Share #8 July 22nd & 24th

Crop List: Cosmic Mix, Sugar Snap Peas, Collards, Turnips, Bok Choy, Head Lettuce, Tomatoes and Parsley

What does a day on the farm look like and how do we get the most flavorful veggies picked at the peak of ripeness to you?
Each CSA harvest is divided into 2 days. Monday/Tuesday and Wednesday/Thursday. Our whole workweek is set up around getting you your veggies. We put the CSA first, markets and projects second. The crew meets at 7am. Jed lays out the morning tasks. We always harvest first thing, because the cooler temps are easier on the produce. Mondays and Wednesdays start out with Cosmic Mix first thing every time. We use sheep sheers to cut the mix, and then place it in 5 gallon buckets lined with a mesh bag. When the bag is full it is put into a yellow crate on a garden cart. We keep repeating until the whole 500' row is cut.
After the Cosmic Mix is done, we move onto head lettuce or bok choy. Each head is cut and counted as it goes into a crate, then to the garden cart.
Items like collards, kale or Swiss chard are cut leaf by leaf into a crate.
When we are done harvesting an item the full garden cart is pulled into our processing building, and handed off to our veggie caretaker. For Cosmic Mix, the mesh bags are dunked in 2 big cooling tanks. The tanks are filled with cold Teton well water. Dunking cools the mix quickly after harvest to help preserve it. Then it goes into our large salad spinner! Sounds fancy...but we actually use a top loading washing machine set to a perpetual spin cycle!
The Cosmic Mix is then poured out of the bags onto our tables, mixed by hand and put into yellow crates. Each crate is adjusted to weigh 7 pounds exactly. When we have the total weight of our harvest, we divide the weight by the number of CSA members picking up on each day. That's how we determine the share size!
The lettuce and bok choy comes in with a set number of heads in each crate, so they are just dunked and the number of crates are totaled. The collards and such are also dunked and then the crate weights are all adjusted so they weigh the same.
At this point in the morning...the crew is ready for a break! Coffee, tea and/or a snack happen quickly. And then they are back at it!
Harvesting usually happens until about noon each day depending on the size of the crew and how fast we can get it done. After lunch, we sometimes finish up pea picking or mostly move onto weeding! Wednesdays and Thursdays the field crew turn to market harvest as soon as the CSA is done.
Whatever was not harvested Monday (or Wednesday) morning is the first thing on the list for Tuesday (or Thursday) morning. We spread the harvest out over 2 days to ensure we can get it done during the best temps for the veggies.
After the harvest is complete on Tuesday and Thursdays it is time for a lot of math in the processing shed. A pallet is placed for each pick up site. Our wash station manager then begins confirming all the weights and putting the correct amount of veggies on each pallet for each pick up site.
We break for lunch at 12:15-1:15. The afternoon feels short while getting the shares ready. The goal is to be done dividing the veggies by 3 o'clock. 
When the veggies are all on the pallet destined for you, the signs need to be written. This can sometimes feel daunting...there are 10 whiteboards to write out...and mistakes have to be triple checked for!
While the boards are being written, our truck driver arrives at 3 and begins loading the truck. She leaves the farm at 3:30 sharp with all the veggies, whiteboards, scales and all the other things needed for your veggie delivery!
By 5pm your veggies are waiting for you at your pick up location. We love how close we all live to each other. Being able to get you produce picked at the peak of ripeness and delivered so quickly is a difference you can taste. Some of the items you get were in the field 6 hours prior! Most produce in the stores is harvested well before ripeness so it can handle long truck rides and time in refrigerators before being put on a shelf to purchase.
We keep a tight schedule on the farm. It feels a bit overwhelming early in the season and the crew does not know which way they are moving. But! As the season moves on, the flow becomes second nature and harvests run like a well oiled 1965 tractor.
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Lunch on the Farm this week: Summer pasta with garlic, swiss chard, turnips summer squash, tomatoes and basil.
Recipe Ideas: Spare Ribs and Collards; Chimichurri Sauce; Tomato Salsa with Sugar Snap Peas or Creamed Collard Greens  

Recipes

We have lots of extra goodies available at your pick up. If you want something specific, please email me and I will make sure it is in the cooler, reserved just for you. Dinner just got easier!
The coolers at your site are stocked with a selection of Lifeline Cheese and Cosmic Apple Pork and Beef (listed below). I don't send every cut every week, they simply won't all fit!
​Pork Available: Grandpa's Sausage, Breakfast Sausage, Pork Chops, Shoulder Roast, Spare Ribs, Boneless Loin Roast, Hock, Leaf Fat, Tenderloin and Back Fat
Beef Available: Rib Eye, Sirloin Steak, Patties, Stew Meat, Sirloin Tip Roast, Round Roast, Flat Iron Roast and Beef Fat
Hunters and Huntresses: We have pork fat for your wild game sausage making. Let me know if you want to order any and I can send it to your pick up location.
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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
The People's Market: Wednesdays 4-7
Jackson Hole Farmer's Market: Saturdays 8-12

Questions? Comments? Recipes to share? [email protected]