Crop List: Dill, Basil, Carrots, Broccoli, Garlic, Head Lettuce, Summer Squash, Tomatoes, Maybe Cosmic Mix, Green Beans, Beets, Cilantro and/or Sunflowers

A shift is in the air at the farm. The sunflowers have petered out. The Cosmic Mix has really slowed down. The longer nights and cooler night time temps are slowing the garden down. The fall crops are still ripening and we have lots of produce in the garden to look forward to!
It sounds like much of Teton Valley received a frost on Monday morning. We did not! The warm breezes blew off of the pass all night and the farm was protected. This weather phenomenon is one of the reasons Jed sought farmland in our area of Victor. The "canyon breezes", good irrigation and some of the deepest soil in Teton Valley is why South East Teton Valley is one of the best micro climates for growing in The Tetons!
We had some hail last week. The lettuce and summer squash can tell you all about it if you look for the marks left by the storm.
The first week of September is always when folks start to wonder how many more shares we will have. Truth is, we don't know. It depends on the weather. We'll keep harvesting all the yummy summer treats until we freeze and they are no longer viable. Items like summer squash, herbs, lettuces and the like. We will start digging some of the fall root crops slowly and then after the frost it depends on how fast we can empty the garden out! Rain and snow slow us down. We always dream of those crisp fall mornings that warm up into beautiful afternoons. Perfect harvest weather while we get to savor the sunshine, drink in the fall colors and hopefully listen to elk bugle!
I promise to keep you posted about the fall schedule as we figure it out...really, as Mother Nature lets us know!

Recipe Ideas: Foolproof Cheesy Garlic Spread; Zucchini-Basil Muffins; Basil Marinade; Creamy Dilled Carrot Slaw; Easy Zucchini, Butter and Dil​l

Crop List: Cosmic Mix, Arugula, Summer Squash, Green Beans, Broccoli, Cabbage, Fennel, Basil, Sage, Sunflowers, Tomatoes, and Carrots

This week's crop list is starting to look a bit more like early fall, to me at least. Jed says "summer".  We're pulling the fennel in. It's not our best crop, but it was starting to bolt so we decided to go for it. We have another crop coming that currently looks better. No point in wasting this week's fennel because it doesn't look perfect. The flavor is still there!

The broccoli, beans and arugula have been beautiful. I hope you are enjoying them.

We are in the middle of our annual organic inspection. I'm typing at the computer in the office. Jed and the inspector are at the kitchen table going through the records. Jed and I take turns with different "departments" of the farm. I've written many years about why we choose to do this and why we think it is important. If you are curious, check out this great video Oregon Tilth made of our farm. The goal of the video is to get more farmers to be certified organic. It is geared towards livestock farmers. But if you want to geek out a bit, have at it! There are amazing shots of the farm if you've never seen it! 

Cool farm video here! (short version, 2 minutes, fluffy and concise)
More farm video here! (long version, 15 minutes, more intensive for other farmers)
And, yes, I'm horrified at how much I say "um" when I'm nervous.

Last year many of you told me you'd like me to write more about how the farm works. Last night (while going over a paperwork checklist in my head instead of sleeping) I had the idea of sharing with you all the records we have to keep and share with our organic certifying agency. It does give you a good view of the farm and the thoroughness of an inspection. We look at all this paperwork after the inspector walks around the farm asking questions and making notes.

• Number of Eggs produced
• Air quality records of chicken coop
• Milk produced
• Animals born and butchered
• Meat sold and inventory
• Eggs sold
• Plant starts sold records
• Veggies sold
• Seed Labels/packets
• Seed receipts (including statements from each company we purchased from regarding Non GMO and Non treated seeds only)
• Planting Records
• Transplanting Records
• Harvest Records
• Distribution Records (each and every CSA delivery and market. Each veggie to leave the farm must be traceable back to a seed receipt)
• All feed purchases for animals (Cows, pigs, chickens) And the organic certificate from the origination
• What animals ate and amounts (to make sure it matches our feed receipts)
• Animal ID log
• All bedding records (straw for cows, has to be certified organic)
• All medical records for animals (Homeopathic, herbs, etc. If we have an animal get sick that becomes non-certified because of meds, we have to show how we track it, to make sure it does not get sold as organic. Luckily this has not happened in many years)
• Healthcare/welfare animal records (housing, water access, access to feed, outside access for chickens)
• Animal sanitation and pest management records
• Biodiversity Observations
• Buffer Zone details (we are required to have a buffer between our growing area and our non-organic neighbors to prevent chemical drift)
• Cleaning records and what soap we use
• Examples of all Labels we use (meat, eggs, tallow, Cosmic Mix...)
• All inputs for compost pile and soil (manure, biodynamic preps, how much compost we spread)
• Time and temperature log for compost pile to ensure it is properly composted
• Pasture seeding records
• Origin of water used for irrigation
• Soil test records
• Cover crop and rotation records
• Tallow balm sales
• Tallow balm batches and yields
• Tallow balm ingredient purchases (and organic certifications from all companies)
• Suet rendered into tallow, butcher receipts and Animal ID log to prove I use organic suet (all tallow balm must be traceable back to the cows birth on our farm or ingredient purchase)
• Application of Biodynamic preps (timing, amount, which ones)
• Biodynamic Prep storage
• Gross Organic Revenue

I'm sure I'm missing some. Our certifying agency can also ask for anything else at any time as long as it pertains to organic certification. A lot of work? Yes. Worth it so you don't have to wonder about it? Absolutely!

Recipe Ideas: Caramelized Fennel with Beans, Carrots & Chile and Soy Drizzle; One Pan Summer Eggs (summer squash page); Greek Stewed Zucchini; Summer Squash Ribbons​

Crop List: Cosmic Mix, Radish, Green Bean, Basil, Cilantro, Lovelock Head Lettuce, Bok Choy, Garlic, Tomatoes, Sunflowers, Maybe Broccoli and/or Summer Squash

The summer squash is still bouncing back from last week's cooler weather, so the yield is down a bit this week. The weather looks warm and fairly consistent for the next 10 days, so I'm confident we'll have more coming soon! We've been getting consistent rain which has been a nice treat. The garden is in great shape with the temps, precipitation and a big weeding push! Many of the fall crops are sizing up beautifully! I'm pretty excited about how the cabbage looks.
You are getting to know the veggies at the farm pretty intimately. Who else resides at the farm?
We have cows, pigs, chickens and 2 farm cats.
Our animals are an integral part of the farm. The cows provide manure which is scraped up after the winter to create our compost pile. The compost is spread in the fall so the garden can incorporate the nutrients and be fertile for spring planting. We have 13 cows. Star, Ms. Moo Moo Face, Soley, Penguin, Rusty, Sloppy, George, Pumpkin, Cassidy, Latte, Jellyfish, Sugaree and Sugar Magnolia . The breeds vary from Jersey to Angus and Brown Swiss.
We turn the girls out in the fall to "visit" with the neighbor's bull. Because of the timing we choose, our calves are born in the early fall. We are hoping for 3 calves by the end of September this year.
We have 2 parent pigs- Waldo and Waddles. They had a litter of 6 offspring in April this year. The "teenagers" are now on their own growing until January.  The pig's pasture is rotated through the farm, it moves every year when a new litter is moved to fresh grass. The pigs dig and turn pasture for us before we turn it back into garden. They eat the weeds!
We also have chickens. About 75 laying hens. They are also out on the pasture. They do amazing things for the grasses. After they are in an area it looks decimated. Everything green is gone. When we move them, water the ground and give the earth a little time what comes back is astounding. The grass is twice as lush and twice as green. The chickens fertilize and rejuvenate an area before the cows get back in there and graze. The difference is visible.
We also have 2 cats that reside at the farm, Artemis and Bigfoot. They are responsible for mouse slaying, cuddling...and maybe annoying Jed. (Please behave Bigfoot!)
Other then the cats, the farm animals help us take care of the soil and provide nutrition. We love how diversified Cosmic Apple is. There are so many moving parts, projects and food coming from the land. While we are in the middle of "high veggie season", it's good to remember the critters are part of us getting those veggies to you too! ...and I can't survive on salad all year long!

Recipe Ideas: Speedy Tomato-Cilantro Sauce; Mangiatutto al Pomodoro (Tomato Page); Tomatoes, Basil and Beans; 5 Minute Salsa (Tomato Page); Basil Beans; Sesame Green Beans and Bok Choy ​

Crop List: Cosmic Mix, Arugula, Summer Squash, Radish, Carrots, Napa Cabbage, Head Lettuce, Turnips, Kale, Basil, Sunflowers, Tomatoes and maybe Shell Peas

Thank you to everyone who was part of our 30th Anniversary Party. Jed and I had so much fun. Our hearts are all filled up. We ate, danced, hugged and smiled so much. We infused the farm with love and celebrated our beautiful community connection.
An extra big special thanks to the Jackson Hole Farmer's Market and Jenny Shervin for making it all possible. Amazing. Thanks Jenny.
Cheers to the Chef Brad Ledo and Chef Eric Wilson along with their crew for bringing the Cosmic offerings to life! Dang...that tasted good.
Gratitude to the Deadlocks and Jeremy Hoenig for delighting us with beautiful music to bring joy and inspire dance! We had a real stage at the farm! Unbelievable. The music sounded so good. I don't really know how to write about how good it was.
3 cheers to our family members who helped us get ready and have always been cheering us on.
Love to all of you who made it, or didn't. We wouldn't have hit this milestone without you!

We've had some significant weather at the farm!
On Monday July 27th, a big ol' hail storm rolled through. You may have noticed injury to the sugar snap peas and leafy greens. Things got beat up, but nothing was decimated. Jed and I were in the wash station when it happened. The crew ran in from the field and found refuge in the greenhouse. We've been blessed over the years. A really big hail storm could wipe out the garden in 20 minutes by shredding all the growth. I always see the farm under a big bubble protected from hail storms and staying a bit warmer then the surrounding lands.
Notice your veggies. They are telling you a story. See if you can see any residual hail damage.
On Tuesday, August 4th, we woke to a surprise frost. We joke about the "first week of August frost" as a yearly occurrence, because it's pretty regular. We skipped it the last 2 years...but it's back. Everything seems to have survived. The veggies took a definite pause last week. The squash seemed to question the need to bother moving forward with life but by the end of the week it was growing faster then we could harvest it.
We have some cooler weather in the forecast starting on Wednesday this week. The people will be happy. The veggies may slow down a bit. There are so many great things growing, you may not notice a difference in the pace of things!

This is the time of year we dream about in the middle of winter when we are cruising the seed catalogs. It's a good time of year to eat food. Dig in. Savor it.

Recipe ideas: Dale’s Basil Sesame Vinaigrette; Stir-fry of Napa Cabbage and Carrots; Summer Squash Boats; or ​Roasted Carrot and Tomato Soup with Basil 

Crop List: Cosmic Mix, Turnips, Radish, Romaine Head Lettuce, Tomatoes, Swiss Chard, Basil, Parsley, Summer Squash, Maybe Sugar Snap Peas, Shell Peas and/or Sunflowers

It's here! The week of our 30th Anniversary Party! We are excited, have a lot to do and are feeling sentimental. I've been going through every farm photo we have to create a slideshow. When I go to bed at night my head is spinning thinking about how the kids have grown, all the changes on the farm and (of course) all the smiling faces we've been around over the years. It's truly amazing. The hundreds of volunteers, the thousands of CSA members and the thousands more market shoppers. We love you all.
I'm already prepping myself for the fact that I won't have the time I want to truly catch up with each person who comes to the party. I'd be happy to sit down and have a cup of tea with each of you. I'm a people person and I love hearing updates about lives that continue to be lived.
This celebration is about the whole community. If we weren't growing for you...there'd be no 30 years. It's also a celebration of the tenacity of us all to make it here, in the Tetons, where the living is amazing...but it's not always easy. Let's take a moment and celebrate that we are here and that we have all grown together. Let's dance and infuse the farmland with love and gratitude.
Let's laugh. Someone asked Jed how we made it 30 whole years...he said it's simple..."we're just stubborn enough to keep going". He might be right. It's become our party's tagline...
30 Years- Just Stubborn Enough!
Looking back there are so many funny stories to share. Some heartbreak. Many moments of learning to do better. And just so many amazing people. The smiling faces are rocking my world right now. The time given to the farm, the care for growing food, the financial support from customers who believed in us and bought our goods. All of it. All of you. 30 years worth of love, food, dedication and stubbornness while being surrounded by the coolest people on Earth.
​The Earth! The farm is my favorite place in the whole world. The bounty it provides for us all is astounding. I'm excited to see you all there, at the farm!
​
​My life feels full. I'm living my dream. Thank you for being part of it.

Free music! The Deadlocks will take the stage at 6:30. Hope to see you there!

Recipe Ideas: Chimichurri Sauce, One Pan Summer Eggs (summer squash page); Greek Stewed Zucchini; ​Grilled Steak with Chard, Tomato and Balsamic Vinegar Reduction;