Week #8 June 12, 2014

Happy Spring!

Last week we had a bit of a mystery that wasn’t solved so it bears mentioning this…

When picking up your CSA share, you must read the wall chart and do not make any substitutions UNLESS the list says you have a choice of something…but that still means following the directions and not improvising.

At the end of the night last week there were 2 MORE bunches of Curly Cress than there should have been, and 2 LESS bunches of Mustard Greens than there should have been. It certainly sounds like 2 people left their Curly Cress and took extra Mustard Greens. No one contacted me about this to either ‘fess up and give the people missing their Mustard Greens their food back, or give me any other clues as to what happened.

Bottom line is please be mindful and considerate when picking up your CSA food. If you already are…good on ya and keep up the good work!

Planting a garden this year? Get certified organic Herb (many varieties), Vegetable (many varieties) and Flower (some…ask!) plants grown at your farm, Green Thumb Farm! To order plants, call the farm at 631-726-1900 between 9:30am and 4pm any day of the week/weekend and have a credit card on hand for payment. They will be delivered with the next available CSA delivery!

If you’d like to visit our farm (Green Thumb Farm in Water Mill) on days besides our CSA Strawberry picking in June and Pumpkin picking in October, the farm stand is now open until Sunday, December 7th. Tell them at the farm stand that you’re a CSA member and it’s sure to bring a smile!

Seriously…put this phone number (631-385-1079) in your cell phone, on your fridge, or wherever you put phone numbers you’re glad to have when you need them! It’s the hall phone of the UUFH to be used only on Thursdays from 3pm to 8pm. We’ve already had a few people who wished they had it and didn’t, and others who had it and found out how handy it can be! 

This email contains…

1. Your CSA doesn’t need you this week but…
2. News from the Farm
3. This week’s list…
4. Our certified organic Flower Shares are coming! Are you ready and on the list?
5. What you actually got last week
6. The FDA wants to mess with cheesemakers!
7. Learn to play with your food at Fairway!
8. Strawberries picking at our farm!
9. Eat Shrimp? Know where it comes from?
10. And now for something completely different…


1. Your CSA doesn’t need you this week but…

you can always show up at 3:30pm or 5:30pm and ask if we still need help!

Also, keep in mind that if you don’t get an email telling you that you’re working on a particular week…you’re not scheduled to work (but if you have any questions, get in touch with Judi and/or suzanne).



2. News from the Farm

June 2014

Greetings to another year!

Our spring season has begun. Because of cold weather over the last several months, some of our crops are later than usual (Water Mill is about 3 weeks behind Huntington as far as the growing season goes in normal weather conditions). Strawberries and Lettuces will not be quite ready until the 2nd week in June. We do have some Greens grown in our plastic covered hoop houses, as well as outside Curly Cress and Radishes coming soon. Our Peas, Fennel, Beets and Carrots are doing well, but growing slowly.

As another year begins, we would like to thank all our CSA members for helping our certified organic family farm continue into the 21st century (about half of what is grown at Green Thumb Farm is sold to CSA members)! This is our 17th year delivering produce to our CSA members in Huntington (year 19 in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn)…so THANK YOU ALL!

Our annual CSA Farm Tour that includes Strawberry picking is scheduled for Saturday, June 21st. We invite all our CSA members and their immediate family members and hope to see and meet you! It’s a walking tour of some of our fields, and then all can pick a quart of Strawberries at the end of the tour. Tours start at 10am, 11am, 12pm and 1pm.

Organically yours,
Farmer Bill



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

June 12, 2014
Week #8

1. Strawberries
2. Asparagus
3. Broccoli Rabe (Raab/Rape)
4. Lettuce, Leaf: Green
5. Beans: Black, dried

Total Items: 5

Flower Share #1 – Peonies

Herb Share – June #1A
Curly Cress AND Mint



4. Our certified organic Flower Shares are coming! Are you ready and on the list?

The first week of the Flower Share is coming this week and yes, it’s Peonies. Hooray! 

So, if you don’t have a Flower Share yet and would like to, or you have one and would like more than one…this is it! Let me know when you’d like to start picking up (if it’s this week, I’d have to know by midnight Wednesday night), and bring your checks (or cash) in this or next week. If you don’t contact me on Wednesday, the fee would be $60 and the next Flower Share arrival will be ??? Keep reading for the explanation.

It’s $70 for 10 weeks of Flowers at $7 a bunch but keep in mind that the Flowers don’t come every week for 10 weeks. They show up when THEY are ready. If you’re sharing with someone and you buy a Flower Share and they show up when your share partner is picking up you can either pick your Flowers up from them, or have them pay you for the Flower for that week or each of you get a Flower Share and then…you can figure it out! 

Also, keep in mind that one person can have more than one Flower Share. A number of us (I’m one of them) get 2 Flower Shares because they are just that nice!!! 



5. What you actually got last week

June 5, 2014
Week #7

1. Strawberries – 1 pt - $3.75
2. Rhubarb – 1 bunch - $3.50
3. Mustard (greenhouse) – 1 bunch - $3.00
4. Lettuce, Leaf: Red – 1 head - $2.75
5. Chives, Flowering – 1 bunch - $2.75
6. Cress, Curly – 1 bunch - $2.75

Total Items: 6
Total Amount: $18.50 (We pay $18.50 per week for our CSA share. The total of the season so far…meaning that the farmer is giving us more than we paid for…is $2.25 over from what we’ve paid so far)



6. The FDA wants to mess with cheesemakers!

This is bad…

Will let y’all know if there’s any petitions or actions to be taken around this…
http://www.grubstreet.com/2014/06/fda-cheese-aging-law-wood-boards.html



7. Learn to play with your food at Fairway!

Meet Bill Wurtzel and learn how to make fun food art using only healthy ingredients from Fairway…
http://www.funnyfood.us/

Saturday, June 21st

1 to 3pm

Fairway, Red Hook, Brooklyn
480-500 Van Brunt St.
$1.00 if you reserve online…not sure if there’s a cost if you reserve at the store
https://www.fairwaymarket.com/shop/funny-food-art-workshop/

Register at the Customer Service Desk or online.



8. Strawberries picking at our farm!

Saturday, June 21st

10am to 1pm

Annual CSA Strawberry Picking and Farm Tour
Green Thumb Farm
829 Montauk Hwy
Water Mill

Save the date! The times are 10am, 11am 12pm and 1pm. It’s a walking tour of approx 1 hour in length for CSA members and their immediate family members only!

If you’re sharing a CSA share with someone, only one person/family can go. In this case often one person will go in June for the Strawberry picking, and the other person will go in October for the Pumpkin picking.



9. Eat Shrimp? Know where it comes from?

Michael Pollan says you vote with your fork at least three times a day. So, what are you voting for?

Turns out that Shrimp/Prawns from Thailand sold at Costco and Walmart are a product of slave labor, human trafficking and murder…
http://www.grubstreet.com/2014/06/shrimp-human-slavery-guardian-investigation.html
http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/jun/10/supermarket-prawns-thailand-produced-slave-labour?

If who you ask can’t come up with an answer as to where the Shrimp come from, one option is to not purchase any till they find out…or to not purchase till you know it’s from a source that’s healthy and humane.



10. And now for something completely different…

Jim Carey, Jeff Daniels, and Jimmy Fallon make Burgers using mannequin arms???
http://eater.com/archives/2014/06/11/watch-jim-carrey-and-jeff-daniels-attempt-to-make-burgers-with-fake-plastic-arms-on-fallon.php

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