THE BEET: VOLUME 19; WEEK 3

 

FULL SHARE & YELLOW HALF SHARE
PICK UP TONIGHT

 

5pm–7:30pm at JACK Theater
18 Putnam Ave (between Grand and Downing)

This Week's Share

  • Garlic scapes

  • Scallions

  • Summer squashes

  • "Kalebration," a mix of several kale types

  • Arugula

  • Mei Qing Choi

  • Romaine or red leaf lettuce

  • Butterhead lettuce

  • Kohlrabi

  • Fruit: organic strawberries

Things to remember for pick up:

  • Please wear a mask and practice social distancing!  

  • For the time being, your vegetable share will come pre-packed in a cardboard box - if you wish to transfer your share into bags for transport, please also bring your box home to recycle.  At this time, Ted is not accepting used boxes or egg cartons.

  • If you wish to make a donation to offset the farm's COVID-related packaging expenses, you may do so here! All those who donate will receive a recycled cotton Clinton Hill CSA tote bag, while supplies last!

  • If you cannot pick up your share on a given week, a friend or family member can always pick it up in your absence. They just need to give your name at the desk when picking up. You can also send a message to our half share group, or post on one of our social media pages to find a member willing to swap with you: we're on Facebook as well as Instagram and Twitter.

  • If it is medically unsafe for you to pick up your share, and you are unable to make other arrangements, please let us know at information@clintonhillcsa.org and we will do what we can to make sure your share gets to you.

  • Don't forget to sign up for your 2020 work shifts!

News from Windflower Farm

Distribution #3 - Week of June 22, 2020
 
Hello from Windflower Farm. It’s been a very hot, dry week here. Irrigating, planting, weeding and more irrigating have been the theme.
 
What’s in your share?
Garlic scapes
Scallions
Summer squashes
‘Kalebration’, a mix of several kale types
Arugula
Mei Qing Choi
Romaine or red leaf lettuce
Butterhead lettuce
Kohlrabi
 
Your fruit will be the last of our organic strawberries. Flower shares will be delivered to all of our sites this week. Next week’s vegetable shares will include more salad crops, including sweet Japanese turnips, kohlrabi, green onions and salad greens, along with summer squashes.
 
What’s new at the farm?
Summer rainfall is hit or miss in the Hudson Valley, and so far, at least for us, it’s been nearly all miss. The ground where we have not irrigated is as dry as beach sand, and even the smallest vehicle sends out a plume of dust as it travels our farm roads. We are parched and desperate for rain. It’s a heart breaker when the next town over gets two inches of rain and you get nothing. We can be happy for our farming friends over the hill, but it still hurts. You cannot help but to think of the many hours and days that a single four hour rain can save. Our two vegetable fields are 12 and 24 acres in size, and, running two irrigation systems simultaneously, it takes about ten days to get them adequately watered – just in time to start the cycle all over again. It’s now been a few weeks of this, and our ponds are running quite low. Our wells are holding up but we are worried, and we are hoping for rain. In the meantime, we are switching over from sprinkler to drip irrigation everywhere we can. Beets, carrots, onions, potatoes, corn – all ordinarily sprinkler irrigated, now have drip lines on them. There is no cause for panic. I tell you all of this because, as members of our CSA, you are in this with us. You have done your part in that you have paid for a share and agreed to take on some of the risk, including the risk of drought-related loss. I want you to know that we are doing our very best every day to hold up our end of the bargain.
 
 Best wishes, Ted

Gardening, Composting, and Neighborhood News

How's your potted basil doing?  It's probably ready to be transplanted - here's how to do it

Local organic gardener Ruth Kierstein has a limited number of organic Hungarian Wax pepper seedlings available for sale. Exceptionally aromatic and sturdy line. Seedlings have a minimum of three sets of true leaves and are ready for hardening off/transplanting. For contactless pickup in downtown Brooklyn. $6 for one, $16 for three, $25 for five. Payment via Zelle preferred. Please contact her directly at rpkirstein@pm.me. 


Here are some *free* online offerings from the Brooklyn Public Library!

As you may know, funding for municipal compost services (curbside pick up and GrowNYC drop off sites) has been suspended until at least June 2021, due to COVID-19 related budget cuts. A few organizations are still accepting food scrap drop offs: 

We hope to add to this list - if you know of any other composting sites that are operational and open to the public, please let us know! Send an email to information@clintonhillcsa.org.

herb jam.jpg

Recipes

You can use up an abundance of greens and herbs by making herb jam, and combine your summer squash and basil in this simple pasta recipe.  You can use garlic scapes in place of bulbs!

See a vegetable you don't recognize?  Our website has information, storage tips, and recipe ideas for nearly everything that comes in the box! 

We'd like to hear from you!

This newsletter is your weekly guide to all things CHCSA-related: share updates, news from Ted and Jan Blomgren at Windflower Farm, food storage tips, recipes, articles, neighborhood news, and more.

We'd love to hear from you, so don't hesitate to get involved. If you have any Beet submissions—recipes, articles, local events, etc—please feel free to send them to information@clintonhillcsa.org.

Please check your email settings and allow all emails from @clintonhillcsa.org email addresses! 

Veronica