Week 3, 2023

Dear Country Valley Farm Community,

This is week #3 of the 2023 season! Oh Michigan weather – we had another frost this morning, hoping this is truly the last frost of the season. Being outside of town we tend to dip about 5 degrees below the temperature in town, which can be nice when it is real hot out….

Reminder to please have your empty bin from the prior week outside so I can pick it up when I drop off your full box each week. The weather will be warming soon, if you haven’t already, please consider a cooler that can hold the bin and an ice pack if you aren’t home to bring the share inside and put in the refrigerator when it is delivered.

This week’s shares contain the following, some preparation inspiration is below:

1. Fresh Thyme – 1 bunch from our farm
2. Lettuce Mix – 1 small bag from our farm
3. Baby Turnip Greens – 1 small bag from our farm
4. Green Onions – 1 big bunch from Cinzori Farm
5. Fuji Apples – 1 quart from Almar Orchards
6. Asparagus – 2 bunches from Cinzori Farm

Medium shares contain the above listed items, and:

1. Asparagus – 1 extra bunch
2. Fuji apples – 1 extra quart
3. Green Onions – 1 extra bunch

Some preparation inspiration:

• Fresh Thyme, once you’ve had it fresh the dried does not compare. Our favorite all-around culinary herb. It is not only great as a stand alone seasoning, it pairs well with so many other herbs and spices. Note: DO NOT eat the stems, they can be sharp. It is recommended to cook the herb in a sachet or to tie it into a knot of itself to keep it together. That way you get the aromatic benefit from the herb but don’t actually chew or swallow the stems.
• Lettuce Mix, this is our first lettuce harvest of the season. We hope to continue to have lettuce in the shares for a few more weeks until the weather turns real hot.
• Baby Turnip Greens, these are a step larger than microgreens, and grown in the field on our farm. They are super tender and have a tangy-mustard flavor. They have a touch of sweetness that was enhanced by the cool weather actually. They are so tender that we did not wash them yet, so please remember to wash at home before using. They can be eaten raw or cooked. If cooking, they can substitute for spinach and will cook nearly as fast.
• Green onions, great cooked or raw. We like to pair them with thyme and cook with greens. They also are wonderful when chopped up and added at the end of cooking a savory dish, or even added raw when serving.
• Fuji apples, known for their sweetness and crunchiness. They make a great juice or sauce also. If used in a pie they will tend to be mushy, but tasty still. Did you know that Almar Orchards uses no waxes or shellac or ay of that on their apples? There is a difference and we are so proud to continue to offer their apples in our CSA shares.
• Asparagus is a great spring vegetable and Michigan is a perfect climate for it. These are hand-harvested and are usually spears/tips with very little to no woody bottoms. While we can get asparagus year-round at the supermarket, it is only available from Michigan for 4-8 weeks per year (every season may be different for it as it is sensitive to extreme cold or heat. Organic asparagus is grown without the use of herbicides and is quite a special item.

What is going on at the Farm”

We have been hand-weeding and hoeing daily in order of what beds need it most. It is amazing how a clean bed will suddenly be covered in weeds so quickly. While the weeds take work and aren’t super-welcome, we acknowledge their role in biodiversity and in the ecosystem as a whole. We never use herbicides, not even those permitted for organic farms. We also allow some weeds in some places to support pollinators, as well as to honor their role in the overall soil health of our farm.

The lettuces are starting to size up nicely and should be in shares for awhile more.

The baby greens are starting to really grow, we will have bok choy, tat soi, and baby kales in the shares over the next few weeks.

The cooking greens that were transplanted, had a lot of loss. We are transplanting new seedlings over the next week or so.

We planted our first summer squash seeds and many of them are already sprouting and starting to grow.

We will be planting more summer squash, along with cucumbers, basils, tomatoes, peppers, tomatillos etc. over the next few weeks. We are glad that we held off on planting much of the heat-loving crops until now since the frosts have been hard out here.

Our primary crops, garlic, onions, and potatoes are all looking real good.

Overall, the outlook is very positive and we are working with Mother Nature to make for a year filled with abundant, healthy, and delicious crops.

Here is the plan for deliveries:

We will try to stay on schedule. Our plan is to put the CSA boxes on folks’ front porches and ring the bell once and leave.

A bit more about deliveries:

Maintaining the cold chain integrity is key to extending shelf life and maximizing enjoyment of the produce – please have a cooler on the porch with icepacks/frozen water bottles, or bring the shares in and put away in your refrigerator immediately when it is delivered. 

We also understand that there may be weeks that folks want to skip their share. That is okay so long as you confirm with us at least 7 days in advance of the skip week. In those cases, you can let us know if you want to add a share to the end of your season, or receive double shares some weeks etc. We encourage members to find a friend, family member, or neighbor to pick up your share from your porch and share the bounty of the harvest, instead of skipping weeks – if that is a viable option for you. Some members opt to notify us of skip weeks and ask that we donate the shares – we are happy to do that. We don’t donate to a food bank in those instances, we give the food directly to our neighbors or folks in the community that would benefit from it.

My phone number is (831) 706-1237. You can call or text if it is the day of or day before delivery if you have anything urgent to communicate. I don’t usually check emails much over the weekend but I do have my phone on me if you need to touch base.

Potato plants

There is lots of good info on our website www.countryvalleyfarm.com

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions at all.

Thank you for sharing this message and our contact info with anyone who you know who may be interested.  We appreciate the community support.

Kind regards,                 

Adam Mitchel

Country Valley Farm

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