Crop List: Sugar Snap Peas, Summer Squash, Head Lettuce, Kale, Basil, Bok Choy, Maybe Tomatoes or Shelling Peas

Let's get the bad news out of the way. We have no Cosmic Mix this week. Our first 2 crops did not fare so well. The 3rd crop of it is looking good! We could have harvested it for this week, but then we would have had another mediocre harvest. We decided to hold off until next week and use our time more efficiently. We think next week it will be big and bountiful!
Pea picking is on! The crew is spending so much time harvesting peas right now. Shell peas and sugar snaps. We know you love them. We love them too. We will never be able to harvest enough to satiate the CSA. They take a lot of time to get off the vines and are one of our more labor intensive crops. We know many peas don't even make it home and are enjoyed on the drive from the pick up.  We even had a farm dog years ago who would find the ripe ones and eat them off the vines. How can that crunch be resisted!
Speaking of crunch...have you noticed the shift in the shares. We are past just leafy greens. The veggies are starting to have more texture, snap and weight.
Water. Everyone is asking us about water right now. We love your concern. As of now, we have water! A "call" was made by the folks out below who have older irrigation rights and get to take the water when they deem it time. The call was "futile" because the water in the creek is not flowing enough to make it to the main artery and then out of the valley. Some years we have to shut off to determine if it will make it out of the valley. But this year with such low levels we did not have to take that break. Our irrigation company, Trail Creek, has stated we may need to take turns using the water because the pressure in the pipes is so low, but we have yet to hear. While this is not ideal and will result in less water, we will manage.
Water, Sun, Air and Soil. These are the elements we survive by. Each is so precious for growing food. I think about each of them in turn. Water is at the forefront right now. The water that comes to the farm is amazing. It is Teton snowmelt. We are so close to the source and the water is so pure because of it. We know it makes a difference in the flavor of the veggies. Often when I think of water my mind goes back to the film "What the Bleep" from 2004. It touches on Dr. Masaru Emoto's studies of how our emotions affect water. He has found that the structure of H2O molecules can change when certain intentions are directed at it. Love, compassion, hatred, anger all change the molecular structure in different ways. I find it fascinating, and completely empowering.
Okay...I'm going to get out there. Quit reading now if you need to.
I like to think about our collective Teton Mindset. If we are walking around saying things like..."It's so dry", "we need rain",  "what a crappy snow year, there's no Pow", "I'm sick of snow, when is spring going to get here?" the water around us absorbs that energy. The water takes it on and moves through our space and out into the world. If the water is receiving the energy of "it's so dry" maybe it receives that message of dryness and keeps it dry.  This is where the empowerment comes in. Our language affects the energy we put out. So in my far out Cosmic thinking, I believe if we change our thinking (energy) to "rain is welcome", "snow is welcome" "spring is welcome" it moves water through our space and sends it out into the world feeling loved by the People of the Tetons. I think the rest of the world could use that love too. If studies have proven that water absorbs our emotions, I believe we should be conscious enough to give it emotions we want to share with the world. I believe if we make an effort to choose emotions and thought patterns to make water feel welcome we can collectively change the weather patterns. And guess what...Even if I am completely wrong, the only thing that changes is you spent some moments thinking about how you address water in our ecosystem. Which seems to me like a win anyway.
So call the water in. Welcome it. Picture rain falling. Smell it in the air. Feel it on your skin. Hear it dancing on the puddles. Take a moment to taste it in your veggies and send it some gratitude.

Lunch this Week: Burritos with Dale's Burrito Sauce, I am using the sauce from "Bok Choy with Gingery Butter Sauce" and making a big stir fry adding garlic curls, turnips and steak.
Recipe Ideas: Grilled Steak with Chard, Tomato and Balsamic Vinegar Reduction, Chard Patties
Truck Driver needed! We still need a delivery driver. Tuesdays and Thursdays, Or Tuesday or Thursday! 2 days a week or just one! 3-9 ish. If you know anyone, please send them our way! Details here: http://www.cosmicapple.com/employment-opportunities.html​
The coolers at your site are stocked with Lifeline cheese and a selection of the beef and pork listed below. If you know you want something, please email me and I will make sure it is in the cooler, reserved for you. I don't send every cut every week, they simply won't all fit!
Beef Available: Tenderloin, Ribeye, New York, Sirloin Steak, Eye of the Round, Brisket, Ground Beef, Patties, Tri-Tip Roast, Sirloin Tip Roast, Tongue, Marrow Bones, Heart, Stew, and Kabobs
​Pork Available: Fat

WASH YOUR VEGGIES!!
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Bring Bags to pick-ups!

If you can't make it to pick up your veggies, send a friend!
Missed shares are forfeited for the week. 
Members get 20% off at the Farmer's Markets!
The People's Market: Wednesdays 4-7
The Driggs Market: Fridays 9-1
Jackson Hole Farmer's Market: Saturdays 8-1 (starts July, 10th)
Questions? Comments? Recipes to share? dale@cosmicapple.com

Crop List: Cosmic Mix, Garlic Scapes, Kale, Turnips, Red Oak Leaf Lettuce, Basil maybe Holy Basil or Dill

By Share #3 we are starting to slip into a routine. Our co-workers now see the flow of the days of the week in regard to CSA and market harvests. Our distribution sites are going smooth and your veggie weighing skills are progressing rapidly!
We spend the mornings getting in the leafy green items that don't enjoy the heat. Then we move onto the heartier items. Most of the afternoons are spent weeding. July days are balanced between weeding and harvesting. The more we get weeded right now, the bigger the harvests will be.
The garden (and the weeds!) are growing so fast right now. The plants have so much energy from the long days. I swear the cabbage doubled in size this week.
Jed wants me to write about garlic this week. I love garlic!! I love it so much I have written about it and saved every word of it. You can find all my garlic musings if you follow the recipe link. Check out the garlic scape/curl button to learn about the garlic life cycle. It is fascinating! I think so, because I LOVE garlic. Many of the recipe buttons have information about the nutrients in each veggie, storage tricks and basic uses. 
The tomatoes are starting to be ready! We have had a couple small harvests and the red treats will make their way to the 3rd pick up site this week. As items ripen, we don't always have enough to get them out to the whole CSA at once. The first harvest was about 20#, definitely not enough for the 119.5 shares we put out that day. We would have had to cut tomatoes in half! What we do is keep really accurate records and will make sure everyone gets tomatoes before any site gets them twice. As we all get excited for tomatoes, this seems like a good place for a reminder on weighing items. It is like the Price is Right. You may not go over! If everyone goes over a little bit, there will not be enough for everyone! Honesty is key to the CSA model working. 
If you want to see the farm in action, please check out our social media (Instagram and Facebook). One of our talented employees has been making great videos of work days.

​More then just veggies!
If you have not had a chance to check out what's in our coolers, please do so! You can also find a list of what is available below. If you know you want something please send me an email, I am more then happy to reserve it for you, or I can send a special order to your pick up.
After many requests we have developed a merchandise line. Lots of Organic Cotton and fair trade goods. All printed or embroidered locally. The mugs and water bottles are locally invented and etched, they have a really cool magnet lid. (We have blue ones too, I just haven't gotten photos up yet) I can easily send goods to your pick up site so you don't have to pay shipping. You can email me an order, or purchase online and I will refund the shipping. You can also check things out in person at the People's Market and the Driggs Market.

Crop List: Cosmic Mix, Radish, Bok Choy, Lovage, Green Onion, Collards, Broccoli Raab and Red Oak Head Lettuce

Something kind of big is happening for us this summer. The farm is turning 25!! 25 feels like a milestone that deserves pause and recognition. We have been at this for a while. Enough to know the reality of having a career. Long enough to know that when it is hard, there is still nothing we would rather be doing.  I play that game sometimes...if I could have any job what would it be? It always comes back to being a farmer, and it always comes back to being a farmer at Cosmic Apple Gardens.
When we look back over 25 years there are some things that stand out. (Disclaimer, I have been at the farm for 19 years, Jed started the farm 25 years ago...but that is another story!)
The hard times...losing 800#'s of washed carrots when a freak wind storm blew over our cooler full of carrots and they landed on the broken glass. The pigs getting out and digging up the basil in the greenhouse. Finding our beloved cow, Clover, we had been caring for died during the night. Managing poor employees. Summers with low water. Nursing my 2 month old baby in a snow storm on June 21st during a year when it just would not warm up. Broken equipment...it only breaks when you need to use it! Finally getting our 5th greenhouse built and planted, only to have it freeze solid on June 12th after the propane company forgot to fill the tank. The neighbor's dog killing 53 chickens.
And so many good times...tasting the first strawberry each year. Moving to the new 30 acre farm in 2002. (The "new farm" was purchased by an amazing community member with the intention of providing a place for Cosmic Apple to grow organic veggies for the community.) Witnessing many births. Sunsets. The summer Jed and I fell in love. Bringing home a truck load of meat from the butcher for the first time. Taking our first human baby to the farm to meet the critters on a beautiful winter day. Securing a loan thru the USDA to purchase 20 more acres. Milking a cow that was born and raised on the farm. So many amazing employees we now call friends. Getting a delivery truck with seatbelts! The countless moments frozen in my mind of our children at the farm. 

When I close my eyes to reflect, so many faces flash on my internal slide show. So many smiles with yellow crates and scales in the foreground. One of my favorite things has been watching your children grow up at the veggie pick ups. 
 Jed started the farm in 1996 with money from his dishwashing job at the Teton Teepee. After a year or two he got a loan from his dad for $3000 to purchase a greenhouse. Luckily, he was stubborn enough to ignore the many naysayers telling him it would be impossible to grow vegetables in the Tetons. He ignored the countless restaurants and stores telling him Organic was not worth it and didn't make a difference. After 25 years, I think we get to say "I told you so". HA! That felt good.
We leaned on the people who believed in us and the the very old timers who remembered gardening in the Tetons without chemicals, and eating without big grocery stores. It is hard to express our unending gratitude to those who believed in us. We love you. There are so many people who showed up when we needed an extra hand, these folks are forever in my heart and are part of the reason the farm succeeded.
Cheers to all the helpers and the believers! Cheers to all the CSA members and market customers! Cheers to the kids who have grown up knowing real veggies! Cheers to every person we've ever grown for! 
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Cheers to 25 years of feeding The People of the Tetons the best food we can grow!

Crop List: Green Tomatoes, Carrots, Rose Finn Fingerling Potatoes, Blackberry Potatoes, Julika Potatoes, Tomatoes, Basil, Red Onion, Spaghetti Squash, Cabbage, Beets, Maybe Daikon Radish, and/or Broccoli

The last share!! We are so grateful to have been able to grow for you this season. None of knew what this year was going to look like and the trepidation could really be felt at some moments. We are so relieved to make it through with healthy employees and a healthy farm family. We thank you for helping us keep the distributions safe. This season felt like it required more community support then ever, and WOW!!! You all came through and we sincerely appreciate it!
Looking back at the 2020 CSA we are really happy with the Tomatoes! Yay! We are so glad that 3rd tomato greenhouse was up and running, it made a huge difference. The cucumbers and summer squash did good and so did the peas. The Sunflowers were consistently larger in size this year thanks to the weeding skills of our employees! The carrot and potato crops have been coming in exceptionally well this year too.
The crops that we hope to do better with in 2021 are beets, arugula, spinach, radish and turnips. Even though we dream of a year when every crop yields perfectly we know that is an unattainable goal. It is part of the beauty of farming. Crops take turns being the star based on weather, timing, labor and other forces the garden is susceptible too. 
We are eager to hear your feedback about the veggies, the CSA program and the whole experience in general. I will send out a survey next week and we would really appreciate you letting us know your perspective!

Free T-shirt or Hat for a 2021 CSA sign up!
We are kicking off our 2021 CSA membership drive! If you sign up for next year's CSA at a pick up location before the season ends, you will receive a free organic cotton t-shirt or hat! Your site host will have sign-up sheets, one is attached to your email or you can get one here: ​http://www.cosmicapple.com/uploads/1/7/9/9/17994337/2021_sign_up.pdf
We sold out last year. Sign up early to get the best prices and to choose the pick up location/day you really want...and did I mention the free shirt or hat?!

If you read Share #6's newsletter, you may remember I told you we agreed, as a farm to find 6 concrete things we could do to help end systemic racism in food. I was waiting to present more finalized plans and I always want these thing to happen quicker then they do so I never finished the list of commitments. Even though I don't have all the details,  I wanted to be accountable for my promises, so for those of you looking for the last 3, here they are!
#4. We understand that we are farming on Shoshone Bannock ancestral land. We have a letter out to the tribe asking what we can do to honor them in this place while we farm here. We don't take lightly the history of this valley and we want to do our best to move forward with the utmost respect for the Shoshone Bannock people. (My contact person has been really busy and I am waiting to hear back from her)
#5. We are exploring getting our website translated into Spanish. We know diet related illnesses affect Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) more then white people. We also know Cosmic Apple's food is one of the answers to diet related illnesses. The CSA model is different then going to the store and it needs to be explained so consumers understand it. We need to make our food accessible to Latinx people and we think the website is a great way to introduce it. (We are unclear if we need to translate our webpage or if there are useful apps that will do this for folks, definitely a winter project!)
#6. Digging deeper into the need to get nutritious food to BIPOC, we are coming up with a plan and hoping to work with One22 in Jackson. We want to raise money to get shares into the homes of Latinx families in our community. (This plan will also take some time because Covid is hindering many things, but I had one phone call of idea sharing and I hope to get further this winter with a proposal.)

Fare thee well!
So I guess this is goodbye for the season. We cannot emphasize how grateful we are to be your farmers. We truly love growing food in the Tetons and suppling it people who live here. We feel supported by our community and we hope you feel nourished by the food we grow.
As always..."May this food give you the energy to make the world a better place."
With gratitude,
​Dale and Jed

Lunch this week: Vegan Pot Pie by the amazing Chef Aspen
Recipe Ideas: Fermented Green Tomato Ketchup; Quinoa, Carrot, & Leek Patties; Carrots, Potatoes Roasted with Onions & Garlic; Dale’s Oven Fries​

Crop List: Orange and Purple Carrots, Julika Potatoes, Huckleberry Potatoes, Basil, Kale, Spaghetti Squash, Garlic, Tomatoes and Cauliflower

​I am typing on the last day of summer. Tuesday welcomes fall. Fall helps me relocate my equilibrium! Day and night are equal, this always reminds me of the balance required in natural relationships. A constant giving and receiving. The plants give us oxygen, we give them CO2. The garden gives us veggies, we give it compost. Grass gives cows energy, cows give grass manure to replenish the soil they grow in. Bees receive pollen from plants and plants receive pollination from bees. 
We are still incredibly busy, but the garden's pace has changed. The summer squash is not bearing down threatening to get bigger overnight. Tomatoes are not cracking from overripening. We are not concerned about frost, been there, done that! Things are winding down on the farm and we are in countdown mode. 5 more markets, 4 more CSA deliveries, 3 more beds of carrots, 6 more rows of potatoes, 3 greenhouses to empty, 1 crop of garlic to plant.
Fall always brings the season of letting go and being grateful for what we have. (Planning for more is on hold until after the Winter Solstice!) The harvest is almost in and any crisis that came up we weathered and survived, success! I am always humbled by what the garden provides each year. Fall is the time to give thanks and celebrate! It is the time of year I savor the sun on my skin and drink in all the gorgeous colors before the snow starts to fall.
The Earth is pulling itself inward and beginning to rest. After we harvest everything and the garlic is planted, Jed will begin to spread compost for next year's garden. Our compost is generated on farm by our cows. We spread in the fall and it always feels like an offering to the garden. An offering of gratitude for feeding us all year. The compost is a way to help the garden replenish itself as it sleeps. I picture the Earth energies pulling inward and bringing all the nutrients needed from the compost with it. All winter as the garden rests these nutrients are being absorbed and amalgamated before the reawakening of spring.
I can feel myself shifting inward. The coming darkness, pulling me inside in the evenings. The change of diet to heavier root crops that take longer to cook and digest, require me to slow down. I look for my slippers in the morning and await the sun's warmth instead of being greeted by brightness when I open my eyes. The shift is subtle, especially because I still feel the warmth of summer mid-day! September weather has been dreamy! I am grateful we still have the sun on our backs as we finish the harvest.
As the garden rests we continue to delight in the treasures provided. Roots and squash will last a long time! Please see individual recipe pages for storing techniques.

Free T-shirt or Hat for a 2021 CSA sign up!
We are kicking off our 2021 CSA membership drive! If you sign up for next year's CSA at a pick up location before the season ends, you will receive a free organic cotton t-shirt or hat! Your site host will have sign-up sheets, one is attached to your email or you can get one here: ​http://www.cosmicapple.com/uploads/1/7/9/9/17994337/2021_sign_up.pdf
We will definitely make it to share #16 this year! See you next week too!

Lunch this week: Merav's Carrot Soup, Sausage Kale Soup
Recipe Ideas: Carrots, Potatoes Roasted with Onions & Garlic, Scallop Potatoes and Carrots, Colcannon, Oven Roasted Carrots & Kale

Crop List: Fingerling Potatoes, Rainbow Carrots, Onions, Garlic, Tomatoes Sugar Dumpling Squash, Murdoc Cabbage or Red Cabbage

Last week's frost did more damage then we thought. The broccoli and the cauliflower are not very happy, but we are hoping they can dig deep and bounce back. The Cosmic Mix is taking a break and we are hoping for some more. I know I want at least one more salad! Until then, we will begin digging lots of potatoes and carrots!
Carrots of the rainbow! We hope you enjoy the different varieties we grow. It is fun to step outside the world of orange carrots. Most carrots grown when the carrot was first cultivated were purple, yellow and white. Around the 17th century the Dutch were known to be carrot farmers and the reason we now have orange carrots? Political. The Dutch Revolt against the Spanish was led by William the Orange. To celebrate the conqueror who brought them freedom from Spanish rule the Dutch began to grow orange carrots instead of yellow, purple and white carrots. Quite a tribute! I want to assure you we grow our multi colored carrots with no political figures in mind...past or present!
Mixing up the color of foods can make meals more interesting. Cook up an all purple carrot soup or a rainbow carrot salad. Do a taste test and see which color tastes the best to you. Kids love to be blindfolded for a really "serious" comparison and it is really fun to hear their reactions! Slip a store bought carrot into the mix also!
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Lunch this week: Pad Bai
Recipe Ideas: Roasted Carrot & Sweet Dumpling Squash Bisque (How to bake any squash is on the Winter Squash page), Fermented Ginger Carrots; Carrots, Potatoes Roasted with Onions & Garlic

Crop List: Carrots, New Red Norland Potatoes, Tomatoes, Maybe: Cosmic Mix, Swiss Chard, Summer Squash, Cucumbers, Sunflowers and/or Beans

My mind can change so quickly sometimes I surprise even myself. One week ago I typed this newsletter feeling sad that the garden may freeze. Even though I made peace with it, we escaped it for one more week! Tonight (9/7) it sounds inevitable. The predicted temperature is 27 degrees with some snow. I am fine with it, I don't need to take deep breaths to accept it. I am ready to get the garden emptied out and begin the process of turning inward, embracing the darkness, settling in for the winter. The garden also needs rest and to rejuvenate. I don't know if the first cold snap prepared me for frost by touching some cellular knowing that it is time to shift.  Maybe it was the last variety of sunflowers blooming that convinced me my garden dreams had been achieved for the year. It could have been my head winning out with the knowledge we are further into September then many years without freezing. Whatever it was that convinced me a frost was okay, I'm grateful.
We realize the crop list is all over the place. The plants freezing in the beginning of the week will cause the end of the week share to look completely different. There are many "maybes" because of the transition.
On Monday we picked all the summer squash, cucumbers and beans for the last time. If you receive any of these in your share, savor them and give thanks to the garden. We had a great year most of these items.
We also pulled in all the winter squash to protect it from any frost damage. We will store these treats and start sharing them soon.
Our energies will now turn to emptying out the garden! The race is on to get all the carrots, onions, leeks and potatoes harvested and ready for you. We will still have lots of other veggies coming your way until the shares end. 
"When will the shares end?" starts to be a big question right now. We don't know. It is all weather dependent. If the weather stays sunny and glorious we are able to harvest faster. If we start getting a lot of moisture things get muddy, heavy and cold it just slows us down. I am fairly confident we will make it to at least Share #16, maybe more! We will keep you posted with information as soon as we have it.
May your transition to fall weather feel smooth and welcoming. May the crisp air invigorate you. May the fall produce provide you with the stamina to turn inward.

Lunch this week: Shish Kabobs with Lemon soy marinade over rice and greens. Peruvian Quinoa Stew (tomato page)
Recipe Ideas: Grilled Steak with Chard, Tomato and Balsamic Vinegar Reduction, Roasted Tomato Crostini​