Thank God. We mostly survived the storm unaffected. There is minor damage but it could have been a bad scenario for the garden. I was mostly worried about the peppers and the tomatoes. When I left the farm this afternoon the peppers only sustained minor breakage. The tomatoes were leaning very close to the ground but were still loaded with fruits. The lower field did not flood out all the fall seeding. And no hail to report, Hooray!

The West Reading Farmer’s Market was cancelled this morning. This was the first time in the history of the market. It was sad to not see all the wonderful faces but oh so nice to sleep in this morning. We were also blessed with an amazing dinner at Papillon Brasserie last night. Philip is an extremely talented chef. It is so great to see my veggies all dressed up in their finest.

Despite the weather our event on Saturday was a success. Miriam gave a very informative talk on beneficial insects. I learned a lot.

We have just passed the half waypoint for the CSA. I have enjoyed the experience so much this year. I really appreciate all your feedback and cooperation pulling off a semi complicated system.

We have had a few members complete their work hours. I am still hoping to hear from quite a few of you to schedule your hours.

This past week marked the last of our direct seeding in the field. With the cool mornings and later starts we can really feel fall approaching. There is always sadness for me this time of year. It is kind of like the end of vacation when you are thinking of returning home and leaving a beautiful tropical island. You will be happy to be home but oh so sad to leave.

Best wishes to all of you that are starting back to work this week or starting back to school. May it be as rewarding of a year as our summer has been for us.

This week’s harvest:

Full share: ( you may receive any of these items)

• Red Gold potatoes 2 lb
• Lettuce- 3 - 4 heads - some shares may receive 2 orders of lettuce.
• Beets 1.5 lb or Carrots 1.5 lb ( no greens on the carrots)
• Melons - you will either receive cantaloupe or watermelon. Few cantaloupes left. This is probably the last week for melons.
• Tomatoes - 2- 3 lb many shapes and colors.
• Mixed colors and shapes of sweet peppers 1.5 lb or Eggplant (small purple, green, large purple or orange) 1.5 lb
• 3/4 lb of chard or kale
• Winter Squash- Giant pumpkins, red kuri or buttercup squash. Super tasty and nutritious. 1large or 2 small.
• Beans ¾ lb– full shares only.
• Fennel – 1 bulb
• Leeks – 1 #

Half Share:

• Any 4 of the above full share items. Probably not beans.

Optional Items: (these count as an item in your share) Some of these items are in limited quantities so can be ordered on a first come first serve basis.

• Fresh cut flower bouquets

Extra Items: (these do not count as an item) - Please let me know the quantity you would like.

• Garlic chives 1/8 lb
• Hot peppers - 6 peppers
• Basil 1/4 lb
• Aji Dulce Peppers- ½ lb. These are also known as Carribean Seasoning Peppers. They look, taste and smell like a hot pepper but have no heat. They are excellent for seasoning.

Thank you and have a great week,
Erica

Today was our organic inspection. So why be certified organic? After all we are a small farm and do all of our sales via direct marketing. Every year we have an inspector come to the farm to verify our paperwork and make sure we are not violating any of the organic standards. It is a slow process in the midst of the busy season.

So I repeat, why be certified organic?

First, it is a selling point at market. This is especially so at a time when many farmers are claiming their produce is “organic” or “naturally grown.” Being “certified” is a way to distinguish ourselves from many other farmers.

Second, being a part of the Pennsylvania Certified Organic (our certifying agency) team is an ethical stance. PCO is a grassroots organization that is fighting for the plight of the small farmer and the safety of our food system. PCO is regularly represented in Washington as the higher politicians decide the standards to which all of our food is grown. Since the USDA took over certification of organic foods there has been quite a lot of corruption in the organic marketplace. The USDA is working for large farms that are in it to get a better price point. PCO however, is there to protect the average person who wants clean food.

Every year we submit a tedious amount of paperwork and spend about $1,000 to be certified. This crazy for a small farm such as ourselves. But, we believe in the movement. Paul, my business partner, has been experimenting with organic agriculture since the 70’s. He, along with Mr. Rodale and a host of others, were the first to start the organic movement in Pennsylvania. He is truly a grandfather of the movement. He grew up as a conventional farmer and switched over when it was very not cool to do so. He was ridiculed by the local community for his courage to stop using pesticides and herbicides and protects the land he cares dearly for.

Paul is currently on the board of PCO. Although it is more work than he needs he is representing the heritage of organic agriculture. We need people with conviction to stay involved and protect our food movement.

Although it seemed so uneventful today I knew I was helping the movement. By supporting our farm you too are supporting the movement of organic foods, protected farmland and food security.

Thank you all.

This week's harvest.

Full share: ( you may receive any of these items)

• Red Gold potatoes 2 lb
• Lettuce- 3 - 4 heads or salad mix 1/2 lb bag
• Beets 1.5 lb - without greens
  
• Carrots 1.5 lb - without greens
  
• Melons - you will either receive cantaloupe or watermelon.
  
• Tomatoes - 2- 3 lb - you may order multiples of tomatoes. And some shares may receive 2 orders.
• Green or Purple sweet peppers 1lb or Eggplant (small purple, green, large purple or orange) 1lb
• Summer Squash 5 fruits
• 3/4 lb of chard, kale or baby pac choi
• Cabbages- 1 head of savoy
• Winter Squash- Giant pumpkins or buttercup squash. Super tasty and nutritious. 1 fruit.

Half Share:

• Any 4 of the above full share items.

Optional Items: (these count as an item in your share) Some of these items are in limited quantities so can be ordered on a first come first serve basis.

• Fresh cut flower bouquets
• Beans - there are very few. 1 lb
  
• Husk cherries - 1 pint.
  

Extra Items: (these do not count as an item) - Please let me know the quantity you would like.

• Mint 1/8 lb
• Anise Hyssop 1/8 lb
• Hot peppers - 6 peppers - you may have lots of these if you like. Please indicate the quantity you would like.
  
• Basil 1/4 lb
• Tomatoes - 1 extra order per share please.

This blog comes from my assistant Miriam.

August 2011

One of the things I may miss if I follow my dream to become an urban farmer is all the wildlife around here. Just this afternoon, I looked up from laying out irrigation lines to see a great blue heron, coming in for a landing just beyond the pasture fence. Last week, a hawk swooped in just above our heads on its way to the barn roof (to scope out the chickens, most likely). If I manage to stay up into dusk, I love to see the bats flitting around, doing their part to combat our insect pests. These moments from nature are a good reminder for me to not get too over-focused in what I'm doing. There is a whole world out there beyond the row I'm weeding. Sometimes, the world is even in the row, as when I kept scaring up the same toad while weeding leeks.

I also like to see our insect helpers. There are so many pests out there, eager to take advantage of our hard work. We make it easy for them, providing large areas of tender plants. We do our best to keep the plants strong and healthy so they can protect themselves, but it's also nice to see ladybugs and praying mantises patrolling the fields. There are also wasps and spiders and other creatures that see our pests the same way those pests see our rows of vegetables, as a large amount of tasty morsels. One of the reasons we don't spray insecticides here is because the insecticide can't tell the difference between good and bad bugs. I'd rather let nature help us out as best she can, with ladybugs and wasps and bats. That leaves me to concentrate on caring for the plants.

I got creative for our farm lunch this week. With so many watermelons coming out of the field, I wanted to do something with them, but I was assigned to make a side dish. What to do? Well, make something savory out of the watermelon by adding a salty flavor. I thought white miso would work and it's an unusual flavor for those of you who want to try something new. I chose to use a watermelon that wasn't quite ripe, so there wasn't too much sweetness, but I think it will work even with riper melons (you just may want to add more miso or lime juice for balance). Here's the recipe:

Savory Watermelon Salad

1 watermelon, cubed

½ cup mint, chopped

2 ounces white miso

¼ cup limejuice

Mix the mint and watermelon. Stir the miso into the limejuice to make a smooth liquid. Dribble this liquid into the watermelon while mixing to get an even coating on the watermelon. Serve chilled.

I would just like to send out a big THANK YOU! to all of you who came out and volunteered this week. What a big difference. We have been blessed to temporarily fill the spot of our missing intern. I am taking it day by day and being extremely grateful.

This week's harvest.

Full share: ( you may receive any of these items)

• Red Gold potatoes 2 lb
• Lettuce- 3 - 4 heads or salad mix 1/2 lb bag
• Beets 1.5 lb
• Carrots 1.5 lb
• Melons - you will either receive cantaloupe or watermelon.
  
• Tomatoes - 2- 3 lb - you may order multiples of tomatoes. And some shares may receive 2 orders.
• Green or Purple sweet peppers 1lb or Eggplant (small purple, green, large purple or orange) 1lb
• Summer Squash 5 fruits
• 3/4 lb of chard, kale or baby pac choi
• Cabbages- 1 head of savoy
• Winter Squash- Giant pumpkins or buttercup squash. Super tasty and nutritious. 1 fruit.

Half Share:

• Any 4 of the above full share items.

Optional Items: (these count as an item in your share) Some of these items are in limited quantities so can be ordered on a first come first serve basis.

• Fresh cut flower bouquets
• Beans - there are very few. 1 lb
  
• Tomatillos 1 lb
• Cucumbers 6 fruits.
• Husk cherries - 1 pint.
  

Extra Items: (these do not count as an item) - Please let me know the quantity you would like.

• Mint 1/8 lb
• Anise Hyssop 1/8 lb
• Hot peppers - 6 peppers
• Basil 1/4 lb

Shillington shares will receive blackberries this week. The other sites have already received berries at some point in the season. If you did not berries yet this season you will get them next week. (By berries I mean raspberries or blackberries.)

Thank you and have a great week,
Erica