"A garden really lives only insofar as it is an expression of faith, the embodiment of a hope and a song of praise." ~ Russell Page
Garlic Out, Pumpkins In
We are in another wave of transition. The garden is always in movement, giving birth to one crop and making room for another. As the snow pea vines died pack, they were cleared from the beds, and the trellising was removed this week. The plants are an excellent nitrogen fixer, so we planted watermelons, cantaloupe, and pattypan squash, which all are heavy feeders and should do well following the peas. The pea vines were laid to rest over the newly planted seeds, providing mulch and more organic matter. The cycle continues...
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Wild flowers boarding newly planted melon beds, once sweet peas
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Another big transition is the harvesting of the garlic crop, which will open up the space for winter squash; butternut, acorn, delicata, kabocha, georgia candy roaster, and spaghetti squash! The garlic cleans the soil and has anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties both for the soil and our bodies. The timing is also perfect, as garlic comes out around the early July, which is the perfect time to plant hard skinned varieties of squash for fall harvest and winter storage. There are 24 beds of garlic to pull! It is being harvested in waves. Eight beds were pulled this week and those beds are being wheel hoed and freshly composted prior to the first planting of honey bear acorn and delicata squash, with another wave and another variety to follow next week.
Your share this week will include a few fresh bulbs of the first garlic
harvest of the year! Garlic is cured to create the condition in which it
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Freshly Harvest and Ready to Hang
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can be stored away and used over time. We will begin
to hang the garlic from the rafters of the barn, allowing it to dry in the protected, but open air, so it can cure and be shared with you through out the season. We also will set aside a fair amount for a fall planting. I have shared this story before, but in case some of you haven't heard it...
When Jesse and I moved here in 2010, there were 330 bulbs in the ground. We harvested them, shared some with our 25 CSA members at the time and saved many to replant. Last fall, we planted 11,000 bulbs of garlic, all from saving some each year, replanting and allowing the natural process of expansion to take place. The quality of generosity and abundance that permeates this creation has been so evident to me through the garlic. It has served to teach me and helped me to open my eyes to witness the resonance if these qualities of our Creator within the entire natural world. Each bulb can be divided into around eight cloves, which will each produce another full bulb when planted. All seeds do this, but somehow the garlic just blew my mind open to really see the quality of generosity upon which our Creator fashioned this world and I am most grateful for it. Garlic also has incredible healing properties. We pray it will reach you with this healing.
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Potato Plant Flowering
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ALOT of potatoes were planted this spring. Two hundred pounds to be exact. We decided to unearth some to check them out and share with you as well. To be honest, I am not sure which variety you will receive (Red Norland or Kennebeck), but either way freshly dug potatoes are just amazing! God willing, the crop will continue to grow under the soil and potatoes will continue with future shares, with the big dig taking place in the fall. Potatoes, like garlic, multiply from a similar process. A whole potato can be divided in to several pieces, planted, and many potatoes will regrow under the soil. The process can be repeated if you save your own seed potato, which we are exploring. The garlic is replanted in the fall, so storage is not an issue. Seed potato needs to be saved through the winter, so depending on the size of the crop, that bridge will be crossed after the harvest is complete and we have shared them first with all of you.
More fresh lettuce was grown under the shade clothe. Lettuce turns
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Shade Cloth on Tunnel
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bitter in the heat, so we replaced the plastic cover the tunnel which
kept it warm in early spring with a shade cloth to keep it cool in the summer. This shaded lettuce bed is ready to cut. We purchased this shade clothe last year, as Jesse mentioned that as soon as the nights were warm and salad would go great with dinner, the crop was done. We enjoy chopped basil and sunflower sprouts on a salad, both of which will be included in this weeks share as well.
In the weeks to come, summer fruits will continue. The tomatoes have begun to ripen on the vine, so we are hoping to send them home in next weeks share. A few cups of sungold cherry tomatoes were picked today, along with a few red slicers harvested from the first plants we transplanted under the tunnel early spring. The pepper plants are loaded with green fruit. We will share some green peppers, but notice most prefer them once they have turned orange, yellow and red, so we will be a little patient in letting most of them fully ripen to color for you, sharing a few greens along the way. The eggplants had been swallowed by weeds (it happens sometimes), but they have been rescued and are now beginning to fruit. Some future attractions to look forward too!
We are inviting new members to join us for the summer and fall harvest, as it unfolds into fruition in the coming weeks. If you have someone in mind that might enjoy joining the CSA, please share our newsletter and invitation with them. As we intend to keep our produce local and direct marketed to you, without the many channels of transportation food often goes through, you are the best channel for sharing your experience with others and spreading the word along with us. We really appreciate it, love to share the fruits of our labor, and hope to continue to grow the local community we serve. Thank you!!!
With Peace and Blessings,
Halima Jen Willett Farm of Peace 1212 Haven Lane Warfordsburg, PA 17267 717-573-2956 (Farm house) 717-404-0326 (Cell Phone)
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