Dear Farm Community -

How did y’all enjoy your SNOW DAY?! We hope you soaked it up with snowball fights, rosy cheeks, hot chocolate and something cozy. For our farmers, snow days hit a little different. The cozy comes after we make sure the farm doesn’t literally collapse. No markets for us this weekend, just the high-stakes task of clearing snow to keep our high tunnels standing. Hard work, yes… but still kinda fun among friends ;)

Four inches of snow isn’t exactly normal for Georgia, and southern high tunnels aren’t built to carry that kind of weight. Most of the time, no problem at all, but when snow starts piling up, the pressure adds up fast. Last year’s storm taught us this is a real threat (some metal bending in one of our high tunnels, lots of tired arms, thankfully no serious damage).

This year we came prepared: loooooong-handled pool scrubbers for the big tunnels, push brooms for the smaller caterpillar tunnels, and two shifts of snow-clearing powerhouse farmers on Saturday. We were extra grateful the snow delayed its 5:30am arrival to a 10am to start….we got to leave the headlamps at home!

Check out some photos of the snow day, Diamond Hill Farm style… ❄️

Snow day also meant no markets this past weekend… and after only one market the weekend before due to weather-related safety concerns, this stretch of wild winter weather is unfortunately starting to hurt.

It’s a big reminder of why our CSA means so much to us. Farming is unpredictable in a million ways ~ we rely on small miracles at every turn: seeds germinating, plants growing, systems working as designed, customers showing up to market, and the WEATHER cooperating when it matters most. All that to say, there’s a lot we can’t control, and often it’s weather that’s the big wild card.

CSA is one of the few true anchors we have. Even after losing 3 markets-worth of winter sales, we know we can count on our CSA members to receive our produce with open arms and support this work through all the ups and downs.

If you’ve been thinking about joining our CSA, now is a beautiful time!! Your share helps keep our farm steady, and keeps fresh, local food flowing to your table all year long. Plus, a few seriously wonderful perks and surprises along the way ;)

join our CSA

Your shares this week contain one of those wonderful surprises! We hollered at our friends over at Andrew’s Acres and managed to get our hands on some beautiful blue oyster mushrooms for your shares this week!

Blue oyster mushrooms are tender and meaty with a mild, savory flavor and a subtle hint of sweetness. They cook up phenomenally when sautéed or roasted, developing crispy edges and a juicy bite that makes them perfect for stir-fries, pastas, grain bowls, and as a plant-based stand-in for meat. Oyster mushrooms especially shred into a faux pulled-pork texture pretty easily. To try them out as a simple side dish, sautee in butter and get them nice and crispy! Lots of people have different techniques on how to sautee them perfectly. My tried and true is to start with some butter or oil in the pan over medium heat, get them cooking, and add water and cover to help them sweat out their moisture. Once the mushrooms have softened to your desired texture, turn your heat up, evaporate the water, and add some more butter or oil to crisp them up. If it’s carbs you crave, cook up this pasta with mushrooms and gremolata. And one awesome thing about mushrooms is that if you’re not able to get to them in time fresh, you can always dehydrate them and use them later!

Happy Eating!
Diamond Hill Farmers

support local ag through the stormy weather! ❄️

join our CSA