We were so lucky last Wednesday — despite the humidity and heat of other days, on Wednesday we had a nice breeze and some cloud cover to assist with our huge garlic harvest. More than twenty members and friends came to help and we harvested over 6,000 heads of garlic in record time. Our apprentice Cedar clipped himself into a safety harness and hauled load after load off the pulley and in through the third floor window of the barn. And without Sam Clark’s crack-of-dawn start on the garlic pulling, we never would have gotten done in time. Thank you to everyone who came — what can get done with so many hands is nothing short of miraculous.
For those of you who were members in 2015, you may remember our farm apprentice from Nepal, Sayni Chaudhury. When Sayni returned home that August, many of us made a commitment to help support the work that she does in southwest Nepal. Sayni is an incredible woman and she has continued to develop and expand her Nepali orphanage and women’s education center, Sisterhome. At Sisterhome she provides an education for both girls and boys in the community, she advocates and provides a safe place for girls escaping servitude, she lobbies to put an end to the social “death” of widowed women, she teaches women trades so they can have some level of financial independence, and much more. Those of you who made an annual pledge to Sisterhome for five years should have received an email last week reminding you of your commitment (we’re in the fourth year of five). If not, please let me know! And if you weren’t able to contribute in the past but would like to this year, please also let me know. It feels incredible to have a way to provide some support for people doing wildly challenging work in a far-away corner of the world. I feel truly lucky that we’re able to help to support Sayni in this small way, and what she accomplishes with our contributions is nothing short of amazing. Click here to see an album of pictures, letters of thanks and more from Sisterhome in 2018. If you’d like to see more pictures from 2015-17, click here.
If you were one of the lucky ones who signed up for a box of Red House Farm berries, remember that this is the week! Please bring your $40 payment (cash or check) to your berry pickup. If your name was on the wait list, I will likely be able to get you a box on Monday or Thursday evening at the farm — be in touch and I’ll let you know.
This is also a chicken CSA week! In addition, some pickups this week will get the first of the sweet corn, and the rest of the pickups will get it next week. It’s a tenuous balance between waiting for the corn to be perfectly ripe, and harvesting it before the raccoons do. We’re leaving the outside lights on at night, have set up the Havahart traps again, and are encouraging Maple to patrol the corn field every evening. Hopefully that is enough to discourage them from sampling (aka devouring) any more.
We will continue to have Cedar’s beautiful wood block prints available for sale. They are $15 each, with a third of the funds raised going to the CSA member Financial Aid Fund. Get your Christmas shopping done in August!
Have a great week, enjoy the summer bounty, and be in touch with any questions!
Reba and the HCF crew
Summer CSA Week Nine Vegetables: Cherry and Slicing Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Zucchini and/or Zephyr Squash, Swiss Chard, Eggplant or Beets, Cabbage or Green Beans, Green Pepper, Mini Lettuce Head or Mixed Lettuce, Basil or other herb, Carrots with Greens, [Sweet Corn]
Week Nine add-on shares: Chicken, Blueberries, Milk, Yogurt, Ferments, Tofu, Cheese, Eggs, Mushrooms, Oil & Vinegar
This week’s recipes: Green Bean Salad with Walnuts and shaved Parmesan in Lemon Dressing, Takeout-Style Sesame Noodles with Cucumber, Bulgur with Swiss Chard, Chickpeas and Feta
HATCHET COVE FARM 