CSA SPRING SHARE WEEK #6

We have started harvesting zucchini!! The days are getting longer, the nights a bit warmer...Summer must be coming!

NOTES ON STORING THE HARVEST Please check out our Vegetable & Fruit page on the website to find tips on maximizing the life of your veggies. We envisage that many of the vegetables you are receiving this week will last for two weeks with careful attention to storing upon arrival. Although we do wash all the greens after harvest, we are washing to take the heat out of the plants and wash away some surface dirt, not to prepare them for consumption. We also spray a seaweed/herb brew about every ten days. While this will not harm you, it does have a taste. We do suggest washing your produce prior to eating.

WHAT’S IN THE BOX The following are the items harvested this week. Items and quantities in your box may vary depending on your harvest day and the total harvest of each crop. The boxes are completely governed by what is ripe and ready for harvest and how much of it there is. We endeavor to divide the harvest fairly.

1/4 share: 5-7 items 1/2 share: 8-10 items Full Share: 10-12 items

Baby Carrots Beetroot Broccoli Coriander Fennel Lettuce Radishes English Spinach Turnips

Extras Artichokes Broad Beans Cabbage Green Garlic Radishes Spring Onions Sugar Snap Peas Snow Peas Summer Squash Zucchini

NOTES ON WHAT IS GROWING

We have started harvesting Zucchini! We are growing four varieties of Zucchini and Summer Squash and will rotate these through the boxes. The harvest for the first few weeks is light and then the plants really get going. We have written down who received Zucchini this week and will ensure what we have gets rotated. We originally planted 200 feet of zucchini but when it started to get attached by the red legged earth mite, we added another 100 feet. We are thankful we did as that late added row is the strongest in this planting!

We have also started harvesting our second broccoli planting. Spring is a hard time of year to grow the Brassica family as there are two different moths which both lay their eggs on the brassicas. Do keep a look out for caterpillars. We have also had quite a dry Spring and the broccoli heads are not as big as they were last year because of this.

The boxes have been very full these past weeks with surplus greens and extras. We are thrilled that so many of the crops we have sown are doing well and producing in abundance. The quarter share has 5-7 items, the half 8-10 and the full 10-12. This week the full share boxes have 17 items! We hope that you are enjoying the extra produce. If it is too much, please enjoy gifting it to friends. The surplus may reduce over the next few weeks.

The broad bean crop is coming to an end as are the artichokes. The basil is growing strong though and before we know it, there will be a glut of zucchini. The eggplants and capsicums are in the ground protected from wind and cool nights with row covers. The cucumber plants are flowering, the root crops bulking up and next week there may be shelling peas! We have just started harvesting our first cabbage crop and the cauliflower and Romanesco broccoli are growing strong.

For those whom pay monthly, we are going to try and set up an automated reminder that is sent on the 25th. This was a suggestion from one of our interns as we are always telling them how time poor we are. It would save us alot of time if the monthly payments were paid by the first. Hopefully the reminder will help in this regard.

RECIPE SUGGESTIONS Fennel and Radish Salad Spring Lentil, Quinoa, Baby Carrot, Spring Peas and Feta Salad Beetroot, Feta and Almond Salad Cabbage Stir Fry Beetroot and Cream Cheese Dip You can search our recipes by looking for the key ingredients on our website recipe page.

Please note - Photo is a randomly selected full share box.