Share #2 june 22nd & 24th

Crop List: Cosmic Mix, Radish, Bok Choy, Lovage, Green Onion, Collards, Broccoli Raab and Red Oak Head Lettuce

Something kind of big is happening for us this summer. The farm is turning 25!! 25 feels like a milestone that deserves pause and recognition. We have been at this for a while. Enough to know the reality of having a career. Long enough to know that when it is hard, there is still nothing we would rather be doing.  I play that game sometimes...if I could have any job what would it be? It always comes back to being a farmer, and it always comes back to being a farmer at Cosmic Apple Gardens.
When we look back over 25 years there are some things that stand out. (Disclaimer, I have been at the farm for 19 years, Jed started the farm 25 years ago...but that is another story!)
The hard times...losing 800#'s of washed carrots when a freak wind storm blew over our cooler full of carrots and they landed on the broken glass. The pigs getting out and digging up the basil in the greenhouse. Finding our beloved cow, Clover, we had been caring for died during the night. Managing poor employees. Summers with low water. Nursing my 2 month old baby in a snow storm on June 21st during a year when it just would not warm up. Broken equipment...it only breaks when you need to use it! Finally getting our 5th greenhouse built and planted, only to have it freeze solid on June 12th after the propane company forgot to fill the tank. The neighbor's dog killing 53 chickens.
And so many good times...tasting the first strawberry each year. Moving to the new 30 acre farm in 2002. (The "new farm" was purchased by an amazing community member with the intention of providing a place for Cosmic Apple to grow organic veggies for the community.) Witnessing many births. Sunsets. The summer Jed and I fell in love. Bringing home a truck load of meat from the butcher for the first time. Taking our first human baby to the farm to meet the critters on a beautiful winter day. Securing a loan thru the USDA to purchase 20 more acres. Milking a cow that was born and raised on the farm. So many amazing employees we now call friends. Getting a delivery truck with seatbelts! The countless moments frozen in my mind of our children at the farm. 

When I close my eyes to reflect, so many faces flash on my internal slide show. So many smiles with yellow crates and scales in the foreground. One of my favorite things has been watching your children grow up at the veggie pick ups. 
 Jed started the farm in 1996 with money from his dishwashing job at the Teton Teepee. After a year or two he got a loan from his dad for $3000 to purchase a greenhouse. Luckily, he was stubborn enough to ignore the many naysayers telling him it would be impossible to grow vegetables in the Tetons. He ignored the countless restaurants and stores telling him Organic was not worth it and didn't make a difference. After 25 years, I think we get to say "I told you so". HA! That felt good.
We leaned on the people who believed in us and the the very old timers who remembered gardening in the Tetons without chemicals, and eating without big grocery stores. It is hard to express our unending gratitude to those who believed in us. We love you. There are so many people who showed up when we needed an extra hand, these folks are forever in my heart and are part of the reason the farm succeeded.
Cheers to all the helpers and the believers! Cheers to all the CSA members and market customers! Cheers to the kids who have grown up knowing real veggies! Cheers to every person we've ever grown for! 
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Cheers to 25 years of feeding The People of the Tetons the best food we can grow!

Recipes

Lunch this Week: Grilled cheese with lovage pesto and wilted greens
Truck Driver needed! We still need a delivery driver. Tuesdays and Thursdays 3-9 ish. If you know anyone, please send them our way! Details here: http://www.cosmicapple.com/employment-opportunities.html​
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,  Sirloin Tip Roast, Brisket, Skirt, Ground Beef, Patties, Tongue, Marrow Bones, Heart, Stew, and Kabobs
​Pork Available: Fat