Dear Farm Community,

Last week we dug our first round of potatoes!!! We’re so excited for this year’s potato harvest. It feels like just yesterday they went in the ground. There’s a certain je ne sais quoi about homegrown potatoes (yes, I had to Google how to spell that). The best we’ve come to describing it is this: these potatoes REALLY taste like potatoes. The potato-iest potatoes you’ve ever had. If you’ve had them before, you know what we’re talkin’ about. And if you haven’t…. well its time to change that

So far, we’ve only harvested a fraction of the field, starting with Red Norlands and a few Yukon Golds. We’re looking forward to all the other varieties waiting for us as we keep a-diggin’!

While it was awesome to say howdy to our potato crop last week, Summer CSA Week 2 could also be called Bittersweet Goodbyes Week 2. Week 1 saw us saying so long to Farmer Anna, who is now on her journey to the West Coast. And now, our dearest Farmer Emma has departed this week to begin nursing school full-time.

Emma joined the farm nearly four years ago and brought a lovable sense of whimsy with her to the farm. Cawing to crows, talking to bugs, wistfully staring into the distance, and sharing meandering quotidian stories are some of her signature moves. A few years back, she stepped into the role of pack shed manager, and it’s thanks to her and our awesome pack shed crew that everything gets where it needs to go. Every wholesale order, market harvest, and CSA delivery has had Emma’s thoughtful logistics and direction behind it (don’t worry, Farmer Antho is the new and very capable overseer of this important responsibility!)

She’s also been a force in the fields, helping get crops transplanted, estimating harvests, and generally knowing what the heck is going on. While Emma has grown so much as a farmer and human over these past four years, one thing has stayed the same: you can usually find her petting our farm cat Chicken or catching frogs. And we love that about her. Never change, Emma!

While we will miss seeing her on the farm every day, we’re all so proud of Emma as she takes this next step. After nearly four years of bringing her energies, attention, and abilities to the fields and pack shed, she is heading into nursing school full-time, following her path toward becoming a midwife.

But don’t worry, you can still catch her working our stand at the Athens Farmers Market on Saturdays at Bishop Park!

To celebrate Emma’s farm graduation, we’d love to share some photos of her with frogs over the years. We didn’t ask, but this is probably what she would want:

Of course we’ve got the potato-iest potatoes for your CSA’s this week!! As the weather heats up, we’re loving cold foods and it’s the perfect time to whip up a potato salad. And truly, so many options. Your shares contain a pound of potatoes, so simply scale down these recipes to make a delicious side dish, or supplement at the farmers market if you’re feeding a crowd! You can try NYT’s mustardy, herb-forward Potato Salad with Dijon Vinaigrette, or cook up something classic with Bon Appetit’s Classic Potato Salad (one reviewer called it “hands down the best potato salad of my life”). If you’re looking for something a little different, try out this Tzaziki Potato Salad, or bring big briny flavor with this Antipasto Potato Salad! Of course you can always just fire up your skillet and make some easy peasy breakfast potatoes :-)

In our feelings,
Diamond Hill Farmers

P.S. Dahlias are absolutely popping off early!! It’s an awesome time to join our Flower CSA

we grow it, you eat it !

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