How’s it going?

We hope you have enjoyed welcoming Meadowstone Farm into your kitchen during the first 3 weeks of the CSA. Thank you for all the feedback, questions and thoughts provided to us so far, keep it coming!

Are there things you would like to change about your 2025 Summer CSA share? If so, let us know by email or phone before your next pickup!

Options include switching share size from Small to Full or Full to Small or changing add-ons. Coffee, Flowers, and Pork Sausage are all available options. We can only offer refunds for Eggs as there are no more Egg Add-ons available for purchase.

If your CSA changes require a partial refund, the amount will be added to your Farm Bucks account in our farm-stand to be used at your convenience on any item we sell in the stand. Don't have an account? We will set one up for you!

If you owe us, bring a check on your pickup day, Monday or Thursday.

To change something about your CSA just shoot us an email with the subject "CSA Changes" and then touch base with Jaime or Sophie on Monday or Thursday.

Due to the administrative work and CSA organization, this is the week of the CSA season to make a change if you would like to make one.

—-No need to reach out to us unless you are interested in changing a part of your CSA.—-

When we were not harvesting, weeding and pruning, and transitioning gardens and greenhouses were the focus this week. More cover crops were mowed while more were planted. The seedling sale came to an end freeing up GH2 which now has been prepped and planted and GH3 cucumbers (which we talked about not too long ago in a spring CSA newsletter) have all been pulled to make way for a cover crop. Sometimes moving on from a crop can be painful when things don’t work out as expected, and these early cucumbers check that box. Spring moisture and cool weather made way for some downy mildew. Cucumber beetles recognized the stressed plants and rapidly moved in. We pruned them aggressively about 9 days ago and finally made the decision this week to move on. Focusing on soil health in GH2 with a cover crop of mustards and then the next cash crop of pole beans gives us hope for the longevity of GH2.

After Shawn mowed the cover crop in G1 at the Oxbow (above), Tim used a seeding tractor implement to drill cover crop seed directly into the mowed cover crop (below). Multiple rounds of cover crop in the same location nurtures and regenerates soil and increases organic matter.

While at the Oxbow on Thursday Tim took the video below of Garden 3. Future garden beds, followed by garlic, potatoes, then beets and carrots and a few more future beds.

As you know from this newsletter and previous newsletters weed management begins to rise to the top of the never ending to-do list this time of year. Some of the methods we use to manage weeds: basket weed, hand weed, use sileage tarps and fabric, flame weed, weed wack, mow. In some cases we want all the weeds completely gone, while in other cases we “manage” the weeds knowing 80% are dealt with while maybe 20% still remain. Mowing the weeds in pathways for example leaves debris to hinder growth; we haven’t pulled the weeds, but are dealing with them in a productive way.

(Below)Evrald, Jav, and Tim have all been using the large flame weeder at the oxbow to clean up beds before germinated beet and carrot seeds poke through the soil.

Saying goodbye to GH3 early cucumbers

GH3 with Early Cucumbers

GH3 cleaned up

Above: GH2 transformation from seedlings to more cherry tomatoes and basil.

Right: GH2 seedling sale plants.

Jeb and Colin in the carrots

GH8 with cucumbers on the southern most spot. If you look carefully you can see Jeb and Colin collecting carrots in the middle spot.

Those carrots you received last week were bulk harvested by Colin and Jeb out in GH8M. These were planted back in April under the protection of the greenhouse. We then rolled the greenhouse to the next spot and planted cucumbers once we knew the carrots, beets, and turnips and radishes would be alright.

Pickup

If you are unable to pickup, please let us know so we can put your share aside to be picked up at your earliest convenience.

PLEASE REMEMBER TO BRING BAGS!

Woodland Community School Camp children and parents may be still in and around the driveway, please be careful navigating the parking lot.


Come anytime between 3 pm and 6 pm to choose your share on the day you chose when you signed up, so either Monday or Thursday.

Here's what you will find in this weeks share:

 Everyone gets to take: White Sweet Onions

PLEASE REMEMBER:

Full shares receive an additional 11 choices and

Small shares receive an additional 7 choices.

Please use the tally sheets to keep track of the number of choices you are taking at pickup. We want to make sure you receive all 8 choices if you are a small share and 12 choices if you are a large share!

Want some recipe ideas?

CHECK OUT THE CSA RECIPE PAGE!

Your Farmer, Sam (For Tim, Mikaela, Jeannie, Jim, Evrald, Shawn, Jav, Jeb, Colin, Jaime, Wyatt, Ani, Sophie, and Jess)