Week 3

 In your box:

• Beets
• Dill
• Garlic scapes
• Mustard greens
• Parsley
• Radishes (red)
• Salad mix
• Strawberries
• Turnips (white)

We must begin this newsletter with the most decidedly unhappy news: preliminary reports from our strawberry patch indicate that the end is near for these beloved morsels. Just as strawberry production reached its high point and threatened to overwhelm Nina’s life, our plants have given up bearing fruit. This will be your last strawberry pint from our farm for the year. Strawberry plants are quite ingenious creatures, propagating themselves both from the tiny seeds in their fruit and also by physically walking all over the field. After producing their fruit crop for the year, strawberries send out runners that then root into the soil and send up leaves and prepare for the next season’s fruit. This is annoying in small spaces, when a gardener wants strawberries to be contained, but we’ve allowed them a wide field to grow and feed our CSA for years to come.

Many people have been asking me how the Minnesota state government shutdown has affected me. The answers are multitudinous. As everyone knows, all farmers are millionaires. Being an organic farmer, of course, has granted me an even higher status as a billionaire, as I’m sure you’re aware. As such, my neighbors and I are highly wary of Governor Dayton’s plan to raise taxes on millionaires in order to balance our state budget. Raising my taxes would have devastating consequences on my workforce. In order to make ends meet, I would immediately have to lay off several garden hoes and rakes. Wheelbarrows would be summarily fired, with hand trowels released through attrition. I have several plans that are shovel-ready (mostly involving digging up potatoes). But I ask you, would my shovel work with the reduced wages these tax hikes would necessitate?

Furthermore, budget cuts to make up for my higher tax burden would trickle down to my gas consumption. In order to cut back on transportation costs, our members in the Twin Cities would have to retrieve their boxes from the side of I-94. Rather than spending the extra gas money to deliver to our drop sites, I would drive slowly down the highway while Nina throws your boxes out of the back of the truck and safely onto the median. I ask you, is this is Minnesota we want? My message is clear: don’t tread on fatcat millionaire farmers like me!

New this week:

Beets

are a welcome addition to the boxes this week, adding some weight and color to our early season. These beets were transplanted, giving us a jump start on them despite the late plowing start. About 95% of our beets are seeded directly in the soil, and our next batch will be ready in a couple weeks. We’re excited to have even a few to get started. We have four varieties of beets planted this season: red, gold, chioggia (red/white concentric circles) and white. Be sure to enjoy the greens, especially on these early season beets. They are a close relative of spinach and chard, and the leaves have a similar taste. Try them raw or lightly steamed.

Turnips are a good friend to radishes, but with a much milder flavor. This variety is especially sweet, unlike the more typical turnips that we will plant for the fall. Try these raw in salad, or plain with a light sprinkling of salt. The greens are edible and nutritious, and are usually consumed cooked or steamed. Our first turnips are a little small, but after this thinning the remaining plants should expand and reach a more substantial size.

Expected in the next two weeks: Broccoli, kohlrabi & summer squash

And no, I am not a millionaire and I promise we will never throw your produce on the side of any highway.