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GrassRoots Meats Newsletter
July
2017
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No Shipping This Monday
With the holiday falling on Tuesday,
shipping this week is just not possible.
Monday, July 10th,
will be our next shipping date.
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Pork Coming In August
We are excited to announce that we have teamed up with a producer in the San Luis Valley of southern Colorado who raises Berkshire pigs, touted to be the best breed for delivering tender, flavorful, pasture finished pork. These pasture raised pigs are never fed corn or soy, and all of their supplemented feed is non-GMO. This is a good, clean program, and we are very excited to be able to offer you this superior pork at prices that I think you will find very affordable.
Last year we only offered half and whole pigs, but this year we will be offering cuts, as well as summer sausage and naturally cured bacon.
We will have a very limited amount of pork in August, but much more in September and October. I will send you a notice once the meat is ready to ship.
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Orchard Update
 We had a very cold and windy spell after the fruit trees blossomed this spring. It looks like the only fruit the orchard is going to produce is cherries, but I am battling the birds for what little we did get. One of the cherry trees was stripped before I could pick the few that it produced, so I am picking the cherries from the other tree a little early and letting them ripen on the window sill. I am sure they won't be as tasty as if they were tree ripened, but my plan seems to be working and I will at least have a few cherries to make some jam.
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Garden & Greenhouse Update
I suppose no one ever gets to be a master gardener without a huge learning curve, but sometimes I get dizzy from all the twists and turns. Overall everything is doing well, but extremely hot, windy weather has presented challenges to my outside garden, and controlling insects, especially aphids, keeps me going inside the greenhouse.
Allan graveled the entryway to the greenhouse and it looks SO nice. Not to mention how much easier it is not having to deal with the weeds.
My strawberry patch is doing great, even though this picture may not show it. Not expecting to get any strawberries this year, which is fine. Just hoping to keep them all alive, rooted and throwing out runners.
If you look off to the left at the far end you will see the two aspen trees we planted. Again, just hoping to keep them alive. These will be the first aspens on the property. Most of the trees are pinions and junipers, with a few cottonwoods here and there.
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| Tomatoes, broccoli, melons, squash, cauliflower, and beans |
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The asparagus patch. Actually doing really well. |
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My onion bulbs are doing great! |
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The potato buckets are also doing really well. This particular one looks the best, but all seem to be healthy and promise to produce some nice potatoes. Hoping for the best, anyway. Some of my buckets from last season must have had some small potatoes that didn't get harvested because they began to grow even before I could plant the new potatoes. Loving that!
Some of the tomatoes in the greenhouse are thriving, and others are just doing okay. I planted squash near the outside in each bucket and some of them are also taking off. Just starting to flower so we will see how it all turns out. I am expecting a bumper crop of both tomatoes and squash.
Some of the melons in the greenhouse are really looking good, too. The aphids are fighting me for the leaves, but I am spraying them with Neem oil and I think I am getting the upper hand. Seems to be a constant battle with greenhouse gardening.
The peppers are doing well, with lots of blossoms and fruit beginning to form. I think the bugs mustn't like them much because I haven't had a lot of problems with them. I am learning what plants will do well in the greenhouse and which do not handle the high heat. My beets are doing great, as is the kale. Next year I will have a better idea of what to plant and what not to plant for success inside.
A friend of mine gave me a great tip for weed control that I wanted to pass on. Mix a gallon of white vinegar with a cup of kosher or canning salt, and add a teaspoon of dish soap. Use a sprayer with a narrow stream and spray on weeds, being careful not to get over spray on your plants. This is best if done in the morning so that the heat of the day magnifies the effect. The vinegar mix burns the weeds and is a lot easier than pulling them. It is not systemic and the weed may come back from the roots, but continued application should eliminate them. So far I have been thrilled with how well it works.
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July
GROUND BEEF
Special
10 pounds $72.50
20 pounds $140.00
40 pounds $270.00
60 pounds $400.00
As always, take an additional
5% discount on orders of $200 or more.
Bump your order to $300 to get a 10% discount.
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In Closing
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We experienced record high heat and high winds in June, and without the irrigation water we would be in serious trouble. As it is the guys are working very hard to keep the pastures watered and the animals in, but both have been quite a challenge. We had a return to more normal weather this past week, which was a welcome reprieve. Hopefully if June was hotter than normal, July will be cooler and wetter.
Hope you have a wonderful holiday and that your summer is going well. Certainly not the lazy days of summer here, but hopefully you are blessed with long and restful summer days. God bless you and thanks for supporting what we do.
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Contact Information
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Phone:
970-582-0166
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