Week 11 of the CSA

Greetings everyone!

Here we are in the middle of August.  A time when we expect things to be warm - and it feels alot like September.  Hmmm.

We expect the following for both days in the CSA:  peppers, eggplant, summer squash, zucchini, lettuce, garlic, cucumbers, basil
These items will come along for the ride depending on time and availability: tomato, green bean, hot peppers, okra

News of the Farm:

Changing of the Guard:
We are entering the season where our work force undergoes a great deal of alteration.  Many of our workers are students or teachers - which means they will no longer be working on the farm as much as they have been doing.  We are doing some schedule rearranging in the hopes of making things work better.  But, we need to remind everyone that the number of persons working on the farm goes down dramatically as August progresses.  Our thanks to all those who worked through the Summer!

Lots to do and Fewer Hours to do it in:
The sun isn't getting up as early as it was.  And, this trend appears to be one that will continue for a while.  As a result, we have fewer working hours each day to get it all done in.  On the PM side, it's nice to have a little bit of time to do other work inside before we collapse.  On the AM side... let's just say that we kind of liked the sun coming up earlier.

Tomato, Tomahtoe:
Yes, we are getting anxious for them too.  But, you can't force them to change and be ripe.  On the other hand, many are beginning to change.  First fruits are often a little less choice in looks, but usually quite tasty.  Looks like our peak will be a couple of weeks late this year.

Tom Sawyer Week?
We floated the Tom Sawyer Week idea and got one nibble.  This week won't work.  Anyone in for the following week if we set up a bunch of times?

Summer Festival:
Remember - the Summer Festival is August 27 starting at 4 pm on the farm.  This is a social event (not a work event).  It's a potluck with a grill made available to those who wish to use it.  If you have lawn games you want to use or share, bring them along.  Lawn chairs are a good idea.  CSA members are all welcome to join us as are all 'honorary' CSA members, etc etc.  If weather allows, we usually have a bonfire.  If it does not - well, that's what the weather can do to us.

Help at the Tuesday CSA:
Anden Drolet will be helping Tammy at the Tuesday distribution again this week.  It's actually part of our reward to Anden for his hard work this year.  Yes, I know, funny way to show appreciation - make him work more.  Say hello to Anden this week and thank him for his efforts!

Roof Be Gone:
We've been pleased to see the remnants of the old roof from the granary get picked up and moved away from the building.  Since we don't have a magic wand to clean it up we've enlisted the help of a couple of individuals who are willing to peck away at it a little at a time.  It will be nice to move around that building more freely.

New Trailer - Sort of:
We are finding that one of the better ways to pick up certain types of equipment for the farm is to keep an eye out for nearby farm auctions.  This last weekend (since it rained) we went to an auction by Plainfield and successfully bid for trailer running gear.  This is essentially just the undercarriage, wheels and hitch.  There is no deck on this thing at the time.  It's a smaller hay rack (or whatever we build the deck to be).  We did need another project around here you know.  but, we've had too many instances where our little trailers don't serve efficiently.

Thanks:
Our thanks to the Bousqimers for their wonderful help this weekend on trellising some tomatoes.  Also, a thank you goes out to Jim Faux for fixing some doors, gates, wheels, etc to help us handle all of the flocks of birds that we have taken responsibility for this season.  To our CSA members who have been so kind as to give us an encouraging word when it was needed, we also send out our thanks. 

Have a good week everyone!
Rob & Tammy