Green Thumb Farm Huntington CSA

Happy Summer!

Our monthly CSA meeting is this Saturday, June 29th from 10:30am to noon (see #8 Events Listings for details). RSVP would be nice but we take all comers! 

THERE IS NO CSA PICKUP NEXT WEEK, THE WEEK OF THE 4TH OF JULY! Somehow, this is the first time we haven’t had a week without a CSA pickup in 16 years. There must have been a 4th of July on a Thursday at least once before but it’s possible that Farmer Bill delivered on Wednesday (like he does the week of Thanksgiving) back then. Hmmmm….we’ll see what happens in 7 years (or 8 with a leap year?) and maybe he’ll deliver on a Wednesday again! 

Anybody get out to our farm last weekend and pick some Strawberries? I’ll be collecting quotes, stories and photos so email them in and they’ll be in the email for July 11th.

We’re getting close…to our second 5 lb batch of Mushrooms to be able to start our next group of Mushroom Share folks! See #2 for details!

Request…please keep the Veg Info Sheets on TOP of the food and not on the table (especially if there’s water on the tables which there often is). They are getting waterlogged and being thrown out which is not so “green”. This is happening on a weekly basis and it’s something that’s never happened in the past 16 years. Go figure. Thanks! 

Any gardeners? You can order certified organic herb and vegetable plants for your garden from our farm by calling Green Thumb Farm at 631-726-1900, 7 days a week, from 9:30 to 4pm, place your order with a credit card, and your plants will be delivered to the CSA.

BJ’s has organic foodstuffs. If you’d like to check it out and you’re not a member, there’s a coupon on the sign-in desk to try it out that’s valid till July 14th. I’m a fan of their gas prices. Last time I was there it was $3.63 for regular!

This email includes…

1. We could sure use some more CSA members!
2. You can still get in on the Flower Shares, Herb Shares and Mushroom Shares!
3. News from the Farm
4. This week’s list (subject to change without notice…farming is like that!)
5. Save $100 on NOFA Summer Conference!
6. How to wash produce…
7. Local activism
8. Event Listings
9. What you actually got last week
10. And now for something completely different…



1. We could sure use some more CSA members!

If each of us could get one other person/family to join the CSA, our membership would go from the current 56 members to 110. If at least half of those folks would work at the CSA (more is always better), I bet we could finally have an Exchange Table again. That’s where we start with an entire CSA share on the table and CSA members can exchange one entire food item for another because they want more of something, or are allergic to something, or for whatever the reason. Believe me, once you try it, you’d like it.

However, we don’t have one because we barely have enough working CSA members to do the minimal amount of what needs to be done and as they say…many hands make light work!

Contact me if you need attachments of any CSA info to forward, any CSA brochures to distribute, and I’d be happy to receive any phone numbers to call anyone, email addresses to email, places to go leave CSA brochures, and I’m sure you know I’d go anywhere and talk to anyone about the wonderfulness that is Green Thumb CSA – Huntington (or heck, CSAs in general)! 



2. You can still get in on the Flower Shares, Herb Shares and Mushroom Shares!

If you’re interested…ask! If the only thing that’s stopping you is that you share with someone and they don’t want what you want…ask! I bet I could find someone for you to share with (or at least I’d try  ). If you have a share and want more than your one share…ask!

We need to find enough people for 2 ½ lbs of Mushrooms for the next batch of folks to be able to start eating Mushrooms! Anybody interested in the Mushroom Share who hasn’t spoken up yet? Let me know! 

Anyone who HAS a Mushroom Share…want to upgrade your share to get more Mushrooms? Just a thought! 



3. News from the Farm

Mid June 2013

Our second full week of Strawberry picking has about ended and the rain seems to continue on. We’ve had about 10 inches since the 1st of June…a record for the month and it’s only half over!* Our Strawberry fruits are suffering…taking in a LOT of water with no time to dry out. The quality of our berries and the length of our season seems like it’s coming to an early end for this year.

*Lawns, vegetables, fruits, herbs…pretty much everything would ideally be happy with one inch of rain per week. That means where there ideally should have been two inches of rain on the farm there was TEN! In farming, a drought is better than a flood as we’re lucky in the northeast (unlike our western states where they WILL have water shortages and prices of produce from the west coast will continue to rise) to have enough water to be able to irrigate whereas when you have too much rain, there’s not a darn thing you can do about it!

The last two weeks our fields have been so wet and muddy that we can’t get in them with our tractors to control the weeds, and our planting schedules for Beans, Squashes, and Lettuces have been thrown off as well and because of that, expect shortages of these crops later on in the summer.

This was the weekend of our annual farm tour and Strawberry picking. We hoped all who wanted to got a chance to come out to see our farm, talk to Farmer Bill, and see how we’re doing!

We do have some crops doing fairly well which we’re starting to pick…many types of Lettuces and herbs; Peas – shelling, Snap and Snow; Swiss Chards; Kales; Beets; Carrots; with Onions and more Radishes all happening in the next several weeks.

So, enjoy what we do have…ever year is different!

Organically yours,
Farmer Bill (Halsey)



4. This week’s list (subject to change without notice…farming is like that!)

Week #10
June 27, 2013

1. Lettuce
2. Onions
3. Peas: Sugar Snap
4. Sorrel
5. Mustard Greens
6. Lavender (yes, it’s edible as well as horticultural…though if you don’t want to cook with it, use it as a bunch of Flowers, or dry it for future use either culinary or potpourri or whatever!)

Flower Share
Week #3
Ageratum*
http://www.gardening.cornell.edu/homegardening/scene8ada.html

*
May not be a bad idea to rinse off the flowers before bringing in the house or as you’re arranging them as I’ve noticed if left in a vase long enough, I sometimes have found tiny wormy critters crawling amongst the flowers but hey! They are organic. 

Herb Share – June 2B
Savory, Winter AND Thyme, Lemon



5. Save $100 on NOFA Summer Conference!

The NOFA Summer Conference is awesome and everyone interested in organic food/gardening/farming and healthy/green living should really give themselves a treat and go at least once (once you go…there’s a good chance you’ll want to go every year). You don’t have to be a farmer or even a gardener to have a good time as there’s so many workshops on so many topics. Plus, you can just tour local farms and CSAs and eat healthy (and tasty) and party all weekend long. AND if you have kids, there’s workshops for ages 5 to teenagers that are all pretty cool…even by kid standards!

New this year: Group discounts of $100 per person are available to groups of 5+ adults with an organization! So, we’re going to hook up with the Holistic Moms Network to see if we can reach this number and get in on the Early Bird Registration (for a further discount) by July 9th so there’s 19 days to find 3 other adults to attend between the two groups. Anybody interested? Talk to me or CSA member Vickie Muller (whose daughter Charley met a NOFA summer buddy from Vermont that she hangs with at the conference).

Camping (Vickie & Charley camp) and dorm housing (suzanne dorms it) are available, as are creative financing options like work exchange (I’ve done the work exchange in the past…another way to bring the cost of going down) and the Farming Education Fund.

In addition to hundreds of practical skills and farming workshops, the conference features live entertainment, children's and teen conferences, a country fair, organic meals, 100 exhibitors and much more. The conference will take place August 9-11 on the University of Massachusetts Amherst campus.

There will be eight specialized workshop tracks:
Beginning Farmer, Community Supported Agriculture, Grazing, Nutrient Density, Organic Land Care Track, Permaculture, Cooperatives, Winter Growing and Season Extension

Five half-day preconferences on Friday, August 9:
"Farming Smarter, Not Harder" with Richard Wiswall
"Honeybee Hive Products" with Ross Conrad
"Growing with the Biological System" with Dan Kittredge
"Homestead Poultry Flock" with Jim Adkins
"Growing and Marketing Cut Flowers" with Diana Doll

What’s NOFA? For one thing, our farm is certified organic by NOFA-NY…
https://www.nofany.org/



6. How to wash produce…

If one person is asking about this, that means more of you might be interested. See the attachment about washing produce for details. This is one of the only times I’ve ever seen a study done that doesn’t end up having you have to buy something.

Also, dirt is protective so don’t wash produce until you’re ready to use/cook/eat it…or in the case of salad greens, you can pre-wash if you spin it very dry (some do this to save time over a period of a few days) but realize any pre-washing will shorten the life of your food.



7. Local activism…

Bonnie Sagar (sharing with CSA member Joe Wetherell), has a passion and a cause! It’s to ban leafblowers in Huntington.

Why you may ask (or you may not need any convincing)?

I didn’t realize Dr. Andrew Weil wasn’t a fan…
http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/id/ART02059

And I found this NY Times article which says the Mt Sinai School of Medicine’s Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit provided a letter of support for a ban of gas leaf blowers…
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/20/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/20blowerwe.html?_r=0

And all the dust kicked up makes solar panels less efficient (and/or you’d have to get up there and clean them up more often…or pay to have them cleaned off)

If you’re in agreement, please sign her petition at the CSA Sign-in Desk today! 

And of course, there’s a Facebook page for it too…
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ban-Leaf-Blowers/127067643995637

And a website in Arizona…
http://banleafblowers.webs.com/



8. Event Listings

Thursday, May 2nd to Sunday, December 8th

9am to 5:30pm

Green Thumb Organic Farm
829 Montauk Hwy (east of the windmill)
Water Mill

Our CSA farm’s farm stand is open for the season! If you’re passing by, stop in and say hi and tell them you’re a CSA member and you’re sure to get a smile! There are plants for your garden, flowers for your home and/or friends you might be visiting in the area, and food…lots of food! 


Saturday, May 25th to Monday, Sept 2nd

Swedish Culinary Summer
East Hampton
For more info:
www.swedishculinarysummer.com

Swedish cuisine, and worldwide interest in it, has grown exponentially over the last 20 years. Zagat just placed Swedish restaurants in the number two and number three positions in the top ten restaurants in the world and there are three Swedish restaurants on Pellegrino's World's 50 Best Restaurants list. Swedish food is now the darling of media worldwide and especially in the U.S. Swedish Culinary Summer uses food as the universal ambassador to "open the doors" at key charity events in the Hamptons during the summer season: a full summer of top Swedish chefs, food, beverages and consumer goods, plus there will be cooking classes and special dinners available at the Maidstone Hotel.


Thursday, June 27th

6pm to 9pm

Art With a Purpose
Rush Arts Gallery
526 W 26th St, Suite 311
NYC
$150
For more info and to buy tickets:
http://www.healthyschoolfood.org/events.htm?utm_source=Art+With+a+Purpose+-+1&utm_campaign=Year+End+27th+2012&utm_medium=email

An art exhibit/event with works for sale by such artists as Peter Max and Sue Coe, benefitting the NY Coalition for Healthy School Food. There’ll be vegan food donated by Candle 79 and Candle Café West, and wine donated by Pure Food & Wine and Verity Wine Partners. Jazz music provided by Miles of Music.


Saturday, June 29th

10am to 4pm

Starflower Experiences Community Yard Sale
Manor Farm
210 Manor Rd
Elwood
For more info and to possibly participate or volunteer (don’t know how late they can accept participants and if there’s still room):
www.starflowerexperiences.org
516-938-6152
info@starflowerexperinces.org

CSA member Chiara Mathews is volunteering for Starflower Experiences so you just might see her here!

10:30am to noon

Green Thumb CSA – Huntington Monthly CSA Meeting!
Featured video…Field of Greens
Cinema Arts Centre
423 Park Ave
Huntington
For more info:
631-421-4864
dskolnick@pb.net

This month we’ll be learning more about what we’re getting in our CSA shares and what to do with it…and there will be snacking goin’ on (feel free to bring snacks)! This month’s featured episode of Alton Brown’s Good Eats will be Field of Greens with recipes for…Mustard Green Gratin, Pot O’Greens, and Lemon Sesame Glazed Greens! Those attending the meeting will get copies of the recipes. Other topics to be covered are the eternal quest for more CSA members, and an open forum for questions and suggestions.

12pm to 1pm

Food Chain Radio Show…What’s Eating What with Michael Olson
http://metrofarm.com/food-chain-radio

Check out the archives…there’s a LOT of good stuff in there!


Saturday, July 13th

10am to 6:30pm

The Long Island Animal Rights and Vegfest!
UUFH
109 Browns Rd
Huntington
For more info and schedule:
www.karunaforanimals.com
$5/Children 12 and under FREE

Rain or shine! Vegan food (cash only), live music, art auction, kids activities and MORE!


Friday, July 19th

6pm to 7pm

The Healthy Planet Radio Show
WUSB-FM (90.1 FM)
To listen live or on the archives…
http://wusb.fm/station/schedule/week
For more info:
http://www.healthy-planet.org/


Friday, August 9th to Sunday, August 11th

NOFA Summer Conference
U Mass
Amherst, MA
For more info and to register (early bird pricing till July 9th):
http://www.nofasummerconference.org/registration.php
What is NOFA (in particular NOFA-NY)?
https://www.nofany.org/about

CSA members Vickie Muller (along with her daughter) and suzanne j zoubeck attended last year and may be going again this year. If you have any questions, ask one of them. If you’re at all interested in organic gardening, food, food politics, the environment, green living, green housing, renewable energy, alternative health, etc. this is an AMAZING event to attend (over 200 workshops to choose from)! The food is local and organic and there are enough choices whether your diet is gluten-free, raw, vegan or paleo. There are farm tours and parties at night. Also, there are workshops and activities for children from ages 2 to 17 so it’s fun for the whole family…or for singles…or seniors…or anyone!


Friday, August 9th

6pm to 7pm

The Healthy Planet Radio Show
WUSB-FM (90.1 FM)
To listen live or on the archives…
http://wusb.fm/station/schedule/week
For more info:
http://www.healthy-planet.org/


Friday, September 13th

6pm to 7pm

The Healthy Planet Radio Show
WUSB-FM (90.1 FM)
To listen live or on the archives…
http://wusb.fm/station/schedule/week
For more info:
http://www.healthy-planet.org/


Friday, October 18th

6pm to 7pm

The Healthy Planet Radio Show
WUSB-FM (90.1 FM)
To listen live or on the archives…
http://wusb.fm/station/schedule/week
For more info:
http://www.healthy-planet.org/


Friday, November 15th

6pm to 7pm

The Healthy Planet Radio Show
WUSB-FM (90.1 FM)
To listen live or on the archives…
http://wusb.fm/station/schedule/week
For more info:
http://www.healthy-planet.org/


Friday, December 6th

6pm to 7pm

The Healthy Planet Radio Show
WUSB-FM (90.1 FM)
To listen live or on the archives…
http://wusb.fm/station/schedule/week
For more info:
http://www.healthy-planet.org/


Saturday, March 1st, 2014

10am to 5pm

TEDx Manhattan Viewing Party
Cinema Arts Centre
423 Park Ave
Huntington
FREE

Check out a sample of last year’s speakers such as chef Michel Nischan, LaDonna Redmond, Anna Lappe, White House chef Bill Yosses, Annemarie Colbin, etc, here…
http://www.youtube.com/tedxman

Details TBA



9. What you actually got last week

Word about last week’s CSA share…

1. We got Broccoli Rabe instead of Mustard Greens which a few of you astute CSA members managed to point out to me as I didn’t initially notice since I got to the CSA late and was deep in Mushroom land. Broccoli Rabe Veg Info Sheet is attached in case you don’t have it.
2. We got Yarrow instead of Sweet Williams for the Flower Share
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achillea_millefolium
How to dry flowers…
http://www.clemson.edu/extension/hgic/plants/landscape/flowers/hgic1151.html
http://extension.missouri.edu/p/g6540

Week #9
June 20, 2013

1. Strawberries – 1 pt - $3.50
2. Lettuce: Oakleaf, Green – 1 head - $2.50
3. Rhubarb – 1 bunch - $3.25
4. Radishes: French Breakfast OR Red – 1 bunch - $2.75
5. Broccoli Rabe – 1 bunch - $3.00
6. Dill – 1 bunch - $2.50

Total Items: 6
Total Amount: $17.50 (we pay $17.50 for our weekly CSA share so the total extra value we’ve gotten so far this season…is $9.50)

Flower Share (depends on the weather…if it’s been too wet we won’t get any this week)
Week #2 – Yarrow



10. And now for something completely different…

And for you cat lovers…Sushi cats! 
http://www.boredpanda.org/sushi-cats/

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