Mulberry Creek Farm CSA

Volume 1: Issue 9 – published occasionally at the whim of the editor 8/02/09

In this issue:

Introduction & Farm Stand

Garden News

Poultry & Egg Update

Hive Hearsay

Miscellany

This past week’s basket included onion(s), lettuce, beet greens, Swiss chard, tomatoes, bell and banana peppers, sweet corn, green beans, basil, parsley, and garlic. This coming week will see more tomatoes, peppers, and corn, shallots and more onions, and (I think) potatoes, among other things, depending on what’s ready.

Intro

Things have been very busy here on the farm! I have the new job, but it seems that it’s not a lot easier getting updates to the computer and then online. We’re progressing, however! I am the office manager for a brand new non-profit organization called the TransPlant Project “which aims to create a more self-reliant, socially just and ecologically sound community by providing education and employment for ex-offenders, as they transition from incarceration to restored citizenship, and provide fresh, safe, affordable and locally grown food and flowers using the best green business practices.” There was an article about the project in the Dayton Daily News several weeks ago and a link to that article is on the home page of this site.

The headquarters of the TransPlant Project is also the location of our Farm 2 Fork Fresh Market. Up to now, Farm 2 Fork Fresh has existed only in the form of a CSA (community supported agriculture – see the About Us page here for a definition) through Dorothy Lane Market. Mulberry Creek Farm is listed in the CSA promotional material as featured. Ultimately, Farm 2 Fork Fresh will actually be a market of primarily Miami Valley Grown products at the location on N. Main. At the moment, while we are still in the renovation stage, we have a farm stand open there 7 days a week at which you will find fresh produce from Tüken’s Orchard in West Alexandria, Fulton Farms in Troy, Spring Hill Farm in New Lebanon, and, of course, Mulberry Creek Farm.

The farm stand at 8051 N. Main, Clayton (mailing address is Dayton) is open 7 days a week: 10-3 Saturday and Sunday and 10-6 M-F. I’m there a lot of the time during the week, Glenn is there on and off, and the rest of the time other TransPlant staff are there, most of whom can at least tell you which farm something came from and sometimes can tell you more. For instance, pretty much everything from Tüken’s is organic, while pretty much everything from Fulton is conventionally grown, and both seem to focus on commercial hybrid varieties that ship and shelf well. Mulberry Creek Farm uses sustainable practices (we follow organic procedures, but may use rescue only chemicals) and much of our produce are heirloom varieties (corn isn’t – you wouldn’t eat heirloom corn on the cob) so our tomatoes will have blemishes and cracks and there may be free protein crawling around in something. If you have questions about variety or practices concerning any of the farms involved, Glenn can tell you a lot.

Garden News

Big news flash: we have plenty of sweet corn and green beans for those of you interested in freezing and/or canning! Here’s the deal. We (Glenn and Maggie) will pick corn for you if you come to the farm to pick it up. Call ahead and it will be ready. If you want beans, either Glenn can pick it for a small amount added to the cost of the beans or you can arrange with him to come pick it yourself. Bulk sweet corn is $2.50/dozen and we’re still deliberating about the price of the beans – make Glenn an offer!

There is a garden out there … somewhere … its weed heaven! Glenn and his occasional and regular volunteers have been doing stellar work keeping the weeds at least somewhat managed, although lately more work has been going into building fence. What is out there is mighty tasty, if I do say so myself!

We’ve had comments nearly every week that a particular item in the share box was a first and I’ve tried to keep some recipes and cooking directions on our recipe page. For beet greens from this week: prepare them like any other green. By the way – if you’re a fan of stuffed zucchini (one of my favorite ways to prepare it) those tiny little underdeveloped things you get in the store won’t cut it. Neither will the average sized ones that have been in your share baskets! If you want a zucchini you can really do something with, please let us know. We have a bumper crop and they’re about to take over. I’ll try to get a recipe for stuffed zucchini on the site today.

Shallots are coming along and our second crop of lettuce is developing nicely. Glenn has replanted broccoli, cauliflower, spinach and other cool weather crops for fall harvesting, so there’s something to look forward to. Potatoes are starting to be dug and carrots are still going strong. Look for continued and even increased peppers and tomatoes! I’ll work on getting some tomato-based recipes on the site soon, too. Don’t let me forget!

The weather has been very good to us through the latter part of July – let’s see what God has in store for us in August to keep us faithful!

Poultry & Egg Update

We ate our first pasture-raised chicken last week – amazing flavor right through the bird, not just the goop we put on the surface. Very tasty!

I only just realized I have yet to come through with pricing on individual broilers. Well, it’s $2 per pound. We do ask that you order by the number of birds you want rather than the weight. Every chicken is a bit different in weight but they’re all reasonably close. We’ll keep you updated with more poultry options as we have them available. Again, our prices are going to be a bit higher than what you’re used to paying in the store, but our birds are also living a much healthier life out there in the grass than the commercially raised birds. See our Poultry page for more information on why this matters.

And we still have chicks and pullets available, as well. Drop us a line or, better yet, give Glenn a call for more information.

Hog and Hive Hearsay

Glenn has both honey supers on the beehive and they have begun producing honey for us! We hope to be able to harvest our first honey this month and will keep you up to date. I don’t know when we’ll be ready to begin distributing. (Our shareholders will get the first taste … after us, of course!)

We will be getting our trio of Mulefoot hogs within the next couple of weeks and Glenn and his volunteers have been hard at work creating a fenced area for them. I hope to have photos up on the site soon (and the many others we have taken since the last time I uploaded pix sometime in March!)

Miscellany

Jams and Jellies are here! We have been hard at work turning all kinds of fruit into jellies and jams. We have several varieties. All come in 8 oz. traditional jelly jars and, in fact, we are constantly on the trail to find Ball/Kerr/Mason etc. jars, particularly in the ½ pint (8 oz.) and pint (16 oz.) sizes. We will offer 5c per jar in good condition and an additional 5c if the jar is returned with a ring in good condition and another 5c if the label has been completely removed. We’re open to barter arrangements, too.

Don’t forget to check out the recipe page while you’re here – there’s often something new!

Finally … eat local!

Peace –

Gail