Summer CSA pick up #14 this week

Farm News

Wow, is it October? April? When you get a week like this smack in the middle of the “hottest” part of the year it causes a farmer to stop and wonder what month it actually is. The break in the heat and the smoke has been just so incredibly pleasant. Almost all of us at some point last week stopped and commented on how, when it is in the 70s, we have so much bandwidth to problem solve, be civil, enjoy ourselves and the tasks at hand. We accomplished so much last week: first potato harvest, started getting the beets washed and put into storage, began removing spent summer crops to make way for winter cover crops, kept up with our weeding (‼️).

With that said, the evening lows had Sarahlee back on the 3:00 am wake-up to frost protect on Friday and Saturday night: walk out to the big field and turn on the wheel lines to stir up the air and make sure all our little planties (winter squash, melons, etc.) don’t freeze.

Central Oregon with her zero historic frost free days really does keep you on your toes. According to Momo (Sarahlee’s mom), usually, this cold snap in August leads to a calm and warm September. So here’s hoping for the glory of a calm and beautiful (and smoke-free) September!

~ Alison & the Farm Crew

Join the Winter CSA

Last week we began harvesting potatoes and beets. The first round of onions are curing and the garlic is getting closer and closer to perfection. Plus the freezer is filling with chickens, bacon, pork chops, and the steers are still fattening up on the flanks of Mount Hood. Don’t miss out on nutrient dense delicious goodness all winter long!

The Winter CSA Details

• Choose your pick up location: Bend, Sisters, or Farm Store
• Small or large meat shares and a crate of veggies each month!
• Select your own vegetables, meat is prepackaged for you
• 1st Thursday of the month pick up in Bend and Sisters, November-May
• Friday-Saturday after the 1st Thursday of the month pick up at the Farm Store, November-May
• Pay in Full or Monthly subscription payment –> with the monthly subscription, you pay for November when you sign up (maybe today…) and then don’t pay again until Dec. 1.

Top and middle Pic: This week we started clearing the brassicas from the field, old kale, broccoli and cauliflower plants. We do this right now for two reasons, as the plants get tired, they attract aphids and by removing the older plants, the aphids have no where to go. This is a great defensive tactic for organic farmers. On Thursday, the ladies crew did some serious brassica removal and the pigs are really appreciating the influx in crunchy, slightly aphidy, fresh veg!

The other reason we are clearing the brassica is to make way for winter cover crop. Next week we will disc and seed the newly cleared brassica rows so they will benefit from a winter cover crop: over wintering soil reboot, and keep the mycorrhizal fungi fed and happy all winter long! This will continue to increase the nutrient density of our vegetables. (Photo credits: Ray Hansen)

Final Pic: Last week we welcomed Strawberry Moon’s calf to the farm. This is Strawberry’s third calf and she is really settling into motherhood well. Next week we are going to start milking her and then our Full Diet CSA will start to enjoy her milk at their pick ups. (Photo credit: Dylan O’Leary)

Veggie CSA

Every week, we include this section with what we think will be coming out of our fields and hoop houses for the CSA pick up. Keep in mind, that we send this email on Monday just as we start harvesting for the week. That means this is a guess/estimation/extrapolation of what we think we are seeing in the fields. Sometimes we are spot on, but other times we are not.

Our CSA is market style, this means that it isn’t a guarantee that we have of all these things for everyone. Instead, this will be the variety of what we will hopefully (fingers crossed) have for you to choose from this week.)

A note on foundations: SURPRISE! You will learn your foundations and all the details of your CSA for the week when you pick up.

Harvest List will probably include:

asian greens, napa cabbage, yod fah
green onions
kale & chard
head lettuce, salad mixes, arugula
kohlrabi
beets
basil
beans
hot & sweet peppers

eggplant
tomatillos
zucchini & yellow squash
cucumber
fennel
carrots
tomatoes
broccoli & cauliflower
corn

Meat CSA

Tune in next week for the Meat CSA.
Don’t forget, Meat CSA picks up every other week. Next meat CSA is 8/21.