Happy Memorial Day Weekend
We look forward to another fun harvest tomorrow morning for our Sunday deliveries and pick ups! We enjoyed catching up with friends and meeting new shareholders last week and look forward to getting feedback from everyone about how you’re using your first items - thanks to everyone who shared pictures with us via text & instagram.
Please plan to bring your Morckel Meadows harvest cardboard box back with you to your designated location to swap out or fill up with this week’s variety of fresh foods. It would also be a big help if you could return your mason jar that had wildflowers and your egg carton if possible.
David (330-608-5010) will be delivering again to the same locations & Erin (937-623-1608) will be running our farm pick ups - just shoot us a text if you have any questions about timing, etc. and we will get back to you ASAP.
Egg production is picking up as Erin’s classroom hatches reach maturity and start to lay - and as older hens acclimate to the changing seasons. Our goal is to meet the needs of each of our 36 families included in our CSA this year.
If your family is still enjoying last week’s eggs and you’d prefer a half dozen or a vegetable or herb replacement instead of eggs this week, just reply to this email to let us know so we can plan accordingly to meet everyone’s needs and keep our production healthy and sustainable.
In addition to the dozen eggs, this week’s share is most likely to include the following: Broccoli (earlier than expected), more Chinese Cabbage & Scallions, Spring Mix Lettuce, Spinach, Radish, Spring Mix Kale (babyish), Beets (most likely), Oregano, Sage, Arugula - as well as some more fresh wildflowers picked from our woods and meadows.
Our spring garden block is full as we have planted our last two rows with cherry tomatoes (Sun Gold & Supersweets) and sweet corn. Tiny green cherries have officially arrived- a feat we are especially proud of as they are field tomatoes without a greenhouse overhead. Our larger summer blocks are populating as well with sweet pepper varieties, San Marzano tomatoes, and Pink Brandywines. Three sweet corn varieties have germinated well and our three bush bean cultivars are off. Once our sweet corn has reached a foot in height, we will plant a circle of pole beans around the young stalks. The pole beans symbiotically fix some nitrogen for the sweet corn and the maize provides structure for those beans to climb. My great-grandfather designed his garden this way and we’ve had success with it in the past. This was a practice used commonly by Native American tribes called “Three Sisters” gardening. In addition to the maize and beans, vining/prickly squashes and pumpkins would surround the grains serving as an obstacle course deterring pests. We love to incorporate permaculture practices like these whenever reasonable and practical.
We are gradually getting beds prepared as time has allowed for squashes and melons. It is our goal to have all summer beds prepared and planted by June.
Our three varieties of cabbage are heading pretty well. Carrots, standard and colorful heirlooms, are getting close, as is green and purple Kohlrabi. Potatoes are about as healthy looking as I’ve seen them- Red Cobblers, Kennebec, and Blue Adirondacks. Sweet Peas are flowing beautiful pink blossoms that will mature to unique honey-sweet yellow snap pods.
A note on broccoli- We had to harvest our heads and florets earlier than expected because the hot weather caused them to bolt/flower before they reached their ideal size. Broccoli is challenging and we’ve certainly done our best. It is still gorgeous and delicious, and we are lucky to have a farmer friend giving us cooler space to store it, but it will not be a day-of harvest as we like. Sunday’s shareholders will be getting broccoli straight from the cooler, and we will be monitoring its freshness for our Wednesday members. Our fingers are crossed that we can keep it fresh for all.
We have been spending way too much time moving water around this May! Many lessons learned the hard way. The recent precipitation has been a blessing!
We’d love to hear some feedback from our members about how you used your vegetables. What did you like? What weren’t crazy about? While we can only do so much, and cannot customize as much as we’d like, this communication and symbiosis is important to us.
Thank you again for your support as we prepare for our second harvest/box of the season. This is a dream come true and we could not have considered it without our shareholders.
Thanks again to everyone who shared with us personally or via social media. You feedback truly fuels us and gives us an unmatched source of joy. It’s our privilege.
Erin & David