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

            Independence Day on Olin-Fox Farm:  The humid heat of this sultry summer day, with its sweltering steamy haze, made the torpid air feel almost thick enough to lean on for support. After the third shower of the day and as many changes of clothing, all a sweating body really wants to do is to seek some respite haven, anywhere cooler, perhaps just the refuge of deep shade, in hopes of finding a hint of refreshing breeze, short of retreating into the air conditioned haven indoors for the remainder of the afternoon.  Other than schedule-driven humans, few creatures are out and about.  A few plump, green, bristle-crowed caterpillars still mulch drowsily on the tomatoes plants until sharp-eyed Farmer John making his inspection rounds comes along to summarily pluck them off and send them suddenly airborne, elsewhere.  I wonder: do larval  pupae, dozing inside the alchemical chrysalis during the  transformative process of metamorphosis from husky gravity-grounded crawling grazers into diaphanous-winged, nectar-sipping butterflies,  vaguely dream of this precipitous flight which somehow prefigures what destiny has in store for them, should they survived that long?  Reminiscent of a Louisiana bayous or subtropical jungle,  tangled thickets of wild vines envelope low-growing shrubs and festoon the trees over head, forming an almost impenetrable mass, encroaching along the edges of meadow lawn and cultivated land,  effectively blocking any hint of a breeze that might otherwise move in from across the lake.  Thinning some of the undergrowth may allow the bay breeze to waft through, although projects like this must wait until late fall (if only to avoid a heat stroke) when the extra time and energy can be found to expend on such practical frills.

Then, with the evening, came the flashing pyrotechnic display and bumptious rumblings of a short-lived thunderstorm, echoing holiday fireworks.  The quenching rain brought such welcome relief from the oppressive steam bath, and a dramatic drop in the temperature, ushered in by sweet stirring air.

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Looking ahead to another bountiful season, we are pleased to welcome both new and returning members to Olin-Fox Farms Summer CSA Program as we take the opportunity to share some CSA policies:  if you find that you cannot pick up on your scheduled day or make arrangements for someone else to do so, please contact us to reschedule at least 48 hours prior to your usual pick up day.  We are unable to hold your shares overnight.  For farm pick ups are available after 1 p.m. on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays only.  In the event of heavy rain and severe weather conditions, farm pick ups will begin after 2 p.m.  If it happens to be raining when you arrive for your farm pick up, we’ll gladly pack up your share and bring it to your car, if you wish.

Weekly Weeder, July 5, 2006 Page 2

Our successful Spring Program concluded with some fine summer crops, preparing us for garlic, tomatoes, potatoes, cucumbers, with the likes of sweet corn and melons soon to follow.  After harvesting the garlic crop this past week, it will take two weeks to cure on screens before the stems are trimmed off and the dirty outer sheathing is removed so it is ready to be passed along to you.

 In Your Produce Basket This Week

Bell peppers, cucumbers, eggplant, Heirloom Beefsteak tomatoes, yellow squash, beets, basil, Russian red kale, and Red Grape tomatoes.