This Friday is the first day of summer and we’re (almost) ready. The gang’s all here (almost). Last week, right on cue, several of the summer classics were ready to start harvesting. Too many to document but it gives a glimpse of what you can find this week at one of our Farmers Markets and hopefully soon, we’ll have enough to put in our CSA boxes!
One day there’s a crate or two of cucumbers to bring to the farmers market, and then this morning, there’s a tractor-load. Melons will do the same thing this week too, and the cherry tomatoes aren’t far behind. The rapid increase in certain crops is pretty astounding. Each crop behaves a little differently but most fields will have a meteoric rise followed by a decrease in production. Some things only get harvested once (corn) whereas others get revisited many, many times (zucchini and cucumbers) and then there are others in between (melons). If we want to have a constant supply of a certain crop, we need to have multiple plantings and time it just right to avoid gaps, though the weather can mess up even the most careful planning.
We had some other harvests going on too last week. We had a team cutting lavender to dry (the wreath room smells amazing right now) and Paul was cutting hay. It’ll dry in the field and then get baled for the sheep to eat during the winter.
Summer is a busy time for us, and we know it is for you too. Farmers don’t do summer vacations, nor do we take off the holidays, but we know that many of you do. We’ll be here all summer, including on Juneteenth and July 4. We can certainly work with you to adjust your schedule, provided that you give us at least two days advance notice (i.e. by Saturday night for a Tuesday box, Sunday night for a Monday box). Consider donating your box to our Good Food Community Fund, which provides five boxes a week to the Charlotte Maxwell Clinic in Oakland and subsidizes CSA boxes. Or you can skip your box, moving it to the end of your schedule, or another date when you’re around. The best way to donate or skip is via your CSA member account, but if it’s something more complicated, just send us an email.
Happy summer!
Elaine Swiedler, CSA Manager
