Greetings!

We officially passed the half way point in our season two weeks ago, and I'd like to take a moment to touch base with each of you. I've uploaded a midseason survey as a pdf file, and if you all could take a moment to fill it out, I'd sure appreciate it.

What's New:

Last week we began a Grab Bag feature where we offered extra produce on a first come first serve basis. The grab bag is for slightly damaged produce, like cracked tomatoes that are still delicious but need to be used that day, or for extras that weren't enough to go around or for share selections folks don't want.

Because Wednesday members don't have the grab bag option, I chose and sent some extras along with your shares. Please send an email or let Jim know whether and what you might like from the grab bag in the future, and we'll take those preferences into account.

Check out the tasty pasta dish I made from Monday's grab bag leftovers in the sidebar!

In this week's market bag:

• 1 pt. "sungold" cherry tomatoes
• 1 pt. sweet olive tomatoes
• Brandywine heirloom slicing tomatoes
• 3/4 lb. Green Zebra specialty tomatoes
• 2 German red strawberry tomatoes
• Costata zucchini
• 2 yellow squash
• Waltham butternut squash
• 3+ ears sweet corn
• Bright Lights swiss chard
• bulb softneck garlic
• rosemary
• chives
• basil
• thyme
• citrus thyme
• tarragon
• green onion
• calendula
• blue borage

Business:

Don't forget! We need reservations for fall broilers within the next week.

There will be two slight changes in September's delivery:

We will be leaving town the week of September 3rd, though not until Tuesday morning to ensure CSA share delivery. Monday pick-ups will be unaffected, but Wednesday NIST deliveries will be made Monday of that week rather than Wednesday unless other arrangements are made. Please email Jim if Monday will not work for you, and we can make alternate arrangements.

Monday shares for September 17th will be picked that morning, bagged, and placed on ice in a large white cooler under the tree at the top of our driveway for pickup. Each member's bag will be labeled with their last name to prevent mix ups.

News:

I was sorely disappointed in our share of the Tennessee muskmelon, which was bland and soft. I'd sure welcome feedback on how other melons tasted, especially from those who had a chance to try the Hale's Best, which I haven't had yet. Low rainfall is the likely culprit, yet we had one yesterday evening that was absolutely delicious. I have a couple more that we'll go ahead and pass along as they come in, just in case the recent rains make a difference. Please remember that your feedback helps me to know which varieties and how much to plant next year!

As suspected, corn worm damage is rampant with the later plantings and unfortunately not limited to the tassel end where oil applications help. In order to mitigate the damage rather than passing it on to members (other than the loss of some delicious corn), I husked this week's share to ensure that all the corn you receive is delicious and worm free. Eat it sooner rather than later for best flavor.

Happenings:

Rain, rain, glorious rain! Yes, you read that right. We got over an inch dropped on us last weekend, and boy does it show! The pastures got a much needed soaking and are beginning to green up a bit and grow—very good news for our livestock. Many earlier plantings are perking up and some just peeking their heads through the soil for the first time. What will August and September weather hold for us, I wonder? Keep on raindancing!

The first round of sunflowers are just beginning to bloom, so look for them in your market bag next week. We planted several different varieties, including some saved from last year's seed. A bit slow with the lack of rain, but welcome sunshine nonetheless!

Fall seedlings are coming in nice and strong, and we hope to have a tasty crop of peas and broccoli among other things. We're continuing to plant lots of fall favorites and hope to add many tasty treats to the line up. We're busy gearing up for cooler temperatures as we collect more sheer curtains to use as row covers and design our modular hoop house. Hard to remember those delicious cool-season crops like radishes and peas in this heat!

Pitch In!

We're still collecting sheer curtains for row covers, so if you have any to donate, they're much appreciated

Don't forget, we recycle used pulp egg cartons, so please return them rather than throwing them away. While Maryland law doesn't allow us to reuse egg cartons for our eggs, we can use them for making homemade paper. Thanks to all who've brought theirs in!

Happy Eating!

Danielle at Touch the Earth Farm