CSA News A Week

The Weekly Share

Here’s what to expect in this week’s share:

• Beets
• Carrots
• Cucumbers
• Elephant Garlic
• Garlic Scapes
• Herbs
• Lettuce heads
• Radishes
  
• Summer Squash
  

  “Michael’s garden plots are so beautifully tended and they are a welcome sight as I arrive at the farm.” Alyson Earl, Executive Director

• Turnips

*Due to the unpredictability of weather, pest problems, and other factors produce in the weekly shares are subject to last minute changes.

Meet Your Farmers – Michael Taylor

York native Michael Taylor started a community garden plot at the Horn Farm two years ago and is now a first year intern. Michael has a career as a respiratory therapist and he spent eight years teaching exercise physiology at York College. He’s also been on his own personal health journey, losing weight and trying to be healthier. Michael became vegan, which is part of what lead him to start his community plot and grow his own vegetables. Reflecting back on that first year gardening, he says, “the weeds kicked my butt” but clearly they didn’t deter him. He delved into studying nutrition, ecology and plant science as part of his journey. In his role as a respiratory therapist, he “saw all these people suffering from lifestyle diseases.” Michael realized his own journey had equipped him with tools to help people prevent these diseases rather than treating them after the fact. He was inspired to do wellness coaching, “I can straddle clinical medicine and holistic wellness.”  Knowing wellness coaching had to include nutrition, he thought an internship on the farm would be a good place to start, to learn more. Michael is also a father, he beams when he talks about his 4 year-old daughter Marlena Lin.  Next time you see Michael at the farm stop and visit, he’s got a gift for putting one at ease and he has a wealth of knowledge to share.

News From the Farm

From Education Director – Jon Darby

You may notice that you’re receiving garlic this season much earlier than what is typical. This garlic is called ‘green garlic’ because it is fresh and uncured. This means that it will not store for as long as cured garlic and would benefit from being kept in the refrigerator. The reason the garlic is being harvested early this year is because of the arrival of a new pest in our area, the allium leaf miner. This is a type of fly that lays its eggs on the allium family of plants (garlic, onion, leeks). We don’t spray harmful pesticides on the farm and the majority of our garlic crop was affected by the allium leaf miner this year. When a new pest like this arrives, it often takes a season or two for the natural controls of the ecosystem to balance it out. In any case, what this means for you is that you may spot some slight damage on the garlic and even the occasional leaf miner pupa. You can just wash these off and use the garlic like normal. The green leaves of the garlic are edible as well and can be chopped finely and added anywhere you’d normally add garlic.

Connect and Share

What is your favorite part of your CSA share? If you have a recipe or picture you want to share, a trick you learned, or a question about your CSA produce please let us know at csa@hornfarmcenter.org.  Share on social media with the hashtag #HornFarmCSA.

Last week’s share

The Weekly Share

Here’s what to expect in this week’s share:

• Broccoli
• Carrots
• Garlic
• Garlic Scapes
• Herbs
• Lettuce Heads
• Scallions
• Snow Peas
• Turnips

*Due to the unpredictability of weather, pest problems, and other factors produce in weekly shares are subject to last minute changes.

Eating Your Greens

The beginning of CSA season is all about the greens! As such salads become a staple for me. Lettuce and arugula of course but those beets and salad turnips? Their greens are edible too!  When they’re younger and more tender they are great for salads. When the greens get bigger and usually a bit tougher, treat them like you do dark greens such as collards or spinach. Saute them, stir fry them, or toss them in soups.  Both beet and turnip greens are high in vitamins K, A, and C too.

Salad Turnips

Turnips are a starchy root vegetable usually thrown in stews and the like right?  That had been my experience until I met salad turnips or hakurei turnips. Those bright white globes in our CSA share. They’re crunchy, a little bit sweet and peppery. Salad turnips unlike traditional turnips are soft enough to eat raw and add great texture and flavor to salads.  For best storage cut off the greens and store them separately in your fridge. A good wash before eating can suffice but some folks prefer peeling salad turnips, then slice and toss in your salad.  Or quarter them toss them in some olive oil with some chopped garlic or garlic scapes and roast in the oven (425 degrees for about 5 minutes).

CSA salad

News at the Farm

Did you hear the farm stand is open? Stop by the farm on Saturdays between 9-12 and pick up extras of your favorite produce.

Connect and Share

If you have a recipe or picture you want to share, a trick you learned, or a question about your CSA produce please let us know at csa@hornfarmcenter.org.  Share on social media with the hashtag #HornFarmCSA.

Welcome to the 2017 Horn Farm CSA!  This week marks the second of 23 weeks of fresh, local chemical free produce from Horn Farm to your table.  Each week you’ll receive an email with information on what to expect in your upcoming share, recipes, tips on using your share, and stories from the farm.  Community supported agriculture is about more than local produce, it creates connections between individuals, it’s meant to build community, so you’re invited to be involved. If you have a recipe or picture you want to share, a trick you learned, or a question about your CSA produce please let us know at csa@hornfarmcenter.org.  Here’s to a wonderful 2017 CSA season!

The Weekly Share

Here’s what to expect in this week’s share:

• Lettuce Head
• Arugula
• Beets
• Scallions
• Green Garlic
• Garlic Scapes
• Herbs

*Due to the unpredictability of weather, pest problems, and other factors produce in weekly shares are subject to last minute changes.

A Quick Introduction

My name is Debbie McFeinics. My husband and I have been CSA shareholders for the last 5 years, first from Jonathan Darby’s Sterling Farm and now the Horn Farm CSA. Allyson and Jonathan asked if I would be willing to help with the CSA newsletter this year and I am excited to help out.  My adventures in being a CSA shareholder has exposed me to a greater variety of produce and helped me get creative with my cooking but more than that I have met amazing people through being a CSA shareholder. I’ve made friends with my farmers, fellow shareholders, and other volunteers at the farm. As a transplant to the York area it’s been a great way to meet folks and plant my own roots here in the community.  I’m looking forward to getting to meet you all this year and share stories, recipes, and antics along the way.   Join me on social media under the hashtag #HornFarmCSA and we’ll get the sharing started!

What is a garlic scape?

I will never forget seeing my first garlic scape in my first CSA share and thinking, “What the heck is that? And what do I do with it?” So whether garlic scapes are new to you or not let me explain.  Garlic scapes are the shoot that the garlic plant puts out which will turn into a flower if left alone.  If you pick the scape before it flowers it allows the plant to focus its resources on the bulb rather than the flower, besides which the scape itself is edible and delicious.  Scapes taste like garlic but milder so it can be enjoyed raw, otherwise you use it the same way you would use a garlic clove.  I cut them up and throw them in stir-fries, omelets, sauces, and soups, or grill them up and add them to whatever dish you’re making. If a recipe calls for garlic you can use scapes as a replacement but may need to add a bit more to adjust for the milder taste.  

My favorite garlic scape trick though?  Freezing them.  That’s right freeze them and then all year I have wonderful garlic scape flavor to use in any recipe.  Just toss your garlic scapes in a food processor or blender, add some olive oil to make it into a slightly runny paste, pour into an ice cube tray and freeze. Once frozen pop them out and place them in a ziploc bag in your freezer and use as needed.  This same method can be used with fresh herbs. Just make sure to label the bags so you don’t confuse them.