Well, we can start the newsletter in the customary manner: we had no rain this week again. Our total rainfall since April is less than two inches, and it’s … well, it;s interesting I guess. We’ve had years of growing in sandy soil and dryish conditions, two previous years of extreme drought, and a decade of learning how to get water to the field with our little well and how to make the most of it … and so, the field isn’t the desert wasteland it might otherwise be. It’s quite satisfying to behold.

A friend from the farmer’s market had dozens of hay bales get wet by an unexpected rain, rendering them useless for them – so we got to use them to get some additional mulch down around the green beans and soy beans, both as a weed barrier and a moisture retention tactic. With the drought, we hadn’t had any of the big round bales we used to use exclusively for mulch, so this was a pleasant boon; the landscape fabric has been working well, but we prefer the hay when we can get it (and have time/hands to apply it), as it also breaks down and nourishes our soil.

I’m also happy because Kristin had commandeered my hoard of autumn leaf bags for mulching the potatoes, but now I’ll at least get some for my chicken yard composting needs. (NOTE: this autumn, we would love your leaf bags if you have them! And your neighbors’ leaf bags. ALL THE LEAVES.)

It was a great berry foraging week – while Kristin did fieldwork with WWOOFers Kim and Laura, I’ve been hitting the trails through the woods with The Boys gathering pounds of wild raspberries and juneberries.

We don’t have time to can them now, but want to capture their peak freshness and deliciousness – so we borrowed Kristin’s mom’s amazing vacuum sealer, which sucks all the air out of a bag and heat seals it, making perfect solid bricks of fresh foraged fruitiness that we will thaw out when summer slows a bit, and make jam. It also means we can combine early season fruits with some of the later season varieties – our pears and apples, wild chokecherries and blackberries, and our fall bearing raspberries too.

In other news, we had a real shitty day on Thursday. But it wasn’t the bad kind. Well, that’s not entirely true … the metaphorical Shit Happened but it was outweighed by the literal shit, which was Good Shit …

So our friends and CSA members Al & Dan, owners of the Munch Bunch herd of goats, have a barn in which their herd spent the winter – and that barn was full of poop. They wanted that poop gone – and we wanted that poop for our field … goat manure is a wonderful soil amendment, especially with sandy soil. So we sent a crew over to help muck out the barn and get the brown gold outside where it could be loaded into a dump trailer with their skid steer.

To make things easier and faster, they rented a walk-behind power shovel machine … but it barely fit through the door, and was almost impossible to maneuver back out.

But they got enough out to fill up the little dump trailer Dan had fixed up for this purpose, and the first load hit the road. Literally, unfortunately.

When they were almost to our farm, a tire blew … and then the rim ripped off of the hub and the trailer, piled high with heavy rich goat manure, was capsized on the side of the road.

Things seemed hopeless for the trailer and its load of fertilizer … until our friend, neighbor, and CSA member Dave rolled up on his tractor like a knight in shining armor and saved the day. He and Grandpa Jim coordinated an amazing mechanical ballet, effortlessly spinning the crippled trailer around to level it and tipping it vertically to empty it out into a pile the tractor bucket made quick work of cleaning up (transferring it to the neighbors’ larger dump trailer).

With that trailer along with Dave & Marcia’s truck, we were able to go back and use shovels, wheelbarrows, and the skid steer to clear out about half of the barn and get the contents home to be used next year. It was a lot of work and stressful when the trailer imploded, but everything got back on track so quickly and easily thanks to the power of experienced and kindly neighbors that it felt like something good that happened, instead of something … well, yeah, shitty.

Sometimes you need those little tragedies as opportunities to let the good times toll, the good people shine, the serendipity and magic and blessings that surround us to reveal themselves. And sometimes it’s literally poop. I love this life …

What’s Inside Box 5:

• Sugar Snap Peas
• Broccoli – this year has been the Battle for the Broccoli. Every bite should taste of victory wrested from the literal jaws of death.
• Kale & Collard Green Mix
• Sunflower Micro Greens 
• Green onions
• Cucumbers – it’s fresh cucumbers and pickled pickles time. Are you ready? Go!
• Zucchini

Recipe Idears

1. Fresh Veggie Stir-Fry: Sauté green onions, sugar snap peas, and zucchini in a splash of coconut or peanut oil. Season with soy sauce, garlic, and ginger for a quick and healthy stir-fry.
2. Crunchy Green Salad: Combine thinly sliced cucumbers, broccoli florets, and kale/collard greens. Toss with a tangy vinaigrette made from green onions, lemon juice, olive oil, and a hint of honey.
3. Zucchini and Kale Frittata: Sauté chopped zucchini and kale/collard greens with green onions in a non-stick pan. Pour whisked eggs over the veggies and cook until set. Serve as a delicious and nutritious breakfast or brunch.
4. Refreshing Cucumber and Green Onion Salsa: Dice cucumbers and finely chop green onions. Mix with lime juice, a pinch of salt, and fresh cilantro for a zesty salsa to enjoy with tortilla chips or as a topping for grilled fish.
5. Broccoli and Sugar Snap Pea Salad: Blanch broccoli florets and sugar snap peas until tender-crisp, then cool them down. Toss with a light dressing of green onions, lemon zest, olive oil, and a sprinkle of sunflower shoot micro greens for added freshness.
6. Asian-inspired Kale and Sunflower Shoot Salad: Massage kale leaves with a drizzle of olive oil to soften them. Toss with sunflower shoot micro greens, thinly sliced green onions, and a sesame-ginger dressing. Optional: add toasted sesame seeds for extra flavor and crunch.

Haikus by a bot ; inspired by the essence of the CSA newsletter:

Drought tests our patience,
Little rain, sandy soil, still
Field blooms, satisfaction.

Mulch from wet hay bales,
Weed barrier, moisture’s friend,
Nourishing our soil.

Foraging delights,
Raspberries, juneberries found,
Nature’s sweet rewards.

Vacuum-sealed fruits,
Preserved freshness for later,
Jam-making awaits.

Goat manure’s treasure,
Neighbor’s help turns mishaps bright,
Brown gold for our fields.

Battles for broccoli,
Victory in each bite won,
Taste of resilience.

Crunchy green salads,
Zesty salsas, frittatas,
Recipes to savor.

Well, little cages and brick barriers and mists of clinging castor oil all seemed ineffective, as we have lost over 80 seedlings at last count, munched down to their stumps in the prime of their babyhood. My memory is quite faulty but I’m pretty sure that Vole Despair is a regular season we must go through here at the farm … at least I hope so, because then it will have an end and we can marvel once more about how we somehow managed to make things work remarkably well in spite of the nightly mass casualty events. Every broccoli we get this year should be considered a miracle and eaten with all appropriate mindful reverence and ritual.

The rain … it’s back to its usual tricks. We haven’t had a significant rain for a week and a half now, and so we are back to running the irrigation daily and trying not to hurl curses at the towering thundering masses of clouds that pass and form close enough to smell, but never be moistened by. We get “thundersun” regularly, which is just what you’d figure it is.

This is an odd harvest newsletter to write – for perhaps the first time ever (10 years of this now!), Kristin and I don’t have to do deliveries to town! Thanks Walter and the GrandSehrs! It’s weird to write this sitting in the pack shack listening to the chickens and chicks and chickadees instead of trying to form coherent thoughts over the vagaries of traffic and baby and Otis’s amazing neverending stream of language. A chipmunk just ran over my foot though.

Inside Box 4

Today’s harvest was fun with a solid crew; WWOOFers Kim & Laura, all-stars Marty & Marcia, and 8-year CSA veteran Walter and partner Dante all made these jam-packed boxes flow into reality without much trouble at all. The drizzle we got was timed perfectly to the break for lunch, and the cloud cover was much welcomed by both vegetables and those who picked ’em. Since we had extra hands we even did a salad mix we hadn’t planned on; enjoy!

• Salad Mix – red and green lettuce, arugula, a bit of radish green leaves, and a smattering of tat soi and a few peas tips
• Green onions
• Peas – mostly sugar snap and a few snow peas
• Cucumbers
• Zucchini
• Turnips
• Napa cabbage
• Radish microgreens

Recipe A.I.deas

We had a chat with the bot and here’s what we came up with together:

1. Sugar Snap Pea and Napa Cabbage Stir-Fry:

•    Heat oil in a wok or skillet and stir-fry sliced green onions, sugar snap peas, and thinly sliced small turnips until crisp-tender.
•   Add a splash of soy sauce, minced garlic, and grated ginger for flavor.
•   Serve the stir-fry over steamed rice or quinoa for a light and vibrant meal.

2. Turnip and Cucumber Salad:

•  Thinly slice small turnips and cucumbers and place them in a bowl.
•  Toss with a refreshing dressing made from a combination of lemon juice, olive oil, honey, and chopped green onions.
•   Season with salt and pepper to taste and let the flavors meld in the fridge before serving as a cool summer salad.

3. Radish Microgreen and Green Onion Pesto:

•   Blend radish microgreens, green onions, garlic, Parmesan cheese, toasted pine nuts, and olive oil in a food processor until smooth.
•   Use the pesto as a flavorful spread for sandwiches or a topping for grilled vegetables, roasted chicken, or pasta dishes.

4. Zucchini and Turnip Fritters:

•   Grate zucchini and small turnips and squeeze out any excess moisture.
•  Mix them together with whisked eggs, breadcrumbs, chopped green onions, salt, and pepper.
• Shape the mixture into small fritters and pan-fry until golden brown and crispy.
• Serve the fritters with a side of Greek yogurt or a tangy dipping sauce.

5. Green Onion and Cucumber Salad with Sesame Dressing:

• Thinly slice green onions and cucumbers and combine them in a bowl.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, honey, and a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds.
•  Pour the dressing over the vegetables and toss to coat.
•  Let the salad marinate in the refrigerator for a while to allow the flavors to meld before serving.

6. Grilled Napa Cabbage with Soy-Ginger Glaze:

•  Cut Napa cabbage into wedges and brush them with a mixture of soy sauce, grated ginger, minced garlic, and a touch of honey.
•  Grill the cabbage wedges until they are slightly charred and tender.
•  Serve as a tasty side dish or as a unique addition to a grilled vegetable platter.

It rained!!

I was pretty much resigned to it never raining again, and so I didn’t feel prepared for sky water at all when we got a half inch on Friday night, and then 3/4″ on Sunday – over three times more rain fell over the weekend than we’d had all year!

This woke up the weeds, of course, so now we spend the time we don;t have to do hand watering and move hoses around on pulling weeds from around the crops.

But it also woke us up. It feels so much less … harsh now. The dull coating of dust and old oak pollen was cleansed, our spirits, likewise renewed.

Which was good, because we needed some gumption to face the next challenge: the return of the voles. After losing almost all of our attempt at a spring broccoli crop to cutworms and deer, we were chagrined to have 20 of the fall broccoli plants devoured overnight by voles the day we put them out into the field. We quickly worked through the traditional stages of grief to the “bricks” one, and used some as an attempt at defense – plus liberal spraying of castor oil to the survivors.

Night two – they seem to have moved onto eating huge holes into kohlrabi roots, but we had enough of those to bear the wilderness tax. The broccoli abides …

What’s in Box 3

• Kohlrabi, by the A.I – One simple way to use kohlrabi is by peeling off the outer layer and slicing it into thin matchsticks to make a crunchy kohlrabi slaw. Toss it with lemon juice, olive oil, and a pinch of salt for a refreshing side dish. Don’t forget about the greens of kohlrabi. Sauté them with garlic and a splash of soy sauce for a quick and nutritious side.
• Wild spinach aka lambs quarter – We had a problem in which our entire carrot row was carpeted with a soft carpet of lambs quarter weeds. So this morning, instead of harvesting salad, we weeded the carrot row – producing a bounty of the most tender, ideal wild spinach leaves we’ve ever managed to harvest. You can use it like spinach in any recipe, but don’t cook it for too long – this is very tender stuff. Be gentle to the Microweeds.
• Green Onions
• Bok Choi
• Peas – sugar snap and snow peas
• Summer Squash / Zucchini
• Micro Mix – kale, amaranth, broccoli, radish, sunflower, pea shoots, red and cabbage micro greens – I wouldn’t eat it on my cereal, but it adds a zabinga to just about anything else.

Things You Might Try, by the A.I.

We curated its suggestions some though, the thing has some interesting ideas that we don’t want to recommend:

Here are some recipe ideas that feature two or more of the ingredients you mentioned:

1. Stir-Fried Bok Choy with Snap Peas and Spring Onions: Sauté sliced spring onions and snap peas in a wok or skillet until crisp-tender. Add chopped bok choy and stir-fry for a few minutes until wilted. Season with soy sauce, garlic, and ginger. Serve as a side dish or over rice.

2. Zucchini and Snap Pea Salad: Thinly slice zucchini and blanch snap peas until crisp-tender. Toss them together with a light vinaigrette made from lemon juice, olive oil, Dijon mustard, and fresh herbs like basil or mint. Top with shaved Parmesan cheese for extra flavor. This just doesn;t sound good. Unless you make a killer dressing.

3. Kohlrabi and Snow Pea Slaw: Shred kohlrabi and combine it with sliced snow peas in a large bowl. Add a dressing made from Greek yogurt, lemon juice, honey, and Dijon mustard. Season with salt and pepper. Let the flavors meld for a while before serving.

4. Lambs Quarter and Bok Choy Stir-Fry: Sauté lambs quarter and bok choy with garlic, ginger, and sesame oil until wilted. Add a splash of soy sauce and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes for heat. Serve as a nutritious side dish or with steamed rice. The bok choy would need more time sauteeing than the lambs quarter .. but if you’re careful it might be … I dunno Kristin says it sounds like a bunch of mush.

5. Zucchini and Kohlrabi Fritters: Grate zucchini and kohlrabi, squeeze out excess moisture, and combine with beaten eggs, breadcrumbs, grated cheese, and chopped spring onions. Form into patties and pan-fry until golden brown. Serve with a dollop of Greek yogurt or a zesty dipping sauce.

These are just a few ideas to get you started. Feel free to experiment and modify the recipes based on your preferences and available ingredients.

The bad news is that it sucks “living outdoors in the fresh air” when the fresh air is like it was on Wednesday:

The good news is that it’s not that bad. Well … ok it kind was. for a few days I felt much like that one guy in Robocop right before he got exploded by the car …. turns out that air quality thing is no joke, damn.

Also on the Bad Newscast is that we have accrued only 0.02″ of “rain” this week, going into a week of humid ninety degree broiler.

But now I am not only feeling better, but I have that whole “OMG I feel so awesome now in contrast to how I was just feeling” thing going for me.

And the field … it really looks pretty damn good …. because the drip irrigation is being run for hours each day, which does a good job where we have crops but shares almost none at all with the lurking weed seeds that are a major ingredient in our soil mix.

And! Baby chicken season! I don’t care how depressive you feel or how much existential dread is gathered upon your brow, baby chicks are a ray of sunshine. (and the nice happy kind not the burn you to a crisp and give your WWOOFer heatstroke kind) – they just inspire such optimism. Gargoyle again hid a nest up by our house, and hatched out 13 babies again!

Inside the Box

• Salad Mix (arugula, lettuce, Tat soi, bekana, pea tips, a few leaves of lambs quarters)
• Green Onions
• Green Garlic
• Garlic Scapes
• Sunflower Shoots
• Radishes
• Turnips
• Bok Choi

Now that we have kids I am going to accept cyborg augmentation for these newsletters; the robot says, “Here are some recipe ideas that feature two or more of the items from your CSA box:

1. Stir-Fried Bok Choy with Green Garlic and Green Onions: Sauté sliced green garlic and green onions in a pan, then add chopped bok choy. Stir-fry until the bok choy is tender-crisp. Season with soy sauce or your preferred stir-fry sauce.

2. Roasted Turnips and Radishes: Toss sliced turnips and radishes in olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast in the oven until tender and slightly caramelized. Serve as a side dish or add them to a salad.

3. Radish and Turnip Slaw: Thinly slice radishes, turnips, and green onions. Toss them together with a simple dressing made from lemon juice, olive oil, honey, and salt. Add some chopped radish greens for extra freshness.

4. Bok Choy and Turnip Stir-Fry: Heat oil in a wok or large skillet, then add sliced turnips and stir-fry until slightly tender. Add bok choy and cook until wilted. Season with a mixture of soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and a touch of honey.

5. Radish and Greens Pesto: Blend radishes (including the greens), sunflower micro greens, green garlic, and a handful of nuts (such as almonds or walnuts) with olive oil, lemon juice, and salt. Use this vibrant pesto as a spread or sauce for pasta.

6. Turnip, Radish, and Green Onion Salad: Thinly slice turnips, radishes, and green onions. Toss them together with a dressing made from olive oil, vinegar (such as apple cider or rice vinegar), Dijon mustard, and a pinch of sugar. Add some torn radish greens for extra flavor.

Remember, these are just a few ideas to get you started. Feel free to get creative and modify the recipes based on your taste preferences and the ingredients you have available. Enjoy exploring the flavors of your CSA box!”

Good job, robot? Not sure about the microgreens in the pesto idea though? Maybe.

So begins our 10th year of doing the CSA … for a DECADE now, we have been growing, harvesting, washing, packing and delivering our veggies to our vegetable tribe. Look! Here’s the first ever CSA newsletter from us – some of you were there then too!

We still haven’t had a real rainfall, to our sad lack of surprise. (total recorded rain since April: 0.30″) This is … interesting. We wish the early boxes we send out could be awesome but no matter what, it is a nope dudes que sera sera you are farming in a place named The Barrens.

But …, the irrigation is keeping the plants alive through the perilous “shallow roots in hot sandy soil” period, and soon their roots will be deeper and hopefully where water is steadily available.

It’s the driest spring we have ever faced, but as I look at the field, and really, to me it looks good. Well, the survivors do … yeah that brassica army did their thing again (AHEM BREE) and devoured an absurd percentage of the broccoli, cabbage,kale, kohlrani plants (Farmer Kristin quote: “which brassicas did they eat? they ate everything. First it was the cutworms, then it was the deer.”)

But they didn’t really get everything, and we rolled with some punches and many things abided and so have we and here we go again! When I look out at the field, the plants look optimistic and I feel it, too.

Inside Box One

Don’t forget to be careful not to rip the tabs on your boxes (they are new and stiff so it requires some mindfulness) – and to return them to your pickup spot next week! Bwahahahaha

• Arugula Salad Mix – (arugula with some red lettuce, bekana, and tat soi).
  The drought meant that our salad row germinated poorly while we were busy trying to get all the crops into the ground … and we assumed it was going to rain, at some point, because it’s spring and it has to rain sometime right? But no. Arugula is hardy in drought and it came up pretty well … shading out the lettuce that tried to come up once we tried to rescue it by hand watering the bed.
  
  So, we have plenty of arugula and almost no lettuce and I hope you like arugula because you’ve got a half pound or so of it …. dress it with honey mustard, olive oil and lemon/garlic, or viniagrette. Also stands up well to strong flavors like blue cheese, and is complemented by sweet stuff such as apples. raisins, etc.
  
  
• Green Onions – use the whole thing!
• Green Garlic – can also use all of this, but you have to really slice the green tops thinklu across the grain. If you get some scapes forming, those are also good chomping. We didn’t plant any of this, this year … these are refugees from last year’s “we have a new baby” weed party field. I think they realized they were dwarfed by the weeds, and decided to hunker and bide their time, coming up fast and hard this spring instead. Which is cool, because otherwise we’d have none to enjoy right now.
• Radishes – springtime zippy-bomb variety pack. Pan fried radishes with bacon … that’s a thing. You can roast em, slice them into your salad, or google for “CSA radish recipes help me,” or the like.
• Bok Choi – it’s fine raw but most popular in stir fries.
• Pea Shoots – Combine them with any salad or us them as a salad “topper.” They are fabulous wilted on stir-fry. Or on sandwiches, “topped” on soups (especially thicker soups or chili) … or mix ’em into your salad.
• Grape Jelly – We have one just neighboring home out here on the farm, kitty corner from us. We have always considered ourselves incredibly lucky to have them – and now you can share a little bit in our fortune with this jelly. Neighbor Dave & Neighbor Marcia aren’t just neighbors and O.G. CSA members – they’re also vignerons! OK, I had to look that word up – they cultivate a lovely vineyard, and last fall it was bursting with grapes … a bounty that they shared with us! We don’t make wine … but we sure love homemade jelly. So enjoy some unique grape jelly, made by your farmers, with wine grapes from fellow CSA members!