Farm News for the week of May 15th   Important Reminders:

• This week is a pickup week for weekly Vegetable Share members.
• Next week, we will be delivering Egg Shares and both every other week and weekly Vegetable Shares.
• Early Summer Farm Share registration closes soon!  Vegetable, Fruit and Egg Shares start the week of June 5th.  Please pass the word on to friends, family, neighbors and co-workers interested in fresh farm produce and supporting local agriculture!  Thank you!

  This Week's Vegetable Harvest

• Green or Red Romaine Head Lettuce
• Two heads of Gem Lettuce
• Asparagus
• Japanese Salad Turnips OR Rainbow Swiss Chard (you'll receive the opposite of what you received last week)
• Wintered Onions
• Dill
• Radishes
• Bok Choy

This Week's Farm Photos Journal 

Thank you to those who attended and visited us at the Annual Plant Sale and Farm Open House!  We set record levels of attendance for this event set on a beautiful, sunny spring day. One of our best memories from the day was when one of our hens delighted us all and laid an egg right in front of the kids. Now that's local food! 

Meanwhile, our boys, Owen and Gavin, gear up for a summer helping out at the farm. Owen is currently our hard-working weekend chicken helper. He helps to feed the chickens, collect eggs, wash eggs and move fences to allow chickens more access to pasture. Gavin joined me for CSA deliveries last week, and he enjoyed greeting site hosts and CSA members at our pickup sites. You may see them more this summer!

Farming takes quite a bit of short and longterm planning. Jeff works hard to keep us on track with planting our summer crops amidst tending and harvesting the spring crops. Last week, we planted a portion of our early summer tomatoes in field and in the hoophouse. In the picture, you can see Charlotte, Jean and Jeremy planting our grafted tomato plants in the hoophouse where they will be trellised.  By planting in two different locations and using two different techniques, we strive to have a good early tomato crop until the bulk of our summer tomatoes are ready for harvest in late August/early September.  We can't wait for tomatoes to arrive!

Jeff continues to seed directly into the soil whenever the soil conditions and weather conditions are right for consistent seed germination and plant health.  He's obviously pretty happy when those conditions exist and he plant seeds into the soil!  

Notes from the Farm Kitchen

This week, each member will receive one head of our romaine head lettuce (pictured on the left), and two heads of gem lettuce (pictured on the right).  We're experimenting with gem lettuce this season at the request of some of the chef's we're working with, and we wanted to provide something new and fun to our CSA members! Here's article on why gem lettuce has become popular with local chefs.  We enjoy gem lettuce in the farm kitchen because its crispy, flavorful, sweet and easy to grill.  Enjoy a mixture of textures and flavors by mixing your lettuces with a dash of dill to create a great spring salad -- enjoy! 

Charlotte holds this week's winter onions which were planted last fall, survived a mild winter and bulbed nicely in the field this spring. These onions can be chopped and substituted for regular bulb onions in most recipes. The winter onions have a fairly strong taste so you'll probably want to use them in cooked dishes and for roasting.    

Recipes from the Farm Kitchen

How to Make Salad - With salad season arriving, I enjoy getting ideas from the New York Times visual guide.
Lemony Bulgar with Asparagus and Spinach
Spicy Shrimp with Pineapple and Bok Choy   

Next Week's Harvest (our best guess)... asparagus, head lettuce, rhubarb, arugula and more!