2014 Winter CSA: Share 4

The Polar Vortex has come and gone and we are still scrambling to pick up the frozen pieces. I was ready and willing to hear from many of you who might have been surprised by the freezer burn in your shares last week. But I was pleasantly surprised to hear nothing but positive energy and encouragement from those that did reach out to me. Seriously, not one complaint in a group this size on a week that was as challenging and difficult as it was. Thank you all so much for understanding what it means to be members of a Community Supported Agriculture program. You are all my family and the focus of each day’s work for us. And thankfully, the freeze didn’t make off with all of our produce and some things actually start to taste better after the the gauge drops that far. Another upside of all of this cold weather may be a decreased pest presence come Spring. Let’s all keep our fingers crossed.

Of course, the BIG NEWS this week is that our CSA applications for the 2014 Main Season are ready.  This week, the applications are available on-line and in the CSA Application link above too. If you have any questions, please email me at trippeldridge@whiteoakpastures.com and I’ll get right back to you. Or just call me, my cell # is on the application. Please share the application with your friends and family or anyone you believe might appreciate and benefit from the program. We’re super excited about this new season and can’t wait to share it with you. But we’re still in the middle of winter and there’s plenty to celebrate this week! So let’s take a look inside this week’s share…

Lori building myco-beds

Green pasture in January

new beginnings

Our cabin construction team!

Straw for walls

Ryan inspecting the beets

Cabin coming along.

CERTIFIED ORGANIC VEGETABLES:

Braising Mix – Mostly spinach with Hon Tsai Tai and Komatsuna. Good good good! A salad or a saute, can’t go wrong.

French Breakfast & Cherry Belle Radishes – Crisp and fresh this week.

Kale OR Collards – Lovely greens for this time of year. The bitter cold actually makes them sweeter.

Bright Lights Swiss Chard – Gorgeous Greens that we raise in our hi-tunnel under frost protection. A little frost stunted but still tasty

Herb – Rosemary!

Cabbage – One large, medium or two small heads of cabbage. Some frost damage may be present.

Chinese Cabbage – My favorite cabbage, tastes similar to a spicy head lettuce. Probably our last harvest due to freezer burn.

Carrots  – Scarlet Nantes and Yellowstones. gorgeous tasty carrots. We have running water this week, so they’ll be

Hakurei Turnips – Tender mild and lovely

Enjoy!!!

2014 Winter CSA: Share 3

Happy New Year to everyone! We hope that this year will be a delicious and healthy one for you and yours. We also hope that the majority of this year will be much warmer than it was this morning. Wow! It was quite a chilly one and another cold night is upon us. Harvest mornings like these usually mean numb fingers cutting frozen crispy salad greens and spinach, and ice-cold water running through near freezing pipes to wash all of the radishes and carrots. Well, this morning was not the usual cold we see this far south. Everything froze on us today! We waited until later in the day to harvest some of the more tender leafy greens from under their frozen row covers but the outer leaves were either liquidated or shattering to the touch. There remains lots of edible greens in your boxes this week but please know that the extreme weather (the polar vortex!!!) has hit us hard this week. Also, your carrots are bagged and not washed because we had no water to do so. Please also give your salad mix greens a quick dunk and a spin in the salad spinner to make sure they last a few days in the fridge. It will indeed be a tasty share this week, but you may want to go ahead and enjoy the sadder looking produce first (read asap!)

There are lots more goings-ons happeining all over the farm preparing for the Spring, and keeping everyone safe and happy out on the frozen tundra – But the big news is that 2014 Main Season Applications will be emailed to you on Monday. Please have your friends, co-workers, and loved ones email me by this Friday to be placed on the reserve list. People on the reserve list will receive the application one week prior to the Spring application going live on our website. We hope to sell out early this Spring so watch your inboxes on Monday and go ahead and email it back asap! It may seem early but this is the time of year we farmers need the money most. Seeds, equipment, some new construction, maintenance on old buildings and equipment, irrigation, organic fertilizer, etc etc etc. The winter is when we purchase so its when we need your financial assistance too. That the beauty of the CSA and what makes family farming a realistic endeavor. Thank you for your continued participation in this grand age-old adventure!

Here’s what’s in store this week… (besides more cold)

CERTIFIED ORGANIC VEGETABLES:

Salad Mix – A tad frozen at the time of cutting. Ve

French Breakfast OR Watermelon Radishes – Both great on a salad. Everyone Wednesday will receive the D’avignons (French Breakfasts). There may not be enough for the weekend so we will substitute Watermelons if need occurs. Just remember the white rind of the watermelon is spicy hot and the pink middle is sweet and mild.

Kale OR Mustard OR Collards – Lovely greens for this time of year. The bitter cold actually makes them sweeter.

Bright Lights Swiss Chard – Gorgeous Greens that we raise in our hi-tunnel under frost protection. These were still kissed by the freeze this week.

Head Lettuce – Probably our last outdoor planting until Spring. Struggling to fight against the bitter cold.

Herb – Dill or Cilantro or Flat-leaf Italian parsley.

Cabbage – One large, medium or two small heads of cabbage. Some frost damage may be present.

Chinese Cabbage – My favorite cabbage, tastes similar to a spicy head lettuce. These were definitely frozen when we picked them and will need to be tackled in the kitchen immediately. The tender leaves were no match for the freeze.

Carrots  – Scarlet Nantes gorgeous tasty carrots. The tops were frozen when we harvested but the roots should be ready to go. Of course, we had no running water to wash them but hopefully your water is running at your home.

Thanks to you all for your understanding. Please stay warm and drive safely through all of this lovely winter weather. Happy New Year!