Hi all,

Apparently last week’s fruit was gala and regular macintosh apples.
Did anyone notice?  My pallet couldn’t distinguish, but Ginger, our
true fruit connoisseur, explained that Macintoshes are a more tart
than Britemac’s and therefore better for baking.   All I know is that
they all taste good.  Anyway, this weeks fruit share will be gala and
britemac’s.  I’ve got one lone Macintosh leftover from last week so
I’m planning to set up a blind taste test this afternoon.  Macoons
will be ready (weather permitting) next week.

The cooler air and rain is making John down right cheerful.  Imagine
that.  A happy farmer.  Almost a oxymoron. The vegetable share this
week will be: Summer squash, beans, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant,
shallots, white potatoes, radishes, celery, choice of arugula, tatsoi,
or other mustard greens and choice of an herb.    See his farm update
below.

Also, don’t forget to mark you calendars to visit our farms on Sunday,
October 10th (Columbus Day weekend).  Both Treelicious and Starbrite
Farms are hosting farm visits that day.  John says the two farms are
about 1/2 hour away from each other, so one could easily stop by both
and make quite a day of it.  More details to follow soon.

No Havenwood Farm delivery today.  I’ve got to remember to send in my
order form for September and October.   I remind you all and then
forget myself.  Ah well.

Best,
Enid

*********************************************************************************
Starbrite Farm Update #16

Hello Folks,

We had some light rain and drizzle here at the farm this past Sunday.
I don’t think it amounted to even a ¼ inch of precipitation. It will
help to germinate some of the recently planted seeds and will also
help the lettuce and some other newly transplanted broccoli and
kohlrabi starts. It really only wet the top 3 or 4 inches of soil and
was a lot less than what I had hoped for and what we really need.  I
guess we’ll be moving the sprinklers around a lot in the days to come
since currently there is no rain in the forecast for the next 10 days.

We will be sending celery in the shares this week.  This has once
again been a disappointing crop for us- growing slowly and never
really achieving good size.  I have dreams  of someday soon gaining
access to some of the black dirt or muck soils that we have nearby; I
am told that celery grows beautifully in this ground as do many crops.
It is rather unfortunate that these fields are used largely for sod
production and an inch or two of this rich soil is removed with each
harvest. The celery will be stronger in flavor that what you are used
to from the grocers, with only a few of the inner stalks being mild
and tender enough to be used in salads. The outer stalks are best used
cooked in soups or stir fries.

The tomato production has slowed way down, with mostly plum tomatoes
and heirlooms left with green fruit and a healthy plant. Despite the
dry weather and my efforts to control the blight, disease has once
again taken a heavy toll on the crop. We should still have some
tomatoes in the shares for the next few weeks, just not the large
quantities you have seen over the past 3 weeks.  The third planting of
summer squash is coming on strong despite grazing damage from the
deer.  I expect sufficient quantities for all groups this week and
larger amounts per share next week.  We are back in the bean business
as well, with green and wax beans in small quantities this week and
larger amounts over the next several weeks. We also have another
planting of edamame and some casoulet beans that will be ready in
about 3 weeks. The lettuce is beginning to grow nicely in the cooler
temperatures and we should see it in the shares again soon.

The share for this week will be: Summer squash, beans, tomatoes,
peppers, eggplant, shallots, white potatoes, radishes, celery, choice
of arugula, tatsoi, or other mustard greens and choice of an herb.

Enjoy!
Farmer John