FULL SHARE & YELLOW HALF SHARE

PICK UP TONIGHT

Pick up today: 5pm - 7:30pm at PS 56 on the corner of Gates and Downing

This Week's Share

Lettuces
Choice of sweet Japanese turnips or red and white ‘Fakir’ radishes
Arugula
Young mustard greens
Scallions
Kohlrabi
Choice of cooking greens: koji, choy, kale, or Swiss chard
Garlic scapes
Zucchini
Fruit: Strawberries

News from Windflower Farm

This week’s share contents.

The third share of the season will be coming your way this week. You’ll get more salad items, including lettuces, sweet Japanese turnips or red and white ‘Fakir’ radishes, arugula, young mustard greens, scallions and kohlrabi. You’ll also have the cooking greens, koji, choy, kale and Swiss chard, to choose from, along with garlic scapes and zucchini. Your fruit will be strawberries (primarily from Yonder Farm this week) and rhubarb. Cucumbers appear to be just around the corner.

What’s new on the farm.

It may be hard to believe, but we have not had a meaningful rain for a month. The farm is parched, and temperatures are ramping up. You’d think it was August the way the lawn is already burning out. Although we expect droughty stretches in summer, spring usually provides the farm with adequate rainfall. So, it seems odd to us that we have been irrigating around the clock. Like most vegetable soils, ours are coarse textured, which means they drain very well. That’s a benefit early in the season, because a well-drained soil warms sooner, and warm soils provide crop nutrients and good growth sooner than cool soils. But our coarse soils are working against us now - some crops are wilting, others are slowing down.

There is little cause for concern at the moment. So far, we are keeping up with our irrigation schedule. Although our back pond is already running low, our middle pond has deep reserves, and our well also appears to have ample water. We have two irrigation reels and miles of trickle irrigation lines to do the job, and most of it is fully functional (although a reel broke down last week, the parts needed to fix it arrived on Friday, and it should be working in the sweet corn by Monday morning). Moreover, the forecast for Monday is calling for afternoon showers. So, there’s room for optimism.

Working with water provided a cool respite from today’s heat. The middle pond is a world away from our manicured vegetable fields. Nestled at the base of a ravine and surrounded by dense woods, the pond is a cool, wild place. As I refueled the pump, I was in the company of tadpoles the size of marshmallows, snapping turtles and Great Blue Herons.

It will be a huge relief when rainfall comes, but with some effort we can fill these gaps between rains. Here’s a look at today’s irrigation activities. Back pond: we irrigated a field of leeks, a field of cabbages and collards and a block of small greenhouses containing peppers, tomatoes, ginger and basil. Middle pond: we irrigated a field of melons, cucumbers, eggplants and cutting flowers. Front well: we irrigated two blocks of cutting flowers, a broccoli field and a bank of small greenhouses containing flowers, more peppers and more tomatoes. If we water every day at this pace, we can irrigate the whole farm once a week.

Here’s hoping for rain. Cheers, Ted

p.s. It is now Tuesday. Monday's rain never materialized, although heavy rains fell to the north and south of us. We have managed to repair our broken irrigation reel and have used it in the corn and in a newly seeded block. Rain is expected on the weekend. Cross your fingers!

Share Swaps

Don't let a vacation or a late night in the office get between you and your vegetables! If you ever need to swap your share, or find another member to pick it up for you, there's always the CHCSA Forum. You can leave a message explaining what you need, and with a little luck, another member of our community will get back to you.

(Remember to change your email delivery preference to "send daily summaries" or "send combined updates," depending on how in-the-loop you want to be!)

Neighborhood Notes

Have goods or services to buy or sell? Know of a fun event coming up in the community? Place a notice in the Beet by emailing newsletter@clintonhillcsa.org. It's absolutely free!

To get the ball rolling, here's a note from lifelong CHCSA member Maggie Hale for any Clinton Hill parents who'd like a night off...

"My name is Maggie Hale, and I'm interested in babysitting opportunities! I'm 14 years old, and I'm going into 9th grade at Bard High School. I'm a lifelong Clinton Hill CSA member, and I would love to get to know some of the kids in the lovely families who are part of the CSA. I have experience looking after my younger cousins, and I have taken a child and babysitting safety class at the 92nd St. Y. I can be reached at 917/841-2572 or through my email: maggienhall@gmail.com. School ends June 28, and I'm around all summer. I hope to talk to you soon!"

Can I Recycle That?

One of the greatest joys of the weekly CSA pick-up is the lack of waste. As long as you remember to bring a reusable tote or two with you, there's little to no extra packaging, and nothing to throw away.

But for those inevitable moments in life when you DO find yourself wondering what to do with a particular piece of leftover packaging—pizza boxes, plastic straws, disposable coffee cups—here's a great guide from the NYS DEC. Many thanks to CHCSA Distribution Manager Stephen Narloch for the link.

THE BEET: VOLUME 17; WEEK 3