What’s been going on! 

What a crazy and disconcerting week with the death of George Floyd and all the demonstrations and violence around the country.  You all know that I essentially never talk about anything other than the farm in this newsletter but these times are truly unusual.  Betsy and I were twelve in 1968 but we were still very aware of what was going on then, Betsy especially so as she lived not far from Newark, N.J..

There is not a lot we can do from here on the farm but we were inspired by our friends and fellow farmers Jillian and Ross Mickens at Open Door Farm who have decided to donate all of their online store credit card processing fee gifts to Campaign Zero.  Campaign Zero is a police reform campaign that advocates for research-based policy solutions to reduce police brutality against people of color.

We will be doing the same thing for the month of June with all of the “tips” above the processing fees from our online sales.  As they said, it won’t be a ton of money but it is the least we can do and with generous gifts from Paige and Bob to kick if off and the generosity that you all have given us, it will be a start.  We will keep a running total both at the online store and here.  So are we are at $232

It has been a beautiful week to be on the farm and we have been getting a lot done and it is an excellent diversion from the news.  It is the transition now to warm season crops as we mow down all of the early crops like Peas, Broccoli Raab, flowers and lettuces.  The tomatoes look great and we had our first BLT on Sunday!  Cucumbers are really beginning to produce and the basil that we thought we had lost to the downy mildew seems to be okay.

Picture of the week

Early rays of sun on the tomatoes surrounded by the electric netting to keep the critters away.

What’s going to be at Market?

We will not be at the Wednesday market for the foreseeable future until the outbreak subsides but we do plan to be at Saturdays as long as we can be.

To facilitate less contact and faster exchanges we are encouraging people to pre-order so that it is ready to go when you get to market this page has all of the details on how to do that.  We need your orders by noon on Friday for us to be able to put them together on Friday afternoon.  The online store opens Wednesday about 9:00 a.m.

Beautiful cucumbers both the long Asian Tasty Jade and the short slicers.  Basil is back.  Hopefully tomatoes next week!

A good amount of Red and Green Little Gem lettuce and good supply of Red Summer Crisp Lettuce (a combination of Romaine and Red leaf) and of the Magenta Summer Crisp.

Nearing the end of the season for the bitter greens department we still have a good amount of Escarole for soups, salads or sautéing.  Lacinato Kale (aka Dinosaur Kale or Cavalo Nero), you all know what to do with it.  There might be a few heads of radicchio.

Tons of crunchy Red Radishes.  Last week for tender, small sized Fennel bulbs.

More beautiful Sunflowers.  Safflower is back also known as Carthamus, tall dark green stems with orange tufted blooms.

Stay safe and well and we hope to see you all at the market!

Alex and Betsy

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