Farm News Week 4, 2026

June 24th, 2026

No Comparison

There are some things in life in which no substitute is acceptable. No imposters allowed. In a world of synthesized experiences available virtually everywhere you turn, where we can build railways under rivers and subways through mountains. We can watch documentaries about trips to Africa and feel like we’ve actually gone there. We can connect with our friends and family on social media and cell phones and sense that we have been close to them. We can even buy the experience of a home cooked meal at any one of thousands of restaurants across the country. And while I have benefitted from and engaged in all of the above listed activities, I still remain somewhat of a purist in some ways. There are no substitutes for fresh, local, organic carrots or strawberries or tomatoes or peppers or melons or sweet corn grown on a small scale farm. If you believe that the produce in the grocery stores are equivalent, you have been tricked my good friend.

I’ve picked a lot of strawberries in the last couple weeks. I especially like to eat the slightly over-ripe ones that have split open just a little and maybe even started to dry out just slightly. They sugars are so concentrated. Midwestern grown strawberries picked in season and delivered locally are ephemeral and special. The flavors are so fresh-a perfectly designed balance of sweetness and acid – free of the flavors of diesel trucks and grocery stores and walk-in coolers that only the alchemy that the sun and the soil could ever design together. When eaten soon after harvest, one can experience the true magic of this strawberry eating experience. The colors, the flavors, and the smells are uniquely alive. Their hearts are still beating. The understanding of this flavor is like nothing I could purchase anywhere. The only place that I know to find it is here-in the garden.

Similarly, we purchased some organic carrots from the grocery store in town here this week because we finished our carrots from last season that we had in storage. We were reminded just how different the two different products are. I’m not sure I would have ever known that carrots tasted any different had I not discovered the difference between mass-produced carrots and carrots grown on small family farms on a small scale. But the thing is, now I know the difference. Now. I. Know. And once you know, you can’t un-know. My standards and my expectations are just too high. I’m spoiled, in a way.

If you’re a returning CSA member, maybe you’re coming back because now you know. You know the difference-and you can’t un-know it. You now need to have the best quality produce for your taste buds, your dinner experience, your cells. Maybe you’re new to eating this quality of food, and if you are, I’m SO excited for you to taste the difference. Food without barcodes and stickers and excessive plastic packaging that hasn’t traveled thousands of miles to get to you from far-away lands is strangely hard to find these days. If this amazing food is not new to you, then you know. We both know. And you can’t un-know.

What’s in the Box?

Kohlrabi x 2– Almost everyone received a white and a purple kohlrabi, but some people towards the end of the packing received two purple kohlrabi. The color of the kohlrabi does not make a difference in flavor. Both colors taste the same. Be sure to peel the tough outer skin of your kohlrabi off. Enjoy the apple-like texture in the center. Your kohlrabi greens can be used like kale if you want to save them and cook with them.
Overwintered Gold Potatoes- 2 lbs of gold potatoes overwintered from last season. These potatoes have been in cold storage all winter and if set out at room temperature, they will want to sprout. If you don’t think you’ll use them right away, stick them in the fridge.
Peas- .33lbs per member. Imagine the hours it takes to pick peas for a 375 member CSA! We grow peas, not because they’re profitable to grow, but because everyone loves them! Thank you to our lovely crew of helpers who helped pick them this week! We recommend storing them in a plastic bag if possible. We shipped them in a little paper bag in an effort to use less plastic here on the farm.
Oakleaf Lettuce x 2- Two heads of gorgeous green oakleaf lettuce per box this week! Enjoy the beautiful oakleaf as it becomes difficult to grow oakleaf lettuce in the heat of the summer. Soon we will transition to our standard heat-tolerant bolt-resistant varieties that can take a little summer heat okay.
Swiss Chard- Swiss chard is a cooking green that can be used much like spinach. It’s in the same family as spinach and beets and has a mild earthy flavor. The stems are also edible in a stir fry or however you can get creative to use them! We wilted our swiss chard down and made lasagne this week! Gotta sneak those greens into everything!
Cilatnro- This cilantro was starting to bolt just a little, but we are responding to popular demand for more cilantro, so we decided to stick it in this week’s box! I find that cilantro that’s starting to bolt just a little tastes just the same. We eat the stems and everything at our house!
Hakurai Salad Turnips- Possibly one more week of salad turnips to go! The greens are edible as well if you’re a super resourceful CSA member that wants to make use of everything!
Green Onions- Yes! The first week of green onions! We grow these scallions or ‘green onions’ to hold you over until we begin harvesting actual onions in about a month. Your green onions can be used all the way up to the tips if you like, especially when they’re this young and tender!
Garlic Scapes- These are actually the garlic plant’s effort at making a seed head. We snap them off to tell the garlic plant not to put effort into making seeds, but to tell the plant to send it’s energy down to the root zone and make larger garlic cloves. Lucky for us, garlic scapes are delicious! We like to eat from the stem up to the nodule.
Strawberries- One pint of beautiful, delicious, like nothing you can buy at the grocery stores, seasonal strawberries!
Next Week’s Best Guess- Lacinato kale, green leaf lettuce x 2, kohlrabi, peas, fennel, cilantro, broccoli?, Strawberries?, Salad turnips?, garlic scapes, green onions

Here is Julia working on setting up the tomato trellising. We put this black landscaping fabric between the rows of tomatoes to keep the weeds down and to keep soil from splashing up onto the leaves of the tomato plants. Tomatoes are prone to getting blights, so the landscaping fabric helps prevent blight in the tomatoes and doubles as a weed barrier.