Crop List: Cosmic Mix, Swiss Chard, Turnips, Bok Choy, Sorrel, Basil, maybe Tomatoes or Sugar Snap Peas

It feels like summer! And it's beginning to taste like it too! The Sugar Snaps are starting to come in. We cruised the row on Friday afternoon and picked a few handfuls with the crew. There were not many ripe ones yet. By Tuesday they should be looking good. Sugar Snaps plump up quick when they decide to do so. We have a lot of peas growing this year. A few crops of Sugar Snaps and some Shelling Peas that will be ready later. To me, fresh crunchy Sugar Snap is about as summery as it gets! The garden is taking a turn away from the early spring crops. The shares will start to get heavier as the produce gets bulkier.
Sorrel is an absolute favorite of mine, and it feels like a springtime flashback. It is one of the first perennials up every spring and we eat a lot of it! We planted a new crop this year, when the old stuff was already above ground...and covered in grass making it hard to harvest. The seeds that were planted in early May are ready now. Most years the sorrel that comes up in early spring is bolted, and no longer tender by the time we start shares. Having sorrel now is a treat. I can't speak highly enough of the Sorrel Cream Sauce as an easy introduction to this lemony delight. And yes! Kids love the sauce!
The summer squash are starting to set fruits​. The sunflowers have flower buds and the garlic will begin drying down soon. The tomatoes are loaded and gradually turning red, yellow and orange. We may only have enough for one pick up location a night to get them this first week. The bounty will make it all the way around eventually...and we keep records to make sure all sites get the same amounts.
It seems this is the week the unirrigated grasses around the valley will turn brown. The sun is warm and there is no rain in the forecast as of now. The grasses stayed green for so long this year thanks to the consistent rain, but the dulling of the green vibrancy is apparent. I can still see snow on Taylor Mountain and in the Big Holes. There is also much more snow visible in the Tetons then usual at this time of the year. The wildflowers are astounding. I have not had much time to make it into the high country recently, but just observing the differences from the valley floor, there is a marked difference in the past 5 years or so. A perceptible shift to the heights of summer is happening. The most obvious difference is that I want to go swimming!
The garden loves this heat and many of the plants are growing inches overnight. We have been weeding with every spare moment we have. I am confident our energies are soon going to be consumed with harvesting as the garden starts to yield more and more!

Volunteer-If you (or someone you know!) is curious about high altitude gardening becoming a garden helper may be just right. We are only asking folks to commit to 1 morning a week for one month, that's 20-25 hours for one month! It feels really good to have volunteers back on the farm, we missed them!! Lunch and veggies are provided! Follow the link below to check it out!

Crop List: Cosmic Mix, Turnips, Radish, Kale, Baby Bok Choy, Cilantro, Dill and Garlic Curls

Three cheers for all of our Tuesday CSA members who are picking up their veggies on July 4th!! Our summer harvest schedule is so jam packed that we can't switch things around for holidays. The garden just keeps on giving and we are responsible for harvesting when it needs done. We really appreciate your understanding and commitment to getting your veggies. We know it is not always convenient but it sure does taste better!
And how about lots of cheers for our amazing crew who worked all day on the 4th to make sure your veggies were ready for you?! YAY!!!
We are happy to announce that we have enough people hired for the summer. As anyone who runs a business in the Tetons can tell you, this feels amazing! We now have 13 folks working with us. Some work full time, others part time. A small handful will be headed back to school...we have told them their institutions of choice have burned down...but they seem committed to leaving, and we begrudgingly understand.
Our crew is great. Jed and I are always astonished by the folks the farm attracts. We are well aware that every one of our employees could be making more money doing landscaping, serving tables or running a huge tech company. The farm attracts folks looking to learn about growing food, feeding their community and working outside. Some of our jobs are Field Crew, Wash Station Manager (AKA Veggie Caretaker), Greenhouse Manager, Market Helper, Chore Helper and Truck Driver.
This year's field crew is all new folks with the exception of our managers. Most crew members arrived with no prior farm experience. We are so impressed by the way they have learned the job and have taken ownership of the results. They are all learning to farm quickly and efficiently while smiling and laughing at the same time. I didn't mention any names, because I don't want any other local business owners recruiting from our dream team! HA!
Our social life tends to revolve around the farm. Employees become life long friends. Our days are shared with our crew and we eat many meals together. They have seen us having awesome moments as parents and some not so shiny moments since our kids are with us a lot. Our crew gets to work for a married couple who sometimes disagrees with how a project should be done (ever happen to you?). Family farms are gritty, silly, and as individual as each family. Even though we are a family farm, we need more then just our immediate family to make it happen. We truly feel like everyone who works with us is extended family, whether they are there for part of a season, a whole season or many years. Our farm could not function without the amazing folks who show up everyday to help get the veggies to the People of the Tetons. We are truly grateful to each of these individuals. Give them a high five if you ever meet one of them while out and about!

Even though we have a full crew hired...we still need some volunteers. And aren't you curious about all those awesome employees I just told you about? Here is your chance to meet them!!!​
Volunteer-If you (or someone you know!) is curious about high altitude gardening becoming a garden helper may be just right. We are only asking folks to commit to 1 morning a week for one month, that's 20-25 hours for one month! It feels really good to have volunteers back on the farm, we missed them!! Lunch and veggies are provided! Follow the link below to check it out!

Crop List: Cosmic Mix, Spicy Mix, Radish, Swiss Chard, Roxy Head Lettuce, Lovage and Basil

We made it through the first day of summer frost and the second day of summer frost nicely! Temperatures dipped down to 31 degrees last week, it was surprisingly thick frost, but not long enough to do any damage. Spring seemed way too easy without a frost since the end of April. We knew a June frost had to be coming. Now we just need to make it through the July and August frost and we'll be all set for the September frost! We are in a special zone on USDA maps that is labeled "Frost Year Round". High altitude gardening is no joke. Gratefully, the microclimate at the farm keeps us a bit warmer then surrounding spots in the valley. Our sensitive crops are tucked in under row cover. The tomatoes and basil are lucky enough to be in hoop houses with heaters. We search out frost tolerant varieties with short growing seasons when we purchase seeds. Most years....most things make it!
 We have not had to irrigate the garden this entire month. The rains have been evenly spaced and gentle enough to water things well. The rains of June have created a green vibrant garden...and the weeds love it! We are working diligently to get the garden weeded. The moist soil makes for "hero conditions" when removing our undesired visitors. The deep taproots come all the way out. It is so incredibly satisfying to pull an entire plant, taproot and all, out of the garden! The smaller weeds come out with a gentle tug and the perfectly moist soil allows us to pull them without disturbing the roots of the plants we are cultivating.
Sadly our egg production has slowed way down. We had a fox picking off chickens. We don't count the girls every night so sadly it took us a bit to realize the flock was dropping in numbers. In all the years of doing this we have never had a fox smart enough to jump the electric netted fence. Usually they check it out once, get a shock and never come back. Dogs are our main predator. We have solved the problem and the fox seems to have been deterred...but our layers are not as numerous as before. The rooster is on edge and has become an attack rooster. He was always ornery...but now he is aggressive with everyone who attempts to collect eggs or visit. As planned, we have chicks on the way for a new flock, but they will not start to lay until mid-November. If eggs make it to your site to purchase, grab them while you can, but at this point most of them will be going to the farm family and employees.

​Please check out these available farm positions and spread the word! We are getting really close to having all our job positions full!
Market Helper- Wednesdays at the People's Market. Paid position. Ride over in the truck (1:30-8:15) or meet us at the market 2:15-7:30). Help get veggies to the people! This is a fun, social, fast paced job. Email dale@cosmicapple.com
Field Crew- 4 or 5 days a week. 7-4 each day. Be a farmer! Help with planting, weeding, harvesting and anything else that needs done.

​Lunch this Week: Radish, Swiss Chard stir fry over rice with Basil and Ginger butter sauce (on the bok choy page)
Recipe Ideas: Honey Basil Dressing, Chard Patties, Swiss Chard with Pine Nuts, Parmesan and Basil or French Breakfast Radish, the traditional way.
The coolers at your site are stocked with 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: Ground Beef
​Pork Available: Grandpa's Sausage, Breakfast Sausage, Pork Chops, Shoulder Roast, Tenderloin, Spare Ribs, Neck Bones (make the real deal Ramen!) and Fat

WASH YOUR VEGGIES!!
​
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 10% off at the Farmer's Markets!
The Driggs Market: Fridays 9-1
JH Farmer's Market: Saturdays 8-12 (starts July 1st)
The People's Market: Wednesdays 4-7
​
Questions? Comments? Recipes to share? dale@cosmicapple.com

Crop List: Cosmic Mix, Spicy Mix, Arugula, Radish, Bok Choy and Basil

I always cherish the 3rd share. Our crew has settled into their roles within the farm system and we start to run a bit more on "auto-pilot". It feels less harried. Everyone understands the bigger picture of what our weeks look like, skills are being developed and we have all begun to feel the flow of the farm!

Speaking of the farm flow...there will be a CSA delivery on July 4th at the regular times and places. We did ask the garden to stop producing for the holiday...it said "no". The veggies must continue!

Wednesday of this week is the Summer Solstice, a favorite day of the year for me. The longest day of the year. The sun is at its furthest point South, while the moon dances at its furthest point North. I tend to think about the big ball of fire in the sky, how it sustains our life and how grateful I am for the warmth and light we receive. I am always amazed that plants turn the energy of light into food for us, and we are truly eating light when we consume food straight from the earth. 

Small plants, leaves and buds, growing in the soil.
O fiery sun, may your rays of light and warmth bless us with abundance,
and allow these plants to blossom with life.

Light from the heavens which mingle with nutrients from the earth! 

Years ago when Jed was just getting the farm going (circa 1996!) he would encounter people who would laugh at the concept of organic vegetables. One legendary encounter had a store owner telling Jed he "would never pay a cent more for anything organic" because there is no difference. One of our favorite quotes from another early resister is "if it came from the ground THEN IT'S ORGANIC!". The truth is when we started growing there was no science to back up why the veggies we grew were better for you. We had our deep knowing that chemicals meant to kill things could not be good for us or the earth and that our produce tasted better, but those were not worthy selling points for many of our "yet to be customers". 
I was thrilled this spring to come across a study out of U of Washington showing veggies grown Biodynamically and/or regeneratively are more nutritious then those conventionally grown. Someone proved what Jed and I knew for years, but could not explain!!! 
"Focusing on farms employing regenerative practices for at least five years in eight different US states, the regeneratively-grown crops had an average of 34% more vitamin K, 15% more vitamin E, 14% more vitamin B1, 17% more vitamin B2, 11% more calcium, 16% more phosphorus, and 27% more copper than nearby conventionally grown crops. They also compared regenerative versus conventional wheat: regenerative samples had 41% more boron, 29% more magnesium, 48% more calcium, and 56% more zinc. That's a significant difference!"
A mode of constant extraction is used by conventional farms. All nutrients are extracted with the vegetables that are harvested and the soil is not replenished, other then dumping on a chemical slurry of N-P-K. The soil is where all the nutrients reside, until plants are grown. Plants uptake the nutrients for their growth. Many farms have been in production for years and years growing veggies that look like they are suppose to look, but they are flavorless and grow in soils with no nutrients left to support them. No minerals, bacteria or decomposing life are added to the soil. When farms spray chemicals and monocrop they are depleting the topsoil by killing all the live microorganisms. These microorganisms digest decomposing matter recycling the nutrients.  Fields are not allowed to rest, but must continue producing...and so the extractive cycle goes on and on.
When soil is healthy it is actually alive. There are more living organisms in a teaspoon of healthy soil then people on earth! That is a lot of life to touch at one moment. Our soil heroes needs to be fed. We add compost so these precious critters have decomposing materials to dine on. The soil needs to rest and absorb what it has been given. We rotate the gardens and pastures with cover crops so we are not always extracting from the land, we grow cover crops just to be tilled into the soil to feed the soil. We take care of our soil and it takes care of us.
I have been geeking out on some health information and a quote that struck me by Linus Pauling (a 2 time Nobel Laureate) is: "One could trace every sickness, every disease and every ailment to a mineral deficiency." We need our minerals to thrive and most food available to us is not providing what we need. We as a nation are slowly becoming more and more mineral deficient because our soils are not being cared for. We overeat because our bodies are looking for the minerals that are missing in most food. 
I just learned, as the mineral values drop, so does the flavor! This is why your granddad talks about how food used to taste. He grew up eating food that tasted better because it was nutrient dense, because the soil was nutrient dense! And now there is a study showing vegetables grown on farms like ours, ARE more nutritious for you. As far as tasting better...you'll have to be the scientist!
Link to article about study: ​www.world-grain.com/articles/16547-study-shows-nutritional-benefits-in-regenerative-agriculture-crops
Link to study: peerj.com/articles/12848/
​
​Please check out these available farm positions and spread the word!
Market Helper- Wednesdays at the People's Market and/or Saturdays at the Jackson Farmer's Market. Paid position. Ride over in the truck or meet us at the market. Help get veggies to the people! This is a fun, social, fast paced job. Email dale@cosmicapple.com
Field Crew- 4 or 5 days a week. 7-4 each day. Be a farmer! Help with planting, weeding, harvesting and anything else that needs done. 

Crop List: Cosmic Mix, Spinach, Baby Kale, Pea Shoots and Oregano

Greens cutting marathon is a go this week at the farm. Our greens are grown in 500 foot long beds with 4 rows per bed. When it is time to harvest we use sheep shears, which are like big scissors and cut the row. As we harvest we gather handfuls of greens and attempt to pull out any weeds we see. We are incredibly grateful for thoroughly weeded beds and do the best we can when the weeds get ahead of us. The greens are placed into a bucket that has been lined with a large mesh bag. A full bucket weighs about 9 pounds. When the bucket bag combo is full the bag is pulled from the bucket and placed into a crate in the garden cart. We always harvest the tender greens first thing in the morning before it gets too hot and hope to have them done by coffee break around 9:30. This week we have so many to cut, we are hoping to be done by lunch. Yay for cooler weather!
When we are done harvesting the cart is pulled back to the wash station. Our head veggie caretaker (a.k.a. The Wash Station Manager) processes the greens. She pulls them off the cart and puts the full bag into a cold water tub. The tub cools the greens and replaces any moisture lost during harvest. The bags are swished around and moved to a second tub. This process breaks up any big soil clumps that snuck in, but mostly cools and helps to preserve your greens. (Remember to wash your veggies! We don't do that for you!)
The bags are then gently lifted out of the water, drained and placed into a washing machine. We have an old washer that will live the rest of its life on spin cycle. It's our giant salad spinner. This removes the excess water. The greens are placed on a wire table and mixed by hand. This is how we know the Cosmic Mix and Spicy Mix are evenly amalgamated. When the blending is complete the greens go into a crate and are filled up until they weigh exactly 7.15 pounds each. The full crates are then divided onto pallets destined for 1 of three pick up locations and ready for you to weigh your share!
Early in the season is the only time we can cut so many delicate greens. They take a copious amount of time and when the rest of the garden is producing our time is spread to thin. This week we are harvesting Cosmic Mix, Spinach, Pea Shoots and Baby Kale in this manner. Oregano is mostly the same process, we just use smaller clippers for the stronger stems. As you enjoy these early season delights know they were hand harvested, cooled and packed just for you!

​Please check out these available farm positions and spread the word!
Market Helper- Wednesdays at the People's Market and/or Saturdays at the Jackson Farmer's Market. Paid position. Ride over in the truck or meet us at the market. Help get veggies to the people! This is a fun, social, fast paced job. Email dale@cosmicapple.com
Field Crew- 4 or 5 days a week. 7-4 each day. Be a farmer! Help with planting, weeding, harvesting and anything else that needs done. 

​Lunch this Week: Grilled Cheese with Lovage Pesto
Recipe Ideas: Creamy Lovage dressing, Garlic and Chive Bread, Italian Arugula Salad (all these recipes are found via the link above)
The coolers at your site are stocked with 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: Ground Beef
​Pork Available: Grandpa's Sausage, Breakfast Sausage, Pork Chops, Shoulder Roast, Bacon, Tenderloin, Spare Ribs, Neck Bones (make the real deal Ramen!) and Fat

WASH YOUR VEGGIES!!
​
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 10% off at the Farmer's Markets!
The Driggs Market: Fridays 9-1
JH Farmer's Market: Saturdays 8-12 (starts July 1st)
The People's Market: Wednesdays 4-7
​
Questions? Comments? Recipes to share? dale@cosmicapple.com

Crop List: Huckleberry Gold Potatoes, Yukon Gold Potatoes, Wild Berry Potatoes, Fingerling Potatoes, Carrots, Beets, Basil, Fennel, Garlic, Broccoli, Turnips, Radish, Dill, Murdoc Cabbage and maybe Red Onion

This is the final share of 2022. Thanks for joining us. As always 2022 had its ups and downs. It is one of the things I love about farming. Each year some crops thrive and some don't. Sometimes we know the reasons a crop fails...some crops we have to guess about. If we had to describe the whole season..."slow and steady" would sum it up. The more normal wet, cool spring was a good reminder that we live in the Tetons. It took us a long time to get the garden planted this year because the ground stayed so wet. Putting the seeds in the ground before the soil warms and dries results in them rotting. A late plant date slowed the crops down. Many were about a month behind. Once they started coming in, they produced a steady stream of veggies. Some years the garden goes into a growing frenzy and we are unable to get the crops in because so much is ready at once. This year we didn't have as much diversity with each share, but the crops made an appearance when they were ready.
The highs and lows of 2022
Lows were sunflowers, all the squash, spinach, arugula, broccoli and cabbage. We experimented with planting the sunflowers in the one of our cover crops. Major fail. They were one of the crops which were planted really late. In addition to being late the competition of the cover crop was too much. I usually start harvesting flowers at the very beginning of August, but the ones who bloomed arrived the last week of August and they were only about 2" blooms instead of the 6" flowers we are used to. 90% of them never bloomed. We won't do that again!!
The squash (summer, winter and cucumbers) were also on the list of things that had to wait for the soil to dry and warm to go in the ground. Missing a month of growing time made the summer to short for this veggie family. Growing cucurbits in  the Tetons is always a gamble, and this year we were sad to miss them! I am particularly heartbroken over the winter squash.
The spinach and arugula (we did get one good early cut on these, but lost the next round) loved the cool spring but the transition from cool to hot was not gradual enough and it bolted. "Bolting" means going to seed too early because of stress.
The broccoli and cabbage could have used a bit more time in the garden too.
The highs of 2022! Radish, carrots, potatoes, sugar snaps and tomatoes! YAY for these goodies! The early radishes this year were exceptional. Amazing flavor, no cracks and no hollowing out. The radishes loved the cool wet spring and they were ready for harvest before the heat came so they didn't bolt!
We tried a new variety of sugar snap peas and love them. We were pleased with the amount we were able to give out. We know everyone always wants more...but the labor involved in pea picking is a serious limiting factor. 
The tomatoes were great. Consistent, yummy, slow and steady for almost 2 1/2 months! 
The carrots are incredible this year. I weighed one carrot today that tipped the scale to almost 1 1/2 pounds! Holy lunker carrot! The cooler nights have encouraged the roots to sweeten up to a degree I haven't tasted in some years. I should warn the parents out there that it is totally normal for your child to refuse store bought carrots after a year like this.  All the varieties did well this year. 2021 was not a great carrot year, so woohoo for 2022!
And the potatoes. I know we are an Idaho farm, and you expect these from us...but this year's crop looks great. The potatoes are healthy and abundant. I am still recovering from 2020 when the spuds froze and we were not able to deliver many potatoes at all. It feels great to have such a gorgeous crop coming in.
2022 is a wrap. Thanks for joining us. Your commitment to the farm is what permits us to grow so many different crops. We all share in the abundance and feel the lack as a community. We are very aware that you could go to the grocery store and get exactly what you want each week. Your willingness to be flexible is noted and appreciated.
We work really hard to grow the best food possible for the people of the Tetons. We hope you can taste the difference. We pray you feel nourished physically and spiritually by this food that grounds us all here, together, in such an amazing place.
​On behalf of Jed and I, thank you for allowing us to be your farmers. We are truly honored. We wish you a fall and winter of rest, joy and connection with those you hold dear.
​We hope to see you all again in the spring standing around some yellow crates weighing things!!

Crop List: Purple Carrots, Radish, Cilantro, Yukon Gold Potatoes, Huckleberry Gold Potatoes, Shallots, Bok Choy, Lacinato Kale and maybe Tomatoes

The shares are getting heavy! Here comes the poundage. Remember way back in June when the shares were light, leafy and green? Now is the time of year for dense, earthy and weighty veggies. This time of year we are usually happy to be moving around heavy crates because it warms us up. While we are still happy to be moving the bounty of the harvest... we are not actively seeking heat. These fall days have been dreamy. The temperatures are delightful for what is happening on the farm right now! We are savoring the warmth and colors. 
We are in the process of digging carrots and potatoes. We pulled out the potato digger on Monday and are cruising through the rows. We have 12 rows each 500' feet long of spuds out there to collect. Every yellow crate we have will be in use, and we end up pulling out sacks to put the remainders in.
The carrots are calling us too. We have another 3 rows (also 500' long) to dig. We use a tractor implement called an "undercutter" to dig the carrots. It is a bar that is pushed under the soil about 18" by the tractor and it "undercuts" the roots to loosen them and then we can just grab them instead of using a digging fork and digging by hand.
Cosmic Mix may be done for the season. We have a crop out there, but it is not as eager to grow as we would like.
We will be giving out lots of veggies this week and next. Be sure to check out the recipe pages for storage tips.

Free Cosmic T-shirt, Hat, Mug or Water Bottle!
We have started our 2023 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...or a non-organic mug or water bottle! Your site host will have sign-up sheets, one is attached to your email or you can get one here: ​Sign-up sheet
Sign up early to get the best prices and to guarantee the pick up location/day you really want...and did I mention the free swag?! Shirts available in Men's, Women's, Kid's, Toddler and Onesies! Hats are cap style or trucker style. Mug or water bottle in blue or black are insulated and have a cool magnet lid.
Speaking of Cosmic Merch...I have not mentioned it, BUT we have awesome Organic Hoodies, Bigger Mugs and Water bottles too. If you want anything, you can purchase it online and we will happily bring it to your pick up site and refund the shipping cost. (We can't give these out with a share purchase, but they sure are cool!)​
Link to check out all merch: here

Crop List: Cosmic Mix, Fingerling Potatoes, Winter Squash, Basil, Carrots, Parsley, maybe Tomatoes, Radish and/or Beets

Jed has been evaluating the garden and figuring out what is left out there. I've been told there is a lot! We will be providing 16 shares this year! Please mark your calendars. The last dates will be: Tuesday, October 4th and Thursday, October 6th.​
We still didn't see a frost in the forecast strong enough to kill the tops of the potatoes, so Jed mowed them. This will signal the plants that the time has come to "suberize". We are soon going to get the potato digger out and go to work on harvesting them all. The fingerlings in your share this week are still hand dug and have sensitive skins. They need another week or so in the ground to be considered storage potatoes.
The garlic is done curing! The bulbs in your share this week can be stored for months. The stalks are dried down and the paper has also.
The tomatoes have really slowed down. Even with plastic and propane, they are dependent on how many hours of daylight they get...and we are not getting them grow lights!
​The Fall Equinox is on Thursday. Day and nights are equal. We are returning to the dark time of year. I can really feel the pull to slow down and go within. But the reality of slowing down is always just over the horizon right now. There is still much to be done. Lots to harvest, dry, ferment and store. I feel like a mouse scurrying around trying to get it all done right now. I watch the landscape slowly let go and wither back to the earth, while I attempt to stock up and sustain life all winter. I'll admit to having tired moments when I just want to lay on the earth and melt into her embrace, really letting it all go. But as a healthy human...when I do lay down, it seems to revitalize me. I rise and get back to the to do list of fall. With fresh eyes I can witness all the beauty of fall. The smoke is gone, sky is blue and the leaves are starting to change. We have days forecasted in the dreamy 70's for the next week. May you feel embraced by fall in this gorgeous place we get to call home!!!