Greetings!

Hope everyone enjoyed their tomatoes and beans, as there's more on the way!

In this week's market bag:

• oakleaf lettuce
• baby romaine
• red salad bowl lettuce
• costata zucchini
• "City Lights" Swiss Chard
• citrus thyme
• thyme
• rosemary
• tarragon
• dill
• basil
• cilantro
• garlic chives
• 1 lb of yukon gold potatoes
• 3/4 pint of gold nugget tomatoes
• royal burgandy beans

Business:

Double-breasted chicken: Broilers are available frozen, and they are delicious! The breast is full and the meat has a tender, mild flavor. We have just a few left, so get them while they last. Cost is $3.00/ lb, dressing out at about 4-5 lbs.

Duck: We have just a couple pasture-raised ducks available, as we opted to put the remainder back on pasture for another month or so to gain more weight. These are hand-processed birds, so if pin-feathers make you squeamish, stick to the broilers. (For complete feather removal, we recommend a paraffin wax strip.) Cost is $7.00/ lb likely dressing out at around 2.5 lbs.

All these birds have been pasture-raised with only natural feed free of hormones, antibiotics, and animal byproducts and finished out on organic grains from Nature's Best Organic Feeds.

News:

We have a sign! Our cute little hand-made sign should make it easier for visitors to find Touch the Earth Farm, so tell your friends about us.

We've sown summer lettuces, which are now germinating under the shade cloth; next week, we'll sow another bed with even more varieties of heat-tolerant lettuces. Currently, we have a row of romaine maturing under shade cloth, the thinnings of which you've been getting in your share bags. Hopefully, we'll have tender baby greens for the summer until temperatures cool and we can look forward to scrumptious large heads again.

Happenings:

Definitely not news by now—we're hot and dry! We've had only about 1.33 inches of rain this month, which means we're now irrigating in earnest. The high temperatures and lack of rain are impacting our yield significantly, and we have only about one quarter of the potato harvest this year as we had last year at the same time. Our plan is to use prudent and sustainable irrigation methods to offset some of these effects and bring as much quality produce to your table as we can.

Touch the Earth Farm's sustainable irrigation practices include water harvesting, micro-irrigation, companion planting, weed control, soil rich in organic matter, and smart watering.

Water Harvesting: By harvesting rain water from the barn roof, we're able to reduce the amount of water drawn directly from the ground. We're also able to recycle all the water used to wash our vegetables by strategically directing run off onto garden crops from our garden sink. This conservation effort is two-fold: saving water and ensuring that the valuable top soil stays in the garden where it's needed.

Micro-Irrigation: Through the use of drip irrigation and soaker hoses, we're able to deliver water directly to where the plants need it—the roots. This not only reduces water lost to evaporation, it avoids transmitting soil born fungus and disease through splash.

Companion planting: We've worked with companion planting to help reduce evaporation from soil. Large-leafed squash shade the roots of other plants and soil, helping to protect moisture levels and soil structure from the sun's harsh rays.

Weed control: By eliminating weeds that compete for valuable moisture and nutrients, we ensure that crops have the best possible chance of thriving. In combination with companion planting and increasing organic matter, weed control helps establish an ideal environment for plants to grow even in drought-stressed conditions.

Organic Matter: By using our pigs as plows that provide valuable fertilizer, by rotating the garden plot, by adding compost, and by planting cover crops which get tilled into the soil, we create a soil rich with organic matter, enabling it to hold more water. Like a sponge, this organic matter retains water and enables plants to use water more efficiently by providing valuable nutrients.

Smart Watering: Smart watering means watering in ways that ensure the plants' health and preserve as much moisture as possible. Here at Touch the Earth Farm we water in the evenings, when the plants will have the cool night temperatures and plenty of time to take up as much of the water as possible before the heat of the day begins. We use gravity-fed drip irrigation whenever possible so plants get a deep, slow drink without consuming valuable electricity along with water.

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