Author: Core Group

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Week #5 – A Note from the Farmer

Dear CSA Member

It has rained 23 out of 30 days in June. Greens love the cold and wet and the Cabbage, Lettuces and Escarole are beautiful. The Kohlrabi is huge and Spinach green and sweet. Scallions are perfect from the white root to the green tip.

Sugar Snap peas are a favorite but due to the extreme rainy and cold conditions the Sugar Snap peas crop has failed. There are just some conditions that certain plants can not withstand. We are planting the Sugar Snap peas again and hope to have a crop for fall harvest. We have not planted peas for fall so we will need to see how it all works out but want to try.

This week is the first Fruit Share delivery. Please take fruit only if you have ordered this optional Fruit Share. If you do not remember you can check your order by logging into your CSA Member Account. Your CSA coordinators will have Fruit Share members on the sign in roster as well. This week there are local Sweet Cherries and Blueberries and Organic Red Currants.

This is also a Coffee Share delivery week and if you have a Coffee Share you will receive a reminder e-mail. Mushroom Shares are delivered every week and are Portobello Mushrooms this week.

Marketplace orders can be placed up to the day before your shares are delivered. To order from the Marketplace log into your CSA Member Account.

Enjoy the harvest.
Deborah for everyone at Stoneledge Farm

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Week #5 — What’s in the Bag

FULL VEGETABLE SHARE
Early Jersey Wakefield Cabbage-1 head
Kossak Kohlrabi-1 These are a very large but crisp kohlrabi. This large, white skinned kohlrabi can be used in coleslaw, included raw on a vegetable tray, or cooked in soups or stews. As it continues to grow it remains tender.
Parsley-1 bunch
Romaine-1 head
Red Leaf Red Tide Lettuce-1 head
Natcha Escarole-1 head
Summer Spinach-1 bunch
Summer Squash-4
Firs Endive-1 head
Scallions-1 bunch

FRUIT SHARE -1 box of each
Local Blueberries
Local Sweet Cherries
Organic Red Currants

MUSHROOM SHARE
Portobello

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Week #4 — Note from the Farmer

Dear CSA Member

It has been a cool and very rainy June. Complete opposite to the very dry and hot May. It is hard to believe that July is nearly here and we are cold working outside.

With the rain and cool temperatures come beautiful greens. Almost like growing in the fall. Natcha Escarole is a slightly bitter green that is excellent with white beans. Lettuces are still abundant and glorious. The Beet Greens are very nice and should be cut from the bulb and cooked as a green.

New this week is Cabbage. Early Jersey Wakefield Cabbage is an early, pointed cabbage variety that is also an Heirloom seed variety. The Cabbage is sweet and makes delicious slaw. An easy and delicious Cole Slaw recipe on the farm website Recipe section. The Recipe collection can be found under The Farm tab.

Kohlrabi, Red Kolibri, is the bulb shaped vegetable with leaves at the top. The leaves and the bulb are edible. Kohlrabi can be used fresh or cooked. The bulb tastes a bit like the stem of a broccoli and the beautiful purple-red color of the bulb is very attractive.

Marketplace items are available weekly. Mushroom Share this week is Oyster Mushrooms.

PS 11 3rd Grade Students visited the farm in May. We have received very nice thank you cards from the students. One student wrote a poem that we have included on the Farm News on the farm website www.stoneledge.farm.

Enjoy the Harvest.
Deborah for everyone at Stoneledge Farm

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Week #4 — What’s in the Bag

FULL VEGETABLE SHARE
Cabbage-1 head Early Jersey Wakefield is a pointed, heirloom variety.
Kohlrabi-2 Red Kolibri
Thyme-1 bunch
Summer Squash-2Mixed varieties-not sure how many per share. Will need to send an update after picking.
Garlic Scapes-4
Natcha Escarole-1 head
Tropicana Lettuce-1 head
Cylindra Beets with Greens-1 bunch The greens are still very nice. Cut them from the bulb and cook as a green.
Romaine-1 head
Red Tide Lettuce-1 head

MUSHROOM SHARE
Oyster Mushrooms

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Week #3 — Note from the Farmer

Dear CSA Member

This is a very busy time on the farm. The harvest is now well underway but there are greenhouses full of seedlings needing to be transplanted for fall. Weeds are trying to make a hold and there is constant cultivation to keep them under control. It is hard to keep up with all that needs to be done day to day. It is also a wonderful time of year when months of work which was started in February is ready for harvest.

This is salad season. It comes and goes quickly so enjoy the greens of spring. The Romaine can be grilled, Lettuce Soup recipe is on the farm website and if you are invited to dinner or a party, volunteer to bring the salad! This week the lettuces are beautiful. The lettuce is mature but still sweet and tender. There are three different varieties: Romaine, Red Tide, and Buttercrunch. An addition to the salad is also Frisee Endive. Small very serrated leaves that are wonderful cut finely and added to a fresh salad. Red lettuces are always more tender so handle carefully.

Cylindra Beets with greens are a new addition to our varieties this year. They are a longer, thin beet a cylinder of beet. We started them early in the greenhouse to get an earlier harvest. The greens are as good as the beets. Remove the greens and cook separately as the cooking time is much shorter than the root. The roots will also keep longer in your refrigerator. If the roots on the bunch you take home are small the entire beet green and roots can be cooked at once. Most of the beets have a bit of size to them though.

Summer Spinach is a staple on the farm and the first delivery will come in your share this week. You could cook with the Beet Greens if you like. It seems a bit early but you may like to make a note on your calendar that the Fall Farm Festival will be help September 12 this year. It is a great day to share with family and other CSA members on the farm.

Marketplace items Honey, Maple, Coffee, Organic Dark Chocolate can be ordered any time up to the day before your CSA delivery and will be delivered with your CSA shares. We just received the Organic Dark Chocolate Cocoa Powder from Grenada which is delicious.

Enjoy the Harvest
Deborah for everyone at Stoneledge Farm

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Week #3 — What’s in the Bag

FULL VEGETABLE SHARE
Red Sails Lettuce-1 head
Romaine Lettuce-1 head
Frisee Endive-1 head
Garlic Scapes-4
Summer Savory-1 bunch Also known as Annual Thyme. A delicious herb to dry or use fresh as you would Thyme.
Buttercrunch (Boston type) Lettuce-1 head
Cylindra Beets with Greens-1 bunch
Summer Spinach-1 bunch
Mizuna-1 bunch
Summer Squash-4

MUSHROOM SHARE
Cremini

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Week #2 — Note from the Farmer

Dear CSA Member

Refrigerators will be full of greens this week. Each season there is a week when all of the lettuces are ready. This week the lettuces are beautiful and we are sending four different varieties: Romaine, Red Sails Red Leaf, Tropicana Green Leaf and Buttercrunch. There is nothing that can beat a salad spinner this time of year. All of the greens are given a rinse right after we pick them but they will need a wash at home. We have had very heavy rains over the last week and the soil splashes between the leaves. I have found it works well to wash greens by cutting the stem portion off, giving the leaves a good rinse in a bowl or sink full of water, drain and rinse again, spin dry. The lettuces will keep for at least a week in the salad spinner if you have enough room in your refrigerator or in a plastic bag or container. Some members re-use the rinse water to water their plants. If it gets toward the end of the week and your refrigerator is still full of lettuce, try Melissa Clough’s Lettuce Soup. The Recipe section can be found under The Farm tab on the farm web site home page.

For the first time this season Bright Lights Swiss Chard. Beautiful multicolored stems of yellow, reds, oranges adorn the Bright Lights Swiss Chard. Oriental Greens and Red Mustard Greens are delicious served with Locust Point CSA’s Spicy Peanut Sauce. The recipe for Spicy Peanut Sauce can be found on the farm Recipe section under Sauces and also on the farm Face Book page.

Garlic Scapes are the green pig tail looking stem. The scape is the immature seed head of the garlic plant that we remove to send more growing energy to the bulb below the soil. The scape grows from the center of the above ground portion of the garlic plant. Garlic Scapes have the same flavor and use as the garlic bulb. Delicious Garlic Scape Pesto is easy to make found on the farm Recipe section under Garlic heading or use your favorite pesto recipe substituting the scape for basil.

Marketplace items Honey, Maple, Organic Fair Trade Kosher Coffee in ground or whole bean, Organic Tree to Bar Dark Chocolate bars and Cocoa Powder can be ordered any time during the season and will be delivered with your CSA shares. The Organic Dark Chocolate is delicious. To place an order from the online CSA Marketplace log into your CSA Member Account from the farm website home page. Place your order and it will be delivered with your CSA shares. All of the products we offer on the Marketplace are produced by small family farms locally, in Central America and Grenada.

Enjoy the Harvest
Deborah
for everyone at Stoneledge Farm

 

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Week #2 — What’s in the Bag

FULL VEGETABLE SHARE
Red Sails Red Leaf Lettuce-1 head
Tropicana Green Leaf Lettuce-1 head
Mizuna-1 bunch
Red Mustard-1 bunch
Romaine Lettuce-1 head
Garlic Scapes-4
Arugula-1 bunch
Butterhead Buttercrunch Lettuce-1 head
Bright Lights Swiss Chard-1 bunch
Chinese Cabbage-1 head

MUSHROOM SHARE
Shiitake

A note about the Mushroom Shares.  The Mushroom Share consists of 5 different varieties of Mushrooms during the season, one variety per week. Some varieties are much more expensive than others and so the amount in the share will depend on the variety and expense of the mushrooms.

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Week #1 — Note from the Farmer

Dear CSA Member,

The first week of delivery is always full of activity. Picking, packing, counting and re-counting to make sure all of the shares are delivered correctly. It has been a brutally hot and dry spring time although as we start the pick the rain has finally come to the farm.  Extremes seem to be the new normal. The temperatures fluctuated from 22 degrees to 85 degrees within a week staying in the 80’s and there was really no rain all the month of May and beyond.  

Greens will fill the bulk of the share. The tender, spicy greens Suehlihung Green Mustard, Boc Choi and Chinese Cabbage can be chopped thinly added to a salad or quickly cooked in a wok. Mustard Greens are a spicy green that will cook quickly so do not over cook. The greens will have some small round holes in the leaves. The heat and dry conditions were perfect for an insect pest called the Flea Beetle to thrive.  We have worked very diligently to keep the numbers of beetles under control using all of the Organic methods available, but the beetles always outnumber us and there will be some damage to the leaves.  It is cosmetic damage only and will not in any way affect the flavor of the greens.  The freshness of the greens can not be matched and you will notice the intensity of the flavor.

Fresh Red Tide and Tropicana Lettuces and Arugula for your salad. The Mustard and Mizuna are also so tender they are great chopped finely and added to a salad.

The CSA Marketplace is open and you can log into your CSA Member Account to order Honey, Maple Syrup, Coffee and Chocolate. Mushrooms are also available weekly from the Marketplace.  Mushroom orders must be received by Friday 11 AM. All of the products that we offer on the Marketplace are grown or produced on small family farms. Support family farmers locally, in Central America and Grenada with your Marketplace order.

Optional Shares: Mushrooms this week are White Button   
Coffee Share will be delivered. Please remember to pick up your Optional Share if you have ordered  a Mushroom Share or a Coffee Share.

Members will ask, where is the Fruit Share?   Fruit Shares start the 5th CSA delivery when local fruit is available.

Enjoy the vegetables.
Deborah for everyone at Stoneledge Farm

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Week #1 — What’s in the Bag

FULL VEGETABLE SHARE
Red Tide Red Leaf Lettuce-1 head
Tropicana Green Leaf Lettuce-1 head
Mizuna-1 bunch
Suehlihung Mustard Greens-1 bunch
Boc Choi-1
Chinese Cabbage-1
Sage with Flowers-1 bunch
Arugula-1 bunch
Rhubarb.-1 bunch A tart spring time perennial. Great recipes on the farm website, Click Here
Garlic Chives-1 bunch

Mushroom Shares
White Button

Coffee Shares
Will be delivered