Weekly Weeder

Olin-Fox Farms Volume No. 8 Issue No. 5 March 21, 2007

www.olinfoxfarms.com Spring Season Week 1

STANDARD REMINDER

Please be sure to wash your weekly share thoroughly before serving. To preserve freshness, it is NOT ‘table ready’ (i.e., pre-washed). We deliver your Olin-Fox Farms’ produce right from the fields to ensure highest quality.

The 6-Week Spring Program (with Mother Nature's cooperation),

please mark your calendars:

March 21-24; March 28-31; April 3-7; April 11-14; April 18-21; May 2-5

Please note, April 25-28 will be an off-week so we can do planting

for the Summer Program.

This Week's News From The Farms

After a long, hard winter, spring has finally arrived. The harsh weather not only forced us and the other farms in our CSA to postpone the last winter delivery, but it has also meant that the Spring Program has gotten off to a slow start. We will send out a reminder to all who have signed up for the Winter Program the week before May 9-11, which is normally an off-week for farm pickups and deliveries.

During the past week, Mother Nature graciously provided us with a boon window of very fine weather---nigh unto a two-day sneak peak preview of summer--- to get much of the Spring and Summer field work and planting done, as well as giving us the necessary time to improve our day-to-day operations. We look forward to providing you with a bountiful harvest for the 2007 seasons. Thank you for holding this vision with those of us on the land, for your sustaining belief in and continuing support of Community Supported Agriculture.

Yes, it's the vernal equinox, folks, that pivotal balance point in the annual solar cycle of equanimity between the light of day and the darkness of night, signaling the official beginning of Spring on March 21st, just as the autumnal equinox marks the coming of Fall. Scientists tell us that because the Earth's atmosphere refracts the sunlight, the day and night do not appear equal on these two days, even though they actually are. Now the days will be growing gradually longer as the nights become shorter, right up until mid-summer, on the solstice, the longest day of the year. We are definitely moving into the quarter of the year associated with the momentum of renewal and rebirth. Just because I can, I'm driving a stake into the ground today so I can mark the shadows at sunrise and sunset to determine the cardinal directions from the place where I live. It's nice, and somehow comforting, to know exactly where the center of your personal universe is, from the perspective of where you stand on hallowed land.

Crop Report

The weather has been extremely hard on the winter crops this year, as you might imagine. The mixed bag, back and forth, of heat, cold, rain, sleet and snow damaged many of the over wintering crops beyond recovery, particularly the greens, which are normally winter staples. Prior to the days of supermarkets, refrigeration, international markets and agro-industry, people's diets were based on what was available from local growers. This is something today's farmers still expect and accept. Farmers make plans, plant with loving care, and hope for the best; then, if bountiful Mother Nature happens not to be in favor of a particular planting time that year, you must simply re-plant (as many growers are doing now, replanting their kale, collards, and spinach). By participating in a CSA, one has the opportunity to learn about the local environment, the seasonal produce, and how the vagaries of the weather affect the crops.

On CSA member farms, some of the other crops are going into the ground at this time and getting

Weekly Weeder, March 21, 2007 Page 2

underway are salad mixes, radishes, potatoes, peas, beets, and onions. Some of the weather-ravaged

crops we still hope to recover are turnips, cabbage, lettuces, Russian Red kale, and Shitake mushrooms. As the ground warms, we can anticipate the arrival in the coming weeks of the first tender-crisp asparagus, crunchy lime-green sugar snap peas, vitamin-rich broccoli, and cauliflower. This is the begninning of the Spring Season, so the shares are on the light side, and as the season progresses and more produce is available, the shares will increase in quantity.

In Your Produce Basket This Week

Hakuri Turnips (very sweet) with Greens, Purple Top White Globe Turnip with Greens, Free-Range Eggs, Cilantro, Fingerling Sweet Potatoes.

Selection of spring produce: see your produce list at your distribution point.

Recipes

Editor's note: In the memoir, Time Beyond Time, which I co-

wrote in Somersetshire with the late English author, Hope Tod,

she describes preparing in her gypsy caravan home a delicious

crisp salad featuring thinly sliced sweet turnips. Here's a variation

for you to try:

Raw Turnip Salad

Raw turnips Lemon juice
Tart green apples Vegetable oil
Chopped fresh parsley Salt & pepper, to taste
Peel turnips and apple and then grate equal amounts of each. Mix lemon juice with oil to make a lemon vinaigrette (1 tablespoon oil to the juice of 1 lemon). Toss the grated turnips and apples with vinaigrette, to taste. Sprinkle with some parsley and season with salt and pepper. Chill.

Another nutritious option for your culinary enjoyment:

Turnip Slaw

1/2 cup mayonnaise 2 Tablespoons sour cream
1 teaspoon vinegar (preferably tarragon-flavored) 1/2 teaspoon prepared mustard
1/4 teaspoon sugar 1/8 teaspoon celery seed
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper Dash of salt
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh dill (or 1/4 teaspoon dried)
1 pound turnips, peeled and shredded (2 cups)
Stir together all ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well and refrigerate until needed.

Serves 2 to 3.

Newsletter and Recipes by Ethan Brent, Official Newsletter Focalizer

Bon Appetit!