AVF newsblog May 26, 2016

We just finished our first harvests and packings!

 Standing in the cooler with packed boxes.

 

 Cheerful box blessings

Counting peas.  Please don't cook these peas, they taste much better raw.  The farm crew is trying to only pick the big ones right after they plump out and have the maximum sugar content.

 Classic box 1

 Family box 1

Classic box 2

Family box 2

Notice every box isn't the same.  Sometimes, especially early in the season, we'll have some of a vegetable but not enough for every box.  This year if we have enough for half the boxes we'll include it and then the next time the other half will get it.  This week only the coastsiders received radishes, so the next radish crop will go to the subscribers "over the hill" as people in Half Moon Bay refer to the valley.  The valley subscribers this week though did get some squash instead.

Asha asked "what is this???" holding a star zucchini squash. We'll be planting more of these.  Most people think they taste better and the plants grow lower to the ground and so don't get blown away in the strong coastal winds.

Next week preview
Next week we'll probably be harvesting:  Lettuce, Swiss Chard, Kale, Peas, Squash
and we might harvest, depending on sunlight:  beets, carrots, kohlrabi, wild Indian spinach

Thanks for all the nice comments many of you have sent. We especially liked this one:

"We just picked up our first box, and happened to meet the farmer himself at the East West Bookstore. I think you and he both would have been amused to see us when we got home. My two little boys promptly starting eating everything straight from the box. Carrots, peas, and lettuce down the hatch, dirt and all. They were delighted with it all. Not their usual reaction to vegetables! They did eventually decide that chard, beets, and squash probably ought to be cooked first, which is good because I am looking forward to using those for dinner! Thanks again for sharing your magnificent produce with us." ~ Holly B., Santa Clara



Happy Harvests,
AVF Team




Photo Gallery

Farm interns Claudia and Andrew.  Andrew just came to spend a month with us from Canada.  He's looking to learn all about organic farming/

 Greg, the farm's first coastside subscriber, is the first one to pick up his box at the farm.

Bird troubles follow up.  The last protective measure worked and kept our very intelligent farm birds away from the pumpkin seeds.  I did have to add wood to the outside of the sheets as the first time the sheets went up the bird pecked several small holes through it.  Luckily not big enough to get through.  But without the wood outside I'm sure the bird would have gotten through.  Next year we'll need to find a more elegant solution.

Final score:  Farmer 1, Bird 6