Week 7, July 18-24, 2011

In your CSA bag

~ Cucumber - 1
~ Broccoli- 1 bunch
~ Joi Choi – 1 head
~ Summer Squash – 2 or 3
~ Green Beans – 1 quart
~ Radishes –1 bunch
~ Kale – 1 bunch
~ Lettuce – 1 head
~ Blueberries – 1 pint
~ Tomato – 1 Canadian (brought in)


Also at the Farm Stand
Grown locally...
~ Maple Shade Farm – 2011 syrup shares of 2 half gallons for $48.00 are still available.
~ Maple Syrup: all sizes available
~ Tomatoes – Deep Root Organic - Canadian
~ Valley Dream Farm Tomatoes - limited
~ Eggs – Pratt’s of N. Hyde Park
~ Peaches – Georgia, USA
~ Raspberries – P Mazza’s Farm, Essex VT


Recipe of the Week
Blueberry Peach Crisp
Tips for Preparing Blueberries

News from the Field

The Organic Blueberry Bushes we pick are quickly ripening. We have to wait until the reddish purple ones to turn blue. If you pick them in the purple stage they are very tart, but if you wait for them to turn blue they are much sweeter. There are many varieties that we pick. Some have large berries while others have smaller, but they all taste great in pies and desserts.

We have to wait for the morning dew to dry before we can go and pick the berries. This is because blueberries are very susceptible to leaf rust. It is also commonly called “rust”. Rust can sit dormant on the blueberry bush. A similar fungus affects green beans (actually any color beans) and is also called rust and acts in a similar fashion. After a rain or when the leaves are still wet with morning dew, if the rust spores are disturbed when they are wet, they will activate and cause the plant to break break out with a yellowing that soon turns into a rust coloring and makes the fruit and beans undesirable. This fungus's alternate host Hemlock needs to be present for the disease cycle to be completed. Leaf rust is most prevalent in areas within the natural range of hemlocks. Therefore, we never pick blueberries or green beans in the early morning or anytime the bushes are moist. We would like to order dry afternoons with a breeze for berry picking season.

Blueberries are also very good for you too. Blueberries super food heart healthy benefits start when pectin binds with cholesterol, lowering levels and helping prevent the build-up of plaque in the arteries. Silicon may help in regenerating the pancreas.

Organically grown blueberries turned out to have significantly higher concentrations of total phenol antioxidants and total anthocyanin antioxidants than conventionally grown blueberries, as well as significantly higher total antioxidant capacity. (wholefoods.com)

On a sad note: One of our former employees, and a close friend, Kate Richardson, 21, was killed while riding her bike in Tennessee by a drunk driver. She worked here during the early beginnings of our CSA. She was like a family member to us. She will be greatly missed and our heart goes out to her family and friends. A Celebration of her life is Sat July 23rd at 11am at Lamoille Union High School. Visiting hours are on Fri July 22nd from 5-8pm at White-Fies funeral parlor in Morrisville and future info will also be posted on Front porch forum.

Thanks!
Anne Tisbert