SUMMARY: SEVENTH Week of Summer 2020! - Classes and Tours! - EXTRAS! - Volunteering Opportunities - Did you know? - The MOST important part of being a CSA member is... - Donate today! - Weekly Updates and Harvest for the Week - What to expect NEXT Week.
Week 7 - SEVENTH Week of Summer CSA 2020!
HELLO DEAR MEMBERS! I hope you are having an amazing week and enjoying this (slightly) cooler weather. This week we got the over 10,000 onions out of the field, cut all the tops and they are curing as we speak. We will save most of these for the fall, but you may get some in the coming week's as well. We grew three varieties this year: A white, yellow and a red. They are gorgeous!
That's about all that is happening this week worth reporting on. We will spend the rest of it weeding, turning over beds, seeding and doing some repairs. One thing to keep in mind: We have been having some severe pest pressure. The grasshoppers are killing our tomatoes and many of our greens. NONE of this reduces the quality of the produce besides the cosmetic damage. So, enjoy it just the same - it may just not be as pretty!
We could use some volunteers for packing bags on Thursday and for weeding throughout the week. E-mail us if you are interested and see below for more info. Enjoy your share this week and don't forget to join the fun and share your recipes and pictures in the Facebook Community Group! _________________________________
EXTRA VEGGIES FOR SALE
Lots of Extra Veggies Available for Purchase at Your CSA Location!
DON'T FORGET THAT SNAP MEMBERS GET 50% OFF
&
ALL PRICES ARE SUGGESTIONS ONLY AS WE ALWAYS OFFER PAY-WHAT-YOU-CAN-AFFORD!
This week we are anticipating the following items for sale:
!!**Baby Potatoes **!!
Tomatoes
Microgreens
Pea Shoots
Turnips
Radishes
Sunshoots
Kale
Swiss Chard
And more...
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 or by paying with credit card over the phone.
CLASSES AND TOURS
Plenty of Room in our Upcoming Tours
Classes are full, but our educational tours still have openings. To register, simply respond to this email. Remember, that classes are free for all CSA members, though we do recommend a $20.00 donation to ACI for each class and a $10.00 donation for each tour to cover expenses.
Class and Tour Schedule:
The Four-Season Garden or Farm: This is a 5-part series that can be registered for the entire series or just one at a time. We will learn what it takes to grow and harvest food all year long, here in Colorado at elevation and in harsh temperatures. We will learn about the specifics to growing amazing crops in each season of the year and since we start in July there will be plenty of time for participants to set up their own four-season garden or farm starting in the fall.
Classes are at 9am on the following Fridays: 7/17, 8/21, 9/18, 10/16, 11/20 - (CLASSES ARE FULL)
Tours: NEXT TOUR COMING UP: 8/25! Tours are always a good time and we always learn a lot too! Educational tours are centered on environmental stewardship and the pure standards we have set for our farm. We walk the entire farm and learn about biodiversity, microbiology, the benefits of no-till and our other sustainable farming methods. We talk about energy, nutritional density of our food and we even tour the wash-rooms, the nurseries, our blacksmith shop, our storage facilities and more.
Tours start at 9am on the following Tuesdays: 8/25 (OPEN) , 9/29 (OPEN).
We would like to offer more classes, specifically on food preparation etc. If you are an individual that would be interested in using our facilities to host a class we would love to encourage this. Please reach out to us with your ideas. _________________________________
VOLUNTEERS!
This is Anna. Anna is a special kind of human. She is the kind of human that restores your hope in humanity! Anna wants to serve and she doesn't care how or where, as long as it is making an impact!
Whether she is getting her hands dirty in the soil, stands all day packing bags, helps out at the CSA pickup or she is serving on Ahavah Community Initiative's board or drawing up artwork as an inspirational and highly talented artist, Anna does it all!
You truly are a wonderful part of our farming community, our greater "healthy lifestyle" community that is in and around Colorado Springs and our faRmily. We are all very grateful for you Anna! Thank you so much!
Want to get involved? E-mail us to let us know. We are always looking for volunteers and we would love for you to join the party!
AHAVAH COMMUNITY INITIATIVE
This week we raised another $216!! Thank you so much everyone for leaving your change, bringing your bucks and supporting your community! Help create access to the purest food on the planet and DONATE TODAY! We truly believe that Ahavah Community Initiative (501C3) is one of the best ways to make a direct impact on YOUR community. Our mission is simple and the finances are completely transparent. 100% of your donations go straight to supporting our mission to "connect under-served people to locally-farmed, regeneratively-grown produce..." etc. Our board is 100% volunteer and there is no paid staff. Our meetings are public and our minutes are available at request.
Please consider a tax deductible donation to ACI by clicking here and please consider making it a monthly donation by clicking the box:
Donate Now _________________________________
FALL DONATED SHARE APPLICATION
ACI is donating up to 20 CSA shares for the Fall of 2020 to families in need.
If you or someone you know is struggling to feed their families pure, unadulterated local organic food but are struggling to afford it, please apply or share the application today!
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DID YOU KNOW?
One of the benefits of being a CSA member is knowing that your crops are freshly picked and should last a considerably longer time than produce purchased at the store. Not only does your support of our local farm help out with reducing your food miles and the environmental impact of our food-system logistics, it serves a very direct and real purpose for you, the member. Every bit of your CSA share (with a few storage exceptions) are harvested fresh. This means that the produce, if cared for properly, should retain it's flavor and most-importantly, it's nutrients for a long time. Lettuce and greens should last at least 2 weeks in your refrigerator, and microgreens at least a week. Carrots and root vegetables should be lasting for months without any problems and cabbages too! So how should we store our vegetables? That is a great question, and I don't want to simply reinvent the wheel, so if you want a great go-bye guide on how to store your veggies properly, click here. The link leads to a PDF guide that you can print out and it breaks down nearly every crop.
Here are the most common mistakes people make when storing their veggies:
1. They stick the whole CSA paper bag with all it's contents in the fridge without taking out any produce.
2. They stick the veggies on the shelf and not in a sealed container or at least in the crisper drawer.
3. They wash the veggies as soon as they get them, then allow them to sit in the fridge wet for days.
Here the the most common reasons for produce to go bad:
1. Dehydration. When plants go limp sitting on the shelf of your refrigerator it because the moisture got wicked away and collapse the cellular structure of the vegetable and causing it to rot.
2. Too much moisture induces rot and rapid biological and fungal growth.
3. Storing vegetables at the wrong temperature can reduce shelf life.
So, when people say to us "why does my ___ go bad after 3 days?" the answer isn't always an easy one to come by. We can't guarantee that our produce is completely bug-free or that it has the perfect shape or color or that it didn't get damaged in transport etc., but two things we absolutely and unequivocally guarantee are the following: 1. That our produce is the purest produce you will find - period. 2.That it is as fresh as absolutely possible (usually harvested within 1, 2 or 3 days). So, as long as we are all utilizing the correct food guide recommendations and caring for our produce appropriately, we can be assured that it will retain the nutrients and it's freshness for a considerably long time. ENJOY! _________________________________
CSA PICKUP DAYS AND TIMES
NOTATE TIMES: Times are subject to change.
(photo credit: Megiddeh Goldston)
THURSDAYS:
COS North / Monument @ Beasts and Brews (7 Spectrum Loop, Ste. 140)
12pm to 1pm (Drive Thru)
NOTE: Beasts and Brews IS OPEN for business! They are doing take out orders and still offering a special discount for CSA members. Inquire inside or call ahead to pick up lunch to go! Go to www.beastsandbrews.com to learn more.
Denver @ JCC (350 S. Dahlia St.):
2:30pm to 4pm (Drive thru)
FRIDAYS:
Colorado Springs @ Ranch Foods Direct (4635 Town Center Dr.):
1pm to 2:30pm (Drive Thru)
2:30pm to 6pm (Inside store)
NOTE: The Ranch Food Direct Store IS OPEN! Please go in and support your local food producers - bread and baked goods, meats and veggies and so many other local goods and necessities. They are stocked! Go to www.ranchfoodsdirect.com to learn more!
Peyton @ Ahavah Farm (7545 Log Rd.):
10am to 11am (Drive Thru)
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COMPOST
Be a part of our ZERO-WASTE mission here at Ahavah Farm and bring us your compost! PLEASE REMEMBER - NO PLASTIC BAGS. Want more information? CLICK HERE to learn about the program. Thank you everyone who has been bringing their compost! We are so excited that we can help on your mission to become Waste Free! __________________________________
BAGS! We need your bags!!!
Thank you to everyone who has brought us your bags - DON'T STOP!!! This is so wonderful and such a huge blessing! __________________________________
What to expect THIS week:
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
Medium = 7-9 items per week
Large = 10-12 items per week
Celeriac - The greens are very similar to celery and in many applications it can be used the same way: Soups and stews, saute's and casseroles and even juicing or eaten raw. The leaves can be dried or used in soups, but similar to celery leaves, they are bitter raw.
Turnips - Not the greatest crop of turnips we have ever seen. We had a lot of bug pressure, nevermind that the variety was not our favorite. This was a new variety that we were trying, and we won't ever again! Next week the hakurei's come back!
Baby Kohlrabi Greens - This is exciting! A new crop that we have never grown before. Similar to baby kale, we have no idea how this will turn out. Please send us feedback on this crop, I think it's going to be a replacement for the red russian kale as it has a longer shelf life.
Radish Microgreens - The spicy variety of microgreens that we will be offering this week, though they will only be for sale and won't be included as part of the CSA this week.
Cabbage Microgreens - The sweet variety of microgreens. Like the radish micros, they will only be for sale and won't be included as part of the CSA this week.
Tomatoes - Tons of tomatoes. Some minor grasshopper damage on some.
Basil - Remember to dry this if you don't use it! We give you a bunch too, so it's great for pesto!
Fennel - The fennel is here again this week and will be for a few more. The fronds on these are huge! If you haven't dried them, make sure you do! Sprinkle dried fennel on pizza or pasta and I bet you will love it!
Lettuce - Not much lettuce this week. It may all be for sale.
Potatoes - Baby potatoes! We are so excited about these as they were a test-run. We will be selling them as they are limited.
Squash - Squash is starting to come in, but as you saw above, we got hailed out yesterday so we aren't so sure about the yield.
Sunshoots - Our sunshoots have been on a roll for 4 straight weeks and the feedback is continuing to roll in about how much you all love these! We have had a few people say that once they got creative with them they fell in love with them. Here are a few great ideas for your sunshoots, the most nutritious thing we grow: https://www.martinsgardenacf.com/sunflower-shoots-recipes
Pea Shoots - We love these raw as an anytime snack. We also add them to soups. Like peas? You will love these.
Cabbage - The last of our cabbage is coming this week as we harvest the last of it. We planted more for the Fall. Because there won't be a lot we will be selling these.
Cucumbers - Not a ton of cucs this week as it is our first real harvest, and as I mentioned last week, it won't be a huge harvest. It will probably be large shares only at first.
Swiss Chard - Big beautiful chard. Some minor grasshopper damage, but waxy and beautiful none the less.
Kale - our favorite variety of kale is this blue curled kale. However, like a few other things on the farm, we are really struggling with bug pressure and you may find some problems. We do our best to remove any bad leaves when harvesting, but we aren't perfect. Hopefully we can get this under control quick or we will lose the whole crop!
Radishes - Really pretty and less-spicy radishes this week. Very buttery with a lighter bite and the greens are perfect!
Is that it? It's a lot, but I think so! I may be missing something...who knows, you might be surprised with something else too!
__________________________________ What to expect NEXT week:
The coming week's should continue to provide a bounty with loads of carrots, turnips, beets, tomatoes, squash and more. Cucumbers are coming in more and more and the green beans are right around the corner. Expect parsley next week too! That's it for this week! Love you to pieces! Yosef, Havah, Kids and Team The Camire Family
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