10/19/09 Newsletter

Dear Friends of the Farm;

It is the last week of summer distribution and the time has flown by! Jerry & I would like to thank you for your generous support of this farm. We ended up with a great variety of produce under the circumstances! I understand there were other CSA farms in the area that did not fare as well.

We tried something different with the working members by having Team Leaders. These Leaders came from our Core Group & took ownership in our distribution day by getting everyone assigned job duties, overseeing Distribution, supervising the loading of trucks and even going on deliveries now and then. This was a huge help to Jerry and I and each Team Leader did an outstanding job!

Your CSA farm would not function without your working members. These are very unique people that want to be more involved with the farm than just getting produce. They are the very people that help in the planting of your crops, weeding and even harvesting those same crops. They get the opportunity to watch the farm reinvent itself spring, summer and fall. Members' children benefit from this the most by seeing crops evolve from peas & lettuce in the spring to winter squash in the fall.

Another experiment this year was having non-working members help with farm chores at certain times of the year. It was wonderful seeing all the people that came out in the spring to help plant this year. Our fall harvesting crews were smaller, but very effective. We would love to see more members get involved. This will help you feel more connected to your farm. It is fun and a great opportunity to meet other members. The more members that come out to help (especially in the spring), it will help to keep our costs down so that we do not need to raise prices every year!

Please continue to send in your surveys, either by mail or Distribution Centers will take them. Jerry & I take the time to read each and every one of them. We want your surveys, both good and bad. However, if you do not send in a survey, we will assume you were extremely happy with your vegetable share and wouldn't change a thing, (although it is always good to hear that)!

For those of you who wish you could get more produce; this is what our normal shares look like. If it wasn't enough produce for your family, you may need to increase your share size. For those of you who got too much, you may need to decrease your share size. Keep in mind, every growing year is different and we may not be able to supply the same amount of produce from year to year. A member who has been with the farm for 14 years had this to say, "It appears you have one bad year for every three good ones. The good ones more than make up for the one bad year!"

If you change your mind about the Winter Share and would like to get involved, please let me know. We did not get enough interest in a Golden Distribution Center, but did get enough members to start the Broomfield Distribution Center. The two Distribution Centers in Central Denver have given me their hours: 38th and Tennyson is from 4:30pm to 6:30pm and the Colfax and Sheridan location will be from 3pm to 6pm. Those members signed up for the Central Denver site will need to call me and let me know which location is your preference. There is a limit of 25 members per location, so if one fills up, you will automatically be placed in the other! Winter Distribution will begin Wednesday, November 4th.

This week you are getting French fingerling potatoes, Delicata winter squash, yellow onions, carrots, garlic, green cabbage or cheddar cauliflower, red and green peppers and tomatoes.

Thank you again for your support this summer and winter. We look forward to being your farmers again next year! Have a great winter!

Jerry, Jacquie, Alaina and Kyle

Drying Pumpkin or Squash Seeds

Rinse fibers from seeds. You will need ¼ cup salt to one quart water. Cover seeds with salted water and bring to a boil. Simmer for two hours. Drain seeds and dry on paper towels. Spread seeds on a shallow baking sheet. If desired, can add other seasonings at this time, such as; garlic powder, onion powder, seasoning salt, jalapeno powder, chili powder etc. Bake at 225 degrees for one hour or until golden brown. Stir occasionally. Seeds should be crisp to bite. Let cool completely and store in an air tight container.

10/12/09 Newsletter

Dear Shareholders,

Wow! It was cold this weekend! Our temperatures dropped to 15 degrees overnight. Just to return to a balmy 25 degrees during the day! I am really looking forward to our warmer days by the end of the week! Somebody tell me; is it supposed to be fall or winter?

The crew is working hard to get all the winter crops harvested for the Winter Share. This week they will be working on harvesting the winter carrots and the green and red cabbage. The carrots will be stored in a pit, six feet underground. The cabbage has a colder room waiting for them in a strawbale building. Hard to imagine, but the pit stays at a warm 55 degrees where the strawbale building will be colder because of being exposed to the weather. Which is just what the cabbage, popcorn, garlic and onions prefer!

We hope to plant next years garlic by the end of the week. Working Members started separating garlic last week. This isn't a hard job, just a monotonous one! Hopefully the job will be completed this week and Jerry can get it planted by Friday.

I made an error in one of the Denver locations. I was informed that 6th Avenue and Colfax run parallel to each other. (I did know that, but failed to recognize it at the time!) The actual cross streets are Colfax and Sheridan. Since the Central Denver locations have moved from the Wash-Park area, we will be calling each and every one of you who have listed the Central Denver location as your Distribution Center. You will have a choice of one or the other, (38th and Tennyson) with the understanding there is a limit as to how many people can be served at one location. Then everyone else will automatically go to the other location not completely filled.

The Boulder location will stay at Arapahoe and Foothills. Jon and Kim Haines (with the help of neighbors) have worked out a schedule to run the Distribution Center. It now looks like we will have a Broomfield Distribution Center too. Sherri MacLean has offered her home. We know of at least 8 to 10 people that would like to sign up; if there is a Broomfield location. If anyone would like to change Distribution Centers or would like to join as a Winter Shareholder now that we have a Broomfield Distribution Center, please let me know. Connie Brown is also willing to be a Distribution Center for Golden. We will need a minimum of 10 people to join at this location before we will make the drop off. Again, please let me know if you want to pick up at this location if there becomes a Golden Distribution Center.

Those of you who get honey monthly and bi-monthly will be getting the last shipment of the season. Hopefully, you have planned for the winter and have a small stash in your pantry by now!

This is also the last delivery of fruit. You will be getting DAnjou winter pears. They will keep one or two months in your refrigerator (helping you to extend your fruit into the winter). You will be getting them in the light green stage. It will take anywhere from 6 to 10 days to finish ripening on your counter top. They are ready to eat when they have a slight yellow tinge. This is a very prestigious pear. First Fruits is very excited to have them & hope you will enjoy them thoroughly! First Fruits would like to thank you for being patient with them and Mother Nature. They love being orchardists, but hate they do not have more control as to when fruit ripens!

This week you are receiving Acorn winter squash, Yukon Gold potatoes, yellow onions, carrots, celery root, garlic, broccoli, red and yellow bell peppers and tomatoes.

You have had everything before except the celery root. This is very popular to put into soups, stir-fries, salads or serve on a relish tray. It is one of the ugliest veggies we raise! Peel the outside tough root skin and discover the prettiest white flesh inside. Cubed, sliced or Julian is the best way to prep it.

This is week 17 out of 18. We have one more week to go! Your Distributors will be notifying you of the amount owed for eggs received this summer. Please bring a checkbook next week to pay for those eggs! Speaking of eggs, if you would like to receive eggs over the winter, you can do this even if you do not get a Winter Share. Send in your order form and we will get you set up.

Thanks everyone and have a great week!

Jacquie and Jerry, Alaina and Kyle

Herb Scallop Potatoes

¼ cup onion, chopped
1/8 tsp pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
½ tsp rosemary
¼ cup butter
¼ tsp thyme
¼ cup flour
2 1/2 cups milk
1 ½ tsp salt
5 to 7 large potatoes, sliced

Melt butter on medium-high heat and summer onion and garlic until onion is translucent. Stir in flour, salt, pepper & herbs. Add milk, stirring constantly until thick and bubbly. Cook 2 minutes more. Place potatoes in a casserole dish. Pour milk mixture over potatoes. Cover and bake 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Remove cover and bake another 30 minutes or until potatoes pierce easily with a fork.

Roasted Oregano Potatoes

5 to 7 medium potatoes
½ tsp dried oregano or 1 tsp fresh
2 Tbsp oil
¼ to ½ tsp salt
1 clove garlic, minced finely
1/8 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

Wash potatoes thoroughly do not peel! In a large bowl toss potatoes in the next six ingredients. Arrange on a cookie sheet and bake at 325 degrees for one and a half hours.

Note: This can be done with all root crops, try a mixture of turnips, beets, celery root & carrots to impress company! Important to make sure all veggies are approximately the same size.

October 5th Newsletter from Jacquie

Dear Shareholders,

This was one of the most interesting years to farm in. We had such a cold and rainy summer! To tell you the truth, we really didn’t know what to expect from the crops that were planted. We have started to use more plastic mulch and drip irrigation every year. This year, it was a god send. The plastic mulch allowed plants to survive the rain as well as thrive. We feel we couldn’t have harvested as much variety without this important part of our irrigation system.

We have now had our first hard freeze. Normally, we can get a frost (sometimes not killing) anytime after the 20th of September. This year it occurred Friday, October 2nd with the low getting down to 25 degrees. Because of the help coming from Working Members and the Volunteers, we were able to get most of the tomatoes and peppers picked for the next few of weeks. We were also able to get most of the sweet potatoes harvested for the Winter Share. Thank you all for your time given to the farm!

I’m sorry I couldn’t get everyone out to pick pickles & tomatoes this year. We got as many people out as the field could handle and still give out the numbers we needed for distribution every week. Unfortunately, that’s what Mother Nature gave us to work with! We can only hope next year will be more plentiful!

This week you are getting Sugarloaf winter squash, red potatoes, yellow onions, carrots, diakon radish leeks, garlic, bell peppers and tomatoes.

Potato Bread

1 pkg active dry yeast 1 cup mashed potatoes, warm not hot
1 1/2 cups warm water 6 to 6 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 Tbsp sugar 1 cup whole wheat flour
3 Tbsp softened butter or vegetable oil 1 tsp salt
2 eggs at room temp. milk to brush over top of loaves

Mix yeast with water in large bowl; let stand 5 min. Add in sugar, butter, eggs and potatoes. Add 5 ½ cups flour, the wheat flour and salt to make a soft dough. Now add another cup of flour to make a smooth dough. Knead dough on floured surface until smooth & elastic – about 5 minutes. Place dough in a greased bowl; let rise, covered, in a warm place until double the size. This will take 1 to 1 ½ hours. Punch down and divide dough into 2 pieces. Shape and place into greased 9X5 loaf pans. Let stand, loosely covered, until double in size - another 45 min. Brush loaves with milk and bake at 375 degrees until golden brown; approximately 45 minutes. Remove from pans and cool on a wire rack.

9/28/09 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Well, we have a trying week ahead of us. Alaina found out last Friday afternoon that her eye is misbehaving and she will need emergency surgery this Tuesday. I will be out of commission along with my daughter for the rest of the week. Please keep her in your prayers!

Winter Share Sign-up is coming along nicely. We have approximately 100 members signed up and can accept another 50. You will find a Winter Sign-up form in your vegetable bag this week, just in case you need one! Please send that in just as soon as you can. We are looking for a new location in the Boulder area. I need someone that can help us unload the truck when we arrive during the day as well as help members with Distribution in the evening. You are considered a working member and will get $100 discount for volunteering. Or if someone would be willing to meet me at Kim Haines home to help me unload, that is an option too (with a smaller discount)! Please call me at the number above for more information!

Here is a list of confirmed Winter Distribution Centers:

Aurora - I-225 & Mississippi - Judy and Wally Soderquist
Centennial - County Line Rd & University - Peggy Walling
Lakewood - Union & Alameda - Sam Majeres
Central Denver - 38th & Tennyson - Barb Granica
Central Denver - 6th Avenue & Colfax - Brenda & Jeff Wright
Boulder - TBD
Ft. Collins - Drake & Lemay - Gayle Hemenway
Greeley - At The Farm - Jacquie Monroe

It has been a very interesting year raising animals. We have had problems with the weather and the predators this summer. The hog breeder also had problems with fertility too. Each customer who ordered either pork or lamb will be getting a letter within the next couple of weeks explaining the situation and your options. Both pork and lamb processing will begin the week of the 12th of Oct. and will continue well into December. Your specific processing date will be included in your confirmation letter.

This week the Fruit Share is getting a beautiful 10# bag of Honey Crisp apples. To reiterate; you have received three 5# bags of Bing cherries, 5# of Rainier cherries, two 20# boxes of peaches and one 10# bag of pears. After this week you will have received a total of 80# of fruit. There will be one more delivery of either 10# of apples or a combination of apples and pears. We hope this will be delivered Oct. 13th, 14th & 15th. This will give you your total of 90# for the summer!

Have a good week!

Jacquie, Jerry, Alaina and Kyle

9/21/09 Newsletter

Dear Friends of the Farm,

We really couldn’t have picked a better day to have a party, especially when a rainy Monday follows such a terrific day! There was a total of 440 people (126 membership households) enjoyed the warm day at the farm. There was wonderful food shared at the picnic this year. Approximately five years ago we had a ton of potato dishes shared. This year, coleslaw was the dish of choice. To tell you the truth, I’m surprised we don’t have more years where the same dish is duplicated! I also didn’t realize there were so many ways to prepare coleslaw!!

The hayride to the pumpkin patch was a big hit for everyone. I didn’t realize there were so many huge pumpkins out there this year. It was amazing to watch wagon after wagon being unloaded with such big pumpkins!

Most of the members took advantage of picking extra produce such as basil, dill, carrots, beets, hot peppers and Banana peppers. The two most exciting things were the strawberries and watching the old fashioned potato digger dig up Banana Fingerling potatoes. I think most people haven’t seen this before. Picking up potatoes is really fun. As Adults, how many times do you get to play in the dirt! Sifting through the soft, warm, sandy dirt to find treasure is sure to please anyone! And the strawberry picking was a nice surprise. The new strawberry plants planted this spring are producing a few berries. This is unusual. Normally we will not see strawberries until next spring!

The kids were adorable in the Stick Horse Race. We saw many creative animals. Even though there were some special awards given for their creativity, everyone went home with a ribbon. The popcorn sheller and the apples press was kept busy most of the day. Fresh apple cider just can’t be beat! Thank you Schwarzeweller family for sharing your old fashioned apple press with everyone! We would like to also send out a special thank you to everyone who helped out and kept the Festival running smoothly.

Don’t forget! This Sunday at 1 p.m. we are getting together to harvest the sweet potatoes. We would like to see a large group of members participate in this function. “Many hands make light work,” my grandmother would say!

Winter Share sign-ups are due Oct 1st. Your Distribution Centers will have forms if you need them! Single Shareholders will need to split the share because they are based on a Half Share. Full Share members may need to purchase two shares to fill their needs. A discount of $150 will be applied if two shares are purchased.

This week you are getting French Fingerling potatoes, yellow cooking onions, carrots, golden beets, lemon cucumbers, Globe eggplant, orange, yellow & green or red peppers, Anaheim peppers, sweet corn, the regular tomatoes & an heirloom tomato, spaghetti squash and orange honeydew.

Thank you for the gifts Sunday. We appreciate your thoughtfulness. And thank you for participating in the Harvest Festival. It was nice seeing you all!

Jacquie, Jerry, Alaina and Kyle

9/14/09 Newsletter

Dear Friends of the Farm,

The countdown has begun for the Harvest Festival! It is a really fun day for you to get to know other members, eat great food, tour the farm, take a hayride to the pumpkin patch, watch the stick horse races, check out the apple press & taste fresh cider, shell your own popcorn, pick extra produce or just sit back and watch it all happen. No matter what you like to do, you can see it happen at the Farm this Sunday. We will start at 11 a.m. and start tearing down between 3 & 4 p.m. Guests will pay $10 per person ages 3 and up. Don't forget to bring apples for the apple press! The picnic is a potluck. Please bring a dish at least twice the amount you would serve your family. We provide the hot dogs and hamburgers; we need side dishes and desserts! When you arrive at the farm, please check in at the Check-in Station. They will give you a name tag. This helps us to know exactly how many folks came to experience the fun at the Harvest Festival!

This next week will be a busy one! Besides our daily activities, we will be sprucing up the farm for the festival. If you haven't RSVP your reservation for the Harvest Festival, this is the last week you can do so. Please call by the end of day on the 17th. Shopping will need to be done this weekend. The person, who first volunteered to do the shopping for me, unexpectedly had to cancel. Is there someone else out there that would be willing to do the shopping? You will need a Costco or Sam's Club membership because of the large amount of paper products we purchase for the event.

We will be having a workday for members on Sat. the 19th at 9 am. We still have a small field of winter squash to get into the barn and there will be other odd jobs to do around the farm for the festival. If you have even a couple of hours, we could sure use the help! Contact Lorna at 303-593-1754. You will get a confirmation email by Friday evening either saying the workday is still scheduled or it is cancelled. Thank you very much for helping us out like this!

Unfortunately, there will not be any extra tomatoes to pick. Everything we have is going to the membership! We do have peppers and we will have the chili roaster going! Be aware! There can be a long line for this service. The cost will be $5 per tray roasted (we will provide the trays, but you cannot take them home!). You do not have to have your chilis roasted here. You can take them home and roast them on your grill.

The chili roaster will be going all day. It is suggested that some of you attend the pot luck right away and some of you head out to the u-pick fields or go on a self tour of the farm. Either way, you will be standing in lines waiting for something! The popcorn sheller will also be going most of the day. We ask that each household only take one bag of popcorn. The apple press belongs to Paul Schwarzeweller and Linda Hellow. They have been members of the farm since 1996. It is such a privilege to have them set up and show us how an old fashioned apples press works. You can find them on the east side of the house from 12 to 2 or until we run out of apples!

Here are some dos and don’ts to follow with the u-pick crops. It is very important to bring your own boxes, bags or any other rigid containers. You cannot use ours, we need them for distribution! If you do not bring containers, you will not be allowed to pick produce and throw it into your trunk. Please be respectful of other members and of your farmers. There is a limit to what you can pick! Do not go into fields that are not designated as u-pick crops. You will find a list of crops at the Check-in Station along with directions to get there. Please do not drive off without directions. Everyone drives the same direction so we do not have cars nose to nose. (We don’t have two lane roads out here!)

Directions to the Farm
From Denver, the Western Slope or Pueblo:
I-25 North to I-76 East. As you continue east, don't panic, you will be driving for a while! Last town you will go through is Hudson. Very next exit is #34 or the Kersey Rd. Take this exit, turn left. Continue north for approximately 16 miles. Turn right at Co Rd 48. You are now on a dirt road. Travel 1 ½ miles. We are on the left or north side of road. Find house number on front of mailbox: 25525, our name is on the side of the box.
From Boulder, Longmont or Lyons:
I-25 North to highway 66. Take highway 66 east to highway 85. Highway 85 north through the towns of Platteville, then Gilcrest. At next grain elevator, Co Rd 44, turn right heading east. At Co Rd 49, turn left heading north. Travel 2 miles to Co Rd 48, turn right heading east. Another 1 ½ miles to the farm on left or north side of road. House number on the front of the mailbox: 25525, our name is on the side of the box.
From Loveland or Ft. Collins:
Take highway 34 east through the city of Greeley. Must take Fort Morgan exit to continue east on highway 34. Approximately 4 miles from this exit to Co Rd 49, turn right heading south. Travel 4 miles to Co Rd 48, turn left. 1 ½ miles to farm on the left or north side of road. House number is on the front of the mailbox: 25525, our name is on the side of the box.

There was a typo error on the Winter Sign-up form. It indicated that Distribution would start November 5th when in actuality we always deliver on Wednesdays, making the date November 4th. We need volunteers for the Central Denver Distribution points. We actually need two because this area is in high demand! I know the payment schedule for the Winter Share is Oct. 1st, Dec. 1st and Feb. 1st. Paying that Feb. payment may be difficult since renewals for current members are due for 2010 by Feb. 19th. You are welcome to make monthly payments in Oct. & Nov. of $135 making the Dec. payment $130 and paying your Winter Share in full. This way you have paid for everything you purchased in 2009; clearing the way to renew your Membership Fees in 2010!

Crops you will be getting this week are Yukon Gold potatoes, red onions, carrots, Chioggia beets, summer squash, green cabbage, lemon cucumbers, Daikon radish, bell peppers, Banana peppers, Pablano peppers, Jalapeño peppers, green beans and tomatoes.

We look forward to the Harvest Festival and welcoming all of you to your farm. Please take time to look around and get to know the place where your food is grown!

Thank you and we will see you there!

Jacquie, Jerry, Alaina and Kyle Monroe

September 7 Newsletter

Dear Friends of the Farm,

New crops this week are French Fingerling potatoes, a long red radish, orange bell peppers and yellow tomatoes. The radish is from China and is both spicy and sweet. I have eaten them raw or in stir-frys. They store well placed directly in the crisper drawer.

In addition to this you are also getting yellow cooking onions, carrots, lemon cucumbers, patty pan squash, , green bell peppers, anaheim peppers, globe eggplant, broccoli, fennel, celery, red tomatoes and one melon of any kind.

It is time to sign up for the Winter Share. I will need your deposit by October 1st. If you decide to split your Winter Share with another household, all payments must be made by the member signing up for the share. Please do not send me two checks in two different names. It is very difficult for us to keep track of who is sharing with whom! You are welcome to add the second person's name on the form, but everything will be set up under the current Member's name or the first name on the form if two members are signing up together. Also keep in mind, when there is a household with two last names, we will be using the last name of the person who is listed first on the check. We usually sell out on these shares pretty fast, so get your sign up form in soon!

I need to keep this letter short this week. I have hurt my upper back and cannot be in any position for very long! Here is a recipe I think you will like!

Jacquie, Jerry, Alaina and Kyle

Basil & Summer Squash

1 med. to large summer squash of any kind, cubed
1 clove garlic
1/4 onion, chopped
1 8 oz package of cream cheese, cubed
2 Tbsp fresh basil (if using dried, 1 Tbsp)
Salt and pepper to taste

Saute squash, onion and garlic with salt and pepper until squash and onion are soft. Reduce heat to low and add cheese & basil. Keep stirring until cheese has melted and has combined with squash. Allow to sit for a minute or two before serving.

Winter Storage Share

Produce should be distributed every two weeks, November through February. Crops you could expect to see: potatoes, onions, carrots, winter squash, cabbage, celery root, red beets, garlic, leeks, pumpkins, popcorn and possibly sweet potatoes. There will also be some lettuce that will come from cold frames until a very hard freeze occurs. Plus any produce that can still be harvested from the previous summer will also be included.

If you just can't stand the thought of going back to grocery store produce, this is a great way to extend the summer season into winter! Distribution will start November 5th and produce should be delivered every other week through February.

The total cost of the Winter Share is $400. $150 of that is non-refundable and due at sign-up. The remainder can be paid in two equal installments on December 1st and February 1st. Deadline for sign-up is October 1st.


Tear off bottom portion and return with your check to:

MONROE ORGANIC FARMS
25525 WCR 48
Kersey, CO 80644



Name

Phone Number
_________________________________
Address
____________________________________



Eggs

Free-Ranged organic eggs can be delivered every other week along with the Winter Share. By filling out this form, you understand that the distribution center will keep track of how many eggs you have received over the winter and will charge you for those eggs at the end of the season. A check will need to be made out to Monroe Organic Farms and given to the distribution center the last day of distribution. I will need a phone call by 7 p.m. on Monday to cancel your egg order. If we deliver eggs and you do not pick them up, you will still be charged for them. They will then be donated to a place of need.


Beef

Not available at this time.


Honey

Not available at this time.


____dozen eggs a month
($5.00 a dozen)
____Winter Storage Share:
$400
($150 is non-refundable and due at sign up.)


Distribution Center Circle one:

Aurora Boulder Centennial Central Denver
Ft. Collins Lakewood
Greeley, at the farm

September 1st Newsletter

Dear Members,

New crops this week are Banana Fingerling potatoes, Patty Pan summer squash, Moon & Stars watermelon, white sweet corn, honeydew melon (green or orange flesh) and with the possibility of either Zebra, Roma or our regular tomatoes. In addition to this you will also receive red onions, lemon cucumbers, carrots, green & purple bell peppers, Banana peppers, cinnamon basil, green beans and muskmelon.

Banana Fingerling potatoes are elongated and small. They are very easy to cook; boiled or roasted is the most commonly way it is served. Patty Pan summer squash looks like a flying saucer! It can be white, yellow or pale green in color. Cut them lengthwise, scoop out the seeds and bake for half an hour. Fry up some thinly sliced carrots, garlic, onion, bell peppers & basil. Stuff the squash and bake another 15 to 30 minutes. This squash can also be used the same way you use the others. Moon & Stars watermelon is a very old heirloom watermelon. It has a dark green skin with yellow flecks throughout. If you are lucky, you will see one or two large yellow spots; these are the moon & stars. We would love it if you could save the seed of this watermelon. Rinse the seeds, dry them on a paper towel and seal them in an envelope. Do not put them in a plastic bag, they will mold and be unusable!

Jerry and I really do not know what to expect from our fields anymore. This has been such an unusual summer! It feels like we went from spring to fall…no summer at all! We were taking our normal spin around the farm this morning. Stopping at the watermelon patch, we were eating different kinds of melon. We have discovered that the melons, (watermelon, honeydew and muskmelon) just don’t seem as sweet this year. Much to Jerry’s chagrin; the rain seems to have washed out the sweetness! Needless to say, this has made Jerry very unhappy. He only wants the best for his members!

It is less than a month from the Harvest Festival! We are already getting started mowing around the farm getting it ready for the big day. I still need RSVP’s from everyone planning on attending the festival. I need to know how many adults and how many kids will be attending. I need this more for the ordering of beef patties and hot dogs. So if you are vegetarian or your children will not be eating from the grill, please let me know! You may place your RSVP up to the date of September 15th.

I still need Master Grillers from 11 to 1 and 1 to 3; someone to clear off the buffet table, rinse the dishes and put them back under the buffet table from 11 to 1 and 2 to 3; there is also a need for a bathroom checker to make sure we have tata paper & paper towels available and take out the trash. I expect everyone to help keep the bathrooms neat and tidy!

This is such a fun day! There will be extra produce to pick and a self tour of the premises. You are welcome to bring popped popcorn to feed to the chickens (it’s their favorite snack!) or pick the weeds and grasses around the pens for them. Everyone needs to see how popcorn is taken off the cob and the popcorn sheller is the place to see it. We will have the popcorn sheller working in the barn and the apple press on the East side of the house. Please bring half a dozen apples to add to the mix; that way everyone could get a small sample of fresh apple cider! Hay rides will start just as soon as Jerry has eaten his lunch and has regained some energy!

Attention all horse breeders and trainers! There will be stick horse races at 1pm the day of the festival. Bring your best bred stick horse. Ribbons will be awarded for most original breed as well as for 1st, 2nd and 3rd race places. There will be several races with multiple age groups mixed together. This was so much fun to watch last year and we have decided it is a keeper! There were many wonderful homemade creatures! I think this year we will have a parade too so that everyone sitting down can see them!

It is time to start up the weekend workdays again. If you have not put in your four hours volunteering at the farm, now is a great time to do it! We will be gathering at the barn at 1 pm on Monday the 7th; Saturday the 12th at 9 am; Saturday the 19th at 9 am and Sunday the 27th at 1 pm. As we were taking our spin around the farm, we discovered the winter squash vines have collapsed and are now ready to pick and get into storage. We will be doing this until all of it has been harvested; which may take a few weeks! More than likely, we will continue to have workdays into October. Please contact Lorna Carnahan and let her know when you are coming. This way, if there is a cancellation for some reason, we can email you and let you know. Lorna's phone number is 303-593-1754 and her email address is lornacarnahan@gmail.com.

Thank you for helping us during this busy time of year!

Jacquie, Jerry, Alaina and Kyle

Do It Yourself Produce Rinse (similar to Fit)

1 quart water
2 Tbsp baking soda
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp cream of tartar

Mix and keep refrigerated for up to 3 weeks!

8/26/09 Newsletter

Hello Members,
New crops this week are our regular green basil, tomatoes, oblong watermelon, yellow beans, golden beets and green flesh honeydew. In addition to this, you are also getting Yukon Gold potatoes, sweet white onions, summer squash, lemon cucumbers, Japanese eggplant, green peppers, Ivory peppers, carrots and muskmelon.

Jerry and I were discussing the plight of our tomato patch. You know the story that tomatoes appear to grow (or ripen) overnight. We have always known that the temperatures need to be between 65 and 95 degrees for tomatoes to grow, mature and ripen. Nothing has proven this more to us than this summer. Our average nighttime temperatures have been in the high 50's. Our summer highs have been in the 80's. As some of you have observed with your own gardens, the tomato plants are just sitting there waiting patiently for warmer temperatures. They really do grow overnight! When our daytime temperatures are in the high 90's or low 100's, they protect themselves by pushing all their water into the tomatoes. This is why you see splits on tomatoes. At night, when temperatures drop, the plants pull the water from the fruit into the plant for nourishment & growth, allowing the tomato to ripen. When the temperatures at night are less than 65 degrees, the tomato plants go into a type of hibernation, waiting for warmer temperatures. We are not seeing enough warm days of bright sunshine to make up for the low nighttime temperatures. And the repeated weeks of cool & cloudy or rainy days do not help the situation! We hope to give everyone at least one tomato each. But with today being cloudy and supposedly we are to get rain on Monday and Tuesday, we will see what we have by the end of the week.

I have to laugh when I say this, but we are picking our early tomatoes. Our main season tomatoes are starting to show signs of ripening, but this particular plant comes on earlier than our main season planting. I do not know if there will be any tomatoes for picking by the box, but, I have a feeling that we may have a whole field on at the same time, (if it ever matures)! So let's go ahead and get a list going of those of you who would like to come out and pick tomatoes by the box. When you call in, leave your name and phone number along with how many boxes you are interested in getting. We will either call you and get you scheduled to pick because there is only a few ready. Or we will let you know through the newsletter to call and make an appointment because the whole field is on!

The oblong watermelon you are getting this week is an heirloom called Charleston Gray. This a type of watermelon most of us grew up with when we were kids. Do you remember when Grandma or Mom would come home with a long watermelon instead of the round ones we get today? Hope it is a good one. It is hard to find the seed for oblong watermelon and we would like to add this as one of our staples!

We grow several different kinds of honeydew. This week you are getting a gourmet green fleshed honeydew that should thrill your taste buds! As most of you already know, Jerry has a passion for growing melon, especially watermelon! We hope you will enjoy all the different types, because it sure is fun to grow them!

Have great week!

Jacquie, Jerry, Alaina and Kyle

Creamed Zuchini Over Pasta

Saute ¼ cup olive oil
Add 5 cups zucchini, chopped
1 onion, chopped
½ cup fresh parsley
3-4 cloves of garlic smashed
1/2 cup fresh basil
1 cup dry white wine
Cook until zucchini is soft. Transfer to a blender and blend with:
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
4 Tbsp butter
Salt and pepper to taste
Serve over pasta of your choice.

Working Member submitted

Melon Freeze

Cut up and freeze muskmelon.
Add frozen melon and 1/4 to 1/3 cup frozen lemonade concentrate to a blender.
Appearance will be of a soft sorbet.
Drink immediately, tastes better while semi-frozen.

Wendy Oldenbrook

Jacquie's Summer Pasta

1 Bell pepper, any color or 2 banana peppers, chopped 1 or 2 tomatoes, chopped
2 Summer squash, any kind 2 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion (I prefer white but any will do) your favorite pasta
1 or 2 cloves garlic, smashed then chopped (I use elbow macaroni or bowtie)

Bring salted water to a boil and add your favorite pasta and cook according to the directions on the box. Saute onion and bell peppers for 2 minutes in oil. Add squash, garlic & tomato. Cook until squash is soft & tomato has broken down. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve over pasta.
Options:
Can add basil, dill or hot peppers to give it a different taste or some kick!

8/16/09 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

We are half way through the summer season with this being week 9 out of 18. We are pleasantly surprised so far with the quantities and variety of produce you have been getting. This week we will not have potatoes. We have had several pieces of equipment break down and we are incapable of harvesting those potatoes! You are getting, Walla Walla onions, orange carrots, cabbage or cauliflower, summer squash, slicing cucumbers, green & purple bell peppers, Globe eggplant, a few ears of corn, and muskmelon. New crops this week include lemon cucumbers, cinnamon basil, jalepeno peppers, banana peppers and red & yellow watermelon!

Cool weather again this week means the tomatoes are another week later. For those of you who have not grown tomatoes, they have stages of colors they go through before they turn red. We will see tomatoes in several shades of green, from dark to almost white. From there they turn an ugly yellow color and then head to an orange stage. The final stage before turning red is the pink stage. This is a tomato that is red, but not red enough to pick! One plant can have all the colors present on it. Right now we are starting to see a few plants with white and yellow tomatoes. Let’s convince Mother Nature to kick up the heat a little and see where it takes us!

Mother Nature has really thrown a curve ball in our direction this summer! It has not only affected the produce and when it ripens, but also the animals. The beef processing was postponed by one or two months. And now we will be postponing the processing of the sheep. We had several processing dates set well in advance for late August and September. But we will be cancelling those dates. It will be approximately another 3 or 4 months before they are at an acceptable weight for processing. For those of you getting lamb, we will send you a letter just as soon as we know something! The pigs, however, appear to still be on schedule for the October and November processing dates. We will be sending out information by letter to those of you who have pigs as well!

Just out of curiosity, I went back 5 and 10 years to find out what we were doing. Ten years ago we only had 215 members and 9 Distribution sites. We only distributed produce one day a week. Our Full Shares cost $400, our Half Share cost $250 and the Single Share cost $175. Five years later, a member created our new logo (as above), we added a fruit share and we had 350 memberships. We were distributing produce 2 days a week to 12 distribution sites. The cost of a Full Share was $470, a Half Share was $315 and a Single Share cost $235. Today, we have 600 members & 24 Distribution Sites. We also added a third day of distribution! The cost of a Full Share is now $620, a Half Share is $440 and a Single Share costs $335. My, how things have progressed!

Today’s tidbit: Just like trees, we all need to find a place to grow and branch out!

Jacquie, Jerry, Alaina and Kyle Monroe

8/11/09 Newsletter

Dear Friends of the Farm,

Well here it is, the second week of August and it is supposed to be very hot. What have we been getting? Rain…again! Last night we even received a little hail with it. That was lovely. Something every farmer looks forward too. It doesn’t appear to have caused any damage really. But you will see the marks on everything. Is it monsoon season yet? It looks to us as if it started a long time ago and never really went away! Enough with this crazy weather!

There is a really nice blog put together by a member who is a food writer in Denver. Gretchen has a passion for food, but more importantly, food from sustainable sources. Check out her blog at www.seedtospoon.com. If you are looking for more recipes for all the goodies you receive each week, you may want to try out www.cooks.com. I like this site quite a bit. A few years ago, a couple of members took the initiative to create and monitor a Yahoo Group Page. This group discussion page will have a calendar to mark off special events, when extra pickings are available and freeze warnings. It is designed for members to keep in touch via email. It is a great place to get to know each other as well as exchange recipes, cooking and preservation tips. You send email to a common address and yahoo distributes it to whoever has chosen to receive emails about Monroe Organic Farms. Your email address is kept safely within the group and traffic is low. You can be removed at any time. To join, either go to: www.yahoogroups.com/group/MonroeOrganicFarms/join, or send an email to MonroeOrganicFarms-subscribe@yahoogroups.com and we’ll get you signed up.

Once melons, corn and tomatoes are on, you will need extra cloth bags or a box to take all your loose produce home. It will also keep it from rolling around in your car! We do not provide the bags you will need for this, so plan ahead! You are welcome to bring your extra plastic bags to share with other members for this task.

Distribution Centers are asking me to remind you that they have set hours for you to pick up produce. Please do not come early unless you have called them ahead of time and made arrangements to do so. Never take produce from a Distribution Center without checking in with them first. They keep track of who have come and who have not, who have turned in their bags and picked up honey &Western Slope fruit. So you can see if you arrive and take produce without checking in, Distribution Centers are at a loss as to where that produce has gone and who has taken it!

Produce Fees are due and payable in full by September 1st. Statements will be sent out by the end of this week showing what has been paid and what has not. A $25 late payment fee will be assessed by the 15th of each month the accounts are not paid in full.

For those of you interested in the Winter Share, I will be sending out information about that in September. Watch for it! If you are one of those members who has already signed up for the Winter Share, do not worry about sending another form. We will take care of you!


The Harvest Festival will be Sunday, September 20th from 11am to 3pm. This is our ‘thank you’ for being members. We are asking you not to invite non-members. But if you do, they will be charged $10 per person, adults and children. We will be taking reservations starting this week. We need to know how many people are coming from your household. If non-members are coming, we need to know that too and how many.

I need volunteers to help set up tables and tents and chop produce. We get started at 8am. I will also need 3 volunteers to clear the table during the day, keep up with filling the drink containers and chopping extra produce if necessary. There is a need for 8 people (two every hour) to run the Check In Station from 11 to 2 pm. A couple of people will need to empty the trash in the bathrooms, make sure there are extra T.P. and paper towels available. The canning booth was a big hit last year and I would love to have volunteers sit and talk to people about canning. The most important job yet, the Master Grillers! We need two people every hour over a four hour period. Grilling will need to start at 10am. and continue until 2 pm. Tear down and clean up will start around 3:30pm. and we need as many hands as possible to make it easy and light work.

We hope to have the apple cider press back this year. We need everyone to bring a big bag of apples to the Festival to share. This way everyone will get a small sample of fresh apple cider. The more variety of apples, the better the cider! I haven’t checked with Jerry to find out if there was any popcorn left over from last fall. If there is, we will set up the popcorn sheller and everyone can try their hand at removing popcorn from the cob and take a small bag home for popping. We will of course have the hayrides to the pumpkin patch throughout the day. Each child should be able to take home a pumpkin!

We will also have our list of u-pick crops & directions available at the check in table for those who want to pick. We ask that you bring your own containers. If you do not, you will not be able to pick this year. We need all of our containers for distribution. We also ask members to only pick crops on the list. For the last couple of years, we are noticing more and more people taking crops out that were not listed. If this continues, we will stop the u-pick part of the party. We do not grow extras of every crop. And every year that list changes according to what Mother Nature has decided to give as bumper crops.

Would anyone like to do the shopping for me? Once we have a tally as to how many people are coming to the Festival, we will need the supplies for it. A shopping list will be compiled and passed on to you. You will need to bring those supplies to me on the day of the Festival. And I will reimburse you for those costs.

The Harvest Festival is something we all look forward to every year. But it does take several volunteers to make it happen. We noticed the same volunteers show up every year. It would be nice to see some new faces. The chores are not difficult and you get to know other members at the same time. To be successful, this festival needs you!

The Festival is a potluck. We ask you to bring the side dishes & desserts and we will supply the fresh veggies, fruit, hot dogs, burgers, utensils and drinks. The Festival is a great way to get to know other members and see the farm where all your veggies come from. Mark your calendars and plan on joining us for a fun filled day!

This week you are getting red potatoes, red onions, red beets, yellow carrots, celery, eggplant, ivory & green peppers, slicing cucumbers, summer squash, beans, muskmelon and corn! Normally you would not see celery this time of year. We assume it is due to the cold wet spring. Muskmelon is in the same plant family as cantaloupe, however, it is stronger tasting and sweeter than cantaloupe. Try not to fall head over heels in love with this. Oh yes! I do believe summer has arrived!

The Monroes

8/2/09 Newsletter & 'A Week in the Life" Conclusion

Dear Shareholders,

We are now on Friday and Saturday of our general daily work week description. We plant extra produce, more than what the CSA needs, just in case there is a weather related or insect problem. We attend four farmers markets over the weekend. If there is a production problem, produce would be taken away from the farmers markets. We are hoping the CSA will not feel it. Think of it as an insurance policy for your CSA. This is also how you get your extras to pick for freezing & canning. We have also found that if we do not pick produce just about every day, your zucchinis would be enormous, your tomatoes would be overripe, etc.! In general, your produce would not look as nice! Whatever produce the membership is not using, we take to the farmers markets.

The employees start picking Thursday and will continue until noon on Friday for the markets. After lunch, they will wash any produce with excessive amounts of dirt on it and bunch crops such as carrots & beets. Once this is completed, Jerry gets out the worksheet for loading the trucks. We keep track of what has been placed on each truck. The truck will also need tables, tents, table clothes, plastic bags, pens, paper, signs with prices & baskets for display.

On Friday, Jerry again, begins his day with changing his water. If he can get into fields, he likes to mow the weeds. This cannot be done in fields with vining crops, such as, pumpkins, watermelon and muskmelon, or with tall crops such as tomatoes & corn. But he likes to keep them down around his irrigations ditches and in as many fields as he can. I can tell you this doesn’t happen every week and we are lucky if he can get to it once a month! The animal pens need to be checked at least every other week. Fencing never seems to stay where you want it because of wind, predators and weeds. We spend quite a bit of time checking fencing and fixing it. It is amazing how quickly the animals figure out the electric fence is down!

Friday is “technically” my day off. This is the day I try to get my house cleaned, start the laundry, grocery shopping, shopping for Alaina and Kyle (if needed), Dr. appointments, weed my flower beds and water the trees in the yard. If farmers markets tents need repairing, I do this on Friday too. Other than this, I can lay around watching soapies and eating bon-bons! (I can tell you this happens frequently! Ha-ha!)

Everyone leaves Saturday morning somewhere between 4:30 and 5:30 in the morning for their destination. We attend the Cherry Creek Farmers Market, the Boulder Farmers Market and the Longmont Farmers Market on Saturday. It will take about one hour to get to a farmers market and about 1 ½ to 2 hours to set up. We will sell for 6 hours then load up anything that did not sell or give it to the Food Bank. This takes approximately one hour. When the trucks come back from Saturday farmers markets, we unload all the returning produce. This is noted on the worksheet. The produce is sorted and reloaded onto one truck. Anything that is determined to not be “good enough” for market is fed to the animals. Employees have picked just a little produce on Saturday to fill in what was sold on Sat. They have also changed Jerry’s water for him while he is at market. Half the employees have Sat. off; the other half has Sun. off. The day ends at 5 pm. for me and Jerry will be done as soon as he has checked his water.

Kyle goes to the Ft. Collins Farmers Market on Sunday. He leaves at 9 am. and returns about 5 pm. And once again, we will give excess produce to the Food Bank at the end of the day & bring back what will be fed to the animals. Crops such as potatoes can be kept until the next weekend.

Our biggest money makers are the potatoes and onions. The reason; we have these crops from the very beginning until the very end of the season. The customer favorites, however, are the strawberries, melons, tomatoes and beans.

This concludes our general daily work week. Of course there are so many other things we do during the week; so many they cannot be listed. But it gives you a good idea of what happens on a regular basis. Jerry and I work 7 days a week, March through November, then we slow down to 5 days a week during the winter. We try to take a week or two off during Christmas. Sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn’t!

Several members have been asking about coming out to work on a Sat. or Sun. Jerry asked me to let you know that we are a little overwhelmed with everything that is happening on the farm as well as with Alaina. We basically are doing two things right now: harvesting and tractor work. Jerry thought it would be more to our benefit to have our volunteer work days start up again in Sept. This is when we start harvesting for the winter too. We will need extra help with this project since we are still picking for our weekly distribution at the same time. We will notify you on the progress and when things will start up again; once we have a good grasp on our timing of fall crops.

We would love to create a list of members who are flexible enough to be on a freeze warning call list. We do not usually get more than a 4 or 5 day warning there will be a freeze. The weather is so funny this year; we thought we may have a “normal” fall. We normally have a freeze anywhere from the 20th of September to the 10th of October. If we can start a list of members who can come out at the last minute and help harvest summer crops, we can continue to distribute these crops for another two or three weeks. If you have some flexibility in your schedule, please give me a call at the above number and we will get you on this list.

Half of your fees for summer produce, fruit and honey were due by July 15th. If we have not received your payment by now, you will be assessed a late fee of $15. We will be happy to work out a payment schedule with you if you are in need of one. Please call us! If we have not been paid by the middle of August, produce will no longer be delivered until we have been paid in full for the entire summer.

Well the rain came to visit again this week. Can you believe how cold it got during the night? It rained off and on for three days, totaling about an inch and a half. We have been getting the most amazing lightning and thunderstorms. They have been putting on quite a show at night. Simply put, it was beautiful!

New crops this week are red cabbage, white carrots and either Japanese eggplant or Globe (black) eggplant. Eggplant is a funny thing. It doesn’t like to be cold or hot. Keep it on the counter if you will be using it within the next 5 days. You will not need to sweat the fruit. However, if you do not plan on using it right away, it will need to be refrigerated. Keep it wrapped tightly in a plastic bag. Once the fruit gets to be about 9 to 10 days old, you may need to sweat it. Sweating is a process where you slice the eggplant lengthwise, sprinkle with salt and let the excess water drain off. Eggplant gets bitter the longer you wait to use it. Using it right away will save you this step (because it will be fresh!).

The white carrots are something we found last year and were a huge success! They are very sweet. Try them in your next salad. We may not have enough red cabbage to give everyone one head, it will be mixed in with green cabbage, broccoli or cauliflower. You will not get beans this week. Our next planting is not ready to be picked.

This week you are getting Yukon Gold Potatoes, sweet white onions, red cabbage, white carrots, summer squash, cucumbers, green or purple bell peppers, Japanese or Globe eggplant.

Next week we are hoping the first picking of corn will be ready. First fruit says they will have peaches on by next week also! Now isn’t that exciting?!

Jacquie, Jerry, Alaina and Kyle Monroe

7/26/09 Newsletter & "A Week in the Life" Part 2

Dear Friends of the farm,

Last week I started to tell you about a week on the farm finishing only Sunday and Monday. Today I will talk about the next three days. As I mentioned before, I have worksheets I use to tell not only the employees what to pick each day, but also to tell the working members on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday what to put into each bag. This worksheet breaks down each Distribution Center into Single, Half and Full Shares; adding the totals of each category so that I know how many total Shares. Cucumbers, for example, are calculated to give the Single Share one, the Half Share two and the Full Share three. These numbers are multiplied to the total number of each category and I get a total number of how much to pick. The working members know how many cucumbers to give each share and I have a total number to be picked..all in one swoop of the pen! I do this Sunday evening for picking on Monday for Tuesday Distribution; again on Monday night for Tuesday picking for Distribution on Wednesday and again on Tuesday night for Wednesday picking for Thursday Distribution. This is why it is so important for you to call me at least two days in advanced if there is a change to your share. If you wait until the day of or the day before Distribution to make a change, it is too late, we have already picked the produce!

Working Members arrive no later than 7:00. They will help unload produce into the barn, count the number of red, white and purple bags, count small and large bean bags, get the containers out to measure beans and potatoes, unload delivery trucks if needed, fill egg orders into coolers, count produce not bagged into boxes or baskets for delivery, fill bean bags; basically get everything ready for Distribution. Team leaders give instructions to the Working Members on how many of each crop goes into a particular colored bag. There is one person stationed at each crop. The rest line up at the “potato bar” and get a bag filled with potatoes. From there they go down the line of crops each being added to the bag. They then go outside the barn and line them up in rows of 10, by bag color. When all is done, the bags are counted one more time before loading them onto the trucks, just in case we are one short! There is a Team Leader stationed at each vehicle. They call out the number of white, purple and red bags needed; egg coolers are loaded; fruit & honey too if available; corn, tomatoes & melons (depending on the time of year) for each Distribution Center until the entire truck is filled. During melon season, we have to pull a trailer because it cannot all fit on the truck!

After the working members get the produce on the trucks, empty bags that are put into the coolers by Distribution Centers are removed, sorted & stacked. The coolers are cleaned and stacked. The barn is raked, any produce not good enough for members is fed to the chickens (except onions and garlic). And everyone heads to the fields to work. Working Members spend early spring/early summer planting and hoeing, but by the end of summer, the Working Members spend quite a bit of time harvesting.

At 6 am, the employees have finished the animal chores and are now pulling out all the produce picked the day before; lining it up in order listed on the worksheets. Once all the produce is lined up, the employees get their instructions on what to pick for the day, all heading in different directions! Jerry, in the mean time, has gotten up at 4:30 and has changed his water. He has given instructions to the employees and is checking in with the team leaders on what their day will consist of. Then he is off to ditch rows of crops for irrigation. This will need to be done every time we have either hand hoed or used the Weeder to remove weeds from the fields. It tears down the humps of dirt needed to keep the water in each row. If each row is not intact, something will not get watered!

After greeting the Working Members and answering any questions that may arise, I am in the office writing a letter to each Distribution Center. I tell them how many bags they are getting for each share size & the color of that bag. If there is anything extra, such as corn, this number is also reflected so that when the Non-working Members arrive, the Distribution Center knows what to give each member. Newsletters are added to this letter for each Center. At the beginning of the season, the Distribution Centers are given a list of all the Members picking up at their homes, phone numbers and information about eggs, fruit and honey. They turn this list into a check off sheet to use during Distribution. This is how they know who gets what and how much of it! If we are delivering any produce to restaurants, an invoice is typed out and added to the pile of newsletters with Distribution letters.

Between 10 and 11 am, the trucks are ready to leave for Distribution Centers. Two trucks leave on Tuesday, one heading toward the South Denver Metro area and one heading to the West Denver Metro area. On Wednesday, two trucks leave heading toward Central Denver Metro area and the Ft. Collins area. Thursday, only one truck leaves the farm and follows the Turnpike towards the Boulder area. It will take most of the rest of the day to complete these routes, getting us home around 4pm. Where upon arrival back at the farm, Jerry will check his water and I start dinner! Wednesday I will do Distribution for the Greeley area, starting at 5:30 and I will work until dark.

The drip irrigation system is a wonderful tool we have fallen in love with. Not only does it keep down the weeds in each row/bed, it really conserves water. But at the same time, it is very labor intensive! Everything has to be hand planted into the plastic, each row has to be hand weeded, (no hoes allowed!) and the procedure for watering is extensive! Every day that Jerry waters through the drip tape, he first has to fill the pond with water by turning on the pump at the bottom of the field where the irrigation canal is located. This canal carries the water from the reservoir throughout the entire irrigation basin. Once Jerry has chosen a field to water, there is at least one turnkey at the top of each bed. There can be as many as four rows and two drip tapes per bed with turnkeys. After turning on the water to several beds, he walks down each bed to check for leaks or breaks. He also has to walk the entire main line to check for leaks or breaks. A small leak can turn into a big problem because there is a lot of pressure in a drip irrigation system! It can wash out the crop, but more importantly, it will release the pressure and all the water will go to that spot and nothing else will get watered. In the fall, all the drip tape and plastic has to be removed and discarded. However, when we do keep the drip tape for more than a year or two, the mice get into it and chew it up!

So let’s see, what kind of goodies are you getting this week? You will be getting tasty new red potatoes, sweet Walla Walla onions, a beautiful bunch of carrots, green cabbage, slicing cucumbers, pickling cucumbers, three kinds of summer squash, purple & green bell peppers, cauliflower, a few green beans and some of you will see pink Japanese eggplant & yellow zucchini in your bag! Last week you received double the amount of beans because two plantings came on at the same time. This week, the next planting didn’t produce that many beans, so you’ll get what is out there! The pickling cucumber plants are just now producing pickles. There just aren’t quite enough pickles yet to allow members to come out to pick. Hopefully soon we can invite you to the farm to pick pickles! Call me with your name and phone number and we will get a list going. Just as soon as we have enough to invite bulk picking we will give you a call!

Thank you for your interest in CSA and this farm! We will continue next week on the general daily work week!

Jacquie, Jerry, Alaina and Kyle Monroe

7/19/09 Newsletter and "A Week In the Life"

Dear Friends,

It has been a very busy week here at the farm. Alaina is doing much better this week. She still needs surveillance and eye drops every hour. Jerry is planting your fall crops. Kyle laid new bedding for the animals. And the working members just about have two more huts completed for the sheep. We moved the pigs onto their pasture. For some reason, they were afraid to go out there. We tempted them with summer squash, small amounts all along the path to the pasture! It worked, now they are lazily enjoying cool grasses and moist earth!

A member once asked what a week on the farm looked like? What was our routine? Well…let’s start with just a couple of days! Our week starts on Sunday at 4:30 or 5 am with Jerry setting his water on those parts of the field that need a little drink. This takes approximately 3 hours. Setting water isn’t like turning on your garden hose. The ditch fluctuates up and down according to users up stream. Once the water is set, he goes back a half hour to an hour later and checks it again. He may have to irrigate fewer rows or start additional rows depending on how much water there is at that time; then checks it one more time before he starts his next project. In the mean time, our employees get going about 6 am. They have gathered eggs, watered and fed the chickens, steers, pigs and sheep. At 8 o’clock, everyone meets at the barn. They take what produce has returned from the Saturday farmers markets and reload a truck. Kyle takes off at 9 am for the Ft. Collins farmers market. He will be there for 5 1/2 hours.

Once Kyle is set and has left, Jerry turns to the four wheeler and checks the field for mature crops. It is at this time when he decides what you will be getting each week. He come to me and gives me a list of crops and how much he believes we have. I take those numbers and apply them to the membership. Sometimes we are limited to what we have, so you will only get one, or he tells me to calculate three different numbers.

Jerry has now moved to either his cultivating tractor or the planter. If he chooses to cultivate, he will do this all day, taking out as many weeds as he can so that the hand hoeing won’t take as long. Planting is a timing thing. If Mother Nature cooperates, Jerry is pretty good at getting you crops on a pretty regular basis. To give you an idea, corn and green beans need to be planted every week; cucumbers & summer squash every three weeks; peppers, and potatoes one time; watermelons & muskmelon every four weeks; carrots, tomatoes and beets three times a summer and broccoli and cauliflower are planted five times a summer. This job requires he get on and off the tractor several times to check to see if the seed is planted at the right depth; making adjustments to the planter as needed.

Meanwhile the guys are digging up potatoes for Distribution on Tuesday. They are stored in a strawbale building. The strawbale building is approximately 20 degrees cooler than the outside temperature! They will set up sprinkler pipe to sprinkle up the seed Jerry has just planted; moving the pipe every three or four hours. This will need to be done every three days until we see a crop. Then it will be switched to row irrigation thereafter. Some of the crew will be hoeing, stacking the newly cut & baled hay and gathering eggs (which will be done at least once more before the end of the day). If there is time, three people will use the tractor and a machine called a Weeder to cultivate.

We take an hour for lunch (Jerry doesn’t come in for breakfast, too much to do & he wants to do it while it is cool!). But before he quits, he checks his water again. If it needs changing, he will do this, checking it again after lunch. Jerry wants a hot lunch so I normally fix him leftovers from the night before; afterward going back to the planter or cultivator.

I get up in the morning and check messages. (I don’t get up nearly as early as Jerry!) Get a bite to eat & read a favorite magazine for an hour. I then sit down to my computer and start writing. Sometimes these newsletters come easily to me and I will be finished by noon and sometimes they will take me all day to write. When I’m done, I count our earnings from the Saturday farmers markets and partially start a deposit, finishing it on Monday after adding Sunday farmers’ market earnings.

While I’m busy making the deposit, I start to make the copies I need of the newsletter. I will answer the messages and if I have time, (between Sunday and Monday), I look at email. It is very low priority for me, especially since I love the computer so much! I can usually find more “important” things to do! Things like laundry. It’s funny how having clean clothes really make you feel good…ha, ha!

Dinner is served somewhere between 5 and 6 pm. Jerry needs to eat early because it will take him another three hours to change his water to new locations. We end our day watching the 9 o’clock news (the weather) and going to bed.

Monday morning at 4:30, Jerry begins with setting his water. This is a daily occurrence. If he isn’t row irrigating, he is irrigating using drip. To conserve water, we use plastic tubing to move water from one place to another. This prevents water from evaporating or soaking into the dirt below the ditch. All of it stored water from reservoirs holding the spring melt off of winter snow or spring rains. We have settling ponds to remove as much of the silt (fine dirt) from the water. Before sending it into our drip irrigation system, there is a filter system that takes out quite a bit more. These filters need to be checked frequently. Anything goes wrong and it will shut down not sending water to plants in need of water!

If Jerry didn’t finish planting or didn’t plant at all, it will have to be done on Monday. If there are any equipment failures, they will be worked on either Sunday or Monday. That includes the trucks too. Trucks are cleaned out from the weekend farmers markets. Any food that is not up to snuff to resell is fed to the animals. They are like dogs, begging for treats, running after the truck!

Meanwhile the employees are doing the animal chores. From my calculations, they will start to pick what is needed for Tuesday Distribution. The harvesting will take up most of their day. Bringing everything into the barn and set up in order they will appear in your bag. Stopping only to move sprinkler pipe.

Monday, I finishing the deposits, make the worksheets out for the Tue. Working Members & finish doing my laundry. Twice a month I pay the bills and Monday is the day I usually run errands for the farm. Jerry always needs parts for equipment; I take the deposits to the bank and go to the Post Office; go to the grocery store and ending the day with a nice meal. In the evening, Jerry and I take a ride on the four wheeler and look at the farm in all its’ glory; getting excited about the next new crop we’re going to give to you!

This week you will be getting Yukon Gold potatoes, red onions, carrots, Chioggia beets, white or cheddar cauliflower, broccoli, green beans, cucumbers, and summer squash. The Chioggia beets are an Italian sweet beet. Depending on how you cut them, they will be candy striped or a bull’s eye. Roasting keeps their color best, but they can be boiled whole too. The cauliflower will look different to you. The white will not look like the store bought stuff. (It won’t taste like it too.) We do not cover the plants to “bleach” it. Both will have a stronger taste. I do not recommend eating this raw. It can be bitter. But cooking it really seems to take out the bitterness and show you what cauliflower should really taste like! Bugs can be a problem. You should easily see the worms. Soak overnight; most will float to the surface. It will be harder to see the worms on the broccoli, check it carefully!

Have a great week! Jacquie, Jerry, Alaina and Kyle Monroe

7/12/09 Newsletter

Dear Members,

This week you will be getting new red potatoes, sweet white onions, garlic, red beets, broccoli, cucumber, Q-ball squash, zucchini, yellow squash and green beans. Yea! The beans are on! Now it really does feel like summer! If you are looking for a new way to serve your squash, try this: Q-ball squash is a very mild zucchini. It will take on the taste of any marinade you love or grill it with olive oil, salt and pepper. It is mostly known for stuffing. Take off the top, scoop out the seed cavity and fill with your favorite stuffing. Try a bread stuffing, sausage stuffing or a rice stuffing. (You can do this with regular zucchini, (cut lengthwise) too.) Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Cut in half and serve.

Our white Sweet Spanish onions are great for eating raw and for cooking. The Walla Walla are so sweet, they lose their entire flavor when cooked. But the white onions have a wonderful taste and will caramelize marvelously! I add them to my beans with (frozen) red peppers. It is a beautiful dish to serve to guests too!

After seeing the crazy weather we were having this spring, Jerry decided to plant carrots into the two cold frames on the farm. You will not get carrots from the fields until late summer…it was just too cold and wet for them to grow very fast. This is why you will only get a few carrots now and then.

We really look forward to the first picking of each and every crop. At our household, we only eat in season. New potatoes just can’t be beat in the spring. And by the time we get green beans, cucumbers and sweet corn; we are desperate for them! The same goes for the carrots and tomatoes in late summer, melons in the early fall and winter squash by late fall! These are just a few of our favorites we look forward too. What are some of your favorites you can hardly wait to get in distribution?

Several of you know my children. Alaina has had eye surgery when she was a child. Due to recent complications, she had a procedure at the beginning of June and will have another Tuesday the 14th. If you belong to a prayer chain, would you add Alaina? If you believe in spirit guides, would you send them our way? We need your prayers and positive thoughts in our direction! I will be unavailable this week to answer any questions you may have. Jessica, my office assistant, will be here on Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons. She will do her best to help you until I can spend more time in the office. Thank you for being so understanding!

Jacquie, Jerry, Alaina and Kyle Monroe

Mock Apple Pie French Apple Crumb Topping

4 to 4 ½ cups zucchini slices
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp tapioca/flour
½ cup butter
4 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp cinnamon
½ cup brown sugar
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tbsp cornstarch
nuts (optional)

Peel & remove seeds from squash, cut into slices. Blend together until butter is the size of peas. Mix with rest of ingredients. Place into pie crust. Place over pie filling. Bake at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes or 350 degrees for 55 minutes.