Dear CSA Member

There have been beautiful sunny weather days after days of rain and overcast skies. This weekend it has poured again, but the sun should be out tomorrow.  The plants need the rain, but without the sunshine, they just do not grow.  Transplanting continues, cultivating, weeding, harvesting.  Our weeks move so quickly.

With all of the rain and cooler temperatures, the lettuces have just continued to dominate the garden.  Slowly the summer time vegetables are catching up and will soon take off.  There will be a time in the not so distant future of CSA Season 2011, that the lettuces will stop and we will not have any more until next spring time.  We have tried in the past to grow lettuce into the fall, but with the intense heat of the summer here in the foot hills of the Catskills, have not been successful so have stopped trying to push our lettuces into fall.  Enjoy them while they are plentiful and delicious.  Our friend and fellow farmer Carol Clement, Heather Ridge Farm  http://www.heather-ridge-farm.com/, has a great farm store and cafe located in Preston Hollow.  Carol faithfully comes to our farm to pick up vegetables to use at the cafe.  She passed along this posting from a customer that raved about our lettuces: http://tiffanyjhanna.com/2011/06/28/lunch-on-a-mountaintop/#comment-4

Members have been wondering when the farm visits will take place this year.  There are two farm visits each season.  The first will be July 22 and is a Farm Work Visit.  We will probably be pulling garlic but that will be determined when the time comes closer.  The second is the Farm Festival on September 10.  That is just fun and a great day to come and visit the farm.  I hope you will mark these dates on your calendar.

This is the last week you can add a Fruit Share to your Vegetable Share if you have not already done so.  To add a Fruit Share, log into your CSA account on the farm website and place the order.  If you have any trouble or have a question, please send an e-mail and we will get back in touch with you at info@stoneledgefarmny.org.

A member has requested that Brenna include storage tips to the recipe page.  She will be adding Storage Tips under the Vegetable index .  If you have questions, ideas or recipes to share, please e-mail her at stoneledgefarm2@gmail.com

Enjoy the Vegetables
Deborah for everyone at Stoneledge Farm

Red Tide Leaf Lettuce – 1 head
Green Solix Lettuce – 1 head
Escarole – 1 head
Summer Spinach – 1 bunch
Summer Squash – 2 pounds
Basil – 1 bunch
Sugar Snap Peas – 1 pound
Orient Eggplant – 1 – This is the first early picking of eggplant.  More to come.

This week’s newsletter includes recipes for wilted greens with balsamic chickpeas and a main dish salad.

Week 3

Dear CSA Member,

Summer is here and so is the Summer Squash.  That first taste of Summer Squash can not be beat.  Now, there will be many more tastes after the first because once it starts, the squash needs to be picked every other day.

We have planted a number of favorites this year:

• Elite Zucchini – somewhat lighter green and lightly flecked
• Romenesco Summer Squash – an Italian favorite, green and lighter green streaks on a very ribbed, long squash
• Sunburst Patty Pan – flattened, bright yellow with some green on the base
• Zephyr – long light green streaky
• Golden Glory – a bright yellow zucchini
• Plato – a new addition.  Bright green, smooth skinned zucchini.  It almost looks like a cucumber in the baskets

When we pick the Summer Squash we mix it during washing so a delivery may bring any assortment of the varieties above.

Slowly we are getting all of the fall transplants into the garden.  Harvest takes up so much of our time that every day seems to fly by with harvest, planting, watering.  The end of this week it is going to rain so we are anxious to get more transplants in.  After transplanting a good rain is perfect to set the small plants.

A reminder: Fruit Shares start the 5th delivery.  If you have not added a Fruit Share or you are sharing a Vegetable Share and you would each like your own Fruit Share, please log into your account and add the Fruit.  We will stop adding Fruit Shares the 4th delivery week.

Honey, Maple and Guatemalan, Honduran and Decaf Coffee in whole or ground can be ordered weekly by logging into your account and placing the order.  The cut off for delivery with that week’s CSA share is listed on the farm website on the Honey and Maple page and also the Coffee Project page.  If you would like to pay with a check, please down load the Market Place order form found on those pages and mail to the farm with a check.

If you have any trouble logging into your account, please send the farm an e-mail at info@stoneledgefarmny.org and we will get back in touch.

Enjoy the Vegetables and the longer days!

Deborah for everyone at Stoneledge Farm

Romaine Lettuce – 1 head

Bright Lights Swiss Chard – 1 bunch – beauty of the greens family.  A rainbow of colors.

Red Lettuce – 2 heads – Red Sail Lettuce and Red Tide Lettuce are the varieties that were harvested.  It is really hard to tell them apart so take two heads of Red Leaf Lettuce.

Garlic Scapes – 5 – this is the end of the Scapes.  Garlic to come in October.

Summer Squash – 2 pounds

Flat Leaf Parsley – 1 bunch – The flavor and fragrance of this parsley is so intense.

Summer Savory or Annual Thyme – 1 bunch