Elysian Fields Farm Community Supported Agriculture Wednesday June 12th, 2002 Week 7 First off I wanted to let share members know that this is a pretty light week as far as the shares go. Keeping in mind that the value and pounds allocated for each week is an average, comprised of lows (like this week) and highs (like a few of the past weeks and future weeks to come). Please scroll down and check out "What's Growin On?" for more details on what to expect next week and what is new on the farm. Flower share members should scroll down to the new column "Flower Report" to receive just that, a flower report. Thanks! What's New This Week!!! Produce Full Share Half Share Size in Share Farmer Market Value Size in Share Farmer Market Value Potatoes 4 lbs. $6.40 2 lbs. $3.20 Carrots 2 bunches $4.00 1 bunch $2.00 Garlic 2 heads $2.00 1 head $1.00 Scallions 1 bunch $1.50 1 bunch $1.50 Basil 1/4 lb. $1.50 1/8 lb. $1.00 Total   $15.40   $8.70 Recipes and Cooking Tips. Garlic Bread:     1 loaf French bread     1/2 c. softened butter     1 T chopped basil     3 T chopped garlic Blend together butter and herbs. Slice French bread lengthwise. Lay flat and spread butter mixture on each half. Broil at 400 degrees or 10-12 minutes. Potato and Scallion Latkes:     1 1/2 lb. potatoes     1 cup shredded green onions     2 t mustard seeds     1 t salt     2 eggs, lightly beaten     2 T all purpose flour     2-3 t peanut oil Coarsely grate potatoes, squeeze out as much liquid as possible, and place in large bowl. Stir in scallions, mustard seed and salt. Stir in eggs and flour until evenly distributed. Heat a little of the oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Drop 3 separate tablespoons of potato mixture and flatten each with spatula to form small pancakes about 4 inches across. Fry each side about 2-3 minutes until golden. Drain on paper towels; keep warm. Potato Salad:     1/4 t salt     1 clove garlic halved     2 T white wine vinegar     1 t Dijon mustard     1/2 t sugar     1/2 cup plain yogurt     6 scallions, finely sliced     6 T chopped fresh basil     1 1/2 lb. new potatoes, steamed & new potatoes     1/2 cup chopped celery     freshly ground pepper Sprinkle salt in salad bowl, rub garlic around bowl; discard garlic. Add vinegar, mustard, sugar, yogurt, and scallions. Mix until combined. Gently mix potatoes, celery and pepper to taste. What's growin' on? So, although this week is pretty light, members can look forward to next week being fairly bountiful. As many of you are anticipating the yummy summer crops to come, you can be hopeful that they will arrive next week. Summer squash, cucumbers and beans will all be included in the shares next week. A slow start on irrigating these crops this spring has led to a slow arrival of the summer crops. I have been transferring the growing operation to another field on the new property starting with the summer crops. The pump and irrigation equipment has been at the old field to water the strawberries and spring crops. With the move of the irrigation system, the summer crops have finally jumped, and although nearly ready for shares this week, will definitely be included in next weeks shares. Another exciting arrival that members can look forward to next week is blueberries!!! The early variety is starting to come on, a few berries at a time. I anticipate the first picking to be on Tuesday for shares on Wednesday. The first picking is always the lightest, as well as the most tart. Don't get me wrong though, the early variety is very tasty and plentiful, the berries just get better and better as the season goes on. I will be notifying share members via the newsletter when the berries will be available or the pick your own option. It may still be a few weeks until they are bountiful enough....stay tuned! I have just mailed out the farms fall seed order. I have included a variety of new items for the fall harvest in addition to those that have been available this spring. The farm will start seeding plants in trays to be transplanted into the field the first of July. Direct Seeded fall crops will want to go into the ground around the first of August. I look forward to the fall season, although it seems so far away still yet, mainly because you get to enjoy the late summer harvests along side the all harvest. The Flower Report! So as members can see I have added a new weekly section to the newsletter to better inform flower option members of the ins and outs of flowers! First off I would like to apologize to flower members for not commenting in last weeks newsletter about the fact that flowers would not be given out that week. I will do so from now on in this section. Once again, flower will not be given this week to flower option members. I hope you all remember that the flower option is comprised of a 10-15 week delivery of flowers out of the 25 week season. This means that for at least 10 weeks out of the season that you receive your veggies, you will not receive flowers. Out of the seven weeks thus far (this week included) members have received 5 deliveries of flowers. You can count on 5-10 more deliveries (most likely 10) to come through out the season. I have been considering a half and full flower option for next year so that those who would like to receive flowers each week can do so. The flowers that you can expect to see delivered shortly are Gladiola's, Sunflowers and Zinnias. A few other bulbs you can expect to see towards the end of the summer are Dahlia’s and Tuberose. The farm is also in the process of getting together the flower fall seed order, which I hope to send out within the next week. The farm needs to start seeding transplanted flowers in trays in the middle of July to be placed in the ground by Mid-September. The flowers are not actually harvested this year, but are rather being prepared now or next springs harvest. Certain Biennials and Perennial flowers need a certain amount of cold time in order to induce blooms. Some of these flowers are Sweet William, Delphinium, Foxgloves and Snapdragons. The farm is also ordering seeds for the fall direct seeded flowers like Larkspur, Batchelor Buttons, Saponaria and Agrostemma. Although we have just seen these flowers harvested, the need to be seeded starting in late September or spring bloom. As you can see, there will be a lot of new editions to the flower share option next year. In addition to those mentioned earlier, the farm will also try Campanula (Bellflower), Lisianthus, and many more! Let me know if you have a favorite flower you would like to see the farm grow. Thanks and enjoy your week. Please send any and all feedback to effarm@earthlink.net or 732-8980. P.S.-The garlic is an heirloom variety called New York White. The potatoes are Corola (gold), Rosa Gold (red) and Caribe (purple). Keep the skins on to eat no matter how you cook, they have the most nutrients not to mention color.

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