Hello!! And welcome to the 2005 CSA season!!

This was the first week of our CSA. It was wicked fun, and everyone remembered to pick up their baskets! Yay! Here's the flyer we handed out, in case you're curious what was in the basket.

News from the field:
Despite the last week’s sultry interlude, it has been a very cool and slow-growing spring for the veggies. Fortunately, we built our first heated greenhouse this winter, to accompany our three unheated hoophouses, so despite the season’s slow start, you should still have a few goodies in your basket from the greenhouse.

In June, we are busy finishing our annual plantings, and getting ready to tackle the first brace of weeds. Our big annual plantings include potatoes, onions, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, leeks, cucumbers, melons, corn, summer and winter squash. Those are all in the ground and growing. We only need to let them grow and pray for more warm weather. Most of our other crops, such as lettuce, mesclun, greens, string beans, broccoli, and cauliflower, are planted in constant successions throughout the season.

If you want to see more about how we plan to get rid of those pesky weeds, you can see a recent post on our blog at www.oldshawfarm.com that discusses our new-to-us cultivating tractor.

In the Basket:
Lettuce - Something to spruce up those sandwiches for lunch at work this week, or to combine with the mesclun to make a monster salad.

Arugula - tender and full of flavor. Yummy mixed into salad or on a sandwich with goat cheese or as a bed for a salmon burger.

Mesclun mix - our mesclun is a mixture of several different lettuce varieties, cut at a baby size, and several different types of brassicas, such as mustard, tatsoi, and arugula. If you want to try something different, check out the recipe for pasta with mesclun. A Griffin household favorite!

Sugar Ann Peas - These peas are for eating raw - pod and all. These were planted by CSAer Dana Kraus and her son Ethan. Thanks Dana and Ethan!

Sungold cherry tomatoes - the true first taste of summer. These babies burst with flavor!

Hungarian hot wax pepper - Another treat from the greenhouse. Medium hot to hot, good for frying up with your onions and garlic.

Salad Turnips - When you grab a bunch of these, your first thought may be, “What the . . .?” These are an Asian variety of turnip grown specifically for raw eating, like a radish. Except they are much more mild than radishes, and have a slight turnip after taste. We chop them up raw in salads, or sauté them, or stir fry them. More thoughts from CSAer Chris Lehrich, and one of his recipes, on a separate page.