| JUNE 10, 2010 NOTES
FROM SMADAR AT THE GARDENHOUSE (908) 362-7486
First and foremost I would just like to thank everyone
who jumped in and filled the void while I spent five
transformative weeks on the west coast due to a family
emergency. I left with one days notice and was unsure of
my return until a few days before, when things stabilized
(just in time for our open house on May 1st). I received
nothing but support and love and understanding from
everyone at the farm. In particular I would like to thank
Judy and Mike, Steve, Judy Leaf, Gina, Hannah, Liz,
Sheri, Magdalena, Lori, Athena and Luthor, who put a lot
of extra energy adding to their already full load. My
love for the CSG is so multifaceted, but community is at
the core, and community is who was there for me to lean
on. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Planning to be away on your pickup day? Here are some
options: let me know in advance- I will cross your name
off the list for that day-we will not harvest your share
and instead you can make it up on another pickup day. All
this needs to be prearranged - just call the Gardenhouse.
If you let us know after the vegetables have been
harvested, you forfeit your share - it is donated to the
food pantry or a local family in need. You can also give
your share to a friend who can then get a taste of what
the garden has to offer.
Please don’t forget to highlight your name on the
list when you pick up your share. That way we know you
came!
The peas are coming, the peas are coming! Snow peas,
Sugar snaps! All who expressed an interest in the
workshare component, or if you just want to volunteer,
this is your chance! We need hands on harvest mornings,
Tues. and Fri. We begin at 6am, but you can join us
anytime throughout the morning. Call the Gardenhouse for
details and to make arrangements. Who knows, you might
just fall in love with the whole experience, just ask
Bob, Judy L, Julie, or Magdalena, who keep coming year
after year.
PYO (pick- your- own) – There is nothing more
heartwarming than the children in the strawberry patch
with red stained faces and hands. I hope many of you got
a chance to get a taste. PYO is a way for members to step
into the gardens and connect with what is going on at the
farm. When the flowers are blooming, you can pick your
own bouquet. There are also pyo cherry tomatoes, berries,
hardy kiwis, and who knows what else (all in due time).
Look for the sign on the board in the distribution center
for guidance. If you are unable to pyo on your pickup
day, you are welcome to come on another day, but please
not on another pickup day (Tues. or Fri.) as there are
already many other members picking.
Payments - This is my least favorite subject, but here
goes. It is our intention and desire not to send bills to
our members. Too much time and energy expended when there
are so many other things to do. So we ask that each of
you take responsibility for making your payments. Some of
you made the $100 deposit and still owe the balance. If
you are on the payment plan, first payment is now
overdue. Second payment is due on July 1st (just around
the corner) and third and final payment is due on Oct.
1st. If you need to make other arrangements please let me
know. Thanks to those of you who have taken care of this.
Any questions, just ask me.
Last Thurs. morning I got a call from long time member
Andre of Andres restaurant. Could he and Rob (long time
member, and amazing photographer) come by, pick some
strawberries, slip into the Gardenhouse kitchen and cook
up a little desert- for us! How could I say no! All this
was photographed by Rob and entered in their blog
www.andreswhatscookin.blogspot.com They had so much fun,
they might just do it again. Check it out, you won’t
be disappointed!
Katherine Yvinskas, an artist and also a long time member
is featured at Gallery 23 on Main St. in Blairstown. Her
show Garden of Delights is “inspired by the
Community Supported Garden At Genesis Farm” . She
will be featured the month of June.
A few summer shares are still available, there is a
waiting list for the winter shares. Pass it on.
Thanks to all for making our 22nd season possible. Time
flies when you’re having fun!
GARDENER’S REPORT
Welcome to another season at the garden, I believe our
22nd. The gardeners have been hard at it since early
March and doing our best to stay on top of a considerable
workload. We have an excellent group of apprentices this
season and, at least for the summer months, will be among
our largest. Steve, whom I call a journeyman, Samson,
Margaret, Malaika, Amanda, and Melanie are all doing a
great job with planting, weeding, harvesting and whatever
else needs to be done so that we can fill the
distribution room twice a week with a wide variety of
beautiful and healthy produce. Hope you have enjoyed it
so far and that it continues to be a bountiful year.
On the weather round up (and remember, it’s all
about the weather, it’s not about you, it’s not
about me, it’s about the weather when it comes to
farming!) we are starting off ok! Last year, as you may
remember, was a difficult one as we saw such a cold and
wet June. This year has started out much better on that
front. Indeed, I am seeing many signs that everything
(read plants) is ahead by two weeks. Grass that we cut
and bale for hay is going to seed, the strawberries are
done flowering and what’s out there is it, and the
wine berries seem to be ready to open and begin their
ripening process well ahead of schedule to give a few
examples. This means we have had above normal temps this
spring. We have seen some big fluctuations but no late
frost. We did have a late freeze in early May that hurt
apple blossoms and the paw paw flowers and leaves to name
a few but we managed to save some early tomatoes that we
had just planted. We were/are holding our breath as weeks
ago as there were reports of late blight in Maryland and
Pennsylvania. As long as the weather stays sort of normal
I think we’ll be ok. By the way, did you know I can
control the weather? You see if I want it to rain I cut a
bunch of grass to make hay because to make hay you need
sunshine and dryness. If we want it to stay dry we just
plant and sow stuff that needs water and, presto, it
stays nice and dry. Of course I am only joking but you
get my point.
We continue our experimentation with roll down cover
crops as a way to reduce tillage, lessen weed pressure
and increase soil tilth. We planted a number of early
things into a winter-killed cover crop of sorgum-sudan
grass. Not everything is working out famously but it is
all part of the learning process. Safe to say there is
still great promise in this idea. Difficulty remains in
killing living covers of vetch and to a lesser extent
rye/vetch combos. The vining habit of vetch seems to keep
it going. We will probably resort to flaming to kill the
few totally vetch beds. Eventually I will add weight to
our roller crimper with hopes of increasing its
effectiveness. We will also be trialing a new cover crop
to us called Sun Hemp (Crotalaria juncea). This is a
legume so it will fix nitrogen and it likes the hot
weather. It also is a vigorous grower that should shade
out weeds and can only produce seed in warm climates like
Hawaii and South Africa so we won’t have to worry
about it becoming a weed. We will be hosting a NOFA
twilight meeting on August 11th to discuss the
possibilities of what it can do. Speaking of NOFA
(Northeast Organic Farmers Association) I will put in a
plug for the organization. The Whole Foods Market is
having a 5% day on June 16th. They will donate 5% of
their profits that day to NOFA NJ. So if you shop at
Whole Foods or want to try them out that is a good day to
go there and spend a few bucks!
In closing I want to remember a long time garden member
who recently died, Juanita LoPresti. She was a great
woman who was always very supportive of the CSG. She will
be missed. Our good thoughts go out to her family. And as
you may or may not know Rover the wonder dog died this
past spring. He patrolled the big fields for nearly 14
years. He was at least 16 and he is missed sorely, but
not by the ground hogs!
Thanks for being part of it. Farmer Mike
ESCAROLE AND BEANS (allrecipes.com)
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 large head escarole, coarsely chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (16 ounce) can cannellini beans, undrained
2 sprigs fresh parsley, chopped
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over
medium heat. Toss in escarole, turning to coat with oil.
Season with salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes.
Cook, stirring occasionally, about 5-10 minutes, or until
tender.
In a separate skillet, heat remaining 1 tablespoon
olive oil over medium heat. Stir in garlic. Pour in beans
with juices, and simmer until creamy, about 10 minutes.
Stir in escarole and parsley; simmer 10 minutes more.
Serve with warm, crusty Italian bread.
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