Volume 21, Week 2

Full share & 🍋 yellow 🍋 half shares

218 Gates Avenue between Classon and Franklin
(IMPACCT Brooklyn at the Gibbs Mansion)
5:00 to 7:30 pm

 

Welcome back!

A few things to remember as we head back to the Gibbs mansion…

  • Bring tote bags to carry your produce home! This year’s share will not be boxed! We will have Clinton Hill CSA totes available for purchase for $10!

 
 

This week’s share

  • Red-stemmed chard

  • Red leaf lettuce

  • Kale mix

  • Red radishes

  • Purple bunching onions

  • Garlic scapes

  • Red Rubin Basil in pots

  • Broccoli

  • Fruit: Strawberries from Yonder Farm

  • And - mushrooms, eggs, bread, and our first Lewis Waite delivery! More on extra shares below!

 
 

News from Windflower Farm

Distribution #2 - Week of June 13th, 2022

We send basil in pots because there are some folks in our membership who garden and others who have a spot on a windowsill. If transplanted into good garden soil, and watered regularly, the plant can last all summer. Or at least until Downy Mildew comes along. If you keep clipping the topmost leaf clusters, keeping ahead of the blossoms, new shoots will continue to develop. If this doesn’t interest you, use your basil soon, just as you would a bunch of basil bought at the market. Your container is fully compostable. Water your pot and it will keep for a few days. This week’s basil variety is Red Rubin and it has a fairly traditional taste. Last week’s, by the way, was Thai basil, and you may have noted a hint of anise. Genovese is coming next week. Our squash and zucchini planting has an abundance of flowers and small fruits, and I think you’ll get something from it next week.

 

What’s new on the farm?

Francis Lam on the podcast The Splendid Table asked today, “What does your June look like?”  Ours, so far, has been relatively dry, cool and windy, but the warmer than normal month of May has us ahead in growing degree days according to a neighbor, a grape grower, who tracks such things. More than anything, our June looks green - every possible color of green. And it tastes of the fresh things that our gardens are beginning once again to provide – tender lettuces, spicy radishes and arugula. Sauteed kale and onions with our eggs in the morning.

 

I spent much of the day yesterday on a cultivating tractor weeding onions, winter squashes, lettuces, Swiss chard, rutabagas, celeriac, scallions and sweet corn, a variety of crops that took me to every corner of the farm. It rained a couple of days ago and the young plants had become well anchored to the earth. I could be aggressive in terms of how I addressed the weeds without worrying about harming crops. We overplant slightly in order to have a few plants to sacrifice to effective weed control. If I can be aggressive early in the life of a planting, then we as a team will face fewer hand-weeding chores later. It rained again last night, helping to set right those plants I did dislodge.

 

The tractor I used was the latest iteration of our electric tractor design, and it may be our best yet. It’s certainly our most versatile. Nate, who runs our Instagram page, and is the chief electrical engineer on the project, has been collecting some photos and will post them soon. He’s made a logo for the tractor consisting of a “W” for Windflower, of course, and a lightning bolt. Farm fun. The latest model has a 3-phase AC motor, a German controller and a very efficient Italian transaxle. It’s no Ferarri or Lamborghini, but on the more practical side it runs all day. Our previous model had, at best, a four-hour run time. Thankfully, the seat is comfortable and the motor is whisper quiet. The clunking of metal cultivating parts against the rocks in our soil is all that I hear, at times like a punk rocker with a new drum kit, but most often like wood chimes in a good breeze.

 

Have a great week, Ted

 
 

EXTRA SHARES: A USER'S GUIDE

This year we have more extra shares than ever before! That's great news if you're a fan of fruit, eggs, mushrooms, bread, medicinal herbs, grain, maple products, meat and other artisanal products, or honey! But we do realize that not all the shares are distributed the same way, which might be confusing. Here's a guide:

Green/Yellow Shares

Like vegetables, fruit, egg, and bread shares can be every week if you have a full share, or every other week if you have a half share. If you have a half share, you've been assigned to a Green week starting June 9 or a Yellow week starting June 16. What happens if you'll be away for one of those weeks? Use our half share google group to switch with someone who picks up on the opposite schedule, i.e. Yellow week if you've been assigned to Green weeks.

Every Other Week

The mushroom share is every other week starting June 16, which is on the Yellow week schedule. If you have a mushroom share, you've been assigned to Yellow weeks for all of your half and/or extra shares.

Lewis Waite is a consortium of farms in upstate New York. If you're interested in ordering high-quality, locally sourced meat, pantry products, cheeses, and other goodies, you can check out their website here. They'll be delivering every other week starting June 16, which is on the Yellow schedule.

Shares With Limited Dates

Maple and Grain shares are delivered on three dates (June 30, August 25, October 20), all of which are Yellow weeks. If you've ordered maple or grain products and have a half share of any kind, you've been assigned to Yellow weeks.

Medicinal Herbs will be distributed on July 14, August 11, September 8, and October 6, all of which are Yellow weeks. If you've purchased a Medicinal Herb share and have a half share of any kind, you've been assigned to Yellow weeks.

And finally, honey!

A local beekeeper will be on site occasionally to sell honey. We don't have a date yet, but when we do, we'll try to publicize this a week in advance in the Beet.

Don't forget, if you have a half share and can't make your pick-up one week for any reason, you can use our google group to switch weeks with someone on the opposite (Green vs. Yellow) schedule. You are also welcome to have a friend or family member pick up your share; just have them give your name at the sign-in desk and tell them to bring tote bags to carry the share home. If you have any questions, email us at information@clintonhillcsa.org.

 
 
Veronica