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Hi folks,
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We’re cruising right along into week 3. Hard to believe it’s only the first week of June. It just feels so summer-like and because of that we keep having these urgent farmer moments, “we have to plant more of this,” “we have to seed this,” “what about planning for the Fall CSA?” etc etc… and then we realize it’s only June 3rd. Of course, those thoughts of planning are always in the back of our minds – as you only get so many months of the year to grow food and now is the time – but we’re so happy and thankful for the weather, for our health & for becoming more efficient farmers (it is just the two of us here on the farm!)
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We spent our weekend in the fields seeding our dry beans, bush beans, a second succession of summer squash, cukes & melons and transplanted our beautiful cutting flowers. We’ve been catching up with the weeds, block by block and see a lot of healthy growth on all our plants. As we near the summer solstice, the plants really do thrive in the garden with all the extra sunshine! The bees have been busy in the garden and we’re already seeing some pink fruit on the raspberries… won’t be too long now until we have some new berries in the CSA boxes (exciting!)
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Cow updates. We’re preparing to dry off our sweet jersey cow, Ellie, and are mostly coping with the idea of not having milk, cheese, yogurt, butter for a few months(sigh.) Drying off the cow allows her some time to get her body ready for calving. Which means we’ll be reducing the energy content of her diet (i.e. grain & alfalfa) and feeding her a primarily high-fiber diet in order to reduce milk production. Being a creature of habit, she won’t like the change (she loves her grain) but we’ll be slowly changing her diet over the next few weeks until we dry her off completely. She’ll freshen again in September when she has her next calf (fingers crossed it all goes well) and we’ll look forward to all the homemade ice cream we can eat and of course, an adorable new addition to the farm.
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Movie Nights. We LOVED movie nights at the end of last summer. Some of our favorite memories from last summer happened on those movie nights (Singin’ in the Rain on a full moon – the same night that Ellie calved with Maribelle!) We’re hoping it will be something we are able to do this year but alas, we need some help. A member and friend last year let us borrow her digital projector last year and it worked out great. It’s not in the farms funds this year to purchase a projector so we ask you – our members, friends & family – if you might perhaps have one we could borrow for the season? There’s no better plan to watch a movie on a summer night than out on the farm…
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Dirty Hands, Clean Hearts. We hope everyone is feeling inspired in their kitchens. Don’t forget to send along some of your favorite recipes or ones you’re looking to try. We make 3 (or sometimes 4) meals a day and always have ideas how to use produce (as it’s what we grow it’s most of what we eat!) We’re always here to help so feel free to ask questions.
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There may be times where you’re unsure of the best way to use or cook your goodies – which is why we’re sharing some of our favorite recipe blogs below. Adventuring through old cookbooks or on the web is a great way to utilize all of the farm fresh goodies each week. And if you happen to have any left over greens or kale, try your hand at Kale Chips, a simple soup or sautee or maybe even a green smoothie (with a spoonful of peanut butter, Farmer Brian’s favorite!) .
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–Married to the soil…
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Crates. A big thanks for bringing back (or setting out) your crates, berry boxes, egg cartons & rubber bands last week. We were two happy farmers at the end of each harvest day with just enough crates to do our job well. It makes our days easier and we appreciate your help! Keep up the good work!
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Well, we’re off… as it’s an early, early wake up call tomorrow in response to some really hot days ahead! Stay cool out there and enjoy the sunshine.
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Our best to you and yours,
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your farmers
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Jess & Brian
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dirty hands, clean hearts
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working hands farm 
Jess! Brian! The farm looks amazing! I am more and more in awe of what you guys do every day I spend working out at the farm. You seriously rock my world. And the new field of dreams looks sooooo beautiful! See you soon I hope. B