Tuesdays
Choice Style
3:00pm - 6:30pm
Pre-Boxed
3:00pm - 7:00pm
Farmer Dave's Farm
437 Parker Road
Dracut, MA
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Farm Notes
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When I looked at our rain gauge records, it showed that we have had almost a quarter inch of rain in the past two weeks. Looking more closely, I could see that most of that was mist, a quarter inch of rain accumulated over 7 days with precipitation. No days had more than a tenth of an inch of rain. Less than a tenth of an inch of rain on bone dry soil really does nothing to help in a drought. So little water will merely evaporate from the soil surface before it reaches any roots. However, dry leaves are happy and disease free. This is why all the crops have been so healthy this year as long as we have been able to irrigate them. Though the summer is ending, the crops are still growing and we will continue to irrigate the fields until needed to ensure abundant harvests through the fall. Summer crop harvests continue strong. Slowly more and more fall crops will make their way into the share of the harvest.
Due to the drought the apples will be a little smaller this year. Small in size but big in flavor. Last year was a banner apple harvest. But due to the cold winter and summer drought we have much smaller harvest this year. Our
pick your own apples at Hill Orchard in Westford began last weekend. With a small crop we do not know how far into October the harvest will go. For a fun filled fall harvest pick your apples soon. Remember that all members receive a 25% discount on apple picking.
Yours in harvest,
Farmer Dave
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In Your Share: Week 14
Fall is in the air! We should begin a slow shift away from the peak summer fruits and vegetables like cucumbers and watermelons to fall favorites like apples, carrots, leeks and eventually winter squash and potatoes.
This is what we are planning and hoping to harvest this week. Ultimately Mother Nature has the last word so the actual contents of your share will vary.
- Carrots
- Green beans
- Kale or Swiss chard
- Onions
- Potatoes
- Hakurei Turnips
- Bell, Cubanelle or Carmen Peppers
- Assorted summer squash
- Slicing Tomatoes
- Plum Tomatoes
- and more!
Fruit Share:
- Honeycrisp Apples
- Macintosh Apples
- Assorted Melons
*CSA members have indicated in our year-end survey that they would overwhelmingly prefer that we include only produce that we've grown ourselves in the vegetable shares. Our own winter squash is not yet ready to harvest. You should be seeing winter squash in your vegetable share later in the season, once we've harvested and cured it. In the meantime, we've started carrying some squash from other farms in our farm stands, so it is available for purchase for those who would like it.
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Try some of these recipes from our blog!
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Recipe of the Week!
Green Beans with Mushrooms and Fried Onions
Adapted by Farmer Dave's from Real Simple
A grown up version of the classic green bean casserole!
Ingredients
- 1 lb green beans, cut into 1-2 inch pieces
- 1 small onion, cut into thin rings and separated
- 2 Tablespoons all purpose flour
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- 2 1/2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 8oz button mushrooms, sliced
- 1 cup 1 percent milk
Directions:
- Boil, steam or roast green beans until tender. Set aside.
- In a bowl, toss the onion with 1 tablespoon of the flour and ¼ teaspoon salt. Heat 1½ tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the onion, stirring, until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes; transfer to a plate.
- Wipe out the skillet and heat the remaining tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat. Cook mushrooms, stirring, until tender, 5 to 6 minutes.
- Reduce heat to medium. Sprinkle the remaining tablespoon of flour over the mushrooms and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the milk and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Simmer, stirring, until mixture begins to thicken, 1 to 2 minutes. Add green beans and cook until heated through, 3 to 4 minutes. Top with the onions.
Have a great tip or recipe to share?
Email it to us to have it included in our newsletter and recipe blog!
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Yoga in the Barn
 Stacey will be offering two 1-hour yoga classes in the barn at 437 Parker Road, Dracut, MA 01826. This class is open to CSA members.
Monday, September 12
Monday, September 19
Classes will begin promptly at 6:30pm (arrive 10-15 minutes early to sign a waiver and settle in). Class participation is by donation. Suggested donation: $5- $10. All proceeds will go to the Groundwork Share-A-Share(TM) Fund to help subsidize the cost of fresh produce for families in need.
This will be a gentle relaxing class suitable for beginners, many modifications will be shown.
Please bring a mat (or two if you would like extra cushioning on the concrete floor) and a couple blocks and a strap if you use them. A blanket that can be folded up for sitting on and also for covering in meditation/savasana would also be helpful.
Stacey will have a few extra blocks and straps for borrowing.
Stacey holds a RYT 200 hour certification. She is passionate about making yoga available and accessible to people who have never done yoga before. Come as you are!
Participation is limited to 20 students per class.
Please RSVP using this form.
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RSVP Today!
2016 Annual CSA Member Appreciation Potluck
Where:
Farmer Dave's Farm
437 Parker Road
Dracut, MA
When:
Sunday, September 25th
2:00 - 5:00 pm
Rain Date Sunday, October 2nd
It's that time of year again! You and your family are invited to our CSA Member Appreciation Potluck on
Sunday, September 25 from
2-5pm (rain date
October 2). We will have games, crafts, hayrides, food and more!
We hope you will join us!
With gratitude,
The Farmer Dave's Crew
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Register Now for Your
Late Fall CSA Share
Now that fall is just around the corner, it's time to start thinking of where you will get your weekly local produce when the CSA season ends (the last week of the main season vegetable and fruit shares is the week of October 24th - 28th). Here is some information about our
When?
Our Late Fall Share runs for 7 weeks, from October 31st through December 16th.
What are some items that might be in the late fall share?
Our late fall share is a mix of items that we are still harvesting out of the field and produce that can be stored.
In typical seasons, the following crops have been part of the late fall share: Brussels sprouts, cabbage, broccoli, sweet potatoes, potatoes, carrots, beets, onions, celeriac, turnips, winter squashes, spinach, winter greens, leeks, apples, cranberries and lettuce.
Depending on when the last frost occurs, there are sometimes late summer crops in the late fall share too (for example, in past seasons when the first hard frost of the season didn't occur until late October or early November, we have been able to include peppers, eggplant, and even corn in the late fall share. Of course, each season's mixture may vary).
How much produce?
The quantity of produce in the Late Fall Share runs somewhere in between the small vegetable share and the regular vegetable share. We pack them in the yellow CSA crates, but the boxes are often not completely full. Each week there are between 8-15 different kinds of produce.
Since some of the produce in the Late Fall Share is ideal for storage, some households find that they can store the produce through February!)
Where can I pick up a late fall share?
- Burlington (Mondays 4:00 - 6:30 pm)
- Lanesville (Mondays 3:30 - 6:30 pm)
- Reading (Mondays 3:00 - 6:30 pm)
- Dracut (Tuesdays 3:00 - 7:00 pm)
- Lawrence (Tuesdays 3:00 - 7:00 pm)
- East Somerville (Wednesdays 3:00 - 7:00 pm)
- Tewksbury (Thursdays 3:00 - 7:00pm)
- Malden (Fridays 3:00 - 6:00pm)
- Quincy (Fridays 3:00 - 6:30pm)
- Westford (Fridays 2:00 - 6:00pm)
- Home Delivery by Metro Pedal Power on Wednesdays (Somerville, Cambridge, many neighborhoods in Boston)
- Home Delivery by Farmer Dave's. Click here for a list of communities where we offer home delivery.
What is the cost of the late fall share?
The Late Fall Share costs $275 by credit card (or $266.75 with the pay-by-check discount) if you are picking up at one of our locations. Delivered to your home or office, the cost of the share is $350 if delivered by Metro Pedal Power (Somerville, Cambridge, Boston) or $345 if delivered by Farmer Dave's.
How can I sign up?
Register online, or contact us at farm@farmerdaves.net for a paper registration form. Pick up a registration form at your CSA pick up, or call us at (978) 349-1952. We're happy to help!
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Groundwork Share-a-Share:
Please consider helping us in our efforts to make the CSA accessible to more families by
donating to Groundwork Share-A-Share. With the help of CSA members like you, Groundwork has been able to help subsidize the cost of CSA shares for families who would otherwise be unable to afford participation.
To learn more about the program, click here.
Thank you all for helping us keep this program going in 2016!
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C
ontact Us:
Farmer Dave's CSA
437 Parker Road
Dracut, MA 01826
(978) 349-1952
farm@farmerdaves.net
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