THE BEET: VOLUME 20; WEEK 2
FULL SHARE & YELLOW HALF SHARE PICKUP TONIGHT
218 Gates Avenue between Classon and Franklin
(IMPACCT Brooklyn at the Gibbs Mansion)
5:00 to 7:30 pm
Welcome back!
Thanks for making the first pickup (of our 20th season!) go so smoothly! We're grateful to our hosts at IMPACCT Brooklyn at the Gibbs Mansion for allowing us to use their lovely outdoor space this season. To respect the privacy of the residents, please resist the temptation to explore the house, including the porch and garden - stay only on the driveway and in the back patio area. Thank you!
A few news items:
The mushroom share begins tonight! Click here for insights, articles, and recipes from our fungal friends at Two River Mushroom, and follow them on Instagram! While you're at it, follow us on Instagram, too!
Please be on time when picking up your shares! We are unable to hold shares past 7:30 - all food leftover at the end of distribution is donated to IMPACCT Brooklyn.
Half share folks - if you're responding to a swap request, please remember to respond only to the sender, not the entire group :).
And finally, if you're interested in becoming more involved with the CSA, or are curious about how the CSA works, come sit in at our next Core meeting, taking place during distribution next Thursday, June 24th, at 6:15.
This week's share
Purple ruffled kale
Magenta lettuce
Garlic scapes
Arugula
Red radishes
Bunched green onions
Bok Choy
A potted herb!
Tonight's fruit share is Windflower Farm's own organically grown strawberries, we'll have mushrooms this week and every *other* week hereafter, and, of course, eggs!
The News from Windflower Farm
Distribution #2 - Week of June 14, 2021
What’s new on the farm?
A quick check of the rain gauge this morning left me with the contented feeling that comes with knowing a half week’s hard slog dragging irrigation pipe all over the farm can be put off for a few days. The ground had become parched, but the gauge showed a ½ inch and it’s raining still.
Nate and I were bicycling around the neighborhood yesterday and were reminded of how widespread the practice of conservation tillage has become among the county’s corn farmers. The equipment and herbicide programs needed to make no-till corn planting work are well established. Rows of young corn plants were emerging from the stubble of last year’s crop.
Organic no-till farming, on the other hand, has been a long time in development. Weeds are the main problem. How does one manage weeds without tillage (or herbicides)? But with each of us needing to do our part to reduce our carbon footprint, we thought we’d give it a try.
For years, we’ve grown cover crops on the farm to maintain healthy soil organic matter levels and to reduce erosion. This year, we’ve let a dense rye crop grow on two fields of about an acre and a half each, and this week, we’ll roll the rye and plant winter squashes into those beds.
We will use a crimper to roll the rye, which currently stands about 5’ high, to form a dense, weed suppressive mat. We’ll be using a technique called zone-tillage. Instead of plowing or disking to make a weed-free, bare ground bed in which to plant our vegetable seedlings, we’ll cut narrow slots into the rye mulch using large fluted coulters and a narrow shank. Making this tool is my work for today. We’ll then plant squashes that have been growing in our greenhouse since late May into the slots.
With any luck, the squash plants will have vined out and taken over the field before any weeds have the chance to poke through the rye mulch and become a problem. What could go wrong?
Have a great week, Ted
Happening in the neighborhood
Today, June 17th from 4-5pm: Celebrate Juneteenth with an outdoor concert at the Clinton Hill Library, featuring Brooklyn's own Ronnie Roc & Afrazz - all are welcome! Stop by on your way to pickup!
Click here for a list of many more Juneteenth events happening this weekend all over Brooklyn!