Share #3 June 20th & 22nd

Crop List: Cosmic Mix, Spicy Mix, Arugula, Radish, Bok Choy and Basil

I always cherish the 3rd share. Our crew has settled into their roles within the farm system and we start to run a bit more on "auto-pilot". It feels less harried. Everyone understands the bigger picture of what our weeks look like, skills are being developed and we have all begun to feel the flow of the farm!

Speaking of the farm flow...there will be a CSA delivery on July 4th at the regular times and places. We did ask the garden to stop producing for the holiday...it said "no". The veggies must continue!

Wednesday of this week is the Summer Solstice, a favorite day of the year for me. The longest day of the year. The sun is at its furthest point South, while the moon dances at its furthest point North. I tend to think about the big ball of fire in the sky, how it sustains our life and how grateful I am for the warmth and light we receive. I am always amazed that plants turn the energy of light into food for us, and we are truly eating light when we consume food straight from the earth. 

Small plants, leaves and buds, growing in the soil.
O fiery sun, may your rays of light and warmth bless us with abundance,
and allow these plants to blossom with life.

Light from the heavens which mingle with nutrients from the earth! 

Years ago when Jed was just getting the farm going (circa 1996!) he would encounter people who would laugh at the concept of organic vegetables. One legendary encounter had a store owner telling Jed he "would never pay a cent more for anything organic" because there is no difference. One of our favorite quotes from another early resister is "if it came from the ground THEN IT'S ORGANIC!". The truth is when we started growing there was no science to back up why the veggies we grew were better for you. We had our deep knowing that chemicals meant to kill things could not be good for us or the earth and that our produce tasted better, but those were not worthy selling points for many of our "yet to be customers". 
I was thrilled this spring to come across a study out of U of Washington showing veggies grown Biodynamically and/or regeneratively are more nutritious then those conventionally grown. Someone proved what Jed and I knew for years, but could not explain!!! 
"Focusing on farms employing regenerative practices for at least five years in eight different US states, the regeneratively-grown crops had an average of 34% more vitamin K, 15% more vitamin E, 14% more vitamin B1, 17% more vitamin B2, 11% more calcium, 16% more phosphorus, and 27% more copper than nearby conventionally grown crops. They also compared regenerative versus conventional wheat: regenerative samples had 41% more boron, 29% more magnesium, 48% more calcium, and 56% more zinc. That's a significant difference!"
A mode of constant extraction is used by conventional farms. All nutrients are extracted with the vegetables that are harvested and the soil is not replenished, other then dumping on a chemical slurry of N-P-K. The soil is where all the nutrients reside, until plants are grown. Plants uptake the nutrients for their growth. Many farms have been in production for years and years growing veggies that look like they are suppose to look, but they are flavorless and grow in soils with no nutrients left to support them. No minerals, bacteria or decomposing life are added to the soil. When farms spray chemicals and monocrop they are depleting the topsoil by killing all the live microorganisms. These microorganisms digest decomposing matter recycling the nutrients.  Fields are not allowed to rest, but must continue producing...and so the extractive cycle goes on and on.
When soil is healthy it is actually alive. There are more living organisms in a teaspoon of healthy soil then people on earth! That is a lot of life to touch at one moment. Our soil heroes needs to be fed. We add compost so these precious critters have decomposing materials to dine on. The soil needs to rest and absorb what it has been given. We rotate the gardens and pastures with cover crops so we are not always extracting from the land, we grow cover crops just to be tilled into the soil to feed the soil. We take care of our soil and it takes care of us.
I have been geeking out on some health information and a quote that struck me by Linus Pauling (a 2 time Nobel Laureate) is: "One could trace every sickness, every disease and every ailment to a mineral deficiency." We need our minerals to thrive and most food available to us is not providing what we need. We as a nation are slowly becoming more and more mineral deficient because our soils are not being cared for. We overeat because our bodies are looking for the minerals that are missing in most food. 
I just learned, as the mineral values drop, so does the flavor! This is why your granddad talks about how food used to taste. He grew up eating food that tasted better because it was nutrient dense, because the soil was nutrient dense! And now there is a study showing vegetables grown on farms like ours, ARE more nutritious for you. As far as tasting better...you'll have to be the scientist!
Link to article about study: ​www.world-grain.com/articles/16547-study-shows-nutritional-benefits-in-regenerative-agriculture-crops
Link to study: peerj.com/articles/12848/
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​Please check out these available farm positions and spread the word!
Market Helper- Wednesdays at the People's Market and/or Saturdays at the Jackson Farmer's Market. Paid position. Ride over in the truck or meet us at the market. Help get veggies to the people! This is a fun, social, fast paced job. Email [email protected]
Field Crew- 4 or 5 days a week. 7-4 each day. Be a farmer! Help with planting, weeding, harvesting and anything else that needs done. 

Field Crew

Volunteer-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 for one 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!

Volunteer

Recipes

​Lunch this Week: Bed of arugula, ground beef sautéed radish and bok choy with soy sauce. Pasta with Grandpa's Sausage, Arugula and Basil
Recipe Ideas: Basil Marinade for you favorite grilling meats. Blistered Radishes, Bok Choy with gingery butter sauce.
The coolers at your site are stocked with 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: Ground Beef
​Pork Available: Grandpa's Sausage, Breakfast Sausage, Pork Chops, Shoulder Roast, Tenderloin, Spare Ribs, Neck Bones (make the real deal Ramen!) 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 10% off at the Farmer's Markets!
The Driggs Market: Fridays 9-1
JH Farmer's Market: Saturdays 8-12 (starts July 1st)
The People's Market: Wednesdays 4-7
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Questions? Comments? Recipes to share? [email protected]