CSA News B Week

The Weekly Share

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

• Broccoli
• Carrots
• Garlic
• Garlic Scapes
• Herbs
  
• Lettuce Heads
  
• Radishes
  
• Snow Peas
  
• Summer Squash
  
• Turnips

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

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.

 

Meet Your Farmers – Betsy Dorbian

 

Betsy Dorbian is a second year intern at the Horn Farm Center for Agricultural Education. She can often be found tending her flower rows on the farm. Betsy is planning to start a flower CSA next year and this year is nurturing rows of plants in preparation and experimentation. Before jumping into agriculture, Betsy spent a 25 year career as a massage therapist. In 2014, she took a month long course called the Ecological Literacy Immersion Program and it changed her trajectory. “I knew I just wanted to be outdoors.” She was introduced to Horn Farm and applied to be an intern. “It felt like home when I was here,” she says. She’s hoping that with the flower CSA she can also teach people about edible flowers and the language of flowers. It’s hard not to catch Betsy’s enthusiasm for flowers (even for an avowed non-flower person like myself), her joyful spirit and smile are contagious too. In addition to tending the flowers and her other jobs as a farm intern, Betsy teaches yoga. If you meet her at the farm ask her to show you the flower beds where bright colors are already popping up.

 

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.