Share #8 August 4th & 6th

Crop List: Cosmic Mix, Tomatoes, Summer Squash, Basil, Collards, Shelling Peas, Red Oak Lettuce, Garlic, Maybe Cucumbers +/or Sunflowers

August! The pace of the farm always picks up this month and goes strong until the first hard freeze. As I type this newsletter the crew is working really hard in hot weather to get the garlic in. The whole crop was dug with an undercutter bar on the tractor. It must then be picked up, soil knocked off the roots, stacked in piles, then loaded on a trailer. It is then transferred to the "old horse barn" where it will dry and cure. It is a dusty dry job, but the garlic needs to be harvested when it is dry. Moisture slows the curing and will tempt rot. Garlic is one of the more labor intensive crops we grow, but it grows so good here! We will save about a third of the crop to be our seed this fall for 2021's crop. (Over the years I have written more about the life cycle of garlic and added it to the recipe page.)
We are in the middle...of a lot right now! Our employees work May 1st- October 31st, so we just hit the half way point in the season with them. Our goal every year is to have at least 16 weeks of shares...most years we make it to 17 or 18 depending on how fast we can empty the garden out and how long nice fall weather lingers. Share #8 puts us in the middle of that goal! We also just passed Lammas a "cross quarter day" on August 2nd, the day half way between Summer Solstice and Fall Equinox. We now begin to really reap what we sowed. We know we can depend on our amazing employees who are now trained and committed to this growing season and the work of feeding their community. The garden is on a steep upward trend to its peak of fruition. The fire in the sky is burning strong and bright right now to keep us going. Fire season is upon us in the Tetons as we have reached the dry part of the year. It is the time of the year you can feel the burn of the season! Tempers flare as people can feel hot, tired and cranky. We all strive to savor the last month of summer and squeeze it all in. On the farm we start to make choices about which crops will make it and need our attention immediately, and which crops need to be tilled in because of poor germination or no time to weed. It is the time of year to buckle down and start choosing where our energy will go and what we want to reap for the long term.

Farm lunch this week: Polenta with collards, peas and tomatoes. Gazpacho Soup
Recipe Ideas: Chilled Cucumber Mint Soup. Slice Tomatoes thin, put on a plate sprinkle with chopped Basil and drizzle a bit of Balsamic Vinegar over the whole plate... add salt and pepper and the appetizer is ready! Simple Perfect Peas with Butter and Salt

Recipes

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 Steak, Sirloin Steak, Eye of the Round Steak, Round Roast, Sirloin Tip Roast, Liver, Ground Beef, Patties, Stew, Kabobs, Hot Dogs and Bratwurst
​Pork Available: Neck Bones and 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
Farm to Fork Festival: October 3rd 11-4  Center for the Arts
Questions? Comments? Recipes to share? dale@cosmicapple.com