Sarver Hill Organic Farm & CSA CSA Community Supported Agriculture

With this past Monday being the Summer Solstice, as your farmer I am already beginning to plow down the spring plantings, making way for succession planting of some varieties of veggies and also planting selections that will be harvested for the fall. Our volunteers are in the midst of mulching in tomatoes & squash; a host at time, and dirty job, but it’s rewards will show up later in terms of weed control & moisture retention. So far this season we have been blessed with timely rains which helps save us from the chores of using irrigation. The issue of water is critical to all farming, however even more so for the vegetables, for many of the crops we offer require a high level of moisture to insure quality, as well we also use a large volume of water in washing our offerings for you.

This weeks selections

• Fennel Bulb
• Carrots
• Boston Lettuce
• Red Potatoes
• Red Beets
• Bunched Garlic
• Basil
• Dill

Just a few bits of house keeping to cover: First; Our reserve of frozen Roasting chickens is exhausted until mid August, when we will process our next flock. If you like, send me a e-mail to reserve yours. Also, we have available $50 frozen beef packages, 1/2 of wichi is made up of ground beef, the other half split between roasts & steaks. The cost is about $3.35/lb. Please let me know if & when you would want this. There is also a nice number of Hogs ready for slaughter, which can be purchased whole or half. An average half weights approx. 80lbs, cost $2.85/lb.

I would also remind folks about Wednesday evening volunteering; this is really helping ease the work load for our volunteers packing your shares on Thursday. Again I want to thank all of you who help out at the farm. Yes; it helps get the work done, but also it’s great to have some camaraderie.

We have begun mulching hay around the tomatoes and other full season vegetables; this helps retain moisture & reduces weeds. We’re crossing our fingers so far about tomato blight, there has been reports but not in the close vicinity. We are beginning to see tomato & pepper blossoms, & that’s always exciting.

Also this week I submit out USDA certification renewal; all 18 pages, this is a yearly process & I’ll be anticipating an inspection soon after they cash their rather hefty certification processing check.

I also did want to apologies for not responding to certain emails, if the subject merits & many have the same question, I’ll usually answer though this newsletter instead of responding to multiple emails. This time of year, my office hours are brief and usually at 11:30pm.

This weeks selections

• Green Onions
• Red Leaf Lettuce
• Green Leaf Lettuce
• Spinach
• Red Beets
• Bunched Garlic
• Kale
• Dill
• Purple Kohlrabi