CANNING FARM UPDATE

Canning Farm is preparing to sell hormone and antibiotic-free USDA certified, grain fed beef: they are currently working on a brochure that will be delivered in your shares in the near future. We will post the brochure on the website too.

This Week’s News from the Farm

Despite the heat and humidity, a lot has been accomplished at Olin-Fox Farms.   Thanks to the help of Stevie Jett, we are sprucing up the farm, cleaning out the sheds, and unearthing many forgotten treasures.  Now that Stevie has done his organizing/cleaning magic, we are also discovering that we have some excellent storage space for pots, etc.

Right on schedule, the first Sungold tomatoes of the season were ready on July 3rd.  John says he always enjoys the first ones about July 4th.  Normally, they are the first tomatoes to come in, but this year the Beefsteak and Brandywine Heirlooms won the race.  A bit later on this summer, we are looking forward to the harvest of other delicious varieties, such as Green Grape, Green Zebra, Cherokee Purple, and German Stripe.

With all the garlic pulled at Olin-Fox Farms, Holly Hills Organic Farm, and Grateful House Farm, preparations are being made for more planting.  The recently harvested garlic beds have been mulched with leaves and we have this year’s garlic crop in rotation:  drying with the stalks for one week, trimming the stalks and drying another week, then cleaning the outer layers to reveal the beautiful white garlic for us all to enjoy.  Roasted garlic on buttered toast is an old-time English teatime staple you might like to try.  Delicately mild, sweet and savory!

Due to this bountiful Season, we are pleased to announce that we will continue to accept new members throughout the summer.  If your friends and neighbors are looking with longing at your weekly share, they too can participate on a pro-rated basis.  Interested parties can contact us by email (info@olinfoxfarms.com), by phone (804-453-4125) us, or by looking on our website for the membership forms.

And, although the Alexandria distribution points are sold out for the Summer Season, you can still have your name added to waiting list for the 2007 program.

It's hard to believe, but we are already planning for the 2007 CSA and making decisions about what crops we’ll grow.  By the middle of this Summer Program, we ought to be sending information out to members about the 2007 CSA.

This week, the Farm Bureau News has an article about Community Supported Agriculture.  The featured CSA is “Amy's Garden” of New Kent operated by Amy Hicks who consulted with our own John

Weekly Weeder, July 12, 2006 Page 2

Cooper when she was forming her CSA.  It’s a promising trend to watch when the Farm Bureau finds the CSA movement/organic farming of interest. 

Editor’s Note:  I’m off to Sweden for 10 days, to honor the 89^th birthday of my long-time friend, Bo Jarbörg, Scandinavia’s most renowned senior journalist, (the equivalent of our Walter Cronkite) staying at the family’s seaside summer home on the pink-hued granite island of Tjörn, north of Gothenburg (= upper 70s & low humidity with short nights) .  I’ll try to return with some typical Swedish recipes to share.  Please submit some of your own favorites for next two newsletters while I am away.

Crop Report

We are heavy into the summer season, with many vegetable favorites producing in quantities.  Tomatoes, melons, cucumbers, peppers, and beets are all bountiful. Corn should be distributed next week. 

In Your Produce Basket This Week

Yellow Squash, Cucumbers, Sweet Pepper, Brandy & Beefsteak Heirloom Tomatoes, Okra, Red Grape/Sungold Mix, Cantaloupe, Black Beauty Eggplant, Garlic, Basil