CSA Journal Post Week 10

***BLUE HERON FARM COMMUNITY HOE-DOWN,
This Sunday, August 16th 3:00pm until dark
Tour of Farm at 3:30 on hay wagons and the great blue truck
4:30 music starts(bring your instruments)
5:00 the biggest Potluck in Grand Isle J,
bonfire and more – no work, just play, music and foodJ
Bring your family and friends all welcome***

What’s happening on the farm this week?
Week 10: Thanks all for your kind words and actions last week. This is why we have a CSA – to have supportive, food loving people that will stick by you through feast and famine. Thank you! You all are biggest supporters. We feel like we are on a roller coaster of emotions these days because over the weekend we picked our first ever sweet corn! It is a heritage open pollinated corn from seed savers exchange and boy is it tasty – Sadie ate three ears in the field. Not sure how long we will have it – it is just for you our members not for market. Sweet corn takes up a lot of room with not much return. There are only one or two ears per plant and they don’t keep growing. Once you pick them they are done. No regrowth – nothing. If anyone would like some dried stalks or the leaves to make tamales or anything else, let us know. We maybe bias but we think it is the best sweet corn we have ever eaten. Try an ear raw – it is amazing – we are waiting to the absolute last minute to pick it today aka 3:15pm to make sure you have the freshest. We are excited – we hope you love it because it is the first successful corn crop we have ever had. The four strands of electric wire help too…

Over the weekend we also harvested and hung our garlic to dry in the barn. To see the garlic hanging or on the drying racks it is a pretty cool site – there is quite a bit of it. We are excited to see how much there really is – we still have around 1000 bulbs or so(even after all that we have given all of you). We will keep about 30 lbs to plant in the fall for next years harvest. We are still going through the tomatoes and fishing out the late blight rotten ones and picking out the red ones – these are laid out over 18 large bread trays. The hoophouse ones are starting to redden. The new planting of Parsley and Basil are up and growing and we think we will have celery in the next week or two. The big orange storage carrots are up and Fiona and I did some weeding of them. I think these are my favorite carrots because they are the sweetest I have ever eaten. Thanks to Gale and Fiona – we harvested our first crop of red potatoes (minus the late blight, thank you universe) – we hope you enjoy them.

Over the last week we got some great emails and a poem. Also, part of the Food for Thought newsletter talked about our farm. We would like to include this for you all to read. And thank you for choosing us to be one of your farmers at your kitchen table – Adam, Christine and Sadie

PS – Just in case anyway is keeping track – it has been a week for Miss Sadie and the potty – she goes 2-3 times a day and prefers to be diaperless while we are at the house or front yard…..

Roy sent us this wonderful poem that he heard on VPR last week. We continue to be humbled by this earth we farm. As we unearth those little red jewels from the earth or disc in blighted red jewels, we are committed to this earth for our sustenance. We thought you all would like it:
Patriotism by Ellie SchoenfeldMy country is this dirtthat gathers under my fingernailswhen I am in the garden.The quiet bacteria and fungi,all the little insects and bugsare my compatriots. They areidealistic, always working togetherfor the common good.I kneel on the earthand pledge my allegianceto all the dirt of the world,to all of that soil which growsflowers and foodfor the just and unjust alike.The soil does not carewhat we think about or who we love.It knows our true substance,of what we are really made.I stand my ground on this ground,this ground which willultimatelyrecruit us allto its side."Patriotism" by Ellie Schoenfeld, from The Dark Honey. (c) Clover Valley Press, 2009.

Another thoughtful piece I was given today was from Kaight Althoff (she and her family our CSA members and she also coordinates Food for Thought). Each week Kaight and Melissa put together a newsletter for the baskets for each of the families. I think the total count now is 36 families and 93 children. There is all sorts of info and recipes in these little letters. Very friendly letters to families – and very thoughtful. When you donate your share, we bring it and donate to Food for thought. This last week, with all that has happened on our farm, was quite poignant to me. Kaight gave me permission to re-print it here –

“Welcome to Week 9 of Food For Thought.
This week you will find a bounty of fresh, local produce. We hope your children will enjoy eating the fruit and vegetables as much as we enjoyed locating them for you.

Why local?
You may have noticed in the past few newsletters, that we’ve been telling you where some of your food is coming from. Why does it matter? Well, it matters because it’s local. We’re purchasing vegetables, fruits, and eggs from farmers and families right here in the Islands. At times we’re able to secure a fantastic price and other times we feel the price we pay is more than worth what we buy. As a matter of fact, it’s not always about what we buy, but from whom we buy it.

I had a talk with Ron Hackett at Hackett’s Orchard this morning about agriculture and produce. Some of his apple trees are over 100 years old. He takes care of those trees (and apples) because they matter to him, and because YOU matter to him. He wants local families to eat local apples. Knowing who produced your food and how can make you feel very connected to your food source.

Christine and Adam at Blue Heron Farm give us a fair price on produce so that local families can enjoy delicious organic produce farmed right here in the Islands. They have donated and sold to us, some of the best looking produce around.

The majority of our eggs are purchased from a family in Grand Isle, and the money used to purchase the eggs was donated by a large group of mother’s in South Hero. It’s great to see local families, supporting other local families, to help local families. That’s just perfect, in my book.

How can you keep this going? Visit the farmers markets, stop by a local farm stand, trade or barter with your neighbor for goods and services. Make a decision to buy 1 item local, such as apples or zucchini and stick to it. Tell your local grocer how much you like the local produce. Make friends with a farmer. Have a fantastic week and remember…think local!”
What’s in the share this week: OPEN POLINATED Heritage SWEET CORN! (the FIRST EVER ON OUR FARM (WAHOOO!!) , Red Potatoes, Maybe some Red or Yellow Heirloom tomatoes! Tomatillos, Peppers (sweet/hot), Red and Yellow Onions, Summer Squash, Zucchini, Eggplant,Cucumbers, Garlic, Pick-Your-Own Sungold Cherry Tomatoes (they are still holding on).
www.blueheronfarm-vt.blogspot.com CHECK US OUT ON THE WEB and LEAVE COMMENTS TOO

Wool Roving for Sale:
From our sheep – we have Border Leicster Romney Crosses, Icelandic and Shetland Sheep. It is $15 for 6 ounces (special price for CSA members).

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED:
To help plant, trellis, and weed – please call us 372-3420 or email harmonyvt@yahoo.com. Thanks

HOPE TO SEE YOU THIS WEEKEND!!!! Bring your family, friends, dish and an instrumentJ I hear the Island String Band will be playing and I hear rumors of a six string banjo coming and a fiddle – oh goodness…