This Week's Share: Garlic, Apples, Radishes & More!

This week we have apples from Homestead Farms in Poolesville, Maryland. They are conventionally-grown Fujis. Thank you to the farmer, Ben Allnutt, and his crew! He gave us a great deal in exchange for some of our premium seed garlic. 

This week's photo comes from F Delventhal.  Want to see your photos featured in this weekly email? Just snap a pic -- from the farm, from your CSA share itself, or even a recipe you make with your Clagett produce -- and either email it to us or post it to Instagram with the hashtag #ClagettFarm!

• 2 heads of garlic
• 3 apples
• 1 lb. greens
• 3 lbs. radishes
• ¾ lb. peppers

Thanks to everyone who joined us for our pizza party! We had a blast, and the clay oven made exquisite pizzas, per usual.

The last CSA pick-ups are Wednesday 11/16 at the farm and Dupont, Thursday 11/17 in Annapolis, and Saturday 11/19 at the farm. You have 3 more weeks to pick up your shares (including this one). Please remember there’s a limit of 2 shares at a time.

Beginning Friday sunrise 11/22 and lasting through Thanksgiving, CSA members may glean whatever remains in the fields. We’ll post a list of what we have beforehand.

There might be a frost this weekend, so the u-pick list could change soon. If you want any last-minute basil, get it now!

 

ON U-PICK THIS WEEK:

• anise hyssop
• cutting celery
• cilantro
• Malabar "spinach"
• lemongrass
• hops
• hibiscus
• hot chile peppers
• flowers
• dill
• basil (various varieties)
• parsley
• sorrel
• sage
• stevia
• onion chives
• thyme
• garlic chives
• mint
• oregano

That's it for the week! Enjoy the share! 

~ The Clagett Farm Team

This Week's Share: Garlic, Apples, Radishes & More!

This week we have apples from Homestead Farms in Poolesville, Maryland. They are conventionally-grown Fujis that were picked on Monday. Thank you to the farmer, Ben Allnutt, and his crew! He gave us a great deal in exchange for some of our premium seed garlic. 

Want to see your photos featured in this weekly email? Just snap a pic -- from the farm, from your CSA share itself, or even a recipe you make with your Clagett produce -- and either email it to us or post it to Instagram with the hashtag #ClagettFarm!

 

• 2 heads garlic
• 3 apples
• 2 lbs. radishes + turnips
• 3/4 lb. greens (bok choi, rutabaga greens, arugula, spicy mix)
• 1 lb. sweet peppers, green tomatoes, tomatillos
• chiles

 

ON U-PICK THIS WEEK:

• anise hyssop
• cutting celery
• cilantro
• Malabar "spinach"
• lemongrass
• hops
• hibiscus
• hot chile peppers
• flowers
• dill
• basil (various varieties)
• parsley
• sorrel
• sage
• stevia
• onion chives
• thyme
• garlic chives
• mint
• oregano

Come to the Farm Friends’ Pizza Party this Saturday! We’re excited to make you pizzas in the clay oven. It’s also a good chance to pre-party for Game 4 of the World Series. Party starts at 3:00.

 

That's it for the week! Enjoy the share! 

~ The Clagett Farm Team

This Week's Share: Garlic, Bok Choi, Turnips & More!

This week's photos come from our volunteer, Vince, and from your farmer, Carrie Vaughn.  Want to see your photos featured in this weekly email? Just snap a pic -- from the farm, from your CSA share itself, or even a recipe you make with your Clagett produce -- and either email it to us or post it to Instagram with the hashtag #ClagettFarm!

We’re almost at an inch in the rain gauge, and it’s still coming down. Thrilling!

• 2 heads garlic
• 1/2 lb bok choi + rutabaga greens (they are delicious--treat them like collards)
• 1/2 lb tat soi + arugula (tat soi is like spinach)
• 2 lbs turnips + radishes
• 3/4 lb tomatoes + baby sweet potatoes
• 1/2 lb sweet peppers
• A little fresh ginger
• Unlimited hot chile peppers

 

ON U-PICK THIS WEEK:

• anise hyssop
• cutting celery
• cilantro
• Malabar "spinach"
• lemongrass
• hops
• hibiscus
• hot chile peppers
• flowers
• dill
• basil (various varieties)
• parsley
• sorrel
• sage
• stevia
• onion chives
• thyme
• garlic chives
• mint
• oregano

 

 

 

We still have a lot of sun gold cherry tomatoes available in the field for upick. We can’t pick them for you because half of them split immediately. But they are still delicious!

This week (and for several weeks to come) we have big “watermelon” radishes, which are bright pink on the inside and white and green on the outside. They look like turnips at first glance, but don’t be fooled. They are a little sweeter than your average radish but still a little spicy. Great raw or roasted.

 

Don't forget we're having a party just for you on Saturday, October 26th.  We'll be cranking out pizzas, circulating the hay wagon, and we'll stream a little music on the speakers.  There's no charge, but we welcome any contribution of additional food (particularly for the dairy-free and gluten-free among us), drinks or other merriment for a nice farm friend get-together.  Bring any friends and family you'd like.  

 

That's it for the week! Enjoy the share! 

~ The Clagett Farm Team

This Week's Share: Garlic, Sweet Potatoes, Radishes and More!

This weeks photo comes from Jonathan and Siobhan Benitez.  Want to see your photos featured in this weekly email? Just snap a pic -- from the farm, from your CSA share itself, or even a recipe you make with your Clagett produce -- and either email it to us or post it to Instagram with the hashtag #ClagettFarm!

• 2 heads garlic
• 2 lbs sweet potatoes + tomatoes
• 1/4 lb salad greens + okra
• 3/4 lb radishes + turnips
• 1 lb bok choi + peppers
• As many hot chiles as you want

 

ON U-PICK THIS WEEK:

• anise hyssop
• cutting celery
• cilantro
• Malabar "spinach"
• lemongrass
• hops
• hibiscus
• hot chile peppers
• flowers
• dill
• basil (various varieties)
• parsley
• sorrel
• sage
• stevia
• onion chives
• thyme
• garlic chives
• mint
• oregano

 

 

 

We still have a lot of sun gold cherry tomatoes available in the field for upick. We can’t pick them for you because half of them split immediately. But they are still delicious!

This week (and for several weeks to come) we have big “watermelon” radishes, which are bright pink on the inside and white and green on the outside. They look like turnips at first glance, but don’t be fooled. They are a little sweeter than your average radish but still a little spicy. Great raw or roasted.

 

Don't forget we're having a party just for you on Saturday, October 26th.  We'll be cranking out pizzas, circulating the hay wagon, and we'll stream a little music on the speakers.  There's no charge, but we welcome any contribution of additional food (particularly for the dairy-free and gluten-free among us), drinks or other merriment for a nice farm friend get-together.  Bring any friends and family you'd like.  

 

That's it for the week! Enjoy the share! 

~ The Clagett Farm Team

This Week's Share: Garlic, Sweet Potatoes, Turnips & More!

Want to see your photos featured in this weekly email? Just snap a pic -- from the farm, from your CSA share itself, or even a recipe you make with your Clagett produce -- and either email it to us or post it to Instagram with the hashtag #ClagettFarm!

• 2 heads garlic
• 2 lbs. sweet potatoes
• 1/2 lb. salad greens + squash
• 3/4 lb. turnips + bok choi + okra
• 1 lb. peppers + green tomatoes
• as many hot chile peppers as you can use

 

ON U-PICK THIS WEEK:

• anise hyssop
• cutting celery
• cilantro
• Malabar "spinach"
• lemongrass
• hops
• hibiscus
• hot chile peppers
• flowers
• dill
• basil (various varieties)
• parsley
• sorrel
• sage
• stevia
• onion chives
• thyme
• garlic chives
• mint
• oregano

 

 

 

The sweet potatoes this week come from Potomac Vegetable Farms.  These farmer friends are from northern Virginia.  Thank you, Hana Newcomb!  We knew you were disappointed not to get any from us this season, so we bought $1,000 of potatoes to include in your share.   

 

Speaking of purchasing produce to include in your CSA share, we seem to have a glut of hot peppers.  If you all know any restaurants or others who might want to buy some chiles, we're selling them for $3/lb. (or the equivalent in bartered produce).  And per usual, we're selling garlic for $5/lb.  We can use that income to buy more items to include in your share. 

 

In last week's email, we mentioned the impact of climate change on our farm.  We've had occasion to think more on the topic, and you can read more of our thoughts in our blog post, Climate Crisis, We Hear You. 

 

Update about events:  We're so sorry we didn't inform everyone properly about the registration requirement for movie night this Saturday.  While we have no more openings for food and drink tickets, you are welcome to join us for a hayride and the movie.  Just show up with your own food and drink, a blanket to throw on the ground, and we'll start the movie just after sunset. 

And, don't forget we're having a party just for you on Saturday, October 26th.  We'll be cranking out pizzas, circulating the hay wagon, and we'll stream a little music on the speakers.  There's no charge, but we welcome any contribution of additional food (particularly for the dairy-free and gluten-free among us), drinks or other merriment for a nice farm friend get-together.  Bring any friends and family you'd like.  

 

That's it for the week! Enjoy the share! 

~ The Clagett Farm Team

Climate crisis, we hear you.

 (Remember that time it never stopped raining?)

Recently, a co-worker asked how climate change has had an impact on our farm.  I put together a few notes for him, and thought you might like to see them, too.  It's nothing you haven't experienced yourself, as a member of our farm.  Viscerally, you all feel the change that happens to our crops when weather takes a turn for the extreme.  

• Our highest yields come from moderate, predictable weather.
• This year, we had that moderate weather (alternating small amounts of rain with sunshine on a weekly basis) for the first half of the year, and as a result, our May through August yields have been our highest ever.  Weather makes a difference!
• Presently, we are in a drought.  We haven't had soaking rain since July, and most days have reached above 90 degrees.  Our soils are parched and the vegetable crops, hay fields and pastures have stopped growing.  (We got 1/8" rain yesterday, which was a wonderful blessing, but not enough to soak the ground.)
• Animal pests have gotten desperate.  Deer rip into 8-foot tall fences to reach the sweet potatoes.  Groundhogs burrow into riskier places, such as inside our high tunnel and in the middle of the tomato field.   
• Last year was the wettest year on record for our region.  The water-logged soils inhibited plant growth and in some fields killed off the crops completely.  We had our lowest yield of vegetables to date.
• As a grower, if I can't predict whether we will have moderate rain, constant rain, or zero rain, then I can't plant efficiently.  I have to plant for all possibilities and spend a lot of time managing crises.  This means for the same CSA business, I have to invest much more in fencing, animal control, irrigation systems and digging wells.  I have to plant water-loving crops and drought-tolerant crops.  I have to plant crops that take advantage of a warm spring and crops that thrive in cold weather.  So now I can presume that at any given time, half of my crops won't thrive.  For the same acreage and labor, I need to assume I will get half of the yield, and therefore, half of the income. 
• Because we are a CSA, we have members who invest in the season up front, and share the risks of the weather with us.  The loss of income is not immediate.  But over time, our member retention is lower when our product declines several years in a row.  We can no longer sell as many CSA shares, and we can't raise our prices to keep up with the rising cost of supplies and labor. 

It's go-time, my friends.  The efforts you are making to change this terrible tide away from climate chaos are important.  Let's all do even MORE.  Are we going to push for innovative policy, such as the carbon fee and dividend?  Yes.  Are we going to get creative about reducing our own energy use?  Yes.  Are we going to rally and yell and march and write?  Yes!  Are we going to stick together, friends, and hold tight to all our neighbors through thick and thin?  YES!  

(Don’t worry, little turtle. We got this.)

Your farmer,

Carrie Vaughn