Spring Hill 2009 Newsletter #12



		Week #13 Sat, Sept. 5th – Tues, Sept. 8th 2009 Downloadable Word .doc for printing In your bag Garlic, Onions, Potatoes, Carrots, Broccoli (lots of it!) Bell Peppers Tomatoes – mix of varieties Arugula or Swiss Chard Herbs - Basil Melons– Canteloupe and Sun Jewel This week's recipes Garlicky Sesame-Cured Broccoli Salad Roasted Broccoli with Garlic and Red Pepper Coming Soon The beans weren’t ready for this week – maybe next! We should have some cauliflower if not next week, the following one. Summer squash and zucchini are done for this year as are the cucumbers and those wonderful sungold cherry tomatoes. I think we’ll start with the roma tomatoes next week. They are in the field and have been ever so slow to ripen. We may have another week of melons. We have one more variety of melon, Sarah’s Choice yet to ripen. There’s also some cabbage that’s just waiting to be harvested and some eggplant too! Help needed September 8th & 12th ! We do need someone for this coming Tuesday, September 8th and Saturday, September 12th. There’s some wonderful raspberries and apples to pick and take home! Call or e-mail Michele Gersich, 612-378-0380; mgersich@att.net . Preserving Tomatoes/Salsa Fixins When you signed up for your share, you may have ordered tomatoes for preserving and/or a box of salsa fixings. Unfortunately we are not able to fill those orders and will be refunding your money. The cool season has meant that the heat loving crops (tomatoes and peppers) have done okay but have not thrived. We apologize for any inconvenience. You may want to try the Farmers Markets for preserving tomatoes. Farm News It’s that time of year. School has started, zucchini and cucumbers have ended. The garden is in kind of a funny place. The summer squash, zucchini and cucumbers are coming to a screeching halt. The tomatoes in our hoop houses are giving way to disease and the romas aren’t quite ready. The next batch of beans is growing, but slowly. As the days get shorter and the nights cooler, there’s just not as much growing time. Thankfully we have some nice carrots and potatoes and some beautiful fall broccoli. The winter squash looks like it just might make it. Between late spring frosts and a very cool summer, it’s been touch and go on the squash but we’re feeling optimistic! We just barely escaped a frost last Sunday night. The only damage we see in the field is on the basil that was on the far side of the stream. Basil doesn’t like it when it gets much below 40 degrees. The basil on the house side of the stream looks fine and we’re sending that in now. The ground dried out just enough this week to throw in one last planting of arugula and radishes. We’re not sure if they’ll make it or not but we thought it was worth a try! This week we’re celebrating David’s 18th birthday. When we started the CSA farm, David was an infant. Now, as my nephew says, “David’s a man!” It’s hard to believe that much time has passed. We’ve certainly had struggles farming along the way; late frosts, early frosts, hail, sore backs and bad cases of the “August tireds.” But honestly, the pleasures and joys have far outweighed any of that. We watched our own children grow up here and seen your children grow as well. We’ve seen the farm go from a struggling new enterprise into one that feels very stable. We’ve felt the support of this community over and over again. Thank you! Next Week’s Harvesters Saturday, September 12th – Tim & Christi Anderson, Kathy Steinberger & Jim Young, Sara & Blake Christiansen, Michael Walsh & Adam Nelson, NEED ONE! Tuesday, September 15th - Jane Mercier & Mark Taylor, Janet Peters & Alan Torborg, Michelle Grabowski & Jose Hernandez, Darrell Knosalla, NEED ONE!