CSA Newsletter, Emanuel Pick Up Site, July 8. 2008

This Weeks Veggies

Bunching Onions – More of the Lisbon White bunching onions. You have received this same variety, from the same planting, for four weeks now. In the beginning, they looked more like chives than onions. Now, you can clearly see that they are forming a bulb and becoming more “onion-y” looking.

Lettuce, Lettuce, and more Lettuce – You are receiving three kinds of lettuce this week. I sowed these slow bolting varieties two months ago when it appeared that winter would never end. Now, I am glad I did as they are performing well in the fields. Each of these is delicious enough to stand alone in the salad bowl. Or you may mix them together for a more colorful treat.

Simpson Black Seeded is an Heirloom loose leaf lettuce first introduced in 1850. It has large, sweet, bright green, crumpled leaves. As the name implies Bronze Mignonette is a lovely reddish bronze butterhead lettuce. Buttercrunch is a classic green butterhead.

Farm Life

My thanks to farm volunteers Rosalea and Jeff. Both have gotten new jobs that do now allow them the flexibility to continue working on the farm. I greatly appreciate their contributions and wish them well on their new endeavors.

Our volunteer, Nathan Miller, is continuing to add has considerable energy and talents (See Nathan’s Bees in the side bar.) I am grateful to him for the many, many hours he has spent weeding thistles.

As mentioned in your Independence Weekend supplemental newsletter, this weeks share includes fewer vegetables than I hoped to provide. I have lost many hours of sleep trying to figure out how to increase the variety of vegetables available to you. But no matter how much I worry, I still can’t control the weather.

I have contemplated purchasing vegetables on the wholesale market to distribute with your share. I decided against this for two reasons. First, it is too expensive. The price I am charging for the shares doesn’t cover my existing expenses. I don’t have the financial resources to absorb more costs.

The second reason is that it would feel dishonest. The primary reason for joining a CSA is to have a relationship with your food… to know the farm… and the farmer. If I supplement your boxes with produce from the wholesale market, that relationship is forfeit. I become just another middleman in the food distribution chain.

As the Artisan Organics web site says, “… together we share the joys and challenges of farming”. For the next week or two, we will share the challenges. But don’t despair, we will soon share the joys in the form of a bounty of summer squash, green beans, and fresh ripe tomatoes.