Crop List: Cosmic Mix, Swiss Chard, Turnips, Mirlo Head Lettuce, Tomatoes, maybe Sugar Snap Peas, Basil and/or Bok Choy

It felt like just last week we were striving to round out the crop list with more variety. The garden has tipped. Now it is all about how fast we can get it harvested. The farm is growing great!  The plants are thriving in all this heat. 

On Monday we freed the squash! Our winter squash (pumpkins, delicata) and summer squash (zuchinni, yellow crookneck, cucumbers) were all planted on IRT mulch which helps to heat the soil for sensitive crops in the Tetons. We also cover them with the white row cover. The row cover is placed on top of hoops so the rows are like mini greenhouses. When the plants begin to flower we remove the row cover so the insects can get in there and pollinate. The plants are just starting to show signs of flowering and we had some time so the row cover has been removed! The squash is now free to grow as big as it wants! Last year we had squash by share #6 and then proceeded to have one of our biggest squash years ever.
The cucurbita family is so cool. It grows so fast. It feels as close to a jungle plant as we can get here. My best guess is the summer squash will start to make a small appearances in about 2 weeks. Generally we plant this section of the garden at the very beginning of June. Mama Nature had other plans this year, and we were asked to wait until late June. We listened, if we would have planted the seeds in the cool, wet early June the seeds would have just rotted on us. This family of veggies likes it warm and we are always kind of coaxing them in the Tetons.

As Emma called it..."The Great Pig Migration" is happening. Our sow had 10 piglets in April. They are more than ready to be separated from mama. We have a mobile pig shed that they will call home. The electric fencing is set up around wherever we choose to park it to keep the pigs in. The pigs till the soil for us with their noses as they root around for yummy plants, chomping weeds as they also fertilize the soil. We give them a lot of space. Usually our pig posse does not even till all the ground we'd like them too. Which is great because it means they have enough fresh forage and they are not desperate for more. 
Our pigs follow the garden in our rotation. After an area has been in garden for several years we put the pigs on it. They forage, till and fertilize. When they are done we plant the area to pasture. The pasture replenishes the soil. Nitrogen is fixed, long grass roots aerate, weeds are choked out by more competitive plants. It takes the fresh grass and lots of other plants about 4 months to get established. Our cows and chickens are then put on the pasture. They also continue to fertilize while dining. When we are ready to move the cows and chickens over, the land then becomes garden again. The whole rotation takes about 7 years and is really important to the longevity of the farm. If we didn't rotate the garden/pigs/pasture the soil becomes depleted. We need the animals to replenish what is coming out of the soil in the form of vegetable matter.
My favorite Rudolf Steiner (Founder of Biodynamic Agriculture) quote is:
"So long as one feeds on food from unhealthy soil, the spirit will lack the stamina to free itself from the prison of the body."
We know our most important job as farmers is to care for the soil. The soil is where our true nourishment comes from. If we are eating soil that lacks real nutrition we will not have enough energy to pursue the great endeavors of our lives. Moving pigs does not always seem like a big deal but The Great Pig Migration is just a little part of the big picture!


We need a few more volunteers for August! 
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 a 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!

Lunch this Week: Butter (LOTS of butter) pasta with Bok choy, garlic curls, kale and basil. Chili Mint Stir Fry with Bok Choy, Radish, kale, garlic curls and Cosmic Beef over rice.
Recipe Ideas: Garlic Scape and Bok Choy. Bok Choy with Gingery Butter Sauce, Bok Choy. Italian Arugula Salad. Emily's Overnight Kale Salad.
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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!
Lifeline Beef Available: Ground Beef, Patties and Stew Meat
​Pork Available: Grandpa's Sausage, Breakfast Sausage, Pork Chops, Shoulder Roast, Neck Bones (make the real deal Ramen!), Fat, Spare Ribs, Country Ribs, and Hock

Crop List: Cosmic Mix, Turnips, Bok Choy, Garlic Curls, Roxy Head Lettuce and Basil

​​Share #4! A month in and it feels like we have a routine going. The daily rhythm is becoming normal for our employees and us. Everyday on the farm is a bit different, but there is a flow. We meet at 7 am and talk about who will do what, first thing each morning. Max moves off to care for the cows, pigs, chickens and calves. He rejoins the crew when he is done, around 9. Jed heads out into the field with the crew (Jenevive, Charlotte, Jacy, Emma and 2 volunteers) to harvest Cosmic Mix (every Monday and Thursday). Tuesdays and Thursdays we get the other items for the shares out of the fields. Jacy eventually ventures off to move irrigation pipe, which takes about 45 minutes each morning. We harvest until the coveted coffee break around 9:30. 
Our wash station manager, Becky, has begun inventorying veggies that returned from a CSA pick up or market and divvying up "the extras" before she begins post harvest handling of items coming out of the fields.
Deb arrives to tend to the greenhouses. The tomatoes need trellising and harvested on Mondays and Thursdays.
After coffee break, there is more harvesting. When the harvest is done, we move onto getting the mud off of crops, weighing and dividing. The greens are dunked in tubs of water to cool them and get any big clumps of soil off. The root crops are sprayed down, to help keep most of the soil at the farm. Each item is either weighed or counted. The total number or weight is then divided by the number of CSA members picking up each day...this is how we determine a share.
We strive to have all the produce in the wash station before lunch, at 12:15 each day. By 1 we are back at moving forward with veggie distribution. Becky is doing serious math in the wash station to determine where the veggies will be going. There are 3 pickup points happening simultaneously on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and we need the right number of bok choys at each location for the number of members expecting bok choy! The concentration in the wash station becomes palpable on some days.
The dry erase boards with your share weights are written. Our truck driver, Roberta, arrives at 3 to load the truck and hits the road at 3:30. After dropping a pallet and supplies in Wilson, she heads to downtown Jackson to get the veggies to the people!!
This is the flow of the CSA harvest. Outside of this, there is also prep for 3 markets happening, weeding, projects and all the other good things to keep the whole farm wheel turning!

We need a couple more volunteers for July! At this point...only a 3 week commitment!
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 a 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, Radish, Baby Kale, Red Oak Head Lettuce, Oregano and maybe Pea Shoots

We are in between spring and early summer crops. The garden always takes a pause during week #3. It feels almost as if the garden is taking a big breath before releasing. With the release comes the abundance. We are on the precipice of the beginning of summer produce in the Tetons. This pause is also welcome, as it gives us some time to weed.
It is a fun time to walk in the garden and see how quickly things are growing. I get really excited about all the promise out there. Good things are coming. I think the kale and Swiss chard doubled in size last week. Some tomatoes are getting red. 
The radishes! WOW! This may be one of the nicest crops of radishes we have ever grown. They are solid the whole way through...no hollow core! The tops have yet to bolt, which can give them a tough center. They really thrived in our the spring weather. We will be harvesting the remainder of them this week before moving onto other goodies.

4th of July on the farm always feels "right". I get my kids off to the parade with friends and then I ride my bike to the farm. (The parade starts at 10:30 and I am in charge of lunch for the crew, so I need to be there cooking by 11.) I get to ride past the whole parade line-up before they start moving because they line up on the farm road! This has become my favorite way to see the parade. Our little town feels festive, loud and bit hectic for me. It is amazing how getting 1 mile out of the downtown feels so different.
I like to celebrate the feeling of "freedom". For me, I reminisce about my late teens and young 20s. I really felt it then. I could and did go wherever the wind blew me...with really loud awesome music playing through whatever stereo was available. "Freedom", free from anything or anyone oppressive is a beautiful thing to celebrate and I hope you were able to find that trueness on the 4th. I am not ignoring the fact that there is work to be done, I acknowledge not everyone around the world knows the feeling of freedom. I like to celebrate my vision for a "better" country and world on Independence Day and I hope you are able to also.
Nowadays I also think of our veggies. Freedom Veggies!!! I think of the things they are free of...pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, bleach washing and post harvest chorine sprays. I think of how we use the term "free of" to describe the way things are when they are in their natural state. Not being free is onerous, to say the least, for people and veggies! It feels good to be on the farm on the 4th. Growing the best food, with the pure power of the sun, soil and water, free of inputs that harm us and our world feels freeing! Jed, our crew and I have the ability to provide something that helps others. Nutritious food. Now in my late 40's, I know I will never be 100% free until all are free. Until then, seeing others doing well is something that lifts me enough to keep going. Seeing others doing well helps me feel free. We are confident this food will help you be well.
We are so grateful to be able to grow food for you, we hope this food helps you to find freedom in whatever way you need.

We are happy to report we have revamped our volunteer program.
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 a month! It feels really good to have volunteers back on the farm, we missed them!! Lunch is provided! Follow the link below to check it out!

Crop List: Cosmic Mix, Spinach, Spicy Mix, Thyme, Green Onions, Bok Choy, Arugula and Maybe Radish

How did that first share taste?
Can you feel the difference eating fresh food makes! I can. I ate so many salads last week and I feel lighter​​ and quicker because of it. Now that the heat has arrived, I crave salads. To make them more substantial I add a hard boiled egg, toasted walnuts, feta cheese and olives. YUM!!

The garden is growing great.
The veggies will take off like crazy now that it has warmed up and the days are so long. We are now harvesting 5 mornings a week and spending the afternoons weeding and tending to required projects such as transplanting, spreading row cover and continued seeding. Summer is here, bring on the heat!

What's with the "maybe" in the crop list?
We try to make the crop list as accurate as possible. I write the newsletter on Monday afternoons. Many crops are harvested and processed Tuesday mornings after I leave the office. (respectively Wednesday and Thursdays, for the Thursday share folks) When a crop just starts to ripen there is not always enough to feed 120 families, so we send it to just one pick up site. Gratefully, Jed is a master record keeper! He writes down who received what veggies and then works to spread the bounty of each crop evenly as the weeks progress.
This is also why you may see items at the market before you see them in your share. For example tomatoes! When we begin to harvest from all 3 greenhouses we may "only" get 10 lbs. total the first few harvests. This can look like a lot on a market table! But it would be less then one tomato per person at only one distribution point! Not enough for anyone to enjoy. We bring these early "teaser" harvests to the markets so they are not wasted.
​By the way...the tomatoes look great this year! We should all be enjoying them by the end of July. 

Some words about payment for meat, cheese, eggs and butter.
We know many of you want to move to all digital transactions. This is challenging for us. Cash and checks are the easiest form of payment for our volunteers to accept...simply because they can verify them. Venmo is tough because it is all done thru one person's account, and there is no way for our site hosts to confirm payment has been received, because they don't have my phone! We are also not in a position to give everyone access to our account to run credit cards. Please understand these digital conveniences cost small businesses fees, and they take so much time for us to track and figure out how to navigate with volunteers, and volunteer substitutes! As much as we love our helpers...we are not ready to give them access to our bank accounts!! We understand many of you don't even carry cash anymore. So we will be able to accept Venmo if it is your only option. To do so, you will have to fill out a paper log when you make a purchase, I will later have to validate the payment came through. Sometimes these time saving devices really just take me more time! Thank you for understanding.

We are happy to report we have revamped our volunteer program.
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 a month! It feels really good to have volunteers back on the farm, we missed them!! Lunch is provided! Follow the link below to check it out!

Crop List: Cosmic Mix, Spinach, Baby Kale, Pea Shoots, Green Onion, Lovage and Chives

Welcome! We are so thrilled to begin this season of veggie distribution. We hope the food we grow nourishes you. We hope this food creates meals to share with your loved ones. We hope your body remembers what real flavor is after a long winter! And our favorite...We hope this food gives you the energy to make the world a better place.
I ate my first plate of Cosmic Mix on Monday at lunch. Dang, I missed that stuff! It is tender, sweet and tastes alive! This spinach crop is gorgeous and plentiful.  Spinach thrives in cool wet weather...and the Tetons provide! Most years by the time we start the CSA the chives are too far gone, but they are perfect right now. The flowers are edible and the purple adds such a fun splash of color to dishes. The green onions, planted last fall, are such a treat in the spring. And baby kale, pea shoots and lovage! What a great first share!
This is always a really exciting week on the farm. We love seeing you all again and meeting new CSA members. We love having fresh things to eat again too. Jed and I are remembering all the tasks involved in getting a share out the door. Our employees are being trained on the fly. There is no real warm up to the first share. We just have to jump in and be ready to navigate all this week has to offer. Please reach out if you need to communicate about anything!
I will send out a weekly newsletter every morning of your share pick up day. This is my medium for getting important farm info to you, sharing recipes and rambling about farm life. If you are not sure what to do with a particular veggie or need inspiration, follow the link below to our recipe bank. Please send us any recipes you find that you want to share, I'll add them! Below the link are some ideas about how I am using the veggies at the farm each week and some recipes I like to make for our family.
Currently I am out of storage space for egg cartons! Please resist the temptation to bring them unless they have our label on them. I will rotate eggs around to each delivery site as we have them. The chickens are laying well right now but they slow down as the summer progresses.

WE NEED SOME SITE HOSTS! If you know any friendly folks who want to work with the best customers ever, send them our way. Site host get a half a share in exchange for helping at our distribution points. We are looking for one on Thursdays at the farm in Victor and one in downtown Jackson also on Thursdays.
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We are happy to report we have revamped our volunteer program! 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 a month! It feels really good to have volunteers back on the farm, we missed them!! Lunch is provided! Follow the link below to check it out!

Crop List: Carrots, Kale, Potatoes (Huckleberry Gold, Russian Banana Fingerlings, Purple Viking and Yukon Gold), Garlic, Parsley, Leeks, Daikon Radish, Watermelon Radish, Delicata Squash, Maybe Dill, Cilantro, Rainbow Carrots and/or Spaghetti Squash

​Fare thee well....
This is it. The final week of the 2021 share season. As you can see, this week's share will be heavy! Please bring extra bags!
As I type this on Monday afternoon the crew is getting the potatoes in. It looks like it will be an incredible harvest. The spuds look healthy, they are a good size and we received a great yield from each plant. May the potatoes nourish you for the fall and may they help you feel rooted to this magical place we all share.
Like every year in farming, somethings were great! Some failed miserably. We were sad (tears may have been shed) to loose the onions, cabbage, broccoli and beets to the weeds. The early season greens suffered from the extreme early heat. 
The bounty was there though! The summer squash was amazing! It may have been the best sugar snap pea year ever. The mid-season greens (arugula!) were a great surprise, they usually are not that prolific. Best. Leek. Year. Ever! And as stated earlier the potatoes are looking gorgeous.
Also on a high note...Our crew. Holy, amazing people. It is the first year in farming that we did not loose one single employee. They each started the season, committed and are still getting it all done. I straight up love these people.
We are also coming to close on a special era. Our dear employee (friend-sister-family member would be more appropriate!) Emily will be moving on after 13 years. She has had every single job title we have at the farm and done many jobs there is no title for. She just always pitched in when needed. We are forever grateful. This past year she has been our Market Manager, so wish her well if you go to any markets this week! Her new job title will be 'Mom", and we feel so honored to witness her little one growing up in the Tetons.
And of course you, our farm members. Thank you. Thank you for meeting us once a week to get your veggies. We know that is not always easy. Thank you for being open to preparing veggies as nature gives them to us, instead of what is on a grocery store shelf. Thank you for trusting us to be your farmers, even when we are sometimes wondering what the heck we are doing! Thank you for investing in a food system that bucks the status quo and seeks to heal the Earth. Thank you for taking care of yourself and eating well. Thank you for being part of our community.
 We hope our produce gives you the stamina to make the world a better place. We wish you the absolute best and hope to see you next year!

Free Cosmic T-shirt or Hat!
We have started our 2022 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: ​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 shirt or hat?! Shirts available in Men's, Women's, Kid's, Toddler and Onesies! Hats are cap style or trucker style.
Speaking of Cosmic Merch...I have not mentioned it, BUT we have awesome Organic Hoodies, 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: Merch Here!

Crop List: Orange Carrots, Rainbow Carrots, Fingerling Potatoes, Yukon Gold Potatoes, Red Curly Kale, Bok Choy, Leeks, Basil, Spaghetti Squash, Garlic, maybe Broccoli and/or Watermelon Radish,

So much news...
We had a surprise freeze on Friday morning. We thought we had another couple of days...but it's okay! We had already emotionally hit the point of being ready to let go. The beans, peas, squash and other sensitive things are now memories. We have turned our energies to getting everything out of the garden to finish the CSA. As of now we are planning to wrap it up with week #16, but make sure to check in next week for the full story! 
The Fall Equinox is on Wednesday this week, the first snow is visible, we have been hearing the elk bugling and those leaves, ahh the gorgeous colors on the hills! On Friday (9/17) we pulled all the winter squash out of the field in a frenzied 90 minute harvest. Then we all went to the brew pub for a beer. Jed and I barely ever do this with the crew. They are finishing work for the day and like to go out, but Jed and I usually keep working (farming or shuttling kids or....). We stopped to join them. I can feel a familiar feeling creeping in with the fall, the desire to kick back a bit and celebrate the season. Taking a moment to pause and notice all that has been done, yet knowing the final work is still in front of us. We need to empty and compost the garden, plant the garlic, spread Biodynamic preps and do 100's of other little tasks, but the season is coming to a close and we have so much to be grateful for.
I read this last night..."Breath love into every skill this time demands of us; gather the harvest and delight in the work of the year." (Maeanna Welti)
What a beautiful reminder. We send these final 2 shares out to you full of love and delight in all that has been accomplished!

We have Breakfast Sausage!!
We have been waiting a loooonnnggg time for the butcher to catch up and we are finally restocked with some sausage. The only flavor we have right now is the Breakfast. It is seasoned with white pepper and sage and pairs perfectly with a tiny bit of maple syrup drizzled on it. We have it packaged with 4 patties per package, almost a pound on average. If you know you want me to reserve you some, send me an email and I will put some in the cooler for you with your name on it. I will send as much as I can fit in the coolers. Every site sold out last week, so don't be shy about ordering some! If you have not tried our sausage before, give it a try and you'll taste for yourself why folks are so excited we are finally restocked. We are now taking cash, check and Venmo at the pick up sites.

​Free Cosmic T-shirt or Hat!
We are kicking off our 2022 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: ​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 shirt or hat?! Shirts available in Men's, Women's, Kid's, Toddler and Onesies! Hats are cap style or trucker style.
Speaking of Cosmic Merch...I have not mentioned it, BUT we have awesome Organic Hoodies, 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: Merch Here!

Lunch this Week:  Vichyssoise and Sausage Kale Soup #2
Recipe Ideas: Dale's oven Fries, Colcannon. Oven Roasted Carrots and Kale
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!
Lifeline Beef Available: Tenderloin, Ribeye, New York, Sirloin Steak, Eye of the Round, Brisket, Ground Beef, Patties, Sirloin Tip Roast, Tongue, Marrow Bones, Heart, Stew, and Kabobs
​Pork Available: Fat and Breakfast Sausage!

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 (Ends 9/22)
The Driggs Market: Fridays 9-1 (Ends 10/1)
Jackson Hole Farmer's Market: Saturdays 8-1 (Ends 9/25)
Farm to Fork Festival, Saturday 10/2 at The Center for the Arts
Questions? Comments? Recipes to share? dale@cosmicapple.com

Crop List: Cosmic Mix, Purple Viking Potatoes, Carrots, Thyme, Bok Choy, Cucumbers, Summer Squash, Leeks, Maybe Sunflowers and/or Tomatoes

The garden is still alive and flourishing without a killing frost.​​ The sunflowers have slowed down, just because we plant varieties that bloom before this time of year. Jed mowed the potato vines on Thursday 9/9 so we should have cured spuds by the end of next week. Our fingers are crossed. We are concerned because the greens are not really laying down and dying! They are fighting to keep growing in this mild weather. So in some ways, we are ready for a frost!
Speaking of curing, the garlic is almost ready. We have begun sorting and cleaning what was harvested into 2 classes: Seed (the biggest and best) and the "Rest of it". The "rest of it" is what we give out in our CSA and sell at the markets. We save about a third of the crop every year for seed. Garlic should start showing up the end of this week or next.
​We put the pigs on new pasture yesterday. They are eating our cover crop from a section of garden that is now in the resting phase of our rotation. It was garden for many years and this spring was planted with wheat, winter peas, vetch, rye, oats and barley to rejuvenate the soil and out compete the weeds. We planted a diverse mix of plants so the soil is offed something different from each plant. The pigs will till it in. Next spring it will then be planted to pasture for the cows and chickens to graze for several years. The pasture grass will grow a deep root system to aerate the soil while the cows give it some extra special goodness with their manure. Eventually it will be garden again. If you pick up at the farm, you can see the pig pen directly south of the veggie shed. The pigs will be running around in growth over their heads and creating trails until they have it all munched down.

We have Breakfast Sausage!! We have been waiting a loooonnnggg time for the butcher to catch up and we are finally restocked with some sausage. The only flavor we have right now is the Breakfast. It is seasoned with white pepper and sage. It comes in "bulk" (not formed in patties) one pound packages. If you know you want me to reserve you some, send me an email and I will put some in the cooler for you with your name on it. I will send as much as I can fit in the coolers. If you have not tried our sausage before, give it a try and you'll taste for yourself why folks are so excited we are finally restocked. We are now taking cash, check and Venmo at the pick up sites.

Crop List: Cosmic Mix, Fingerling Potatoes, Fennel, Holy Basil, Dill, Summer Squash, Cucumbers, Maybe Tomatoes, Sunflowers, Green Beans and/or Sugar Snap Peas

We had a very light frost at the farm on Saturday (9/4) morning. The cucumbers look pretty sad, but they may bounce back. The summer squash looks a bit better and also may still produce. Any day in September without a killing frost feels like a gift in the Tetons! The garden is still growing wonderfully and there is no more frost in the forecast as I type this.
Once September hits folks start asking: How many more weeks of veggies are there? We don't know, Mother Nature is in charge. Our goal every year is to make it 16 weeks. Some years we go longer. At this point I am confident we will make it at least 16 weeks! (In 25 years there was only one year that went 15 weeks, 24 years of shares have been 16 weeks or more!) It really depends on the weather and how fast we can get the garden cleaned out. If the summer squash keeps going, we will keep harvesting it and put off pulling in the carrots and potatoes until we need to. Once we get a killing frost and loose the summer crops we put all our energy into cleaning out the garden. Right now we are just in a holding pattern. Savoring the summer bounty until it's gone and we lean fully into the fall crops.
The cold nights do wonders for the carrots. The longer they stay in the ground, the sweeter they will be when you get them! Cold nights stimulate sugar production in veggies...which is why Cosmic carrots are way better then any you will ever get from California!
Keep checking the newsletter and I promise to update you about how long the shares will go.
We are starting to dig small samplings of the potatoes. What we are distributing now are "new potatoes". The "new" means that they have not cured for storage. The skins are really tender and peel off easily...your fingernail will do the trick. These spuds are meant to be eaten on the quicker side and kept refrigerated until you do so. 
Getting storage potatoes harvested involves a killing frost! After the above ground green vine part of the potato plant freezes it sends a message to the tubers to "suberize". This process toughens up the skin and is what makes a potato "cured" or storable for the long term. If we don't get a timely frost, we mow the vines to kill them and encourage the beginning of the suberizing process.
In non-organic production if the plants do not die naturally from a frost they are desiccated or vine killed with an herbicide.  After a field is sprayed the farmer puts up a lovely skull and crossbones sign to keep people from walking in the field. After the vines are sprayed, farmers are instructed to refrain from feeding them to livestock. The earth has been rendered toxic and dangerous...but in 14 days it turns into food for humans! Potatoes are one of the crops on the Dirty Dozen list of the most sprayed fruits and veggies. 
We put our potato seed in the ground, water and weed them. We treat them with some Biodynamic applications of quartz crystal spray, bison field spray, red tourmaline and horn manure. At some point we may mow them. They are clean real food, and we will never hang a skull and crossbones at the farm...unless we become pirate farmers.