CSA Week 2
~ Week B Half Share members + Full Share members ~
Solstice Blessing
By Monica Ong
Last night Brian & I finished planting winter squash as sunlight waned; the bright orb tucking itself behind the oak trees that line the orchard. For the first time this season, we are leasing an additional field from our neighbors for storage crops. We have planted thousands of winter squash, leeks, shallots, onions, & garlic. We are both enamored with storage crops, moreso with each season. There is a sense of magic that I feel while preparing a butternut squash in January, while snow dusts us. So we place our hope in the roots of the alium & yellow flowers of the cucurbit. A hope that the future harvests will carry us all through & beyond the winter solstice.
Sunday night we relished in the first strawberries of the season with friends we love deeply. Their sweet ripening in stride with the approaching solstice & our celebration of geminis (we cherish many, including myself hehe). At sundown the clouds, the sparkling palette called us out to the field that has been a host to lightning bugs lately. The guidance of a glimmering, shimmering, lightbulb…… in flight. A gift! As their habitat dwindles with irresponsible development, I feel an additional layer of gratitude for their presence & a deepening responsibility to coexist within their cycles, their needs.
This all reminds me of The Gift of Strawberries chapter of Braiding Sweetgrass. A glimpse….
Strawberries first shaped my view of a world full of gifts simply scattered at your feet. A gift comes to you through no action of your own, free, having moved toward you without your beckoning. It is not a reward; you cannot earn it, or call it to you, or even deserve it. And yet it appears. Your only role is to be open-eyed and present. Gifts exist in a realm of humility and mystery — as with random acts of kindness, we do not known their source.
This earth. These cycles. Tending & being tended by. We are so lucky, despite it all.
Details & Reminders….
“B Week” Half Shares begin Tuesday, June 18 or Wednesday, June 19. As a half share member, you will pick up once every other week. If you have not recieved an email from us confirming you as “A Week” or “B Week” please reach out so that we are all on the same page :)
As a full share member, you will pick up weekly.
Please arrive to your selected pickup location between 4:30 and 6:30 with a bag or two!
On Farm pickup address: 12696 7 Mile Rd NE, Belding 48809
Grand Rapids pickup address: 1147 Fulton St E, GR
When you ordered a CSA, you selected a pickup option for the season. Please honor your pickup selection unless you make special arrangements with us to pick up at a different time or location. Any time produce leaves our cooler and heads to market for pickup, it loses a degree of freshness; if you don’t pick up your share, those veggies are at risk of being added to our compost pile!
If you miss a pickup, call (616-402-7315) or email us (stillwindfarm@proton.me) to make arrangements within the week and we can bring your share to the next Friday or Saturday farmers market.
Our CSA point of sale service, GrownBy, is new to us this year. We are still learning how to unlock all of its potential, but hopefully it’ll be a useful way of sending reminders, tracking orders, and taking diverse forms of payment. You probably received an invitation from GrownBy in the last month or two, thanks for accepting this and getting plugged in for the season. We’re not so good at computers but we’re trying our best to be secure with our (and your) data, which is why we are slowly moving away from Square.
CSA Share Week 2….
This is a list of what we predict will be harvested for your shares. Subject to small changes.
~ Lettuce Heads
~ Garlic Scapes
~ Spicy Mix
~ Carrots or Broccolini
~ Dill or Basil
~ Radishes
~ Kohlrabi
Recipe Ideas….
~ We grilled with olive oil, salt, pepper, smoked paprika, red pepper flakes, cumin, fresh herbs. I’ve linked a couple recipe options!
Radishes with Garlic Scape Herb Butter
~ The recipe linked is from Dishing Up The Dirt, a resource that I loooovvvveeeeee. All recipes are seasonally based, written by a farmer in Oregon (similar-ish growing zone), & easily adaptable!
Quiche with Sausage & Mustard Greens
~ This would be amazing with the spicy mix y’all are going to be bringing home! The spicy mix is a combination of mustard greens, mizuna, & arugula.
~ Kohlrabi is a funky cutie that I am obsessed with. After peeling the outer layer you will find a juicy, flavorful, apple-esque treat! Amazing when made into fritters, shaved into a slaw, pickled, dipped in hummus……..
As always, please feel free to contact us with any questions or comments.
xoxo,
Mik
