Abbe Hills Farm CSA

Greetings shareholders,

This week, we'll have potatoes, onions, garlic, beans, cabbage, kale, collards, dill, basil, and cilantro.  The Monday people will get the last of the broccoli.  The Thursday people will get the first of the sweet corn.  YIPPEE!!!  We also might have the beginning of the zucchinis, cucumbers, and eggplants this week.  Perhaps green peppers by next week. 

The rain came just in time.  We were very very very dry - so dry that we couldn't get the digging tools in the ground to dig any more garlic, so dry that I couldn't get the tillage equipment in the ground to get the beds ready to plant for the fall crops, so dry that the summer crops weren't making any fruit, and so dry that the late summer crops weren't growing.  Well, all of that changed pretty quickly.  We had about 5 inches of rain Friday night, and our running total is a little more than 7 inches by this afternoon.  THAT'S ENOUGH!!!  Luckily, there are enough weeds in the fields that we didn't suffer too much erosion, and the moisture was needed so badly that a huge proportion soaked into the ground.  The plants that have been sitting around waiting for the last three weeks grew like crazy over the weekend.  Now we just have to keep up.  This week and next are going to be crazy.

The sweet corn for Thursday of this week and Monday of next week will be Bodacious.  The ears are small, but have excellent flavor.  We should have more than we need for our CSA and for Local Harvest CSA, so I likely will have extra to sell on Saturday.  I'll let you know by email as soon as I know, and I'll also post it on the first page of the website.

The annual farm field day is in two weeks, on Sunday, August 7, 4:00 until 7:00.  We'll take a garden tour, look at some conservation and water quality practices, and talk about the sustainability of local food .  It is sponsored by a great group to which I belong, Practical Farmers of Iowa, so I expect there will be guests from all over eastern Iowa.  My friend Dan Specht will be here with samples of his grass-fed beef for you to try.  He's hoping to sell it to you when his cattle are butchered this fall.  We'll end the tour with a sweet corn picnic.  Everyone is welcome to attend the field day, especially people who are interested in learning more about the practice of sustainable agriculture.  I'd like to show you the farm.  I hope you can come.

I'm again selling raffle tickets for the Southeast Linn Community Center raffle to be held at Sauerkraut Days on August 13.  Your donation supports to work of our community center, a place that provides lots of services for families, children, and seniors in our area, especially those in need.  And right now, there is A LOT of need.  Please buy as many tickets as you can afford.  Your donation will be put to very good use.  And you might win the grill!

See you this week,

Laura