Volume 15 - No 13 - Week of August 30th

A Great Day in Hoboken!

It was great to meet many CSA members at the Annual Tomato Tasting on Sunday and we want to thank the Hoboken Historical Museum for hosting the event as well as their network of volunteers who worked throughout the day from set-up to take-down. We were able to round up tomatoes from about 5 different farmers and about 15-20 different varieties were available to taste.

As you know we have been struggling with drought conditions all summer and last Monday reported it was great to finally get a nice soaking-in rain. Unfortunately the rain continued for a few more days after which impacted the tomatoes in the field. What happens is that it has been so dry, that when the 4" of rain fell during the week any tomatoes on the vine basically "exploded". Not exploded-exploded, but they split and are not deliverable. We also had trouble from our farmer network in rounding up tomatoes for the tasting as during the heat wave that we had 4-5 weeks ago the blossoms drop-off the plants so fruit will not set.

What's up & growing: Our last seeding of arugula, lettuces, white icicle radishes and red mustard got a big boost from the rain. They kind of came back from the dead! The eggplant & peppers remain consistent producers and believe it or not the late planting of potatoes in July with CSA member help during the trip to the farm are doing great!

At Franklin greenhouse the Japanese turnips should be ready to harvest in a week or two. The hot peppers and herbs are doing extremely well. Unfortunately the cherry tomatoes are just not setting fruit. We had planned on having more cherry tomatoes this year, but as with farming the best laid plans sometimes go awry. At this point, Farmer Rich is going to tear out the cherry tomato plants if they don't produce soon! Word has gone out to them, so we'll see if they cooperate this week.

Weather Report: We are in for a HOT week this week, but fortunately the evening and early morning temperatures are cool.

Animal report : We had a breech in the fence line, so a deer was able to get in. Fortunately it just nibbles on a few different plants so there were no major losses. A rafter of turkeys greeted us on Saturday morning at the Franklin greenhouse. They were enjoying the early morning dew and didn't like Sometime Farmer Sue sneaking up on them to take a few pictures.

Fruit Delivery: Tonight's delivery we have some great Nectarines from Windy Brow Farm.

UPCOMING EVENTS

9^th Annual Garlic Gathering - Olde Lafayette Village - Lafayette, NJ

• Saturday / Sunday October 2^nd & 3^rd
11 am - 4 pm

4^th Annual Garlic Fest - Hoboken Historical Museum - 1301 Hudson Street

• Sunday October 17^th 1 pm - 5 pm

Week of August 30th - Pick of the Week: click on the links below or to the right to bring you to the delivery specific to your pick-up location. Deliveries will be of similar variety & poundage, but may contain different items at anytime during the season. Occasionally, some crops are ready to harvest but not enough to deliver to all our drop-off locations. What we do is start to filter them in each week to a different drop-off until there is enough to delivery to everyone.

• Recipe Links
• Beth Haverim Shir Shalom Delivery
• Hoboken Midtown Delivery
• Hoboken West Delivery
• Jersey City Hamilton Park Delivery
• United Synagogue of Hoboken

Volume 15 - No 12 - Week of August 23rd

Soaking In Rain!

As we write the newsletter on Sunday after dinner, we have received about an inch of rain today. It was a great soaking in rain as it fell off & on all day long. The pond didn't fill up, which is a concern, but the crops are much happier today! It has been the third time this year that we have been low on our irrigation water. We were only watering critical areas so some of cucumber and squash fields were suffering, but now they should bounce back.

We irrigated the Brussels sprouts, eggplant and tomato plants with the drip irrigation tape. The soil they are in is sandier so even after a rainy day they needed water.

The rain did hamper harvesting some greens for delivery.

Farmer Rich, John & Gary worked on an interesting project this week. Rich was contacted about a month ago by The Delaware Water Gap National Park Service in Montague to fertilize perhaps the oldest orchard in the National Park Service in the United States. It was truly an interesting project as we have always been interested in heirloom varieties and to be able to work on a project that included some of the oldest fruit trees in the United States was something he couldn't pass up. It has been estimated that some of the trees in the park are over 200 years old. This area of the Park is known as the Roberts Farm Orchard. According to the National Park Service they are reestablishing and maintaining historic fruit trees throughout the NPS. A spokesperson states that "It represents an historic milestone in the preservation of the cultural heritage of the United States." Other historic orchards have had pruning & maintenance project as well, the most recent being at the historic orchards in Gettysburg National Military Park and the adjacent Eisenhower National Historic Site; additional pruning is also planned for trees at Adams National Historic Park.

A recent article about the "Living History" project in the National Park Service notes the following:

· Coordination and funding for preservation of the historic orchards as come from the Service's Frederick Law Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation in Brookline, Massachusetts. The Center's staff notes,

· "The National Park Service is one of the principal stewards of historic orchards in the United States. Many of these orchards date from the eighteenth, nineteenth, and early twentieth centuries and reflect important social trends of the country such as the migration and settlement patterns of immigrants, the development of commercial agriculture, and the growth of rural and urban economies."

· "Many of the orchards at national parks have direct associations with important people or events that shaped the history of our country, such as the Peach Orchard at Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania. Additionally, historic orchards in national parks often contain rare or unusual fruit varieties that may be the only surviving examples of their type." (reference www.nationalparkstraveler.com/2010/02/living-history-project-delaware-water-gap-national-recreation-area-required-some-very-sharp-instrume5428)

So our participation in just one small segment of the project took place on Thursday afternoon. Farmer Rich, John & Gary brought up the tractor & spreader and Fertrell supplied the organic fertilizer. Unfortunately, the orchard is in the process of being rejuvenated so there are no apples to deliver now, but we hope in the future that they will have some available.

What's up & growing:We are having a great pepper & egplant year this year, probably the best ever. The seeded crops for October are probably are going to come in early. They consist of turnips, sen posai, dill, cilantro, tendergreen mustard, Dicon radishes and French Breakfast radishes. Newly seeded crops include, red mustard, arugula, lettuce and white icicle radishes. With this rain they should really start cruising along.

The cherry tomatoes in the Franklin greenhouse are not setting fruit. Farmer Rich spent Sunday morning investigating and fertilizing them in the hopes that fruit will be set soon. The plants themselves look great.

We have been delivering basil on an ongoing basis, but there seems to be a shortage of basil among other farmers due to a blight condition.

Weather Report: The week was dry, but much need rain finally arrived on Sunday. The forecast for this week looks like more rain early in the week and about average temperatures.

Animal report: The two fawns visited the plum tree again. We haven't seen them in weeks. They were looking for some plums to eat, but all the plums from the tree had already dropped. We hope they won't want to jump the fence to check out the crops in the field.

Fruit Delivery: Tonight starts some great apple varieties from Windy Brow Farm. The variety this week is the Red Free Apple.

11th Annual Heirloom Tomato Tasting - Hoboken Historical Museum

• Sunday August 29th 1 pm - 5 pm at the Hoboken Historical Museum

• 1301 Hudson Street

We'll have many varieties of tomatoes for tasting as well as farm fresh produce for sale from local farmers. Also dips, pestos, salsas will be made from farm fresh produce. We hope to see many CSA members there!

Week of August 23rd - Pick of the Week: click on the links below or to the right to bring you to the delivery specific to your pick-up location. Deliveries will be of similar variety & poundage, but may contain different items at anytime during the season. Occasionally, some crops are ready to harvest but not enough to deliver to all our drop-off locations. What we do is start to filter them in each week to a different drop-off until there is enough to delivery to everyone.

• Recipe Links
• Beth Haverim Shir Shalom Delivery
• Hoboken Midtown Delivery
• Hoboken West Delivery
• Jersey City Hamilton Park Delivery
• United Synagogue of Hoboken

Volume 15 - No 11 - Week of August 16th

Just Enough Rain !!

We had received about ½" of rain on Thursday and more rain is falling on Sunday as I write this newsletter. It should be just enough to keep us going for awhile! The pond is dropping rapidly, down about 12" and we hope for more rain during the week.

We are harvesting a lot of tomatoes and it is a far better year this year than last. So far all three planting of tomatoes are doing well.

We have been keeping up with our field maintenance so the weeds are under control and the beds are probably the best that they have been in years. The greenhouses, which house the hot peppers, chard, and oriental greens are doing well and they will be rolled over soon.

We are curing the garlic, onions & shallots and more will be coming in the deliveries over the next few weeks.

What's up & growing:

The lettuce is almost ready to be transplanted into the fields and we have one more planting of zucchini. We also have some pickles ready to go. The greens in the back fields, which incluce turnips, tendergreen mustard, French breakfast radishes, and Sen Posai are going balistic.

The newly seeded arugula, red mustard and white icicle radishes are growing ok, but they need more water.

The winter squash in our fields up at Scott's are doing incredible so far. We have acorn, butternut, hikori, delicatta and perhaps a few more varieties growing at this point. Not only are they going to be great tasting, but winter squash are so beatiful & colorful!

The carrots in the Franklin greenhouse have not improved since our last report. We may end up pulling them and replacing them with something else.

Weather Report: As reported earlier, just enough rain has fallen to keep us going for now, but we really need more consistent rainfall. The beginning of week was hot again, but the second half of the week was pleasant with low humidity which really helped our harvest mornings. The shorter days mean it takes longer for the veggies to mature, though we are planting varieties that like the shorter days and lower temperatures for the fall harvests.

Animal report: Hannah found a baby groundhog feasting on the parsley. It took one look at Farmer Rich and ran and hasn't been back since.

Fruit Delivery: The variety this week we have again the Starfire Peach. These peaches from Windy Brow Farm are a nice scarlet orange-red and one of the tastiest peaches they have!

11^th Annual Heirloom Tomato Tasting - Hoboken Historical Museum

• Sunday August 29^th 1 pm - 5 pm at the Hoboken Historical Museum 1301 Hudson Street
  
  We'll have many varieties of tomatoes for tasting as well as farm fresh produce for sale from local farmers. Also dips, pestos, salsas will be made from farm fresh produce.

Lisa & Hannah's Blue Ribbon Entries on Exhibit at the Sussex County Farm & Horse Show

Week of August 16th - Pick of the Week: click on the links below or to the right to bring you to the delivery specific to your pick-up location. Deliveries will be of similar variety & poundage, but may contain different items at anytime during the season. Occasionally, some crops are ready to harvest but not enough to deliver to all our drop-off locations. What we do is start to filter them in each week to a different drop-off until there is enough to delivery to everyone.

• Recipe Links
• Beth Haverim Shir Shalom Delivery
• Hoboken Midtown Delivery
• Hoboken West Delivery
• Jersey City Hamilton Park Delivery
• United Synagogue of Hoboken

Volume 15 - No 10 - Week of August 9th

Sweep!

Lisa & Hannah placed in the top 5 at the Open Vegetable Show at the NJ State Fair - Sussex County Farm & Horse Show. Lisa was the overall Grand Champion in the vegetable show with 18 blue ribbons and Hannah was 3^rd with 13 blue ribbons. Hannah as 2^nd overall in the herb category with 11 blue ribbons and Lisa 4th with 10 blue ribbons. Renee who runs our Franklin greenhouse earned a number of blue ribbons as well. She won 4 in the herb category and 2 in the vegetable category.

They also had a number of Best in Show ribbons as well:

• Hard Neck Garlic - German White - Hannah

• Soft Neck Garlic - Ozark - Lisa

• Dill - Lisa

• Flat Leaf Parsley - Lisa

• Par-Cel - Lisa

• Texas Super Sweet Onions - Lisa

• Ivory Peppers - Lisa

What's up & growing:

Last Monday, Hannah seeded our last planting of zucchini, pickles and lettuce and they are up & growing and should be transplanted in the field in a week or two. Also we direct seeded arugula, lettuce, white icicle radishes and red mustard which are doing well as long as we continue to get water on them. They should be in deliveries in September. The thinning of greens in tonight's delivery are doing very well and the remaining plants should be harvested over the next few weeks.

The carrots continue to be slow in growing, we don't know exactly why, but probably mostly due to the drier weather.

The garlic is not curing & storing well. Use as soon as possible as there may be some bad cloves within a bulb. Take out the good cloves and you can store them in the freezer for future use.

Farmer Rich is researching why this is a problem this year. Currently is affecting on the NY White variety and we hope that it won't affect the other varieties we grow.

Weather Report: Another dry week and we have to continue to irrigate. The plan is to water the newly seeded crops which are just coming up by hand until we can establish some irrigation to those areas. The pond is starting to drop again. Fortunately it is not as bad it was earlier in the season, but it is dropping fast enough to be a concern. So far we are doing well, all things considered. The heat is not as hot as it was in July and we continue to work full days, starting early in the mornings.

Animal report: Aside from a few rabbits cruising around the "outside" of the fence for a change, it is quiet in animal land for now. We haven't seen the twin fawns for a while now, probably because the plum tree stopped dropping its fruit.

Fruit Delivery: The variety this week we have again the Starfire Peach. These peaches from Windy Brow Farm are a nice scarlet orange-red and taste great. This is the first year we have delivered this variety from them. We like to get the peaches on the "hard" side for better transportation and less bruising. They should ripen up in a few days.

NJ State Fair - Sussex County Farm & Horse Show - The NJ State Fair in Augusta, NJ runs to August 15th. For more information you can go online to www.njstatefair.org to see what events are scheduled for each day. If you go, stop by the greenhouse to see Lisa, Hannah & Renee's blue ribbon entries!

Week of August 9th - Pick of the Week: click on the links below or to the right to bring you to the delivery specific to your pick-up location. Deliveries will be of similar variety & poundage, but may contain different items at anytime during the season. Occasionally, some crops are ready to harvest but not enough to deliver to all our drop-off locations. What we do is start to filter them in each week to a different drop-off until there is enough to delivery to everyone.

• Recipe Links
• Beth Haverim Shir Shalom Delivery
• Hoboken Midtown Delivery
• Hoboken West Delivery
• Jersey City Hamilton Park Delivery
• United Synagogue of Hoboken

Volume 15 - No 9 - Week of August 2nd

Cooler Temps!

We are glad to see July over, as it sure was hot and humid! The average temperature for July was over 7ºF hotter than last year's average and the rainfall was an average of 3" less than last year. Overall, great for many of the crops that love the hot weather, such as the tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, but not so good for the lettuces, arugula and tender greens.

We had some intermittent showers occurring off and on during the week. The sun doesn't come up at the farm until after 5:30 am, so Farmer Rich is getting an extra ½ hour sleep! The early morning harvests are nice & cool and even Farmer Rich has to put on a flannel shirt!

The potatoes were harvested this week at our fields up at Scott's Farm. The potatoes will be mixed between Red Norland, Katadin and Russet. The potato harvest did not yield as much as it should have, mostly due to the dry weather. Estimates are about ½ of what we should have been able to harvest, but we do have plenty of potatoes for the rest of the season.

The leeks & squash that were weeded & mulched by the CSA members who came up to the farm are much happier. The mulch is helping keep the moisture in the soil.

For those of you getting the arugula in your delivery - you may notice some insect holes. What happens is that they bite into the young plant and then the leaf grows and the hole becomes larger. The Arugula tastes REALLY GOOD aside from the cosmetic problem.

What's up & growing:

On July 21^st we planted Cilantro, Dill, Sen Posai, Turnips, Tendergreen Mustard, Dicon Radish, and French Breakfast Radishes in the back field and they are growing great. You should start seeing thinnings in upcoming salad mixes.

The July 14^th planting of carrots are finally growing! Carrots do take a long time to germinate.

We divided the chives plants, to plant long rows as well as planted some basil.

The eggplant crop is growing very well and each week one or two delivery sites are receiving them on an alternating basis until we have enough for all the sites. The eggplant varieties we have been harvesting consist of Rosa Bianca, Florida High Bush, Ping Tong Long, Black Beauty and Orient Express. We are also encouraged by the production of our sweet peppers plants. We have some great colored varieties, such as ivory, black, chocolate, purple, golden, fryers & some standard greens.

Weather Report: Very little rain fell during the week, most of which came on the 25^th during the trip to the farm. There have been some storm fronts moving through the area but have been more of a hit-or-miss at the farm.

Animal report: The rabbits have multiplied, but are not creating a problem. We haven't seen the two fawns this past week either. We have our "natural" pest controllers working in the greenhouse. They are small toads who just love to eat insects!! In the early morning hours at the farm we see a number of bats swirling around and when they go to sleep the birds then wake up! Nature isn't it wonderful!

Fruit Delivery

The variety this week is the Starfire Peach. These peaches from Windy Brow Farm are a nice scarlet orange-red and taste great. This is the first year we have delivered this variety from them. We like to get the peaches on the "hard" side for better transportation and less bruising. They should ripen up in a few days.

NJ State Fair - Sussex County Farm & Horse Show

The NJ State Fair in Augusta, NJ starts on Friday and runs to August 15^th. Hannah & Lisa are looking forward to entering a few exhibits in the Open Vegetable Show which will be judged on Saturday. For more information you can go online to www.njstatefair.orgto see what events are scheduled for each day.

Week of August 2nd - Pick of the Week: click on the links below or to the right to bring you to the delivery specific to your pick-up location. Deliveries will be of similar variety & poundage, but may contain different items at anytime during the season. Occasionally, some crops are ready to harvest but not enough to deliver to all our drop-off locations. What we do is start to filter them in each week to a different drop-off until there is enough to delivery to everyone.

• Recipe Links
• Beth Haverim Shir Shalom Delivery
• Hoboken Midtown Delivery
• Hoboken West Delivery
• Jersey City Hamilton Park Delivery
• United Synagogue of Hoboken

Volume 15 - No 8 - Week of July 26th

Great Day @ the Farm!

We had a full-crew and then some come up to the farm on Sunday. It was record attendance for a trip-to-the-farm, outside of our October Garlic planting trips. All our CSA delivery sites (Mahwah, Hoboken, Jersey City and On-Farm Pickup) were well represented with members & their families and friends helping out with a few projects. Even some former CSA members from New York City came up to help as well. We gave a tour of the farm to start out the day and then took to the fields to work on weeding & mulching the leek & zucchini beds with one crew and the other crew planted some potatoes. Thanks to all who came up to the farm - we like the help & really enjoy the "community" in our community supported farm. We were a really "close" knit group huddling under that tent!

Though, late in the season to plant potatoes, they should be ready by October. They are a short-season variety and we are taking a chance that they grow in time, but better to try then not try at all. The reason they didn't get in earlier, was the box from last year's harvest was left in Scott's cooler. They "grew" (the potato eyes grew about 18") while in the cooler and Farmer Rich thought it best to try to get them in the ground. We didn't want to plant them in the spring (which is the normal time) as we were worried that perhaps they may have carried the late blight that was prevalent last year. But at the point of rediscovering them in the cooler, they were in good shape we had no fear of them having any sign of late blight. The day was a bit hampered by an afternoon rain storm, but at least we were able to get some work in, have a nice lunch and then huddled under the tent to keep dry!

What's up & growing: The back field is getting enough water so the Cilantro, Sen Posai, Turnips, Tendergreen Mustard, Dicon Radish, and French Breakfast Radishes are all up and growing well. Last week's plantings of carrots and Redmeat Radishes are also doing well and the newly transplanted winter squash have taken off and are growing great both on the farm and in the fields at Scott's. The potatoes in Scott's should be harvested this week and we hope to get them into the delivery next week.

Planted this past week:
More Brussels Sprouts
Lettuce (which didn't take well due to the heat)
Kale
It was TOO!! Hot to plant anything else

Weather Report: It was another super HOT week and the humidity level was high as well. Rain fell on Friday and then again on Sunday, both of which were much needed. These intervals of rain have helped immensely. There was a threat of severe weather on Friday night with a chance of "golf-ball" sized hail, and the chance of a tornado, but fortunately neither passed over the farm. We did hear there were quite a few reports of severe weather in the Passaic & Bergen county areas with a number of trees down.

Animal report: Fortunately all was quiet this week in the fields, with just a few voles tasting the eggplant, sweet peppers and beets. Luckily the pesky rabbits have been around for the past two weeks. Farmer Rich and John saw two fawns on Saturday under our one plum tree. They were enjoying the plums that had dropped to the ground. We had hoped they would come out on Sunday during the trip to the farm for all to see, but the rain must have kept them undercover or perhaps they ate too many plums and were resting with stomach aches!

Fruit Delivery: The variety this week is Shiro which is another Japanese variety. They are a nice yellow plum.

Week of July 26th - Pick of the Week: click on the links below or to the right to bring you to the delivery specific to your pick-up location. Deliveries will be of similar variety & poundage, but may contain different items at anytime during the season. Occasionally, some crops are ready to harvest but not enough to deliver to all our drop-off locations. What we do is start to filter them in each week to a different drop-off until there is enough to delivery to everyone.

• Recipe Links
• Beth Haverim Shir Shalom Delivery
• Hoboken Midtown Delivery
• Hoboken West Delivery
• Jersey City Hamilton Park Delivery
• United Synagogue of Hoboken
  

Volume 15 - No 7 - Week of July 19th

Trip to the Farm Sunday!

The first work-day at the farm for the season is scheduled for Sunday, July 25^th. We plan on a few projects for those that are coming up. The main projects will be to weed & mulch the leek bed and hopefully mulch between the beds of peppers and tomatoes. We hope that Farmer Adam will arrive this week to cut the hay in time for Sunday. We can always come up with other projects as well.

Due to the excess heat this past week, we had to change up our schedule a bit. On harvest days, we start about 5 am, as the sun isn't quite up and it is the best time to harvest to prevent wilting. Once harvested, we can get the produce into the cooler. By 11 am, we are a little "burned out" and work on smaller projects and try to keep cool and well hydrated.

What's up & growing:The tomatoes, eggplant and peppers continue to do well. The zucchini have slowed down just following the dry period we had. The herbs are doing well and the last planting of peppers that was "borderline" have bounced back. The winter squash are in. We should have some new potatoes within the next week or two. Hannah's cut salad mix is coming back for another harvest soon. The newly seeded lettuce is doing well, but the oriental greens are having problems. The Brussels sprouts are almost ready to harvest. We removed the plastic over our lower greenhouse, mostly due to the excess temperatures, in an attempt to save the husk cherries & tomatoes that were planted in it. We hope they will recover and will keep you posted.
Planted this past week:

Rainbow Carrots Cilantro Golden Ball Turnips Dill Sen Posi

Tendergreen Mustard French Breakfast Radishes Dicon Radishes Redmeat Radishes

We plan on seeding this week:

Kale Collard Greens Lettuce

Last planting of Zucchini Chinese Cabbage

Weather Report: It was super HOT again this week, and the temperatures are running about 7-9º higher than normal. The humidity level was up as well which severely hampers our farm activities. It is just too hot to maintain long hours in the fields. Friday the 16^th was perhaps the worst day of the year, even worse than our 100ºF+ on July 7^th. There was a trace of rain on Friday night and the 4" of rain last week helped immensely. The pond went from being low to filling up again. The days are getting shorter now which means we need less water. Irrigation continues as the rains have been spotty at best.

Animal report: Continued break-ins are attempted, especially during the drier periods. The baby rabbits break in but were not much of a problem this week. Fortunately the ground hogs are staying away. The voles, "in-season vegetarians", like to munch at ground level. Their favorites are carrots & beets and actually destroyed the last beet crop, which left us just with the greens.

Trip to the Farm - planned for Sunday July 25^th

Start time will be 11 am. In addition to some "work-time" we'll give you a tour of the farm. We like to work a little, have some lunch and enjoy a day in the country! Please RVSP if you plan to attend so that we can plan on refreshments and provide you directions.

Fruit Delivery

This week is the first delivery of Plums from Windy Brow Farm. The variety this week is Redheart which is a Japanese variety. The main varieties of plums are European, Japanese, Cherry plums and cross-hybrids.

Week of July 19th - Pick of the Week: click on the links below or to the right to bring you to the delivery specific to your pick-up location. Deliveries will be of similar variety & poundage, but may contain different items at anytime during the season. Occasionally, some crops are ready to harvest but not enough to deliver to all our drop-off locations. What we do is start to filter them in each week to a different drop-off until there is enough to delivery to everyone.

• Recipe Links
• Beth Haverim Shir Shalom Delivery
• Hoboken Midtown Delivery
• Hoboken West Delivery
• Jersey City Hamilton Park Delivery
• United Synagogue of Hoboken

Volume 15 - No 6 - Week of July 12th

Finally Some Rain!

Farmer Rich gave me a call on Friday that it finally rained at the farm after weeks of little to no precipitation. It only rained about ½" but everything fluffed up. Then on Saturday the much needed soaking-in rain came. We received about 2 ½" of rain on Saturday morning alone. Fortunately, we were able to work in the greenhouses harvesting greens, as the rain kept up for quite a few hours.

Our plan for the week if it hadn't rained was to seed in cells and transplant into plastic. This would enable us to conserve water by utilizing the drip irrigation. Cilantro, dill, radishes, beets, turnips all produce better in an open field situation and if it hadn't rained we would have to have postponed them for who knows how long. Fortunately the rain came and we are on track for our normal schedule.

John tilled the back field and the harvested garlic beds once the rains came. Prior, it was way too dry to attempt any plantings. Another tilling of the garlic beds is needed prior to planting, but the conditions are much better now.

The heavy rains filled the pond back up. It was getting very low and we were getting worried about running out of water. We are a bit ahead of schedule for "rolling" over our fields. They key is getting the plantings in on time and for a while there we were nervous about the drought conditions affecting our schedule and the future harvests.

What's up & growing: Now that it rained all the plants are much happier. The tomatoes, peppers, eggplant are all looking great. The New Zealand spinach should be harvested soon. Our cherry tomato fields are showing lots of blossoms and hopefully this means lots of tomatoes. The spring broccoli plants are not doing well and we will be reseeding them this week and hope to have decent crop for the fall. All of the squash plants are producing. We have mixed varieties such as zucchini, yellow and crookneck squash coming along and the trombocino should be harvested soon. We plan on another planting of red cabbage soon.

Fruit Delivery Flaming Fury Peaches are delivered again this week from Windy Brow Farm as the plums were not ready yet. Farmer Jim hopes that the plum harvest will be on schedule for next week. We usually have Shiro and Red Heart plums in the July deliveries.

Weather Report: The hot, hot temperatures finally dropped when a cool front brought in the rain over the weekend. We don't know what is going to happen next, as the record temperatures may have affected the plants long term. We did notice that the lettuce was starting to get bitter and the broccoli & cauliflower suffered during the extreme temperatures. It appears more seasonable temperatures are on target for this week. We hope that optimum conditions will last for more than just a day or two.

Animal report: As the drought conditions had continued early in the week, the animals seem to get more rambunctious. We have noticed that over the years, the drier it is they become more interested in the crops behind the fences as they are not finding succulent growth in their "outside the fence" living quarters. A new crop of baby rabbits appeared and they are enjoying the clover in between some of the beds and they really like the kohlrabi leaves. There may have been a bear that visited the back field, but did not enter the field. Two areas of fence were pushed down. Nothing was damaged except the fence. A similar problem occurred last year in the same area so apparently it is not looking to eat any veggies, but interested in just seeing what is going on. The beet patch has been invaded by voles, who have been feasting. This of course ruins the beets, but the beet greens are still good.

Trip to the Farm- planned for Sunday July 25th Start time will be 11 am. Projects for the work day will include helping with mulching and some general field work. We'll give you a tour of the farm, work a little, have some lunch and enjoy a day in the country! Please RVSP if you plan to attend so that we can plan on refreshments and provide you directions.

Week of July 12th - Pick of the Week: click on the links below or to the right to bring you to the delivery specific to your pick-up location. Deliveries will be of similar variety & poundage, but may contain different items at anytime during the season. Occasionally, some crops are ready to harvest but not enough to deliver to all our drop-off locations. What we do is start to filter them in each week to a different drop-off until there is enough to delivery to everyone.

• Recipe Links
• Beth Haverim Shir Shalom Delivery
• Hoboken Midtown Delivery
• Hoboken West Delivery
• Jersey City Hamilton Park Delivery
• United Synagogue of Hoboken

Volume 15 - No 5 - Week of July 5th

Drought Conditions!

We hope you all had a wonderful 4^th of July and celebrated being Food Patriots! We have the Red (the beets), the White (the onions) and the Blue will be coming soon (blue potatoes). Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence and one of our founding fathers, considered himself a man of the land. He was one of America's early agronomists and is credited as introducing Brussels sprouts, eggplant, cauliflower & broccoli to America. He is quoted as saying that "those who labor in the earth are the chosen people of God...." He promoted crop rotation, use of fertilizer and contour plowing. He wrote: "No occupation is so delightful to me as the culture of the earth and no culture comparable to that of the garden."

No rain fell during the past week and there is no rain in the forecast for this week. We are spending a lot of time keeping the crops watered. We need to move the hoses and overhead sprinklers on a daily basis between our different fields. The drip irrigation system is working well, but the drip irrigation is installed only on the wrapped beds. We depend on the overhead sprinklers for all the other beds & fields. We hope to install some more sprinklers soon so we don't have to keep moving them.

The US Drought Monitor has the northeast listed as D-0 - Abnormally dry for 24% of the area. The area they illustrate does show all of NJ and southern NY and eastern PA to be included in this 24%. Their scale goes from none to D-4 which is an exceptional drought condition. They also have listed that we have a deficit of 1.3" of precipitation over the last 30 days which is 66% of normal precip for Sussex County.

Weather plays such an important role in agriculture. We love to look at historical data to see how each season relates to the past. Last year, the month of June yielded 7.93" of rain and this year only 2.40" fell for the whole month. The record high for the 4^th of July was recorded as 100ºF in 1966 and the record low as 41ºF in 1986. (source: Location: Sussex 2NE, NJ http://www.weather.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=phi )

Crop Report

planted this week:

Zucchini Herbs Cucumbers

Peppers Oriental greens

Lettuce Kale

What's up & growing:

The fava bean field that was harvested is being readied for planting this week. The garlic harvest continues, though the bulbs are on the small side. So far the tomato plants are looking good as we continue to irrigate the fields. The eggplant and peppers are in great shape too, whereas the broccoli is suffering. It apparently it is not liking the hot-hot weather.

Weather Report: As noted, there has been a total lack of rain over the past week and in general over the last month as well. The ground is parched & cracked. John was tilling up the back field and created a "dust bowl". When he got off the tractor he was covered in dust. We have to run water to get the soil workable and ready to plant this week. It looks like the Mohave Desert back there! We do have a good system of overhead sprinklers for that area. We ran water on the drip line for two days straight and the soil is still bone dry.

Animal report: We have a dill loving critter and the rabbit continues to munch on the kohlrabi leaves. The "pests" have arrived! The cabbage worms are eating the Brussels sprouts and the potato beetles are eating the eggplant. The squash beetles are eyeing out the squash. Since we do not spray anything to keep them away, we have been hand picking them off of the plants so they are somewhat under control. We also depend on our "air-force". The birds will swoop down and enjoy the cabbage worms and there are other beneficial insects that help out too!

Fruit Deliveries Start The fruit we deliver is from Windy Brow Farm located on Route 519 in Fredon Township, just south of Newton, NJ, and we have been delivering their fruit for about 7 years now. Usually, the fruit deliveries start towards the end of July, but the peaches were ready early this year! This week's harvest is Flaming Fury Peaches.

Week of July 5th - Pick of the Week: click on the links below or to the right to bring you to the delivery specific to your pick-up location. Deliveries will be of similar variety & poundage, but may contain different items at anytime during the season. Occasionally, some crops are ready to harvest but not enough to deliver to all our drop-off locations. What we do is start to filter them in each week to a different drop-off until there is enough to delivery to everyone.

• Recipe Links
• Beth Haverim Shir Shalom Delivery
• Hoboken Midtown Delivery
• Hoboken West Delivery
• Jersey City Hamilton Park Delivery
• United Synagogue of Hoboken

Volume 15 - No 4 - Week of June 28th

Fava Knows Best!

No veggie & a movie this week, but how about a 50's TV show - Fava Knows Best? It may be a week late for Father's Day, but the fava beans this year are ready earlier than in years past. They usually are delivered the first week of July, but were ready to harvest so harvest we did. This year's fava have a better yield and also are in better shape in that they didn't get the black spots which is often seen on the outer pod. It actually took about 2 1/2 days to harvest the fava beans. Not only are they labor intensive to harvest, you need to take additional time to prepare them yourself (see special fava bean tips in the Harvest Identifier & Recipe pages)

PS - don't forget you can have your fava beans with a nice chianti!!!

The pond is down about 6-7" due to lack of rain, which is in total contrast to last year when we were complaining of it being too wet. Saturday went from being dry to being VERY dry. We are irrigating all fields and some of the beds are being hand watered as well. While we were hand watering we notice how the soil dried out immediately as we watered. As the plants get bigger we are mulching with hay or straw and that helps immensely to keep the moisture in. We actually will be using the fava plants that we just harvested as mulch for the cucumber plants. We normally will chop them and plow them into the soil for the next rotation of crops which may include turnips, dicon radishes and mustards. Since we are almost out of hay until the next delivery, we'll use the plants to shade the soil, increase moisture retention and even add some nutrients such as nitrogen to the soil as they break down and we plow them in during the crop rotations.

The garlic harvest has started, and some garlic is small due to lack of water and some weeding up in certain areas that we never got the plastic laid down. Once all the garlic is harvested, these beds will be rolled over to our fall crops.

The Franklin greenhouse has almost been totally rolled over with new plantings as outlined below in our Crop report. Tonight's carrot harvest actually came from the Franklin greenhouse. We also have Rosemary again as the rosemary crop went ballistic! We reduced the bed by half and it will be replaced by sage & thyme (sorry no parsley in this bed - ha-ha!). Renee who lives close to Franklin is really managing that greenhouse well. She has been transplanting, weeding, watering and helping with the harvest. In the meantime our on-farm personnel, Hannah, Lisa and Nancy, are starting super early in the am to get most of the work done prior to the heat of the mid-day sun. They are all hard workers and we are fortunate to have such a great crew.

Crop Report

planted this week:

cherry tomatoes sage

parsley anise hysoop

celery thyme

What's up & growing:

The tomato plants are performing well - much better than last year. The eggplant & peppers are cruising along as well and the Brussels sprouts have doubled in size since last week. We have an intruder (see Animal report below) whom seems to be enjoying the Brussels sprouts & Kohlrabi. We haven't had good luck in the past with Brussels sprouts so this rabbit may be a long-time resident who is enjoying trying a new crop instead of the same-ole-same-ole.

We are trying to get zucchini into all the delivery sites over the past few weeks, as there just were never enough to deliver all at once. Hopefully their production will increase and we can deliver more.

The winter squash and next planting of zucchini are both up and should be planted in the field during the week. The next planting of lettuce and kale will be undertaken this week as well. Also planned are seeding turnips. Hokuri & golden ball are the two varieties of turnips that we plan on seeding.

Weather Report: Only about 1/8" of rain fell during the week - but we have been through this before in the last 15 years. Even though it rained a little bit the writing is on the wall that we are either in or close to drought conditions. I have even noticed in my driving down Route 23 where I pass 2 reservoirs that their levels are getting quite low. We usually report drought conditions about 1 month ahead of the government!!! This is all subject to change, but if it doesn't rain a decent amount soon, drought conditions will definitely be here. The rains when they come seem to get less and less, even though it may seem we are getting a decent rain we actually are not.

Animal report: Our intruder (probably a rabbit) has been enjoying the Brussels Sprouts and Kohlrabi or should I say KohlRabbit. Looking back at past newsletters, we had a similar intruder enjoying the kohlrabi a few years back. Usually the ground hogs aren't are selective in their munching, they just eat everything in their path so we are quite sure it is a rabbit.

CSA Member offers Bicycle Delivery Service for CSA shares in Hoboken & Jersey City

A fellow CSA member in Hoboken, Jorge Szymanski, is offering to deliver your CSA shares to your home via his bicycle delivery service. Please click here for more information.

Fava Beans: To use the fava beans you'll have to shell and skin them first. The easiest way to skin them is to blanch them in boiling water for a few minutes, then slit the skin with a knife or your thumb nail, and squeeze gently to slip the bean out.
Refer to our previous blogs for more info:
http://catalparidge-recipes.blogspot.com/2008/07/recipes-of-week-july-7th.html
http://catalparidge-recipes.blogspot.com/2006/07/recipes-week-of-july-3rd.html

Week of June 28th - Pick of the Week: click on the links below or to the right to bring you to the delivery specific to your pick-up location. Deliveries will be of similar variety & poundage, but may contain different items at anytime during the season. Occasionally, some crops are ready to harvest but not enough to deliver to all our drop-off locations. What we do is start to filter them in each week to a different drop-off until there is enough to delivery to everyone.

• Recipe Links
• Beth Haverim Shir Shalom Delivery
• Hoboken Midtown Delivery
• Hoboken West Delivery
• Jersey City Hamilton Park Delivery
• United Synagogue of Hoboken

Volume 15 - No 3 - Week of June 21st

Dryer than you think!

It is actually dryer that you think at the farm, at least dryer than Farmer Rich thought. We did have about ¾" of rain last week, which was very welcome. We do continue to have to irrigate the fields and are trying to catch up to keep everything watered.

The week seemed to go quickly as every day was filled with projects (as usual) and not too much turmoil! Monday is a pick & pack day to have all the delivery sites harvest ready to load on the van and then head south to deliver to Mahwah late Monday afternoon. Tuesday is delivery day to Hoboken & Jersey City. Wednesday we have a full-crew and replanting (see crop reports below) of areas that were harvested as well as weeding and veggie maintenance are the prime directives of the day. Thursday, Farmer Rich is by himself and he makes the rounds to assess what will be ready to harvest for the next delivery and to line up projects for the crew for Friday. More field maintenance is done as well such as tilling up beds to get them ready for planting. On Friday our full crew is back and we continue to plant in the fields, weed, mulching and trellis the tomatoes & cucumbers and anything else that may present itself. On Saturdays & Sundays, we start to harvest the delivery at 5:00 am (thank goodness we have a good crew who doesn't mind starting super early) to get it in the cooler before the hot sun of the day. This is all done prior to 9:00 am. The rest of a Saturday & Sunday is spent sorting, bunching, bagging and getting the delivery ready. In between all of this we have to get to our Franklin greenhouse where a lot of the first few weeks of deliveries have been harvested.

Crop Report - we like to keep you posted on the variety of crops that are either already growing or have been planted or seeded.
Planted, transplanted or seeded this week:

Arugula Sunflower sprouts Squash both Winter & Summer varieties

Lettuce Replanted salad mix Hot Peppers Tomatoes

Eggplant Cherry Tomatoes Basil Cucumbers

What's Up & Growing:

The newly seeded arugula, lettuce & salad mixes are doing well. The beets and sweet basil are up as well and the Brussels sprouts have "popped". This is when they are almost doubled in size within the week. This is true of many other crops as well, such as the tomatoes, broccoli, eggplant, squash, kohlrabi and herbs. The fava beans look like they may be ready early this year.

Crop losses this week included the cauliflower. They "buttoned up" too early, so they are size of about a ½ Dollar. These plants will be removed this week and the bed replanted with celery & squash. The sorrel is not doing as well as years past, but there are some of the better leaves in the salad mix being delivered this week. We lost some Walla Walla onion and radishes.

Weather Report: Thunderstorms are on the horizon for the early part of the week. Since we need the rain we'll probably not get it, while a neighboring farmer that just cut his hay and doesn't need it probably will get it!

Animal report : No break-ins and the fences are doing their job. Farmer Rich thinks he has seen an Eastern Meadowlark just outside the new greenhouse. By the time he gets the camera it is gone. We hope to catch it during the week.

Summer Arrives: Summer arrives onJune 21, 2010 at 7:28 am EDT (the summer solstice) The term "solstice" comes from the Latin words "sol" (sun) and "sistere" (to stand still). At the solstice, the angle between the Sun's rays and the plane of the Earth's equator (called declination) appears to stand still. This phenomenon is most noticeable at the Arctic Circle where the Sun hugs the horizon for a continuous 24 hours, thus the term "Land of the Midnight Sun."- The Farmers' Almanac

Radishes this week: Most of the 'hot' taste is in the skin. Peel them for a milder flavor.
Radish Cooking Tips The process of cooking radishes tames the harshness. To enhance the red coloring of a radish while cooking, add a bit of lemon juice to the cooking liquid.
Boil: Bring water to a boil, carefully drop in whole or sliced radishes. Simmer radishes until they become just tender, from 10 to 30 minutes depending on the type of radish.
Steam: Steam whole radishes in steamer for 5 to 15 minutes, depending on desired tenderness.
Roast: Preheat oven to 425º F. Toss sliced radishes with olive oil, and favorite seasonings. Spread radishes onto baking sheet or roasting pan.Roast for 30-45 minutes, until tender and browning. http://www.recipetips.com/kitchen-tips/t--827/all-about-radishes.asp

Week of June 21st - Pick of the Week: click on the links below or to the right to bring you to the delivery specific to your pick-up location. Deliveries will be of similar variety & poundage, but may contain different items at anytime during the season. Occasionally, some crops are ready to harvest but not enough to deliver to all our drop-off locations. What we do is start to filter them in each week to a different drop-off until there is enough to delivery to everyone.

• Recipe Links
• Beth Haverim Shir Shalom Delivery
• Hoboken Midtown Delivery
• Hoboken West Delivery
• Jersey City Hamilton Park Delivery
• United Synagogue of Hoboken

Volume 15 - No 2 - Week of June 14th

Moulin Rhubarb!

Periodically throughout the season we'll feature our Veggies & a Movie.
This week the feature is Moulin Rhubarb!

The only delivery of Rhubarb for the season will be this week's harvest. Rhubarb is one of the earliest spring crops and many either love it or hate it. For those who haven't been introduced to rhubarb we suggest "try it, you'll like it" and look through the recipes for one that will suit your tastes. There is an annual Rhubarb Festival in Minnesota (sorry we missed it on the 5th), but is sure sounds like that have a great time. Go to this link for some great recipes (and more recipes will be posted too) http://www.rhubarbfestival.org/recipes.php

We can get into the fruit or vegetable controversy for Rhubarb and if we do then we have to include tomatoes too. Rhubarb is traditionally classified as a vegetable; however, in the United States a New York court decided in 1947 that since it was used in the United States as a fruit it was to be called a fruit. The outcome of this decision was a reduction in taxes paid. The Supreme Court got involved in the classification of the tomato; "Botanically, a tomato is a fruit. However, it is typically served as part of a salad or main course of a meal, rather than at dessert, therefore it is considered a vegetable for most culinary purposes. The U.S. Supreme Court settled the controversy on May 10, 1893 by declaring that the tomato is a vegetable, based on the popular definition that classifies vegetables by use, that they are generally served with dinner and not dessert (Nix v. Hedden (149 U.S. 304))." So we have Rhubarb which is a vegetable, now used as a fruit and tomatoes which are a fruit used as a vegetable! Wow - and everybody thinks farming is so straight forward!

Don't forget to check out the Harvest Identifier each week. Many members wrote notes that they didn't know what was what in the delivery, but we post the link to the Harvest Identifier within the weekly newsletter that you receive as well as post it on the blog & website. In addition you can download a PDF copy of this newsletter and the Harvest Identifier if you prefer the more traditional "paper" copy. The Harvest Identifier includes photos, tips & additional recipes. Just more resources that we hope you will find helpful. Also, if you have a recipe you want to share, please send me an e-mail and I will include it for other members.

Crop Report - we like to keep you posted on the variety of crops that are either already growing or have been planted or seeded.
Planted, transplanted or seeded this week:

Basil Cherry Tomatoes Hot Peppers

Beets Brussels Sprouts Tomatoes Lettuce

Herbs (basil, par-cel, cutting celery, parsley)

What's Up & Growing:

Zucchini Carrots Oriental Greens Radishes

Cauliflower Kohlrabi Tomatoes Fava Beans New Zealand Spinach

Dill Fennel Cabbage Spinach Peppers Eggplant

Broccoli Peas Beets Squash

So far we have some minor crop losses. The peas in the back field needed to be replanted, so an early crop of peas is not on the horizon.

Weather Report: To date, the season has been on the dry side, but we finally received some much needed rain this past week. About 1" fell during the week over a few days, which was much better than getting it all at once. The temperatures have been hot but not unbearable. The harvests begin very early in the morning before the heat increases so that we can get the lettuces and greens into the cooler.

Animal report: We had a bear on the farm watching Lisa & Hannah planting in the back field. We guess it was taking inventory of what they were planting to see if it wants to break in later in the season for some treats! All in all, there have been minimal problems with the animals so far. The fences are doing their job, except for the family of rabbits which are inside the fence. So far they didn't find the carrots!

Interesting Notes for the week: We are on a farming e-mail list for Sussex County Farmers and this week received a link to an interesting video for an idea in helping to clean up the Gulf's Oil Spill. The header was "never underestimate a farmer's ingenuity" A simple, "green" way to get the oil out of the water - probably way too simple for BP or the government to figure out. Anyway, if you want to view it, click here: http://www.wimp.com/solutionoil/. Sure makes sense!

Rhubarb
Not everyone's favorite, as some people love it and some just don't want to even try it due to its tartness or as I like to say "zippiness". Make a sauce for meats or
fish, combine with fruits for pies, even make pancakes! See recipes on the blog or page 2 of the PDF copy of the newsletter.

Week of June 14th - Pick of the Week: click on the links below or to the right to bring you to the delivery specific to your pick-up location. Deliveries will be of similar variety & poundage, but may contain different items at anytime during the season. Occasionally, some crops are ready to harvest but not enough to deliver to all our drop-off locations. What we do is start to filter them in each week to a different drop-off until there is enough to delivery to everyone.

• Recipe Links
• Beth Haverim Shir Shalom Delivery
• Hoboken Midtown Delivery
• Hoboken West Delivery
• Jersey City Hamilton Park Delivery
• United Synagogue of Hoboken

Volume 15 - No 1 - Week of June 7th

Lettuce Begin!

First, thank you for supporting our farm. It is only through the continued support of our members that our farm continues to be sustainable and we continue the practice of farming. We welcome back many of you who have been supporting us for most of our 15 years of CSA deliveries as well as welcome many new members this year. It is also important to acknowledge the efforts of the coordinators at all our drop-off locations. Without drop-off locations that are fully supported the CSA concept is lost. We should all participate in the sense of "community" by helping out, sharing recipes and giving support to each other.

We welcome back our sites at Beth Haverim Shir Shalom in Mahwah, Hoboken Midtown on Willow Terrace, Hoboken West on Grand and Jersey City Hamilton Park on 8th Street. A new welcome is in order for The United Synagogue of Hoboken on Park Avenue. We are also pleased to announce that the Food Services at Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, NJ have purchased shares to be used directly in the employee cafeteria. They wanted to get more locally grown produce into the diet of their hospital employees. In April, during their Earth Day activities, I spent the day with them to introduce their employees to our farm and shared with them pictures and what seasonal produce we would be delivering.

For those that are new to the concept CSA, it may be a challenge at first in that you are eating seasonally. What is ready to harvest is what is delivered each week. You will be receiving your "just picked" veggies right from the farm. Carolyn Cope who was a coordinator for a number of years in Hoboken and who has since moved to Red Bank, has posted some great tips on her food blog. The article is titled: 10 Secrets for Making the Most of your CSA. The link is here: http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/05/10-secrets-tips-for-making-the-most-of-your-csa.html

CSF deliveries are not meant to replace you having to shop, but to supplement your veggie choices each week. The deliveries in the spring will mostly consist of greens (lettuces, chard, Oriental greens). As the weeks progress, there will also be more variety and the deliveries will become heavier. Also along the line, you will meet many interesting vegetables, some of which you may have never tried before. We encourage you to try-it, you'll like it!! In the newsletter each week I include recipes for the items that are being delivered. If you have some recipes you would like to share, we can post them on the blog for others to try.

Community supported farm members soon become connected to each other as the weeks go by. We welcome you all and look forward to working with all of you.

News from the Farm: There have been some changes with our employees this year. Ali our full-timer last year has since moved to California pursuing a career in farming. We welcome Hannah as our full-timer. She apprenticed at Genesis Farm for two years before joining us this spring. Lisa & Jessie have returned this year, again working part-time. New part timers also include Nancy, Allyson, Renee and Erin. We also have been fortunate to have John work part time who has been invaluable on the mechanical end. He was the main force to build the new greenhouse and is keeping our tractors, pumps and equipment operating. They have all been working hard over the last several weeks.

We work between the farm in Wantage and the extra greenhouse in Franklin. The Franklin greenhouse is especially important for our early deliveries. We also work with other local farmers during the season to continue to provide a variety of produce to you each week that we may not be growing or if we have had a crop failure. They all are local and have similar growing practices. A few large fields at Scott's farm are being planted with our tomato, pepper, squash & eggplant transplants. We have already planted potatoes & garlic in our fields there.

From the Fields: Each year presents a new set of challenges and we adapt accordingly to the trial & tribulations of farming. When we were ready to plant in the spring the large tractor that pulls the mechanical transplanter broke so all the planting had to be done by hand. Thank goodness we have an excellent crew, who adapted to our 19th century farming techniques!

Our new field in the back has the following all up & growing: garlic greens, fava beans and new beds ready for tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and herbs to be planted this week. The round field (which was unplantable last year), has dill, spinach, New Zealand spinach and 8 rows of heirloom tomatoes already planted, most of which are up & growing. Our main field has all of the following already planted; eggplant, garlic, peas, zucchini, cucumbers, beets, tomatoes, peppers, sorrel, lettuce, fennel, broccoli, cauliflower, tomatillos, chard, husk cherries, kale and cabbage. There are a few beds left to plant.

At our Franklin greenhouse, we have harvested for this week's delivery greens, and the Texas super sweet onions with edible greens. The onions this year are a lot smaller this year than in years past. The onion sets we received from the grower to plant for this crop were smaller. Many problems go back to last year's conditions (cold & wet). This also affected our seed orders as well. Probably about 1 in 5 varieties that we wanted to order were not available.

The rest of the onions will be harvested & dried over the next few weeks so you will be seeing more onions in your deliveries. We also have rosemary, basil, carrots yet to harvest from Franklin. We plan on replanting the beds with more Oriental greens and some cherry tomatoes.

Weather Report: Unlike last year, which was cool & wet, we have been having dryer & warmer weather. The crew has been out in the fields planting on those 90+ degree days and Farmer Rich & John have spent the last week installing irrigation drip tape. We also installed overhead irrigation in the round field as well as over the fava beans, beets & garlic.

Animal report: So far only a few rabbits & groundhogs have been probing the fence line, no doubt waiting for the crops to get a bit bigger before attempting to break in. The fences were all either replaced or repaired weeks ago and we are confident that they will continue to keep the animals out. The family of terns have again returned. We hear them constantly but have not yet found where they are nesting.

Pick of the Week: click on the links below or to the right to bring you to the delivery specific to your pick-up location. Deliveries will be of similar variety & poundage, but may contain different items at anytime during the season. Occasionally, some crops are ready to harvest but not enough to deliver to all our drop-off locations. What we do is start to filter them in each week to a different drop-off until there is enough to delivery to everyone.

• Recipe Links
• Beth Haverim Shir Shalom Delivery
• Hoboken Midtown Delivery
• Hoboken West Delivery
• Jersey City Hamilton Park Delivery
• United Synagogue of Hoboken

CSA deliveries - Starting the Week of June 7th

The harvest season is finally here!!! The CSA deliveries will be starting the week of June 7th. All CSA members who have signed up be on the look out for an e-mail from us over the next day or two outlining the delivery schedules for each drop-off location. We'll also be putting together the newsletter, recipes & pick-of-the-week to e-mail everyone on Monday. Thank you for supporting our farm and we look forward to a bountiful season! Sue & Farmer Rich

New Greenhouse is done!

The new greenhouse is finished and we are filling it up with transplants. This greenhouse measures 17 'x 48' and after the transplant sales we will be building beds to grow greens, tomatoes, peppers & more. This is our 5th greenhouse and they really allow for diversification in growing. During rainy weather, we can work in the greenhouses (Farmer Rich hates getting wet!). Last year, our crew missed no work days due to rain, when it was the rainiest season ever.

Happy April 1st

4-1-2010 - We went on a cruise around Manhattan - APRIL FOOLS!!!

A new employee, Alison, started work today. She worked with Farmer Rich in the Franklin greenhouse and they transplanted lots of basil. Another new employee will be starting next week. Her name is Hannah and she was an apprentice at Genesis Farm. Our crew is coming together really well. Lisa who worked with us last year is now our Farm Operations Leader. Erin, Michele & Jessie are coming onboard on a part-time basis.

Planting in the Fields started

Farmer Rich & Lisa planted fava and garlic for garlic greens on Saturday. Planned for today are planting peas and some more fava beans the fields. Also some greenhouse work will include transplanting tomato seedlings by Lisa and Erin.

Happy National AG Day!

Happy National AG Day!

Farmer Rich & Lisa planted in the fields today and John tilled up the back field with the tractor. It is starting to look like a farm again now that all the snow has melted and spring is finally here! Sometime Farmer Sue is in the process of updating the website.

Today happens to be National Ag Day and their website outlines that every American should:

• understand how food, fiber and renewable resource products are produced
• value the essential role of agriculture in maintaining a strong economy
• appreciate the role agriculture plays in providing safe, abundant and affordable products
• acknowledge and consider career opportunities in the agriculture, food, fiber and renewable resource industries
• Agriculture provides almost everything we eat, use and wear on a daily basis, and is increasingly contributing to fuel and other bioproducts
• Each year, members of the agricultural industry gathertogether to promote American agriculture

CSA programs fit right in!

CSA signup forms have been sent to all members from last year and we are working on a new location in Hoboken to open up some membership slots for new members. Check the website for updates.