Week #4, June 29, 2010 CSA Pick up

What delicious organic veggies are available this week at Valley Dream Farm?

In Your CSA Bag

~ Tomato - one large & one small

~ Swiss Chard

~ Kale (purple)

~ Lettuce

~ Garlic Scapes

~ Choice: Bok-choy or Cucumber

~ Strawberries (get 1 pint/pick 1 pint)

Also at the Farm Stand

produced locally...*

Boyden Farm ~ beef

Green Top Farm ~ lamb & pork

Red Hen Baking Co. ~ organic breads

Maple Shade Farm ~ maple syrup

* These items are brought into our farm stand to give you a larger selection.

Recipe of the Week

Avocados with Strawberry Salsa and Tortilla Strips

News from the Field

Strawberries are available for you again this week. They seemed to have peaked this last weekend and are slowing down already. You may have noticed that our berries come a few days later (zone 4) vs. some of the other farms in the area (zone5, closer to the lake). Many people were out picking over the weekend and left with baskets of red, juicy berries. They may not last for another week. This week you may pick one pint for your CSA share (you have one week to pick your pint). Delivery members will receive their pint already picked.

Our Tomato Story:

Our tomatoes were started from seed in February. We grow several different kinds, each for a different purpose. We are also growing different colors this season. We grow special types to be grafted together when whey are about 3-4 inches tall. A root stock with great disease resistance and vigor is grown for the bottom of the new grafted plant and the top of the new grafted plant is chosen for its delicious flavor. Bi-focals and a steady hand are helpful when cutting the plants at similar angles and putting them together with a grafting clip. They are carefully transplanted into larger cells in a shaded incubation chamber an misted for 4 days to allow the grafts to take. Nest they are uncovered fro a week and returned to the sun slowly as the grafts begin to heal and the plants continue to grow. Soon the clips are removed and the new plants are again transplanted into small pots. By March the grafted plants are ready to be planted in the green house in black plastic with trickle tape underneath to keep those thirsty plants happy and the humidity in the greenhouse to a minimum. This is just one way we as organic growers can bring you a better tasting tomato.

Please enjoy your fresh organic vegetables!- Anne Tisbert

CSA Week #3, June 22, 2010

What delicious organic veggies are available this week at Valley Dream Farm?

In Your CSA Bag
Swiss Chard
Bok-Choy
Lettuce - Red Fire Leaf
Cucumbers
Tomato
Strawberries - get 1 pint/pick 1

Also at the Farm Standproduced locally...
*Boyden Farm beef ~ *Fresh eggs ~ *Maple Shade maple syrup
* These items are brought into our farm stand to give you a larger selection.

Recipes of the Week
Garlic Scape Pesto
Fried Scapes
Spinach and Scape Frittata

News from the Field
Strawberries are available this week. You get a pint and you can come and pick a pint for free. You have up to a week to come and pick your free pint. Delivered members will receive a full quart.
The Strawberry Story - Our strawberries were planted last spring and weeded and cared for all summer at the farm. About a month ago we had a late frost. These low temperatures can kill the center of the strawberry blossom, which eventually will become a strawberry. Farmers with irrigation systems had their sprinkler pumps spraying water.
The water freezes and makes an ice coating on the blossoms holding the temperature of the ice, at 32 degrees. This will keep the berry in the center of the blossom from spoiling which happens when the temperature drops to a lower than freezing temps, usually anything lower than 30 degrees. The temperatures can drop very low usually when any of three things happen. 1. a cold front comes down from Canada, 2. There is a full moon, and 3. the skies are clear leaving no cloud cover for thermal warming and between 2-6am are the coldest before the sun rises. This ice coating process is also used on other fruit blossoms when a freeze is expected, such as oranges in Florida. Farmers without irrigation systems lost nearly all their early berry blossoms to freezing temperatures.
Please enjoy our fresh organic vegetables!- Anne Tisbert

Week #2, June 15, 2010

What delicious organic veggies are available this week at Valley Dream Farm?

In Your CSA BagSpinach ~ Bok-Choy ~ Lettuce ~ Tomato ~ Cucumber ~ Basil

Also at the Farm Standproduced locally...
*Boyden Farm ~ beef
*Free range eggs
*These items are brought into our farm stand to give you a larger selection.

Recipes of the WeekFresh Tomato, Basil, Mozzarella Appetiser Salad, Stir-fried Baby Bok-Choy with Garlic

News from the Field
We hope you all enjoyed your vegetables last week. As usual veggies start off slowly in June with lots of greens. This week you have two greens. One for your salad and one for a stir-fry. Bok-Choy is great as a side dish or add some shrimp with rice or pasta for a full meal. We are excited to offer our own tomatoes that were started in the greenhouse in March.
Don't forget to come in with your new "shopping bag", cross your name off the list and pick up your weekly newsletter as you pick out your veggies. It is your bag to keep and re-use weekly. For those with deliveries, please return your bag every week and we will always have another one there for you.
The farm crew for the 2010 season includes: The Tisbert Family (Joe, Anne, Jay, Jon, and the dogs: Zippy and Bella), Tamara(field and greenhouse manager), Geoff, Josh, Shane, Doris, Rudi, Victor(field crew), Anna, Ashley V., Derek, Alex, Erica, Jackie, Tommy, and Crystal(farm stand/greenhouse), and Wendy(book keeper). All of our staff is available to assist you with any purchase or questions that you may have.
Please enjoy your fresh organic vegetables.

Strawberries are coming soon. We are hoping to offer pick your own starting Saturday, June 19, 2010. Please call for availability at 802-644-6598.