Week 1: Here We Go

This week is our first CSA distribution of the season. As with other years, things are just getting started with the first harvest. The winter held on for longer than usual and we thought we would be late on most early crops. Then we had a week of unseasonably hot temperatures and we lost a few crops to the heat: most of our first broccoli and the pac choi. The chives, rhubarb and sorrel, all perennial crops, have committed themselves to flowers, but we will still harvest what we can. On the flower side of the farm, we had a great tulip and narcissus harvest and are eagerly awaiting the peonies by the end of the week. Strawberries are not far away after that.

 And on and on and on. Planting and harvesting so many crops and some many successions feels like a whirlwind which sneaks up behind you and before we know it, the abundance in the field is overflowing.

We have a great crew this spring with plenty of familiar faces from years past. We continue to try some new tactics while staying true to the goals of soil building and natural pest management.

You might be wondering who writes these words, and those of you who know us well and who have been with us for years mill be able to hear John's voice behind this, our first, CSA newsletter. Where is Stacy? Well, Stacy has gone off a deep end of sorts. You see, Stacy does most of our marketing around here, so unfortunately she gets pretty involved in the social media side of things: posting to Facebook, post pictures of flowers and produce on Instagram, not to mention the constant phone calls and emails that go though her smart phone. Talk about a whirlwind. By mid-Spring she is like a spinning dervish or a samurai doing all one has to do to keep the ship afloat. It was nearly too late before we noticed her crazed dependency on the chatter of social media, and we pulled her phone out of her hands. Responding as quickly as possible, we deleted Instagram and Facebook from her phone, signed her out of her Amazon Prime account, delegated Pinterest to Laura, and allowed the Spotify playlist to play out... Silence.
Yesterday morning Flora came downstairs, and Stacy looked at her with fresh eyes. "You smell like summer" she said to her daughter. Flora took a whiff of Stacy and said, "You smell like dirt... and coffee." As it should be.
And, so though this newsletter is a little dry and not as wild as one of Stacy's posts, I'll stay at the helm until we can get Stacy back to normal.

Week 1 CSA harvest:

Lettuce

Kale

Chive

Rhubarb

Tomato seedling

Napa Cabbage

Broccoli

Radishes
Spinach