CSA week 6

Powisset Farm CSA: Week 6

Oh deer...

Hello from the vegetable fields at Powisset. Over the past week we have suffered some major damage from our four legged forest dwellers. The deer breached our fence and grazed upon the hearts of all the mature lettuce that was ready to harvest. They found the romain hearts particularly delicious as they ate those first. We have shored up our defenses but unfortunately the breach means we will probably have a break from lettuce for at least a week.


Sungold

The past few weeks have been a challenge. We are currently experiencing a moderate drought. The extreme heat and lack of rain is causing some of our crops to go directly to seed before we can harvest them. We have also seen set backs from pest pressure (not just the mega fauna). We have had two generations of radishes and salad turnips severely affected by root maggot. Root maggots are as unpleasant as they sound. They burrow through the roots making them inedible. We are adding new generations of crops to our plan to compensate. Fortunately our heat tolerant crops are doing well so far. The cucumbers and squash are coming on and producing heavy yields. I spotted the first ripening cherry tomatoes today. It will be a few weeks yet before they are ready to harvest but they are on their way.
All of that said, I would like to have a check in with folks about the share so far this season. I have had a few individuals ask me about this year's share size as compared to last year's. I would like to remind folks that last year was a banner year and CSA members got a 166% return. That's incredible and unfortunately unsustainable. We will have seasons that are gangbusters, average, and some that are disappointing. The CSA model is built on a relationship between the farmer and the consumer. You invest in us and we work our butts off to give you the freshest, healthiest vegetables that conditions allow. My goal every season is to give a return of 110% - 120%. These numbers reflect the industry standard. I track share-value over the course of the season. We have 14 weeks left. You will see an uptick in high value crops. As mentioned in previous posts,
we have tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, onions, and so many more crops to come. 

Curing garlic in the hay loft

Thank you for your patience and support.

Zannah, CSA Manager

We have some new local items in the farm stand:

- Nola's Salsa is an incredible fresh salsa made in Boston
- Spindrift Soda in Cranberry Raspberry, Grapefruit, and Orange flavors
- Kate's butter
- and so many flavors of Crescent Ridge Ice cream

The best salsa around

What's in the share this week:
- Summer squash and zucchini
- Slicing cucumbers
-Pickling cucumbers
-Choice of cooking green (chard, kale,collards, escarole)
- Carrots
- Lettuce (this is the last round for a few weeks)
- Green onions
- Fennel
- Cilantro

PYO: Flowers and fava beans