Newsletter: Let Me Toot My Own Horn

That's the sound of me tooting our own horn. Every Wednesday after packing I say to Emmalyn, "I think this is our best box yet," and this week is no exception. Any time you need to dedicate one person on the pack line to simply closing the boxes is a sign that we're providing a lot of good food for our members.

These past two weeks since Box 3 have been a whirlwind. We got to meet many of our neighbors for the first time at the Mother's Day Farm Crawl, have been selling plants left and right at markets, and, oh yeah, there's still a CSA that we're running! You'll note that this week's spinach is coming from our fields, which makes those bags the first produce that we've harvested this year from outside!

Emmalyn and the crew have continued turning over hoop houses (we planted our tomatoes on Monday and Tuesday) as well as transplanting and direct seeding into the fields. Meanwhile, I've been scrambling to wrap my head around how to keep all of these new friends watered! After working many late nights setting up our new irrigation system, Gaia finally rewarded my work by giving us rain today for the first time in over a month. Praise be to Mother Earth!

I alluded to this in the Box 3 newsletter, but I feel the need to speak to how much more confident we're feeling this year compared to last. Don't get me wrong, we're still staying up FAR too late Friday nights getting prepped for Saturday markets, and there's still plenty of wrinkles to be ironed out, but overall we have a much stronger grasp on what we need to do to make this a success. I'm very proud of what we were able to accomplish in our first year as owners in 2020, but in a lot of ways we seemed to be racing to get everything done at the last minute, all year long. This year, we're still scrambling, but we're able to sweat the nitty-gritty instead of worrying about if we'll have enough food to fill a CSA box. Thanks to those of you who stuck with us after a tumultuous 2020, we hope you feel the same way that I do!

We'll be posting more details about the Farmer's Choice summer bags in the final newsletter if not before, and we'll be at both Midtown and Fulton Farmers Markets in Minneapolis Saturday mornings. If you're still looking for plant starts, come find us at the markets or shoot us an email.

Thanks much everyone, and see ya tomorrow!

-Cody

What’s in the Box?!

- Salad Spinach: Maybe the last spinach of the spring season. The cold snap really sweetened this crop up. From our fields.
- Baby Beets: We started these on February 28th! This variety has great greens and smooth skin which requires no peeling before steaming, sautéing, or roasting. Yum!
- Napa Cabbage: I just love Napa Cabbage. Great as a slaw, maybe with some ginger lime dressing or sautéed into a soup, stew, or curry.
- Mixed Mustard Green Bunches: Delicious and nutritious. There are many ways to use greens in cooking... What are some of your favorites?

-Magenta Summercrisp Lettuce: This might be my favorite lettuce. The crunchy base is like a romaine, and soft upper leaves remind me of a bib. The best of both worlds!
-Kickin' Mix: Tried and true though out the spring. Mustard greens, red & green mizuna, baby kale, and Tokyo Bekana comprise this mix. Toss with spinach or lettuce to make a giant salad, or just eat it on it's own to see what the "zest" is all about!
-Arugula: The second harvest maybe even more peppery. The flavor packs more of a punch in pasta or pesto. Great raw in a salad as well, Delicious!
-Hakurei Salad Turnips: Wonderful from top to tip. Even the greens are amazing sautéed. Roast or pan fry the bulbs!