Hello Everyone,

We had a great start to the season, with plenty of beautiful greens,
and unusually bountiful shares. As we head into mid-summer greens
generally become more scarce, and in this accelerated season we have
arrived at this point a little sooner than normal.

All of the various mustards have bolted to seed and the kale is
looking quite sad due to the heat and dry weather. At this point only
the Swiss chard remains viable and we have been cutting it quite
heavily during the past 2 weeks. I believe we can harvest sufficient
quantities for distribution this week, but then we will need to let it
rest and regenerate for a bit.   I have been preparing ground to plant
more spinach and mustard greens and I will be seeding these crops as
soon as the weather allows. These greens should become available again
in early September.

Up to this point we have provided you with chiefly “normal” vegetables
with which most members are familiar and know how to use. This week
may be the week that we cause some members to search their cookbooks
and the internet for ways to use some less common vegetables;
specifically radicchio and fennel. Even though I planted over a
thousand radicchio plants many have bolted and quite a few have been
destroyed by the groundhogs.  We may need to offer dandelion greens as
a choice with the radicchio.

This time last year we were swimming in green beans; this season
however both the abundance and quality of the crop has been reduced by
the heat and dryness. The plants are looking better now that they have
gotten some rain and I hope that they will begin to flower again and
produce a second picking.  We also have an heirloom pole bean called
the rattlesnake bean that looks good and should start producing in
about 3 weeks. I am in the process of planting more bush beans for
September harvest.

The tomato crop is looking good so far, and we may have sufficient
quantities to ship out by next week, if not, certainly in 2 weeks.
Eggplant and peppers should also become available in the next couple
of weeks. We will be beginning to harvest potatoes this week, even
though the earliest varieties have not completely died back. This
means that they are “new” potatoes and as such have thin skins that
are easily damaged in harvesting and washing. It will be best to use
them fairly quickly, as they probably won’t keep well.

The share for this week will be Lettuce ( various types), red
potatoes, cauliflower, summer squash, carrots, red torpedo onions,
fennel, radicchio or dandelion greens, Swiss chard, string beans
(either green or wax), and choice of an herb.

Enjoy!
Farmer John

Hi Folks,

I am happy to report that the farm received nearly 2 inches of rain
this past Friday night into Saturday morning. This was much more than
expected and a bit more than was needed, but nevertheless a huge
relief, both to my worried mind and my drought stressed plants. We
were occupying too much time moving the sprinklers around and I was
unable to begin preparing ground for the fall planting which will
begin soon.  When the ground gets dry it shrinks and tightens, making
plowing difficult and dusty.  I will have to wait a day or two for the
soil to dry a bit, but soon I will be able to get some seeds in the
ground.

I picked and ate the first few tomatoes over the weekend. The first
few always end up on my plate, since there aren’t enough to distribute
or even to take to market. And what a delight they are- acidic and
sweet, unlike anything available from far away places, out of season.
The tomato crop looks good so far and I anticipate having sufficient
quantities to begin distributing in 2-3 weeks.  Peppers and eggplant
are on the horizon as well.  The pea harvest is essentially done but
we are still picking a few shell peas and some snow peas which were
planted late. Their replacement in the legume category-the string
beans are just beginning to fill out. The plants have been looking
quite sad this past week or too, a result of the dry conditions and
also the damage caused by the bean beetle. It is necessary to tolerate
some defoliation as we wait for the parasitic wasp to do its job.

While we are on the subject, 2 weeks ago in my update I discussed the
Mexican bean beetle and the biologic control program run by the NJDA.
I like to try to inject some humor into my writings and I jokingly
referred to these insects as “undocumented aliens”.  I received a
message from one of the members saying that she found this offensive.
I apologize if any one else did not find this amusing. I did not mean
to compare undocumented immigrant to bugs, but since in recent days
some politicians have done just that, I suppose that my remark could
have been easily misunderstood.

I have tremendous respect for the hard work done by the immigrant
population, in agriculture and in other areas. I have seen the poverty
that exists in Central America and I have sympathy for the risks that
are taken and the sacrifices made by these folks in order to provide a
better life for their families. The United Farmworkers Union is
currently promoting a program they call “Take our Jobs”, encouraging
average Americans to spend a day doing farm work, in an attempt to
promulgate greater respect for these workers and the arduous tasks
they perform. I guess in some way we are unofficially participating in
this program with the volunteer work days we have been hosting. I wish
to thank those members who came out this past Sunday to help with the
garlic harvest. We were able to bring in about a third of the crop.

We have needed to harvest large quantities of lettuce in the past few
weeks in order to not lose them to bolting in the scorching heat. Some
of these varieties do not hold well and the coolers are getting quite
full. We will be sending 2 different types of lettuce in the shares
this week. Hopefully you won’t mind eating lots of salad this week. We
also had to harvest the Napa or Chinese cabbage this past week, so
that will be in the share.  While I planted sufficient quantities for
all the members and to have for market, a substantial number were lost
to either rot or bolting, so we may need to substitute regular green
cabbage if we run short.

The share for this week will be: Romaine Lettuce, green leaf lettuce,
napa cabbage, choice of kale or Swiss chard, elephant garlic, carrots,
summer squash, cucumbers, peas and or green beans and choice of an
herb.

Enjoy!

Farmer John

Hello Folks, I hope everyone had a pleasant Fourth of July weekend. We
don’t get to take much of a break for the holiday here at the farm.
Today, Monday was a regular workday and I spent most of yesterday on a
marathon mission to finish planting the winter squash
I confess that I did catch some blues music and fireworks (ooh-ahh) in
the nearby town of Sparta. The lack of rain in the last 2 weeks has us
moving the irrigation equipment around from field to field, a task
that interferes with our other pressing duties. Oh yes, and it’s been
really hot, in case you hadn’t noticed. Many things are burning up in
the fields, especially my workers and I.  It looks like it will cool
down a bit by the end of the week and we have a couple of chances of
thunderstorms to bring some much needed precipitation.
I’m all for Alliums. I rarely cook a dish that doesn’t start with
onions, garlic or some member of this tasty family. This is why I try
to include some type of Allium in each delivery. I apologize for the
absence of the pearl onions that were promised in last weeks share. I
know we planted them, but we just couldn’t seem to find them in the
field.
Everything gets name stakes as we plant but sometimes they get lost
and at this point it’s hard to distinguish the cippolini onions and
shallots from pearl onions. No matter though, we have lots of large
onions that are ready earlier than expected, so last weeks delivery
should be the only one of the season absent of Alliums.
The cucumbers have started producing heavily and a few groups
received some last week. If you didn’t, you are likely to get some
this week.  The pea season has gone by in a flash owing to all the
heat. We have some sugar snaps left and also a meager harvest of Fava
beans, which we will offer as a choice this week.  The bean crop is
coming on strong and will be ready to fill in as the legume family
member in 2 weeks, if not sooner.
The share for this week will be: Lettuce (either Boston or Oak
leaf)  broccoli, beets(either purple or Chioggia, also known as Candy
cane), kohlrabi, sweet onions, summer squash, cucumbers, Swiss chard,
choice of sugar snap peas or Fava beans and choice of an herb (basil
or parsley)   Enjoy!    Farmer John

ree-licious Orchards is bringing down our first fruit share delivery (2 pounds of sweet cherries).  The following few weeks will be sugar and shiro plums (about 3 pounds) and then we will move on to the bigger (10 pound) weekly shares with peaches and nectarines, apples and pears.

The vegetable share for this week will be: Green leaf lettuce, pearl onions, radishes, spinach bok choy, arugula, sugar snap peas, broccoli, summer squash, choice of escarole or endive, and choice of an herb.

Best,
Enid

****************************************************
Starbrite Farm Update #5.

Hello Everyone,

Well, it was a scorcher of a week!  It’s summertime in New Jersey just
like I remember it-hot and humid. While the hot warm weather crops
such as the tomatoes and peppers have been in their glories, the cool
weather plants have been looking quite dejected- wilting and droopy.
Fortunately the heat wave is predicted to break and we will have some
milder temperatures by mid-week. There’s no rain in sight though, and
the ground is getting pretty dry. We are moving into the time of
summer when passing thunderstorms are our best chance of
precipitation. We find ourselves hoping for them, with the caveat that
they not be accompanied by high winds or hail.

We are in the weeds, as they say; only in this case it is meant both
literally and figuratively. We have been fighting to keep the grasses
from swallowing the potatoes and the leeks and pulling the pigweed out
of the carrot and beet crops. Once we begin deliveries and markets,
harvesting occupies so much of our time that it’s hard to keep up with
the maintenance.

The pea picking is especially labor intensive and for that reason I
wish to thank profusely the volunteers who came out on Sunday to help
with the pea harvest. They picked nearly 300 lbs. of sugar snap peas,
more than half what we will need for the week.

The Guatemala workers I have been waiting for finally had their
interview at the embassy this past week and were given visas. They
will arrive this Wednesday day night. Hallelujah! Help is on the way!

We were visited this week by a gentleman named Mark from the state
insect labs. He brought with him and released thousands of parasitic
wasps. Parasites you say?  Yes, but fortunately they only parasitize
the larva of the Mexican bean beetle. This undocumented alien was once
the scourge of bean growers throughout the state until this wonderful
biological control program was developed.  It’s a beautiful thing; one
less crop that has to be sprayed and it’s good to know something good
is being done with our tax dollars.

The share for this week will be: Green leaf lettuce, pearl onions,
radishes, spinach bok choy, arugula, sugar snap peas, broccoli, summer
squash, choice of escarole or endive, and choice of an herb.

Enjoy!
Farmer John

The vegetable share for this will be: Red leaf lettuce, scallions,
salad turnips, sugar snap peas, spinach, a mustard (tatsoi, broccoli
raab, green wave), choice of endive or escarole, broccoli (some
groups), summer squash (some groups) and choice of an herb (parsley,
cilantro, dill)

*****************************************************
Farm Update from Starbrite Farm

Hi Folks!

The first round of deliveries seems to have gone fairly well, from all
reports. There will generally be some glitches and confusion with the
first couple of deliveries, especially with new groups. Some lucky
groups got broccoli last week, an item that wasn’t on the list. Those
that did not, will receive it this week.

The earliest variety of broccoli we planted is producing a meager
harvest due to stress from temperature extremes soon after
transplanting. Stress in plants, it should be noted, is completely
unconnected to stress in humans, except as it relates to my stress
levels. Plants react to stress by flowering, which since broccoli is a
flower, should be good, but the flower forms when the plant is still
too small and hence produces a small bud. There are 4 other varieties
in the field for which I have good expectations (not great though-
sorry Charles).  We should have sufficient quantities for all groups
several times in the coming weeks.

We are also beginning to cut summer squash, though not in great
quantity, so we will begin a similar delivery rotation with this crop
until we have more in 2 weeks. Which leads me to the following
disclaimer: We reserve the right to omit or change any item on the
farm update list from your actual share for that week. We also reserve
the right to add a vegetable to your share which was not on the list.
All legal facetiousness aside the update list should be considered a
close approximation, my best guess, of what will be in the share. I
can’t be 100% accurate all the time.

We have at present, what I suppose should be called a good problem to
have- we have too much stuff (foodstuffs).  There is enough spinach
for this week and probably next week as well. It still looks beautiful
but it won’t hold as we head into some hot days this next week (and I
was trying so hard not to talk about the weather!). The problem is
that we don’t have the time to harvest it all, and don’t want to
overwhelm you, the members, with too many greens all at once.

The Swiss chard looks great, but will have to wait. The bok choy is
ready too, but next week will have to do.  All of the mustards-
tatsoi, broccoli raab, and green wave are bolting to flower and the
arugula is already too far gone to salvage anything from this
planting. We will be sending as much broccoli raab as we can as a
choice with the mustard greens this week. The flowers have been
damaged a bit by a new pest- the tarnished plant bug, but the leaf is
nice, and there’s never much of a bud with raab anyway. There will
also be Hakurei salad turnips in the share this week, a favorite among
the veterans and hopefully a new treat for the neophytes. They are
delicious eaten raw, sliced like a radish or grated in salads or can
be cooked.  The root is sweet and mild flavored and the leaf can also
be steamed or braised.

I apologize that there was so much soil on several items last week. We
had a torrential downpour last Sunday and it splashed a lot of soil
onto the leaves. We can’t practically wash the leafy greens like
lettuce and spinach, because if they remain too wet they rot quickly
in storage and transport. My crew compounded the problem a bit by not
removing enough of the lower, dirtier leaves, during harvest and so
soiled the other heads in the tub. We will try to do better!

Many thanks to the pea picking volunteers who came out to the farm to
lend a hand today. We had representatives from Metuchen, Jersey City,
Westfield and Staten Island. Together they picked about 120 lbs. of
peas.

The share for this will be: Red leaf lettuce, scallions, salad
turnips, sugar snap peas, spinach, a mustard (tatsoi, broccoli raab,
green wave), choice of endive or escarole, broccoli (some groups),
summer squash (some groups) and choice of an herb (parsley, cilantro,
dill)

Enjoy!
Farmer John

Hi all, this week is the first delivery of the season! Exciting!  Below is the letter from Farmer John

___________________________________________________________________
Hi Folks,

The week you have been waiting for has arrived, the first delivery.
We have lots of nice stuff in store for the beginning of the season.
The spinach looks beautiful as do the lettuces and the peas have been
flowering profusely.  We received a good slow rain just after my last
writing and a drenching thunderstorm on Sunday, so we are in good
shape in the moisture department.

We finished transplanting most of the warm weather crops this past
week, with just another 1000 or so tomatoes to put in this week. We
will also be planting out the melons this week.  The sweet potatoes
plants have taken root nicely and should start to grow rapidly in
another week. The stage is set for a great season, now all we have to
do is follow through- keep ahead of the weeds, get the tomatoes and
cucumbers tied and trellised, and get the harvesting done.

The biggest challenge I face right now is a shortage of labor. I have
5 field workers presently, but I have been planning and working at
bringing 7 more workers from Central America for the season. At least
some of these I expected to be here by now. I have experienced about
every bureaucratic delay imaginable this year, beginning with the
Dept. of Labor changing their address without notifying those who use
the program or posting it on their website. After a month of
correspondence with the Embassy in Guatemala I finally have
appointments for the interviews the workers need to get their visas,
on June 23. Hopefully the 3 workers from Guatemala will be here by
early July. The other 4 from Honduras are still waiting in
bureaucratic limbo for Immigration services to notify the Embassy
there. I don’t expect to see them until at least August! In the
meantime I will have to go in search of day laborers, which is not
really the best use of my time.

Any volunteer help with the harvest will be greatly appreciated.
Calling all pea pickers!

The share for this week will be: Spinach, lettuce (various types),
peas, garlic scapes, kale and radishes.

Enjoy!
Farmer John