Farm Message for Saturday, August 15, 2009

STAR HOLLOW FARM NEWS

For the week preceding Saturday, August 15th, 2009

General news & info

Hi folks,

Summertime, summertime, sum- sum- summertime! (the refrain from an old song...). Yes, it's finally here, those glorious 90 degree, 90% humidity days that make working outside such a joy. And boy, did I pick the right project for the week—working on our new cooler! It's really very pleasant working inside my former shop with the fan on, whilst my peons (what, is that pejorative?) here on the farm do the outside work. I'll be running out to pick up some produce this afternoon, but between this morning and tomorrow I think I have a good shot at having the cooler functional for Friday's orders and packing. It will more than double our cooler capacity, and make both Friday's and our 3 AM Saturday morning truck loading oh-so-much better.

This week's produce: (New items underlined)

• Greens: bibb lettuce, arugula, braising greens, cabbage, chard, dandelion, kale (Russian and green), pea shoots

• Veggies: beans (green, Lima, yellow wax), beets with tops, carrots, sweet corn, slicing cucumbers, eggplant (oriental), garlic, onions (cippolini and sweet), peppers (bell and some chiles), potatoes (red, gold, purple, La Ratte fingerling and rainbow mixed), shallots, tomatoes (standard red, yellow, Cherokee purple, Roma/plums, cherries), yellow squash, zucchini

• Herbs: basil (Italian and mixed), oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage, savory, sorrel, thyme

• Mushrooms: crimini, portabella, shiitake, white

• Berries, melons, fruit: blackberries, cantaloupe, Ginger Gold apples, nectarines, peaches

• Other items: the usual eggs, butter, cheeses, preserves and such, plus Mrs. Brechbill's own homemade garlic/dill pickles in a beautiful ½ pint jar.

On the farm: Surprisingly we had another large pick of cherry tomatoes again yesterday—and they're going into your CSA boxes again this week—but I sure think they're gonna be done soon, from the looks of them. There was an interesting blog post that Constance found about the blight and forwarded to us. If you haven't read much about it yet, it's pretty interesting (even for non-farmers) I think. http://civileats.com/2009/07/28/battling-late-blight-in-the-north-east/. The part where the farmer says that spraying (even the organically approved material) “feels like a sin” is pretty much how I feel when I've sprayed the copper several times now, but weighing that against losing everything keeps me at it. (The fact that we've had no rain now for 10 days means I've gotten out of spraying this week, as dry conditions are not conducive to the disease's spreading.)

ORGANIC—To be or not to be ... the ongoing question: A dozen or so of you responded via email after I first put this topic on the board several weeks ago. For those who are keeping score, we're running 50:1 right now with “do what you think is right.”

More than a few have remarked “Well, you'd drop certification, but you'd still be organic anyway, right?” to which I want to answer “NO.” The expense and the hassle is not the only reason we're talking about this. It's also the “one size fits all” approach to materials allowed, management of nutrient resources (specifically manure), seed sourcing, using effective controls – if needed, and more. Please talk to me if you're interested or this is important to you. I like openness, and don't want to feel like I haven't given all our customer a chance to be heard on this important issue.

Have you checked out our blog? I personally have no experience with blogs (being over 30—way over—and all), but seeing how this one has developed over the month or so it's been in existence, I sense that there's a critical mass needed using it until it sort of “gets going” and has enough happening to be worth checking out. Each week a few more people check it out, comment or post, and I think maybe it's getting there! Have you? (www.starhollowfarmcsa.blogspot.com)

CSA-Specific News & Info

Planned CSA produce for this week:

This week the plan is for a head of bibb lettuce, bunch of rainbow chard, Lima beans, sweet corn, cherry tomatoes, items of purple food (carrots, potatoes, garlic), and some nectarines. Enjoy!

Adams Morgan CSA volunteers: Thanks to Eric, Sarah and Steph for their help handing out orders last weekend. We appreciate your help!

Thanks for your support!

Randy, Chris and all at Star Hollow Farm

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