May 2nd, 2024 - SPRING Season Week 5
What's Inside This Week?
👉*NEW* - Monthly Giveaway!
👉*NEW FEATURE* - CSA Tip of the Week
👉*NEW* - Upcoming schedule of events for May
👉*NEW* - Event Day Recap
👉Special Offer for our Summer Members!
👉*NEW* - Must-Read Announcements
👉This Week's Article "Recycling Potting Soil"
👉Featured Gardening Tip of the Week: "Shade Cloth: An Essential Tool for High Elevation and Hail-Prone Colorado"
👉Featured Vendor of the Week: "CC's Tamales"
👉*NEW*Farmer's Market Update
👉Featured Vegetable: Mustard Greens
👉*NEW* Also: Don't miss our "Around the Farm" this week, our announcements, our weekly harvest list and more!
Dear FARMILY!
Shalom and blessings to all of our wonderful CSA members! For those that celebrated Passover, we hope it was a joyous and blessed time to be with family and friends! We had an amazing Passover here at the farm and we are sad it is gone, but we are also excited to move on and get back to the grind!
THIS WEEK'S CSA
We have an absolutely gorgeous CSA share for our members this week with the return of carrots, as the highlight, and also we have a return of mustard greens and sunnies which have been missing for a few weeks. Finally, we have more kale, swiss chard, beautiful lettuce, turnips and more to round out the rest of the share (can you believe the abundance this spring!?🤩). Please refer to the harvest list for more information on this week's CSA share and also the "What's in your Bag" section to see what the traditional-style and market-style members will get this week (hint: all members will get a bunch of carrots when you check in this week - you can count on it!).
FARMER'S MARKET
Tomorrow's farmer's market at the farm should be a STELLAR one - with a total of 15 vendors! Whoo-hoo🤩! It might be a yucky day as far as the weather goes, so you can expect another indoor market - but not to fear, as soon as the weather starts to get nicer we will be moving the market outdoors, which will make for a fantastic atmosphere! Our vegetable table will be loaded as well with a bunch of new items! See our Farmer's Market Update below for more information.
THIS WEEK'S NEWSLETTER
We have a beautiful newsletter for you this week with lot's of updates and announcements. The articles may be new to some, but are recycled (I wasn't able to write new ones due to the holidays), and you can expect us to get back on track with new articles, video updates, a new featured vendor, and a new monthly giveaway starting next week! For this week, be sure to check out the new "Around the Farm," our new "Monthly Giveaway" and more!
SUMMER MEMBERSHIPS
Please continue to spread the word about the CSA, as we have plenty of Summer memberships still available and we need a minimum of 20 more signups to hit our minimum budget (that means we are short about -$13,000.00 for the coming season which is tough to manage) and we need your help to spread the word to your neighbors and friends. Remember to tell them about our refer-a-friend program, all of our discounts, our pay-what-you-can-afford options and our flexible pay-plans (see flyer below)!
We love you all, our beautiful FaRmily!!!
Farmer Yosef and Family!
WE L❤️VE OUR COMMUNITY!
🚨🚨ATTENTION COMMUNITY! PLEASE READ!🚨🚨
THANK YOU TO ALL WHO HAVE HEADED THE CALL! THANKS TO YOU WE HAVE RAISED ENOUGH FOR AHAVAH COMMUNITY INITIATIVE TO SUPPORT OUR CURRENT SPRING MEMBERS THROUGH THE REST OF THE SEASON! THANK YOU SO MUCH! NOW, ONTO SUMMER! PLEASE CONTINUE TO GIVE! AS OF RIGHT NOW, WE HAVE APPROXIMATELY $2,750.00 AVAILABLE FOR SUMMER CSA MEMBERSHIPS WITH ONLY 5 WEEKS TO GO - THIS IS WELL BELOW OUR GOAL OF $15,000.00! WE NEED YOUR HELP TO GIVE AND SUPPORT THESE WONDERFUL FAMILIES IN NEED!
Dear Ahavah Community,
Since 2018 we have donated over 7,500 bags of freshly harvested vegetables to local families in need. This Winter season alone there are over 50 families who will have received over 400 bags of these vegetables, and this Spring we just approved 69 more families for an additional 690 bags!! That’s right, nearly 30% of our members are families who receive free memberships of these weekly vegetables! These are families that have been suffering with severe illness, are poverty stricken through various means and are struggling to feed their families healthy foods.
As you stand in line for your CSA, or rub elbows with those at our stand, you should know that one of every three of those very individuals are receiving a donated share. These are people with real needs and real struggles, families whom we all love and cherish and people we absolutely must continue to support.
With that said, the Spring season is upon us and our funds are running very low. With over 80 applications at the time of this writing, we are absolutely petrified that we won’t have the opportunity to support them all, and we don’t know how to say no to so many dire individuals and families, nor should we have to – but we can’t do it without you!
Although the Bring-A-Buck campaign has helped tremendously this year and so many have continued to support your neighbors and friends in our community in other ways, we are pleading with you to help us support these families who need fresh, healing vegetables with your additional donations this coming season.
If you have any ability to help, we are simply begging all of our community to pull together and donate. If every one of our members donated $25.00, this would supply all the funds required to support these members for the Spring season.
Please, from the bottom of our hearts to yours, PLEASE HELP support your community by considering an additional donation of $25.00 to help support a local family in need!
100% of every penny donated to this campaign will go STRAIGHT and only to these local community families. Please consider a donation today!
👩🌾Around the Farm This Week👩🌾
👈OH MY! We know all the CSA members and market customers have been jamming us up with "When are the carrots coming back!?" Well, we are happy to say that they are back! I can only hope they will be back every week of the season, but they might take a short break next week (we'll see) before continuing on! They are small and sweet as all get out this week - so enjoy them - be careful not to eat these before you get home!!!
👉The blossoms on the trees are finally here! Here is a pretty picture of our plum trees!
👈The potatoes got planted this week. It was a blast to do this with the kiddo's and you can see more pictures down below!
👉Passover is always such a special holiday. Here is the family and some of the team doing our Biyur Chametz right before the holiday started. It's a time that we burn the remaining leaven in our homes and we also say some prayers and write some things on a paper that we would like to change in ourselves and we symbolically burn it in the fire.
👈Our kids are crazy! here they are with their 30ft long sea-saw they made from an old telephone pole 🤣! Don't miss the video down below!!
ARE YOU SIGNED UP FOR SUMMER YET!?
Please don't wait until the last minute to sign up. The sooner you sign up, the better the farm can prepare!
💥With a Special Offer For Summer Members (SEE BELOW👇!!)💥
...and don't miss out on our REFER A FRIEND program to earn $25.00 for both YOU & a FRIEND!
If you are looking for the freshest, purest and most nutrient-dense vegetables you can this Summer, then you don't want to miss the Ahavah Farm CSA Veggie-Share! 16 weeks of the best veggies you can find. It's going to be an AWESOME year!
Go to www.ahavahfarm.com/csa to register for our Spring & Summer season Community Supported Agriculture Veggie-Shares and get weekly bags of the freshest, most nutrient-dense vegetables available!!
✔The highest quality, 100% local, produce you can find, harvested and delivered fresh every week! ✔Pure, chemical-free, regeneratively grown produce. ✔Flexible payment options. ✔Many discounts are available - see website! ✔4 Locations for CSA pickup (Peyton, COS, DEN and Monument. ✔Door to Door delivery options available! ✔Got SNAP!? Get 50% off your CSA share automatically! ✔Every share supports families in need through donations. ✔Flexible CSA options, holds, credits and more! ✔Classes, events, tours and community opportunities.
⭐100% of everything we sell is grown and harvested and delivered by Ahavah Farm and Ahavah Farm ONLY - All produce is grown 100% on our farm in Peyton Colorado, near Colorado Springs without a single chemical, in rich, composted soil. We use biodynamic principles to grow the purest, most nutrient-dense vegetables available and deliver them to you fresh, every week!
‼️🛑STOP - Please do not miss this section🛑‼️
⚠️ATTENTION MEMBERS! Please share this information with your friends and family members! ⚠️
PEOPLE STRUGGLING TO AFFORD FRESH, HEALTHY, CHEMICAL-FREE, LOCAL FOOD NEED THIS INFORMATION!
EATING HEALTHY SHOULD NOT BE A STRUGGLE!
Dear Friends, we first want to say a very big THANK YOU to all of our supporters and friends! We know that supporting local is not always the easiest, but because of our dedicated supporters and members we are able to continue to serve our community after ten years and we are more grateful to you than any words could ever express!
Our mission at Ahavah Farm is to "provide health to our region, healing to our earth and love to our community by growing the purest and most environmentally responsible food available" and we are proud to say that we have never given up on our mission or compromised our values throughout all of these years.
Our mission has never been about making profit, getting wealthy or about anything other than service to you and to our planet. We strive to grow the freshest, purest, most sustainably grown produce that we are able to, without compromises and we want those that need the food the most to be the ones to get it! That's why we have so many options to make your support of our farm to be more convenient and more affordable!
Whether you pay with SNAP benefits, make monthly or weekly payments, whether you simply
share the support with your neighbors or you simply are having a difficult time making ends meet, we want to serve you and we want you and our whole community to flourish!
We hope you will sign up for our four-season CSA, whether for one season or for them all, and we want to make it easy for you to do so with the following opportunities:
Pay What You Can Afford
Times are tough, and getting PURE food is difficult for so many. Support your local farm, eat fresh, pure, chemical-free food with our Pay-What-You-Can-Afford program! All of our prices are suggested prices and if you can’t afford the suggested price, please be blessed by paying what you can! Select “CASH PAYMENT” at checkout and send us an e-mail telling us how much you can afford! No questions asked! It’s that simple!
Refer-A-Friend and Get $25.00
When you tell a friend or neighbor about our CSA program, not only do you get $25.00, but your friend ALSO get’s $25.00 too! After your friend signs up, simply have them send us an e-mail telling us who referred them and you BOTH get $25.00 for free food!
Flexible, No-Fee, No-Interest Payment Plans
The lump-sum of paying for your CSA share can be inconvenient! That’s why we allow all of our members to pay us, not only WHAT they can, but WHEN they can! These payment plans are INTEREST-FREE and flexible to YOUR needs! Simply select “CASH PAYMENT” at checkout and send us an e-mail to work out a plan that works for YOU!
Got SNAP? Get 50% Off Automatically!
Saving 50% off is a “SNAP” when you pay with your EBT / SNAP benefits! That’s right, when you pay your CSA share with your SNAP benefits you AUTOMATICALLY get 50% off of your CSA membership and all of our veggies at all of our stands! Eating pure has never been more affordable! Simply select “CASH PAYMENT” at checkout and send us an e-mail to let us know you will be paying with your SNAP / EBT benefits!
BECOMING A MEMBER OF ANY OF THESE PROGRAMS IS SUPER-SIMPLE:
Go to ahavahfarm.com/csa and scroll down to select the size share you want (all the details are found there).
2. When checking out select "CASH PAYMENT"
3. Send us a quick e-mail and let us know you will be paying with SNAP or making a payment plan, or let us know how much you are able to afford so we can work with you to make a plan that fits YOUR budget!
Please spread the word and let us know if you have any questions!
PS. We do not get subsidized for any of our vegetables. Not from any one person or from any organization. Ahavah Farm is a for-profit, family farm, but we simply can't stand to see people struggling to feed their families our nutrient-dense produce, when it's needed. The only two things we ask in return is that you tell others about our family's generosity and that you don't take advantage of our generosity. THANK YOU!!!
REFERAL PROGRAM!
🌞TELL YOUR FRIENDS & FAMILY AND YOU BOTH GET $25🌞
Refer a friend to Ahavah Farm's CSA and you BOTH will receive $25 in credit to use ANYTIME you want! Use to buy extra vegetables, or take $25 off your next CSA purchase - your credit will never expire!
New members simply send an e-mail to contact@ahavahfarm.com to let us know who referred you and you BOTH receive your $25 certificate! It's that easy!😁
Weekly Farmer's Market Update
Ahavah Community Indoor / Outdoor Farmer's Market
Every Friday from 10am to 1pm!
Can you believe how AWESOME the market has been lately!? Everything from the amount and variety of new vendors, to the plants and vegetables from our stand to the traffic of amazing local customers that are flooding through the market has made the market top-notch lately and it's only getting better!
This week we have 15 vendors coming out! WOW! It's going to be a huge market and we hope you all come on by to support the local community!
As for our stand - expect the best! Carrots are back, kale is in stock, the rainbow swiss-chard is flourishing and of course you can't miss the beautiful lettuce, greens and roots that will be gracing our table this week! See below for the full list of items available at our market this week.
🥕🥬🌱Vegetables at the Farmer's Market this week
(May 3rd)
✅Radishes ✅Turnips ✅Carrots ✅Lettuce ✅Red and Green Kale ✅Mustard Greens ✅Chives ✅Scallions ✅Honey ✅Fennel ✅Swiss Chard ✅Dried Herbs ✅Duck Eggs
✅Living Plants (basil, cilantro, mint, succulents and MANY more) ✅Pea Shoots ✅Sunflower Shoots ✅Radish Microgreens ✅Broccoli Microgreens ✅Wheat Grass
(For CSA location "extras", please see below in the "Extra Vegetables section)
PLANTS!!! We got 'em!
👆DON'T MISS OUR AMAZING SELECTION OF GARDEN AND HOUSEHOLD PLANTS!!!!🌻🌸🪴
TOMATOES, PEPPERS, GREENS, CUCUMBERS, SQUASH, HERBS AND A BUNCH MORE!
EVENT RECAP!
The potatoes got planted last week and it was a blast! it's always fun when I (Yosef) can get out there with the kids and do a project. It warms my heart and creates memories while teaching the little ones hard work ethic - of course, it helps that they save my back too😁!
*NEW* - MAY Monthly Give-Away!
Every month we will be having a monthly give-away for our members and non-members. Here is this week's MONTHLY GIVE-AWAY!
SHARE OUR NEWSLETTER AND GET $3.00 TO SPEND!
GETTING A FEW BUCKS TO SPEND AT ANY OF OUR LOCAL CSA LOCATIONS OR OUR FARMER'S MARKET HAS NEVER BEEN EASIER!
IF YOU LOVE AHAVAH FARM AND WANT TO HELP US SPREAD THE WORD, SIMPLY SHARE THIS NEWSLETTER WITH YOUR FRIENDS!
WHEN YOU CHECK OUT AT ANY OF OUR LOCATIONS SHOW US THAT YOU SHARED THE NEWSLETTER AND AUTOMATICALLY RECIEVE $3.00 TO SPEND!🤩
📢FEATURED VENDOR OF THE WEEK!📢
CC's Tamales
CC's Tamale's have grown a passionate audience over the years and the feedback on these tamale's has been outstanding! CeCe has been with our market for over a month now and she keeps coming back because the customers keep supporting her delicious home-made tamale's!
CeCe offers a wide variety of tamales and other items too. She offers vegetable, pork and chicken tamale's and she also sells homemade rice, beans and a delicious coconut milk horchata too!
Next time you come out to the farmer's market be sure to come hungry and get yourself some of these delicious goodies for lunch, or you can take a bunch home to re-heat or freeze for storage!
ATTENTION LOCAL BUSINESSES!
We are so excited about our current line-up of vendors, but we are still seeking more!
✅FREE MARKET for all vendors!
✅100% of raised funds goes to feeding LOCAL FAMILIES IN NEED!
✅PERMANENT tents! No need to bring a tent - just come and set up under ours!
✅Indoors and heated on COLD days!
✅GUARANTEED traffic of 200-350 people+ per market!
✅FRIDAY's from 10am to 1pm
👉If you are a local vendor and are interested in attending our farmer's market, please reach out directly at manager@ahavahfarm.com and we will send you information and the vendor agreement.
"How We Recycle Our Potting Soil"
By Yosef Camire
This week I wanted to talk to you about our soil-recycling program. Did you know that soil-recycling is one of our strongest tools on the farm? No, I don't mean our composting program, I mean our soil-recycling program. All of our potting soil on the farm gets recycled. A lot of farms, particularly those that grow microgreens do not recycle their soil regularly. Often times, if they do use it, it goes into the compost pile - which is great! But often times, many farms and microgreen growers, as well as plant nurseries simply discard their soil, and never recycle it. In fact, this has become so common that it is a major criticism of the nursery and microgreen growing industry and a complaint that many who are concerned about the sustainability of such programs are concerned about.
For us, not only do you not have to be concerned about the sustainability aspects of the microgreens we grow and all of our nursery potting soil we use up because 100% of it gets recycled and put to excellent use. In fact, recycling our soil has been one of the biggest successes for our farm and it has become a financial blessing too.
Before we talk about the process by which we recycle this soil, let's talk about the soil itself.
The type of soil we use is called Roots Organics (pictured below) and we have found this to be some of the most sustainable, pure and successful soils we have ever used. The ingredients in the soil are as follows: Coarse Peat Moss, Composted Virgin Forest Material, Perlite, Coco Fiber, Pumice, Earthworm Castings, Feather Meal, Bat Guano, Non GMO Soybean Meal, Fishbone Meal, Greensand, Volcanic Rock Dust, Kelp Meal. Also contains beneficial mycorrhizal fungi: Funneliformis mosseae, Rhizophagus intraradices, Septoglomus desertícola - how cool is that!? They actually add fungi into the soil mix in order to increase the root biomass and to reduce the stress on the plant! It is very much some of the best potting soil available and it meets all of our sustainability and purity objectives and goals.
Next, let's talk about our process, and lastly we will talk about the benefits to the farm and what we do with it.
Our program is very passive, requires very minimal effort and is not complicated in anyway:
After growing and harvesting the microgreens there will be a root mass that forms which creates a sort of cake of microgreens. These roots and the green remains of the plants are very easily removed from the trays and they break down within mere weeks (without turning, without composting or heat). We simply dump these "cakes" into a pile and continue to pile them week after week, allowing them to simply rot down and turn back into soil. We use a first-in-first-out system, separating our area into 5 sections, piling up one section at a time until it is all filled. Once one section is filled, we simply begin the new section and on and on we go. By the time the last section is being filled the first section is ready to use. Below you can see all the stages, which occurs within mere weeks:
This process is completely passive, requires no heat or aeration and is not a composting process because it does not include any brown material, as you would find in typical composting piles which get really hot, can breed negative bacteria and must be monitored. Our process simply uses a minimal amount of time, and since the green material is so immature (microgreens) it breaks down immediately - in fact, leaving a bunch of the organic green material in the soil is fine for us to re-use because as long as it doesn't contain seeds, then we aren't worried about re-using it.
After we wait a few weeks for the soil to break down we simply apply it to our garden beds in lieu of compost. Now, we still utilize compost, but the truth is that this potting soil is almost a better solution that compost itself, and it's already been paid for as part of our regular budget for the nursery and microgreen plants. As you noticed from the ingredients list, the amount of organic material in this potting mix is very high, and actually the majority of it's make up. In addition, the green material in the form of the broken down root mass and stems from the immature microgreens is an additional boon. The kicker? The microgreens take nearly 0% of the nutrients from the soil over a 10 day growing cycle and any nutrients that are taken from the soil are generally stored in the roots anyway - in short, this recycled soil is just as nutrient dense as the original soil that came in the bag!
Imagine, taking hundreds of bags of potting soil and adding it directly to your garden beds...think you'd have some beautiful crops? Well, so do we, and that's just one more reason that the food you get from our CSA is as nutrient-dense and as beautiful as it is!
Ahavah Community Upcoming Schedule
UPCOMING EVENTS
👉April 29TH - MAY 3RD: 2ND Week of Passover - EXPECT changes to the CSA pickup schedule.
👉May 3rd @ 10am - 1pm: FAMILY FRIENDLY! Ahavah Community INDOOR / OUTDOOR Spring Market
👉May 10th @ 10am: ADULT EDUCATION! How to Grow Your Own. Part 3 of 4. w/ Lorin Mattemore. Email Beth at contact@ahavahfarm.com
👉May 10th @ 10am - 1pm: FAMILY FRIENDLY! Ahavah Community INDOOR / OUTDOOR Spring Market
👉May 10th @ 10am - 1pm: FAMILY FRIENDLY! Homeschool Day @ Ahavah Farm! Ziplines, activities, storytime and more!
👉May 10th @ 10am: FAMILY FRIENDLY! Tour of Ahavah Farm! Come and learn, see, ask and do!
👉May 12th @ 10am: REGISTRATION DEADLINE! ACI Applications for FREE FOOD closes. Come and learn, see, ask and do!
👉May 17th @ 10am: ADULT EDUCATION! Composting 101 w/ Farmer Mark Robinson. Email Beth at contact@ahavahfarm.com
👉May 17th @ 10am: FAMILY FRIENDLY! Tour of Ahavah Farm! Come and learn, see, ask and do!
👉May 24th @ 10am: ADULT EDUCATION! Biblical Agriculture Class 1 of 4 w/ Farmer Yosef Email Beth at contact@ahavahfarm.com
👉May 24th @ 10am: FAMILY FRIENDLY! Tour of Ahavah Farm! Come and learn, see, ask and do!
Go to www.ahavahfarm.com/classes to learn more, to register and to see the rest of our schedule of events and classes!
🥕EXTRA VEGGIES and PLANTS FOR SALE🌻
Can't make it to the Farm for the Friday Farmer's Market? THAT'S OK! Please be sure to check out the extras table at all of our CSA pickup locations: available for all members and even NON-MEMBERS!
Simply come to any of the CSA locations on Thursday and Friday and pick up some of our beyond-organic veggies for sale!
(IMPORTANT: Keep in mind that selection is limited and the more requests and participation we receive, the more vegetables and varieties we will provide)
Food bearing plants also qualify for SNAP !!!
For Payment: Cash or Check at the drops or the balance can be sent via PayPal to contact@ahavahfarm.com or via Venmo to 719-233-7828
Availability for "EXTRA's at the CSA pickup locations this week (Week 3):
(see Farmer's Market Section, above, for market selection this week)
✅Lettuce ✅Carrots ✅Turnips ✅Dried Herbs ✅Redbor Kale ✅Scallions ✅Swiss Chard ✅Chives ✅Living Plants (basil, cilantro, mint, succulents and more) ✅Pea Shoots ✅Sunflower Shoots ✅Radish Microgreens ✅Broccoli Microgreens ✅Barley Grass
Microgreen CSA Shares Are Available! Sign Up Today and SAVE 💲💲💲!
Microgreen CSA Share: 3 Servings of Microgreens EVERY WEEK! Save 17%!!!
Love our microgreens but haven't signed up for a Microgreen CSA?
All Packaging is Compostable and Green!👉
We pride ourselves on our microgreen quality as being not only absolutely pure - grown without chemicals, fertilizers or inefficient energy (we grow with 100% solar, renewable energy!), but they are absolutely beautiful, long-lasting and delicious! We really can't rave enough!
WHAT'S IN A SHARE? In your Microgreen CSA you will receive a combination of 3 microgreens every week with the option to purchase add-ons and extras when available.
Pickup locations and times are the same as Ahavah Farm Veggie Share CSA but you do not have to be a veggie-share member to be a microgreen CSA member - these are two independent programs combined into one.
Order yours today at https://www.ahavahfarm.com/microgreen-csa
🚨Updated Member Benefits🚨
🚨Easy & Flexible Payment Plans!🚨
🥕Paypal "Pay Later" options on the website! These are no-credit check, interest-free online payment plans so you can make 4 smaller payments directly through Paypal. Ahavah Farm benefits as well by paid immediately, thereby providing the farm liquidity, while giving our members flexibility and ease of mind!
🥕We also still have FLEXIBLE and CUSTOMIZABLE offline pay plans in place if you would prefer to make payments via check. Please email us at contact@ahavahfarm.com if you would like more information on offline payment plan and to set up your payment schedule.
Founded in April of 2018, our mission is to connect people who are facing food insecurity due to financial struggles to locally-farmed, regeneratively-grown produce, and to provide education centered around healthy living and environmental consciousness. We do this by offering donated memberships to a local CSA program. Memberships include a weekly bag of produce along with discounted (often free) farm tours, classes, and events.
We want to help participate in the creation of a local food-system-economy, build on a diversity of local and regenerative food education and provide activities and children's events centered around environmentally responsible agriculture and pure, beyond-organic, local food.
"HI! Did you BRING-A-BUCK Today?!"
Oh the amazing power of community and crowdfunding!
Every week, at all of the CSA locations, we have a bin or jar that looks similar to this. As being a part of Ahavah Farm is also about being a part of a community, we ask all of our members to bring at least one dollar with them every week to help us provide a CSA membership to a family in need next season.
Don't say your dollar isn't important! The only way crowdfunding works is if we all participate. Your $1-$5 is vitally important and it is directly through this program that we raise the majority of ACI's food donation funds than any other fundraising program, and yet it is the absolute easiest for all of our members to participate!
During the Fall season, your Bring-A-Buck dollars will allow us to donate Fall CSA shares to families facing food insecurity and to offer subsidized shares to struggling families as well.
PLEASE REMEMBER YOUR BUCKS!🙏
"Shade Cloth: An Essential Tool for High Elevation and Hail-Prone Colorado"
- By Yosef Camire
As gardening enthusiasts in Colorado, we’re no strangers to the challenges presented by the state’s unique climate. With intense sun exposure and the ever-looming threat of hail, protecting our delicate plants can often feel like an uphill battle. Fortunately, for you and fortunately for our farm, there’s a simple yet highly effective solution: shade cloth. Yes, that's right, shade cloth works wonders against hail and against sun exposure and is much more reasonable in price compared to the exorbitant costs of hail cloth.
Understanding Shade Cloth
Shade cloth is a versatile gardening tool designed to provide shade and protection to plants. It’s typically made from a durable, woven material that allows air and water to pass through while blocking out a percentage of sunlight (depending on which cloth you choose, different percentages are selected and manufactured - see below). This shading effect helps to mitigate the stress caused by intense sunlight, creating a more hospitable environment for plants to thrive in.
Different Weights and Materials
Shade cloth comes in a variety of weights, typically measured as a percentage of shade
provided. Common options include 30%, 50%, 70%, and 90% shade cloth, with each offering different levels of protection from sunlight. The choice of weight depends on factors such as the specific needs of your plants and the intensity of sunlight in your area. For instance, tomatoes don't like more than a 40% shade cloth, typically, but here in Colorado you can get away with up to 60% shade cloth for tomatoes and still have plenty of success - especially if you are in a hoop-house or greenhouse.
When it comes to materials, shade cloth is often made from high-density polyethylene (HDPE), a durable and UV-stabilized material that ensures longevity and effectiveness even in harsh conditions (we have had much of our shade cloth for 7-10 years and it still works great (though we did have one year where we bought cheaper stuff and it was a disaster - so make sure it is HDPE).
Benefits of Shade Cloth in Colorado
1. Sun Protection: In the high elevations of Colorado, the sun’s rays can be especially intense, posing a risk of sunburn and heat stress to plants. I remember one year, the drought was so bad and the temperatures were so extreme that our squash was literally burned from the sun - no matter how much we watered it! Shade cloth provides a reliable solution by diffusing sunlight and reducing its intensity, helping plants to thrive without succumbing to sun damage. This reduces the stress on the plants as well, allowing for increased pest and disease resistance as well.
2. Temperature Regulation: By creating a cooler microclimate beneath its canopy, shade cloth helps to regulate temperature fluctuations, preventing overheating during hot summer days and minimizing frost damage in colder months - believe it or not! This temperature stability is particularly beneficial for sensitive plants that are prone to heat stress or cold damage, and as mentioned above, a stress-free plant is a happy plant!
3. Hail Protection: I have been known to say that if you run a CSA in Colorado, take advanced payments from members and do not protect your crops by utilizing hail protection of some sort, you are stealing from your members! Why? Because in Colorado, you WILL get hail damage and you WILL eventually get hailed out. Utilizing shade cloth is a fantastic means of protecting your crops from hail damage - as we have witnessed many times!
4. Water Conservation: By reducing the intensity of sunlight and limiting evaporation, shade cloth helps to conserve moisture in the soil, ensuring that plants have adequate access to water even during dry spells. This water-saving benefit is especially valuable in Colorado’s arid climate, where water efficiency is essential for sustainable gardening.
In conclusion, shade cloth is a valuable asset for Colorado gardeners seeking to protect their plants from the harsh realities of high elevation sun exposure and hailstorms. By providing shade, temperature regulation, hail protection, and water conservation, shade cloth offers a multifaceted solution to common gardening challenges, enabling us to cultivate thriving gardens despite the odds and gardening without it is very risky.
VOLUNTEERING
Our volunteers are the backbone of our organization and we couldn't do it without you...but we need more help!
We need help with so many things:
Construction Projects
Landscaping Projects
Composting Projects
Harvesting, washing and prep.
Weeding
Bag Packing
Teaching Classes
General farm cleanup
and more...got a skill you want to share? Let us know!
Volunteering is Monday through Friday 9AM to 4PM.
Please let Jessie know you are interested, she will send more information and necessary paperwork, and we will welcome you with open arms!
What's in your bags this week?
SPRING Week 5 - May 3rd
CSA MEMBERSHIP SAVINGS THIS SEASON*:
AUTO-RENEWAL MEMBERS:
👏SMALL +13.94% 👏MEDIUM +22.52%👏26.62%
NON-AUTO-RENEWAL MEMBERS:
👏SMALL +8.94% 👏MEDIUM +17.52%👏21.62%
*MARKET-STYLE MEMBER SAVINGS MAY BE GREATER OR LESSER DEPENDING ON SELECTION MADE BY INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS. THE ABOVE SAVINGS ARE CALCULATED VIA BAGGED TRADITIONAL-SHARE MEMBERSHIPS ONLY.
Market-Style Members Selection - Week 5
Carrots, Lettuce, Red Kale, Green Kale, Turnips, Mustard, Swiss Chard, Scallions, Walking Onions, Fennel, Chives, Dried herbs, Plants, Sunflower Shoots, Pea Shoots, Broccoli Microgreens, Radish Microgreens, WheatGrass
CSA Tip of the Week!
"Get Your Share Delivered To Your Door"
To get the most out of your CSA experience, you've gotta go to the CSA pickup locations, and to get the best experience possible, it's definitely at the Farm itself - where we have music, activities, a full farmer's market with multiple vendors and, of course, you can see the farm!
HOWEVER, picking up your CSA every week can be a chore, especially when the kids have school activities, work calls, or the car breaks down and is in the shop. For some of us, we simply can't fit it into our schedule and from time to time, most of us can't commit to being at the drop every-single-week. Having your CSA delivered directly to your door can alleviate these inconvenient times and allow you to still get the freshest, most nutrient-dense vegetables available, without the hassle of lugging the kids across town!
Farm to door deliveries are available for a fee and signing up for the whole season, or just part of the season, or just a single day from time to time is easy to do!
Signing up is easy.
1. Log in to your dashboard at www.ahavahfarm.com
2. Next, click on "CSA- Delivery Signup" to see door to door delivery options.
3. All door to door delivery purchases must be made no later than Tuesday afternoon at 5pm, the week of delivery.
There is a cost for delivery of $11.00 ($10.00 if you pay for the whole season at once) and the deliveries are easy and convenient. Just make sure you leave a cooler outside your door, pay before Tuesday night of the week of delivery and you are good to go!
This Week's Harvest
As always, nothing is guaranteed. These are the items that are "in season" and are anticipated to be ready this week (which may or may not be available at the CSA).
Small = 4-6 items per week ($23.50/wk)
Medium = 7-9 items per week ($33.50/wk)
Large = 10-12 items per week ($43.50/wk)
Sweet Baby Carrots - Only the sweetest, most delectable carrots you have ever tasted! Be careful not to eat these too fast!!!
Swiss Chard - Swiss chard is one of our absolute favorite items to saute. We love to put this into a cast-iron skillet with loads of garlic, salt and perhaps a little oil and cook it well. It's to die for! Want some more ideas? Check out this article HERE.
Fennel - The fennel is back and is one of our fan-favorites! Absolutely one of my most favorite raw veggies to chew on, I love just taking the greens and snacking on them for a fresh and clean feeling! DID YOU KNOW? Did you know that when you cook the fennel it changes flavor!? That's right, try it. Add some garlic and onions and whatever else and saute these beautiful bulbs for a delightful treat - or, better yet - DRY THEM! Hang those greens upside down and dry them and use them when you want to to add a wonderful flavor to pasta or salad!
Mustard greens- Add these leafy greens to your diet by mixing mustard greens into a chopped salad or cook it like most leafy greens. The greens are high in Vitamin A, Vitamin K, B1, B2, B6, Vitamin C, and Vitamin E! this is one of our absolute FAVORITE greens to saute' 😋 and when we do we simply add some salt and garlic and enjoy.
Garlic Chives - These little chives are incredible! With a hint of garlic and a hint of onions, chop them up and add them to...EVERYTHING! Salads, sandwiches, to top soups, you name it - these add a flavor like nothing else!
Living Herbs - We have tons of these beautiful herbs available - from mint, to basil, to chives, to marjoram...and more! - See our article on living herbs HERE.
Scallions -The whole scallion, from the root to the tip of the greens are not only edible, but DELICIOUS! Did you know that if you save those roots (about an inch above the bulb or so) and stick them in a glass of water you can grow new greens? It's true. Try it!
Red and Green Kales - The best tasting kale in the world! Great for soups and saute's, sure, but as a raw kale salad, massaged with tihini, nutz, cranberries and shredded carrots? It doesn't get any better. Then again, get creative...to help, click here are 30 ideas.
Walking Onions- With a little more kick than the scallions, you don't need as much of these greens, and unlike the scallions, these do not include the roots. So use them and enjoy! Just like any other green onion you can chop these greens up on salads, on sandwiches, into sauces....everywhere and on everything 😋!
Lettuce - Not much to say about lettuce, except that it is wonderful and fresh and delightful and all that stuff! We love it. It's light and fluffy and delicious!
Sweet Turnips - By far, these are the most beloved vegetable we grow - I know, I know, it's a turnip...but is it really🤔!? No way is this a normal turnip! I'm telling you, if you have eaten them than you know, but if you haven't you will find out! Taste this amazingness raw - then, if you don't eat them all by the time you get home, then roasting them is our favorite way to eat them. We love to roast these turnips with garlic, or honey, or salt and pepper..but the truth? Raw...I'm telling you, the sweetness of these turnips is to die for! Our kids call them "Ground Ice Cream!"
Dried Herbs - We have a mixture of dried herbs for you this week. We have dill, basil, mint and fennel.
Wheat Grass - Many of our members absolutely love our wheat grass and use it religiously. We hope you take the time to learn and enjoy this most amazingly nutritious green! Wheat grass is used mostly for juicing. However, I, Yosef (and many of our team members) love to use ian energy and nutrition
Radish Microgreens - Next to the barley grass and the sunshoots, radish microgreens are some of the most nutritiously-dense items we grow on the farm and not only that, but during our annual survey last year, they ranked as the #1 most requested and love item we grow! They have a fantastic bite to them, last considerably long in the refrigerator and are beautiful in appearance.
Pea Shoots - One of the most desired and sought after items we provide are these pea shoots! Quite literally the best you added to any dish or salad. Our favorite way is to add them to stews and soups. A perfect topper too! Here are four fun ways to use Pea Shoots: http://blog.bostonorganics.com/4-fun-ways-to-use-pea-shootst as
Broccoli Microgreens - Last week we told you that Radish Microgreens were the #1 most loved item we grow, well, these microgreens weren't on the list then! I have a sneaking suspicion that these microgreens are the real winners!
Sunshoots - Our sunshoots are certainly some of the nicest, most high-quality sunshoots you will ever find (that actually goes for all our microgreens). They are one of the most beloved items we grow as well and a regular staple to our CSA. Here are some ideas to use your sunnies this week: https://www.martinsgardenacf.com/sunflower-shoots-recipes
Veggie of the week!
Amazing, Delicious and Nutritious 🥬🥬MUSTARD GREENS!
(I decided not to change the veggie of the week this week because, well, everyone's getting some! I hope you enjoy it because we sure do!)
Introduction:
Mustard greens are one of our absolute favorite greens! We loved to simply saute' them, add them to eggs, add them into a salad or add them to a yummy sandwich! With that, here is a very simple, yet delicious recipe you can make yourselves:
Recipe: Sauteed Redbor Mustard Greens with Garlic and Lemon
Ingredients:
- 1 bunch Redbor Mustard Greens, washed and chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
2. Add minced garlic to the skillet and sauté for 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
3. Add chopped Redbor Mustard Greens to the skillet and toss to coat in the garlic-infused oil.
4. Cook the greens for 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they are wilted and tender.
5. Drizzle lemon juice over the greens and season with salt and pepper to taste.
6. Remove from heat and serve immediately as a flavorful side dish or a nutritious addition to any meal.
Nutritional Benefits:
Redbor Mustard Greens are not only delicious but also incredibly nutritious. Packed with vitamins A, C, and K, as well as folate and fiber, these vibrant greens offer a host of health benefits. Vitamin K supports bone health and blood clotting, while vitamins A and C boost immunity and promote healthy skin. Incorporating Redbor Mustard Greens into your diet is an easy way to nourish your body and elevate your culinary creativity.
ENJOY!
⚠ ⚠ ⚠ BAGS! We need your bags (PLEASE🙏) !!⚠ ⚠ ⚠
Thank you everyone for recycling your LARGE bags with us! When we receive your bags we immediately quarantine them for 2 weeks before reusing them to ensure they are safe of any yuckies. Thank you for bringing them and any others you may have (we need any large PAPER-ONLY grocery bags you may have) THANK YOU!