Dear Farm Community -

Welcome to the last week of Spring CSA! Come next Monday we reset the count to Summer CSA Week 1!! If you’re a weekly-pay member you’ll roll right on into Summer without missing a beat. If you signed up for a full-spring season and have not yet done so - please sign up for your Summer CSA by Sunday, June 1st! If you are weekly-pay member who wants to transition into a full-season membership, this week is the golden hour in which you can cancel your weekly-pay subscription and sign up for the Full Summer CSA to take advantage of the full-season discount.

full season summer csa

In the words of Farmer Isaac, “In a few weeks we’re going to be swimming in veggies like never before!!!” We did some math and we have over 1,500 tomato plants in the ground. This past week we were able to harvest a few pints of cherry tomatoes off some of the early plants, a little drop compared to the flood of tomatoes that awaits us! Please pray for us as we do our best to stay afloat during this year’s tomato season

Last week we also had our big onion harvest and it was huuuuuuuuge! Thousands of onions that have been sizing up for months were popped out of the ground and set on our curing shelves where their outer skins will dry out, protecting against rot and spoilage. Curing onions is essential for turning these fresh crops into a longer term storage crop that we can enjoy for months to come. We hope you’ve enjoyed the fresh and spring onions these past months - you’ll see these guys later on once they’re cured!

In flower world we’ve planted out both our fall chrysanthemum tunnel and our dahlia field. These are both major autumn flower crops for us and we’re glad to get the ball rolling on them. Last year was a banner year for us for chrysanthemums and we’ve picked our favorites to make this year even better! As you may recall, last year was decidedly not a banner year for dahlias, though. The relentless heat and drought over the summer months as well as some experimentation in our planting methods resulted in widespread crop failure and only a cherished few flowers made it to the finish line. We’ve picked ourselves up, though, dusted off, and we’re back in the saddle. This year we’re trying out a new method using a white biodegradable barrier on top of the soil that serves a twofold purpose: heat reduction and weed suppression. Last year the oppressive heat essentially cooked our dahlia tubers in the soil (!). With our planting depth keyed in and this white surface reflecting the sun and reducing the soil temperature, we’re hopeful for stunning blooms in a few months time. While you’re praying for our survival through tomato season, maybe a say a little word for the tubers!

Check out our team getting the field prepped and planted out below, and evidence of a little buddy trying to lend a wing:

With dreary rainy days in the forecast this week, what an awesome time to be getting cabbage in your shares ;) It may sound a little strange, but it’s not a hard leap to make when you think of all the cozy foods to make with cabbage, just the medicine for a wet and yucky day. A versatile, reliable, nutritious, and long-lasting ingredient, cabbage can really shine with the right recipe. Chef and cookbook author Molly Baz crafted an absolute home run of a soup with her K-Bas (Kielbasa) and Cabbage Stew, published in her Cook This Book cookbook ~ lucky for you someone sneakily shared it on their blog and now you can access the recipe and cook this divine dish yourself no purchase necessary! (But I really recommend that cookbook and her $5/month recipe club aka “The Club”!)

This Bon Appetit recipe for Caramelized Cabbage is another elevated way to make a whole cabbage disappear in the most delicious way. I guarantee any cabbage haters will be wooed by the rich flavors in these recipes. If you’ve moved past the hot dishes of cool weather’s past and have your heart set on summery foods only - more power (and super yummy cole slaw) to you!!

Seeya in the cabbage patch (CSA pickup)
Diamond Hill Farmers

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