Yellow & Purple -

Cauliflower - more coming in.

Broccoli - lots more to come.

Carrots - more coming in now

Collards - slight damage, trim the edges if it looks bad.

Rainbow Chard, Collards or Kale - still look good

Salad Mix - a high quality crop at the moment - a few more weeks of salad left

Eggplant  - some boxes, more to come

Peppers - still producing

Tomatoes -  from the hoop house and from Thistle Whistle 

Thyme, Parsley or Savory;

  

Fruit

 

A bit of a lull qty wise in fruit this week, plenty more coming!

Peaches - outstanding, nectarines and pears - First Fruits, Paonia

leave pears out for a day or two to ripen

coming soon: Apples, many varieties

Coming Soon (1-3 weeks)

Potatoes - we will start digging these for the boxes over the next few weeks,  but leave most of the patch for the last few weeks of the season.

Parsley - Starting to be large enough to pick

Tomatoes - starting to really ripen in the hoop house

Beyond 3 weeks
Fall Onions, Leeks
Winter Squash - if i can find some!

2009 Round Earth / Turkey Hill CSA Farm Festival

Schedule of Events

Please call ahead at 970-872-4413 to reserve a spot for the following events - space is limited.

• 8 am-10 am - Early Tour/Harvest - Tour the fields at Round Earth with farmer Adam Silverstein. We will explore the vegetables, and flowers, learn about interplanting and witness a real pest - grasshoppers! We will sample veggies as we go, and also harvest crops for the day's meals; We will harvest salad, cucumbers, potatoes, beans and whatever else is needed and ready. Learn how we harvest the veggies at their ripest and see where and how we wash and process produce from the field. Plan on getting muddy (at least your shoes). $10/person, limited to 20 participants, reservations required.
  
  

• 11 am-2 pm - Cooking workshop with Valentin & brunch - We'll prepare the food we harvest and then enjoy a light brunch - we will transform the morning's harvest into lunch and have some pre-prepared dishes as well. $15/person, limited to 2 0 participants, reservations required.
  
  
• 1 - 4 pm - Regular farm tours through the fields - learn about the farm, the crops, the season and plans for the future. Free, drop ins welcome!
  
  
• 4 pm - 8:30 pm - Cooking workshop with Valentin & Dinner - We will continue to prepare and process produce from the morning and previous harvests and prepare dishes for the dinner, which will also be accompanied by dishes prepared in advance. $25/person + drinks - limited to 20 participants, reservations required.
  
  

• Please leave your dogs at home!

Turkey Hill CSA Newsletter - Week 10

Turkey Hill CSA Newsletter - Week 10    

Notes From the Farm

This weeks newsletter is going out very late - sorry for that. I am just returning from a short river trip (gates of Lodore) and Valentin filled the CSA boxes.  As you can tell from the boxes, summer has hit - lots of everything is coming in. 

The website recipe page was just updated with new recipe sheets including bulb fennel. Are you missing something? Remember, if we  run short on something, we sometimes substitute a different vegetable. If you didn't get a certain vegetable or item and are missing it please let me know!

 

More Notes:

Valentin and Lizzy leave for france in two weeks! As we head into fall, we will have to fill the gaps in our harvest crew. Please come down and visit the farm next Saturday to meet them and at least tour the farm. We are offering several workshops in harvesting and cooking throughout the day, as well as lunch and dinner. I will be posting complete details on the farm festival activities on the website soon and I will email you again then. Bring your friends or family, but please let me know as soon as possible if you plan to attend (how many and for what part of the day). (Also, please leave your dogs at home).

Please don't forget to reply to Valentin's CSA survey. You can return the printed survey, or you can fill it out online.

Questions and Answers

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

Cucumbers - just beginning this week, lots more next week.

Corn  - Olathe Sweet Certified Organic - our corn is still weeks away
Scallions - purple and green, the last of these for the season
Beans - Green, Yellow & Purple - really starting to come in, we will have even more next week.
Cauliflower - just starting to come in.
Romanesco - this green, fractal/spiral vegetable is in the same family as cauliflower and cabbage, but has its own unique appearance and flavor. 

Broccoli - a little bit coming in now, the big crop arrives in september.
Cabbage - purple and green now coming in.
Carrots - some got artichokes instead - more carrots for everyone in the next few weeks - and more artichokes!

Rainbow Chard, Collards or Kale - its good for you! if you can't use it all, just prep, boil briefly, cool, bag and freeze! You can use it in December and remember the summer.  

Salad Mix - more coming

Onions - more varieties coming in over the next few weeks

Basil -  A small bag each, call or email about pesto qty. NOW available.

Eggplant  - a bit more coming in now, lots more setting fruit

Peppers - hot peppers trickling it now, lots of variety, some are hotter than others. the bell peppers are sill a few weeks away

Bulb Fennel

 

Fruit

 

Peaches - Pruett Orchards (Powell Mesa)

Apples from the Kropps - the first apples of the season, crisp and tart! many varieties to come!

coming soon: Nectarines

Coming Soon (1-3 weeks)

Potatoes - we will start digging these for the boxes over the next few weeks,  but leave most of the patch for the last few weeks of the season.

Carrots -  the fall crop will kick in and we'll have carrots for the rest of the season.
Squash - new crop just a few weeks away, but may not make it. Some trickling in from the field next week.
Parsley - Starting to be large enough to pick

Tomatoes -a few at the farm festival, then some in the boxes the following week.

More salad, greens

Beyond 3 weeks
Fall Onions, Leeks
Winter Squash - also heavily hit by squash bugs and the cool spring

Turkey Hill CSA Newsletter - 2009-9

Turkey Hill CSA Newsletter - Week 9   

Notes From the Farm

Life is full on the farm. Tons of cucumbers just ready to be picked next week, flowers are going crazy... We have sunflowers this week - beautiful yellow to orange heads with no pollen. They almost look fake! We have had some summer heat, but still lots of overcast, cooler weather. The summer crops aren't faring well this year, but the broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and romanesco are really kicking in. I'll try to take and post some photos soon. 

Squash - The worst crop of the year has to be the summer squash and winter squash. I did a second planting after realizing how bad the first crop was doing, but it will come in late and maybe not at all if we get an early freeze. I'm on the lookout for these crops from other growers, but a lot of the local valley growers are in the same squash deficient position we are in! 

Basil - Just a reminder that we don't wash the basil, its too sensitive to water damage. Just rinse before using! We are offering basil to CSA customers at our wholesale price which is $12/lb. A recipe calling for four packed cups requires close to a pound.

 

More Notes:

 

Accounts due! At this point all accounts are due - please send your balance in full ASAP! We need these funds to pay works and the farm bills. I sent statements out last week by email - if you aren't sure about your balance, please call or email me. I will also mail statements and call, but please save me the trouble by sending a check immediately to PO Box 969, Hotchkiss CO 81419

 

Questions and Answers

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

Corn  - Olathe Sweet Certified Organic - we'll have this on and off for the next 3-4 weeks
Scallions - purple and green, the last of these for the season
Beans - Green, Yellow & Purple - really starting to come in, we will have even more next week.
Cauliflower - just starting to come in.
Romanesco - this green, fractal/spiral vegetable is in the same family as cauliflower and cabbage, but has its own unique appearance and flavor. 

Broccoli - a little bit coming in now, the big crop arrives in september.
Cabbage - purple and green now coming in.
Carrots - some got artichokes instead - more carrots for everyone in the next few weeks - and more artichokes!

Rainbow Chard, Collards or Kale - its good for you! if you can't use it all, just prep, boil briefly, cool, bag and freeze! You can use it in December and remember the summer.  

Salad Mix - moving into a new patch next week.

Onions - white 'candy' onions

Herbs -  A small bag each, call or email about pesto qty. NOW available.

Eggplant  - just starting to come in from the hoop house - a portion of you will get these each week!

Peppers - hot peppers trickling it now

 

Fruit

 

Peaches - Red Havens - First of the season from Paonia - First Fruits

Coming Soon (1-3 weeks)

Carrots -  the fall crop will kick in and we'll have carrots for the rest of the season.
Cucumbers - we have a huge crop of these coming in NEXT WEEK
Squash - a poor main crop, we'll have a few squash, but not enough. I did plant a second crop that looks great right now, but might not have enough time to ripen. I will also try to find another local organic source.
Parsley - Starting to be large enough to pick

Bulb Fennel - sizing up, ready next week

Tomatoes - whenever they start to ripen!
More salad, greens

Beyond 3 weeks
Potatoes
Fall Onions
Winter Squash - also heavily hit by squash bugs and the cool spring

---

Farm Festival Events

Don't forget the farm festival! We have a great menu and day of activities planned, so please try to attend! All of the details will be posted soon at RoundEarth.com and I will email you again to remind you. August 22nd. is the date, activities all day. In the morning we will harvest and wash crops, then we'll have a cooking workshop and lunch. After an afternoon siesta we will resume with a cooking workshop and then dinner.  Cost is by suggested donation, the entire day is suggested $50, or $10-15 for each workshop/meal. 

I need to rent and purchase supplies for this event so please let me know as soon as possible if you plan to attend (and the number attending which part!)... thanks.

Turkey Hill CSA Newsletter - 2009-8

Turkey Hill CSA Newsletter - Week 8   

Notes From the Farm

Sorry for the delay in getting this newsletter out. Fruit members, this is a break week, we will resume peaches next week. Note smaller boxes this week as summer crops are all just about to come in - cucumbers, beans, corn all in the next week or two, thanks for your patience!

This week the farm is swinging into summer big time. I took a short break to visit my mother in North Carlina with the kids over last weekend, and in the six nights I was gone, things grew like crazy. Its amazing the changes that happen every day on the farm and there is nothing like being away for more than a few days to make me appreciate this.

Valentin ran the show in my absence, making critical decisions like what was ready to be picked for the Tuesday harvest! Thanks to him for keeping the ball rolling (and to the rest of the harvest crew who happily come out every harvest to pick and process).

 

More Notes:

 

The flowers are in full swing this week. We have beautiful snapdragons and statice and offer them in convenient 'bundles' at $10. We don't have the time or labor to make bouquets this year, but the bundles can be easily coaxed into bouquets once you have them. The glads are really kicking in and I really want you to check them out, so this week i'm offering 8 stems (instead of the usual 5) for $10. Regular stems are also on sale: 12 stems for $10.We will have flowers at the farm (friday) and on the truck sunday to purchase, but its best if you order ahead (just email or call). When you get them, cut the bottoms and put them in water asap. change the water and trim the bottoms every day or two and your flowers should last 1-2 weeks.

Upcoming boxes will contain little bags of basil - perfect for a sauce or dressing, but not enough to make pesto. For pesto quantity, please call or email. If you visit the farm, we also offer pick your own basil at a greatly reduced price - its very labor intensive to pick!

 

Questions and Answers

Some of you asked how these compare to the flood of glads hitting city market last week - which are selling for something like $10 for 20 stems. Quite simple, there is NO comparison! our glads are HUGE, thick stemmed and freshly picked. Their grown without chemicals here on our farm, hand weeded and planted with loving care. The flowers at the supermarket are still glads, but they are thinner and smaller, they are grown in chemically intensive monocrop mega farms in places like equador where cheap labor and lax regulations mean easy business conditions. They were picked days and days or a week or more ago and they are probably coated with pesticides. 

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

Artichokes - we'll have even more of these as the season continues...
Cauliflower - we'll have Orange & Purple cauliflower 1st, and white cauliflower later. The orange cheddar variety is partictularly delicious.
Romanesco - this green, fractal/spiral vegetable is in the same family as cauliflower and cabbage, but has its own unique appearance and flavor. 

Broccoli - a little bit coming in now, the big crop arrives in september.Cabbage - purple and green now coming in.

Beets
-  cylindrical beets this week - the last beets we will have for a while - great for canning, or just store in the fridge.

Chard, Collards or Kale - bunched - always plenty of greens, look for extras this week, take as much as you want from the 'extras'. (I found the collards hiding in the cabbage, that was the mysterious greens some of you got last week!)

Head Lettuce - red curly - this may be the last of the head lettuce, there is one more patch, but they look like they may never size up - going from baby stage to seeding directly in the heat of summer.

Salad Mix - still coming in

Onions - We are picking thru the onions to get the largest ones. We'll have more later in the season.
Garlic
- hard neck variety this week, a little smaller heads than the soft necks, and with a slightly different flavor - can you tell the difference?

Herbs - Cilantro and Dill this week, the last we will have for a while (except dill heads which are available for canning all season by special order).  

 

Fruit

 

None... Fruit break this week! We will have peaches next week (or possibly the week after)

Coming Soon (1-3 weeks)

Carrots - returning intermittently over the few weeks, then the fall crop will kick in and we'll have carrots for the rest of the season.
Cucumbers - we have a huge crop of these coming in over the next few weeks
Squash - More on varieties as i assess the field

Bulb Fennel - sizing up, ready this week or next.

Beans - we have purple, yellow and green beans this year - these are just starting this week, we'll have an abundance in the next few weeks. Great as a side dish sauteed in butter.

Eggplant  -starting to come in from the hoop house

Peppers - hot peppers trickling it now

---

Farm Festival Events

In a few weeks, we will be hosting a day of tours, workshops and eating! The day starts early and CSA members are invited to come camp on the farm the night before so you be here in the morning.  The date for the event is Saturday, August 22; the preliminary schedule of events is:

• 8am-10am  - Early Tour/Harvest - Tour the fields with the farmer (me) and help harvest crops for the day's meals; We'll harvest salad, cucumbers, beans, squash and whatever else is needed for the days meals. Learn how we harvest the veggies and see where and how we wash and process produce from the field. Plan on getting muddy (at least your shoes). $10 suggested donation.
  

• 11am-1pm  - Cooking workshop with Valentin & brunch - We'll prepare the food we harvest and then enjoy a light brunch - we will transform the morning's harvest into lunch and have some pre-prepared dishes as well. $10 suggested donation.
• 1-2pm - I'll lead a tour through the fields and talk about the farm, the season and plans for the future. No charge.
  
• 5pm-8:30pm - Cooking workshop with Valentin & Dinner - We will continue to prepare and process produce from the morning and previous harvests and prepare dishes for the dinner, which will also be accompanied by dishes prepared in advance. $25 suggested donation, or $20 for dinner alone (starts around 7pm).
  

We are still finalizing the menus for the two meals we will be preparing (more info soon), but there will be plenty to eat and drink. The meals will be heavy on the veggies, but we will have some (local, natural) meats and cheeses as well. We'll have iced herbal tea and water to drink, and coffee with dessert after dinner.  We are asking for donations to cover our expenses and pay Valentin for his cooking workshops; I strongly encourage you all make the time to visit during the event, even you can only come for the morning or evening. Its the perfect excuse to come visit the farm at the peak of the harvest. I also need to know in advance how many are coming to the day's events so we can plan the food. The cooking workshops are limited to 12 participants, and the meals are also limited in number. Please email or call if you plan to come.

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...

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...