SP26 (WK1): Sisyphus Called, He Wants His Potatoes Back
Dear Farm Community -
We are revising “April Showers bring May Flowers” to “February Showers bring March Flowers and also Flooded Fields.” I mean holy moly 3.5 inches of rain in two days last week! Respectfully, What the hell! Drainage is something we are constantly working on in our fields. Managing where the water goes when it rains is hugely important to the health of our plants because when the sky dumps that much water on our fields, it’s a challenge for our crops. A plant sitting in a puddle of water is a plant getting no oxygen to its roots, and a plant getting no oxygen to its roots is a plant slowwwwly suffocating. Beyond that, if enough time passes with wet wet feet, the roots will begin to rot and that means so long for this lifetime.
All this to say, drainage is kind of a big deal, and BEHEMOTH deposits of rain like last week’s really test us and show us those spots on the farm where we need to work on. While we are constantly investing in long-term approaches to addressing these areas through soil care, last week just about everybody spent some time walking around with shovel in hand, getting this water to move along.
The rain also gave opportunity to work on some indoor projects, like getting our potatoes ready to be planted out! We grow potatoes by planting “seed potatoes"‘“ which are basically certified disease-free potatoes that we slice into the right size, and bury in the soil to grow into our 2026 potato crop. Last week we sat down and prepped all of the year’s seed potatoes for planting.
A sit-down group task is always a hoot as we pass the time with our hands busy at work. With the task at hand feeling endless, we debated over if the word should be “Sisyphean” or “Sisyphusian” to describe how we feel like the greek king doomed to roll a…. potato…. up the hill and down again for eternity (its the former). But eventually the task was completed, and we got to see a preview of the BEAUTIFUL potatoes we’ll be growing this season. Check out this Terra Rosa variety:
While these pretty pink potatoes are a ways off, for Week 1 of our Spring CSA, members can look forward to the chef-coveted, perfectly-sized, ever-so-delicious little gem lettuce in their shares! As we tip toe into warmer weather and all the obscene abundance that grows in spring and summer, we must remember to be grateful for the blessings of the NOW ~ cool-weather lettuces being one of them! Little gem lettuce is just slightly sweet which means that you can add acidic elements in a very balanced way, and the leaves are buttery soft while still tasting bright and fresh. If you’re still in winter cozy mode. try this roasted vegetable winter salad that invites you to sheet-pan-roast veggies and mix with your fresh crisp greens. Get fancy with this incredible salad that combines a maple-dijon dressing with pomegranate arils and pecans! If you’re feeling ambitious you could even whip up a caesar salad with dressing made from scratch. Market helper Rachael recommends toasting some panko as a sub for croutons ~ magnifique!
Welcome to Spring CSA!!
Diamond Hill Farmers
you can still hop on our weekly-pay train :)
standard share: bok choy, arugula or lettuce, scallions, kale or chard, little gems, cilantro or microgreens
large share: bok choy, arugula or lettuce, scallions, kale or chard, little gems, cilantro or microgreens, french breakfast radish, pea shoots, celery