Hi friends!
We are going to keep this really short and sweet this week because all 3 of us at home have Covid. On that note, we are really disappointed but we will need to cancel the Great Garlic Harvest next Saturday 7/16. Thank you for your understanding!
Just a reminder that we pack shares for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday pickups. If you need to change your pickup day, we must know 48 hours ahead of the day. For example, if you will be away for your Wednesday pickup and would like to come Saturday, we need to know by Monday night (because we start harvesting early Tuesday morning for your Wednesday pickup). Remember, too, that skipping a week and doubling your share the following week is always an option, but we still need 48 hours notice ahead of your typical day. Thanks so much!
Black raspberries are here in the store!
Our family is in the middle of quarantining and the crew is keeping everything afloat, including friends, neighbors, and family who aren’t even pictured here. So many people behind the scenes make this farm successful - right down to the family members who provide essential child care during the season. We are so lucky to have a crew who takes pride in everything they do here, and especially lucky to have them as friends, too. Farming at this scale takes a village!
In case you missed it...
If you had told us 10 years ago that we’d someday be voted Connecticut’s number one farm stand, we would have shaken our heads in disbelief. But in 2020, I joined Randy in being committed to it full-time, and we began to see a glimmer of how this farm just might catch on after all. We are certainly not the biggest or busiest farm stand in the state, but we have - without a doubt - the most engaged, enthusiastic, supportive, and loyal customer base there is. This year, we were awarded the 2022 Reader’s Choice Best Farm Stand in Connecticut Magazine, but we think that’s certainly more a testament to the power of our community than to us. Thank you for all the love we receive, awards or not. We love being your farmers!
Last call for our bulk order waiting list! It's heading into August and September at this point for cucumbers, and potentially October for the plum tomatoes, depending on availability. Add your name to the list here! Plums are coming along nicely.
While quarantining I've been making some fun dishes. My best success was this black raspberry lemon zucchini bread. What are you making lately? Let's share in the group! Since I won't be out on the farm over the next week taking photos, I'd love to share some of your dishes on our social media.
Take care, everyone!
In Your Share (Listed approximately from shortest shelf life to longest)
Large:
1 head of lettuce
1 bunch of kale
1 head of Napa cabbage
1 lb. of beans
1 bunch of carrots
1 lb. of cucumbers
1 onion
1 bunch of parsley
Small:
1 bunch of kale
1 head of Napa cabbage
1/2 lb. of beans
1 bunch of carrots
1 lb. of cucumbers
1 onion
Caring For Your Share (All of this information, plus long-term storage info, can also be found in our Vegetable Library of Resources)
Shake out any excess water in the head of lettuce, then store in a plastic bag in the fridge. Wash and spin out when ready to use.
Remove the greens from the carrots and store them in plastic bags in the vegetable crisper. Use greens within the week, but the carrots may last for weeks when stored properly.
Store beans in a plastic bag in the fridge. Wash and blot dry when ready to use.
Store fresh onions in the fridge. You can use the tops like scallions.
Store parsley stems in a glass of water in the fridge, like a bouquet. Cover the leaves with a plastic bag. Or, put the parsley in a damp paper towel in a plastic bag in the fridge.
Store Napa cabbage and kale in a plastic bag in the fridge. Wash when ready to use.
Store your cucumbers in the crisper drawer in the refrigerator.
The LGF Cooking Club
30 Minutes or Less:
Large Share Additional Ingredients:
Parsley and Lime Salad (Use regular lettuce instead of iceberg)
Biweekly Catch-Up (A copy of last week's updates)
Happy 4th of July weekend! We hope it's been a relaxing and enjoyable one. On Tuesday we have a really awesome announcement to share with our mailing list, so stay tuned for that!
This week, we planted Brussels sprouts. We usually harvest Brussels sprouts around Thanksgiving, so it takes a while for them to grow and mature. Believe it or not, we actually continue to plant until September 15th.
Succession planting plays a huge role in our farm operations. Usually that means we're seeding new plantings of crops like squash, zucchini, and cucumbers within a few weeks of each other to keep them coming, and that's something we do nine times here! We also schedule multiple plantings of crops, like spinach and broccoli rabe, to come back again in the fall. Eventually we'll be seeding more lettuce and greens for later this year.
This week you're receiving radicchio in your share. We aren't going to lie, this is a challenging item to receive! It's not particularly popular and recipes are a bit more scarce for enjoying it. We highly recommend - as always! - not swapping out an item until you've tried it. Even then, if you've tried an item before and didn't love it, try it again in a new way. Remember, that part of this program is about learning to love new veggies. You can read about radicchio in the Library of Resources.
Again, another bit of honesty - radicchio is a bitter green. We recommend balancing out the bitterness with some sweetness. For example, making it into a pineapple slaw, or mixing it into a salad with some other sweet fruit. We have also grilled it and enjoyed it with a sweet balsamic reduction. Consider picking up a small bottle of the Dash 'n Drizzle flavored vinegar (like strawberry) to drizzle over it.
Let's spam the Facebook group with tons of radicchio ideas this week and show off how creative our community is! Even if you don't end up loving it, it's an awesome source of vitamin K, fiber, and antioxidants. At the very least, giving it a chance will give your body an amazing boost of nutrients to balance out your diet.
Remember Randy's fruit crop? Well, he just harvested the first handful of fruit from it - black raspberries! We hope to be able to share some with you in the store potentially this week if not next week and/or the following!
The way Randy planted his raspberry and blackberry crop was that he chose varieties that ripen during specific weeks across the season, so that there shouldn't be a gap in berries being harvested. And believe it or not, the black raspberries will be right on schedule for the first couple of weeks in July! Everything else will be here next year - black raspberries just happened to catch on really well.
Carrie L. was the first to email us at 1:34 with the hidden message in last week's newsletter, and will therefore receive her greenhouse tomatoes.
But if you recall, we had also said that the members on the pickup day with the least amount of missed pickups this week would win a bonus item this week.
And the winner was... Team Wednesday with only 1 missed pickup!
All members who are normally scheduled for Wednesday pickups will receive a bonus item this week (TBD, farmer's choice).
We'd like to invite you to the Great Garlic Harvest of 2022, happening here on the farm at 247 Waverly Rd. in Shelton on Saturday, July 16th from 9 to 2.
Many of you have expressed interest in coming to the farm and have asked about opportunities to come get your hands dirty, and this is a great way to build community and spend some time together.
Here's the sign up form if you're interested. Select an hour time slot for your family to come. We'll send out another email right before the event once you've signed up.
The only thing we ask is that you please do not sign up tentatively. Please only register if you're sure that you can make the commitment. We appreciate good intentions, but drop-outs at these events significantly affect our planning.
Here's how it'll work:
Come to the farm that day with a small garden spade during your selected time slot (if you have a spade, that would be great!).
We'll show you how to harvest garlic, you'll tie it up, and sit aside for drying.
You'll take home a little bonus bag of veggies as a thank you!
Unfortunately there will not be a rain date for this event, so we are hoping for good weather!
Let's end the newsletter with some beautiful shots of the farm. Happy 4th of July weekend, everyone!
Comments