Community Supported Agriculture

In This Issue

Tuesdays
3:00pm - 7:00pm

Brox Farm Stand
1276 Broadway Road
Dracut, MA
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Busy Bees
Apple blossoms

 

The bees have been busy pollinating the fruit flowers. As they fly from flower to flower in search of nectar, they carry pollen from flower to flower, fertilizing all those blossoms that will later turn into sweet fruit. There was a concern that the frigid temperatures this winter may have damaged the buds of some of the less cold hardy stone fruit- peaches, apricots and nectarines. Given the trees' colorful displays of blooms in the past two weeks, we have no sign of any winter damage. It is interesting to see the timing of the different fruit. First the apricots blossomed, then the plums, followed by the pears. Last week the beautiful pink blooms of peaches graced the orchard. The timing of the blooms are also different between our different orchards. Our Westford Hill orchard blossomed about five days ahead of Farmer Dave's Dracut orchard. This difference in bloom time by the same fruit varieties is caused by several factors including a difference in elevation and by proximity to the temperature effects of the Atlantic Ocean. The Westford orchard is now all completely finished blooming, while the Dracut orchard will finish this week. This orchard is laid out row by row by variety. The earlier varieties have now blossomed while the later varieties are just beginning. I like to think this extended bloom time with all the varieties is much appreciated by the bees. The have had little nectar to eat for the past seven months. So they have been busy as bees finding food in the orchards, over several weeks. Thank you ladies for all your hard work.

 

We also have been busy as bees planting more fruit. Last week we planted 200 blackberry plants, 1600 raspberry plants, and more than 10,000 strawberry plants. We planted about half of the new raspberries in our high tunnel to have both an earlier and a later harvest than we have with our present plantings. The strawberries are a mixture of 11 varieties with all different harvest windows ranging from early June through late September.   Most of this fruit will blossom after the orchard has finished blooming to offer more nectar over more weeks to the bees and more sweet fruit for us all, all season long. Join me on May 30th for a tour of the farm to see what all these busy bees have accomplished.

 

Farmer Dave

 

P.S. Honey to be harvested later in the summer, but many berries before the summer even officially begins.  

 

In Your Share: Week 12
Beautiful June Veggies
The following items may make an appearance in your shares this week.  The actual contents of your share may differ based on harvest conditions.  As always Mother Nature ultimately dictates what is available.
  • Baby Bok Choy
  • Greenhouse baby lettuce
  • Spinach
  • Potatoes
  • Cucumbers
  • Baby Hakurei Turnips (use for the greens as well as the mini salad turnips)
  • Cilantro
  • Chives
  • and more

Unsure what's in your share? Check out our produce ID guide for help identifying any new to you vegetables. You'll be a CSA pro in no time!  

 

 

Storage Notes:

 

Be sure to save the micro-perforated bags that the lettuce mixes are being packed in. They will come in handy to store and keep your greens fresh for a longer period of time during the summer vegetable shares! 

Only 3 weeks left!

 

 The fields are quickly filling up with transplants, the fruit trees are full of delicate pastel flowers, and our dedicated crew of farmers has been enjoying the beautiful spring days. That means the spring share is coming to an end and the busy, abundant main season fruit and vegetable shares are about to begin.

 

Now is a good time to take a look around your house to see if you have any extra plastic bins to return. If so, please bring them to the pick up so that we can get them washed and ready to go for the vegetable shares.

 

Now is also the perfect time to register for your vegetable and fruit shares if you haven't already done so. If you're not sure if you're registered or if you have a balance remaining just shoot us an email or give us a call at 978-349-1952 and we'll be happy to help you out!  

 

We also have opened up a lot of new convenient pick up locations this season. If you would like us to move your pick up to another location more convenient to you we'll be happy to switch you to the new location.
Chole Saag

Shared and adapted from AllRecipes.com by CSA Member, Lori from Reading. She said, "I just made this recipe for dinner tonight (instead of the frozen spinach I used fresh, and I also put in chicken instead of the chick peas). It was very good. I served it over rice."  Thanks, Lori!
 
Ingredients:
  • 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 2 Tablespoons curry powder
  • 1 15oz can sweet peas, drained
  • 1 15oz can chickpeas, drained
  • 1 bag fresh spinach
  • 1 cup plain yogurt
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:   
  1. Cook, drain and chop spinach. (Ginger's favorite method is to thoroughly wash the spinach and place in a loosely covered container. Microwave for 2 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before draining.)
  2. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in garlic, onion, red pepper flakes, cumin, and curry powder, and cook until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the drained peas and mash well. Stir in garbanzo beans, spinach, yogurt, and chicken broth. Cook and stir until heated through, then season to taste with salt and pepper before serving.
 
For more ideas check out our recipe blog or follow us on Pinterest!

Have a great recipe that you'd like us to feature in the weekly newsletter? Email it to Ginger or share it with your fellow CSA members on our facebook page. Be sure to include a photo!
Upcoming Events Featuring Farmer Dave or our Community Partners!

Save the date for the following events!

Farmer Dave's Summer Kickoff and Strawberry Picking
Saturday, May 30th 9am - 1pm
437 Parker Road
Dracut, MA

 

Join us for a fun morning at the farm to kick off the summer CSA season!

There are a lot of new additions to Farmer Dave's that we're excited to show off. Come and see the progress on Farmer Dave's new packing and storage facility being built and all of our new fruit plantings.

After a brief walk through the fields where you can see your vegetables happily growing we'll stop to enjoy some strawberry picking and then head back to the barn for some strawberry themed refreshments. Be sure to say hello to Dave's pet goats, Willy, Billy and Sunshine!

All are welcome so invite your friends and enjoy a beautiful Spring morning on the farm.

 

Groundwork Share-a-Share Update
 
Thanks to generous donations by you (CSA members) to the Groundwork Share-A-Share™ fund, we were able to subsidize the cost of shares in 2014 for over thirty individuals and families, as well as shares for local food pantries.

Please consider helping us in our efforts to make the CSA accessible to more families by donating to Groundwork Share-A-Share.

 

To learn more about the program,  click here.

 

Thank you all for helping us keep this program going in 2015!  

 

Contact Us:

Farmer Dave's CSA
437 Parker Road
Dracut, MA 01826

(978) 349-1952