The Harvest Bee Blog

Good Day, Friends: Well, Easter is over and that usually means the end of the season is a mere sniff away, not just the farm season, but the general work season for most of us, too. Market traffic will begin to slow, restaurants will empty out, hospitals will begin to decrease their censuses (maybe), yoga classes will begin to slim, and all of us natives will begin to actually come out of our habitats and move around town more freely! We will, of course, miss the seasonal faces, both familiar and new ones we have met this year, that visit the market and support the farm. We wish you safe summer travels and will be excited to see you come next growing season. Yet, in full disclosure, I think many of us Neapolitans, farmers and otherwise, are excited to take a few breaths of relaxation, catch up on some reading, hit up da beach mon, and basically just reset and retool for a few weeks or so. As quickly as we lay down the mulch and sow a cover crop of legumes to nurture the soil through the summer months, early August will arrive and the first seeds of the next farm season will be sown. It really is such a quick turn around that living in the moment and really embracing that short period of rest truly is critical to maintaining our energy and focus where it needs to be to make it through these 7-9 months of sun up to sun down, full speed ahead work weeks. For now, we still have at least a month to a month and a half of growing good veggies and soon much of our summer bearing fruit will emerge (Mangoes lookin' plentiful, lychees should be in abundance, along with bananas and other tropical fruits. Even the citrus is throwing out new, late-season blossoms!). Although we have no idea how much the fruit trees will produce this first season, we know that the more love they get the more successful they will be. As such, the early mornings and multiple cups of coffee will persist. Weather permitting, we will continue growing and harvesting our crops until early June. That would still give us 2 good full months of letting the main field and soil sit and build up its vitality. Focus can then be turned to sprucing up the fruit trees (specifically the mature ones), while diverting attention to making minor repairs to various tools, as well as creating/finishing some aesthetic projects for the land (completing the chicken coop and getting more hens, creating our medicine wheel garden, etc), along with other standard off-season duties. With the seasonal market closing early May, which coincides with the last week of the CSA, we have not yet decided where we will be selling our fruits and veggies, however long they may bear. We may continue at the market for the summer season for as long as we can or we may just seek an alternative way to offer whatever food is coming off the land. We will keep you posted, though. For all the support you have shown us this season we definitely want the CSA members to have the first dibs on the summer fruits of the land. One last note, many of you already are aware of the Health Summit at Food and Thought this weekend. Originally, our lecture on Bio-Dynamic farming was scheduled for 4:00 Sunday afternoon (April 3rd). However, it is now at 5:00. We would love to see you there. The focus will specifically touch upon how conventional food industries have tarnished organics, thus leading to the rise of Bio-Dynamic farming, as well as the similarities and differences between organic (in principle) and Bio-Dynamic farming methods. The more familiar faces I see the less likely I will have to use that whole picturing everyone in underwear thing (just-kidding). Seriously, though, it would be awesome to have people to point to who have had some experience with eating and supporting Bio-Dynamic farms, specifically from The Hive. So, come on out if you can! In this week's shares you will find the following: -Salad Mix -1 Bunch of Greens (Broccoli Greens, Collards, Chard, or Kale) -1 Bunch Radish -1 Bunch Turnips (Possibly the only crop of the season, but better late than never) -Cucumbers -1 pack of purslane (superfood similar to Moringa) or Soursop tea leaves Here is a simple recipe for both the radishes and turnips, which really highlight the flavors of these beautiful root crops, as well as another recipe for a different take on consuming your veggies by turning them into muffins! Braised Radishes and Turnips: http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1014365-braised-turnips-and-radishes Turnip/Blueberry Muffins: http://www.familycookbookproject.com/recipe/3200081/turnip-blueberry-muffins.html Thank you all for not only what you do for this farm, but for our community during these crazy seasonal months. Soon we all will collectively take a sigh of relief. See ya all when we see ya! "Onen", The Bee