Week 7 Share!

The last share of July. I am secretly always happy to say goodbye to July. Like I said last week, it is the crux of the season where work load is high, energy (and interest maybe??) are waning, and we just have to keep on keeping on. There are two important anniversaries that occur in our lives here during this week. On July 26th, Genica and I closed on these 40 acres of land after many months of securing financing. Thank goodness “B.T.” was so patient with us because this little chunk of land has completely changed our lives, often for the better (haha). During that July in 2017 we were both operating businesses and I was in the middle of the July crunch living in Morrisville and commuting to the farm on leased land in Waterbury (how many farmers commute?!?), closing on the property, and also getting ready for our wedding - which brings us to the second milestone of this week: August 1st. We had already technically been married in April (to help our mortgage application with the USDA - another story) but we chose August 1, the peak of the growing season, to hold the ceremony on our newly purchased, truly naked property. There was nothing on it, not even a driveway to get into it!! Thank goodness once again for the generosity of BT allowing us get the field in shape for a small ceremony during that sunny, warm Tuesday afternoon on the first day of August. It seems like forever ago since so much has changed in our lives in such a short amount of time. I can’t seem to remember my life prior to Genica and 3455 Centerville Road. And so that winter we dug in to the land and began constructing a life and a farm. It is difficult (for me, not for Genica) to see the accomplishments through all the work that still lays ahead but we have truly witnessed the challenges and rewards of creating a farm from scratch all the while becoming stronger partners and growing together. And so this weekend we will celebrate our 3rd anniversary (4th year of knowing each other) of land and love. With a little of toil mixed in as well.

On to the share!

So, we are seeing some repeats - the onions and the carrots. I may have mentioned, that stuff will keep and keep and keep so if you don’t want to eat it now, just keep it until you do! I am making space in one of the greenhouses for winter plants so I am trying to get through the carrot beds. More on winter stuff later but I am getting set up to offer season extension CSA - details to come.

A bunch of Lacinato Kale (AKA dinosaur kale) - we chopped and added olive oil, lemon (acid tenderizes the kale) and grated, fresh parmesan cheese for a delicious salad - shredded carrots (or kohlrabi if thats still hanging around) for the top too!!
a couple tomatoes
a few heads of mini-lettuce - for a fresh salad - we have gotten a lot of hard rain recently so these heads become very challenging to clean. When you separate the heads you will most likely need to give them a rinse.
carrots!!!
Sweet onion - around a pound or so. May be the last onions we see until the fall. If you like raw onion you can try some on a salad if you like - great, sweet flavor.
cucumber - very plentiful this year. I eat at least one a day. Sometimes two.
a bunch of scallions - here is a recipe I found for Bok choi and scallions - not sure if there is a enough bok choi for the recipe but you can try something out.
a bunch of bok choi - eat fresh, chop in with other veggies. I love it.

The “Big Share” saw double cukes, an extra bunch of kale, and and extra tomato or two.

Here are some photos from the week ~

Thats all for this week y’all. Thank you so much. Have a great week!!

802.222.1774• 3455 Centerville Rd.

Hyde Park, VT 05655