Share #10

Crop List: Cosmic Mix, Tomatoes, Basil, Iceberg Lettuce, Garlic, Arugula, Maybe Cucumbers, Summer Squash and/or Sunflowers

​Cosmic Apple By the Numbers 
What are some of the measurable things we know about Cosmic Apple? Here are some figures to make the farm a more tangible place! Facts, measurables and numbers!
 The farm is at an elevation of 6300' and is comprised of 50 acres total. 5 acres are fallow. We planted them for many years and now they are resting before becoming pasture again. The garden is 12 acres. 14 acres are also in pasture for the 6 cows. 1/2 acre for the breeding pigs, 2 1/2 acres in buildings, sheds and greenhouses, and 16 acres in non-production for the natural influence and as a buffer to protect from chemical drift from the neighbors. This buffer is required by Organic Ag regulations.
The 13 acre veggie garden is divided into 5 sections. Each section has beds which are 500 feet long. A football field is 360 feet long! It is no small task to weed one bed. We have about 90 beds this year. Each bed has 1-4 rows of plants in it. 8 rows of potatoes. 10 rows of garlic, which were harvested. 12 rows of sunflowers.  9 beds of summer and winter squash. 8 rows of onions. 18 rows of carrots. And many more rows of other things!
We irrigate the garden and pastures with a hand line of irrigation pipe. We move it two times a day. It takes about 45 minutes for each move. There are 30 lengths of pipe and they put down about 2” of water every 12 hours.
We have 2 breeding pigs...who are not breeding right now. Come on you two!
We have 75 new hens who will begin laying in early October. There are about 70 hens in the old flock, who are still giving us a small number of eggs...about a day.
For cows we have a total of 6. 1 Brown Swiss (Bertha), 2 Jerseys (Annie and Butternut), 1 Angus/Jersey (Ms. Moo Moo Face) 1 Angus (Solstice) and 1 Highlander (Red Rosie). Butternut is a bull and we are hoping all 5 female cows are pregnant. Annie will be the first to calve in mid-October.
2 cats, Dumbledore and Zedd, keep the non counted mice and chislers in check.
The farm is run by Jed and Dale. We have 3 children (Dagan, Axel and Roxanne) and 1 dog (Cosmo).The farm employs 13 people: 4 full time Field Crew, 3 part time Field Crew, 1 wash station manager, 1 truck driver, 1 market manager, 1 tomato greenhouse manager,  2 very part time folks who do chores (so Jed can have a few shifts off!). And 6 site hosts who are volunteers!
We do 2 CSA deliveries a week, supplying about 230 shares each week. If each full share feeds 4 people, then we are feeding 920 individuals each week. Based on current populations of Teton Counties (ID and WY) we feed about 2.73% of the people of the Tetons, just through the CSA! We also do 3 markets a week.
When we harvest something like bok choy or head lettuce, we need 248 heads to get enough for one CSA delivery. We need about 500 total to do all the deliveries in one week. 
We have 5 tractors; the newest one is from 1965! (Jed, why do we have so many tractors?) Our favorite tractor implement is the water-wheel trans-planter. It allows us to plant up to 1000 plants in 9 minutes with 5 people.
Our goal is to put out 16 weeks of shares every year. Most years average around 17-18. One year the fall was really tough and we only managed 15 weeks.
Last year we harvested 35,448.83 pounds of produce from the garden and greenhouses.
Some items we count instead of weigh. In 2019 we also harvested:
9425 heads of lettuce, cabbage and bok choy.
11,823 bulbs of garlic and 10,108 garlic curls
 1668 winter squash.
5029 ​sunflowers.
We know of 4 weddings that are a result of meeting at Cosmic Apple!
Cosmic Apple is started in 1996. This is our 24th season of growing for our community!
Whew. That was fun!

Lunch this week: Curried Zucchini Soup
Recipe Ideas: Summer Squash Boats, Greek Stewed Zucchini, Roasted Tomato Basil Pesto 

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, New York, Sirloin Steak, Eye of the Round Steak, Round Roast, Sirloin Tip Roast, Tri-Tip, Flat Iron Roast, Brisket, Flank Steak, Skirt, Hanging Tender, Baby Back Ribs, Short Ribs, Liver, Ground Beef, Patties, Stew, Kabobs, Hot Dogs and Bratwurst
​Pork Available: Neck Bones 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 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? [email protected]