Hello

Sorry the newsletter is a bit late today. I had some field work I had to race to finish before the much needed afternoon rain. It is showering good right now in Wilmot; something our pastures badly need.

But back to the newsletter. I've become that guy. I talk about my dogs a lot and their little nuances.

On the left, Mr Hank sitting near his chickens. He's younger than Mia and has a lot more energy. Getting him to sit for a photo is a challenge. Mia is much easier to photograph. The hardest part is to keep her from rolling over and exposing herself for a belly rub. #TwoSpoiledGuardDogs.

What's the tie in? Nothing much, just that the "Dog Days of Summer" must be here - the hot, oppressive humidity that defines July. At the farm, we've started scheduling some of our field staff to work 6 am to Noon, then call it a day. The 90 plus degree days and no cloud cover is great for the tomatoes and for turning my skin tomato red, but tough on the staff.

One of the challenges of this weather is the farmer's "post harvest handling." While the vegetables are growing and the hay dries down in this weather, it is also extremely difficult to get the field heat out of the vegetables. Field heat is the thermal mass of the product after it is harvested. If you harvest a 1,000 lbs of zucchini on a hot day and pack it right away, the core of your package will be extremely warm and quickly decompose. Farmers must take extra steps to chill their produce quickly with running well water and get it to a cooler ASAP.

Sincerely,
Trevor & the FFM team
Social Distancing
Just a friendly reminder to keep your distance while waiting in line at the stops. For those of you picking up in Cuyahoga County location, masks are legally required when picking up your share. For all other locations, we highly recommend wearing a mask for the safety of our staff and other guests.
Planting Potatoes
I'm backed up on my storytelling lately. I've been saving this one for a while now.

This year myself and some neighbors had some extra space that we wanted to utilize. Every year is different on the harvest, and in 2019, potatoes didn't do very well do to the wet conditions. As a result, we ran short in January!

So this year I wanted to add some security and plant some potatoes. And besides, I had this antique potato planter I bought at an auction like 5 years back and haven't really used.

My neighbor Marion and I talked about how we would do it and we greased up the antique John Deere planter. Our best guess from internet research is that the planter is from the 1930s. Surprisingly, it seemed to be in working condition.

The first step to planting potatoes is to prepare the soil. I took soil samples and worked with a soil consultant to add the minerals to the soil that the potatoes would like best, including potassium and sulfur. I spread the minerals on top of the ploughed soil and worked it in with a tiller to make a deep, workable seedbed.

Next, we found our potatoes. I was able to get some unusual varieties from an organic supplier in Idaho, including fingerlings, red norlands, german butterball, and purple potatoes.
The most time consuming part about planting potatoes is cutting them. Each potato can be split into several seeds. As an eye sprouts from the potato, that can be made into a separate plant. The potatoes were cut by hand into chunks - all 3 tons - and then sprayed with an inoculant. The inoculant is like a booster vitamin for the seed. It contains concentrated nutrients and beneficial bacteria that will help the seed work with the soil biology. We spread the potatoes out and sprayed them with the inoculant.

Next, it was time to load the potatoes into the planter. The planter has two hoppers (left) that hold about 100 lbs of potatoes each. At the bottom of the hopper is essentially a dinner fork that stabs the potato and places it in the ground. A metal stopper pushes the potato off the fork as the fork rotates back into the hopper to grab another potato. Everything is driven by a gear connected to its wheels. The hub in the center of the wheel has a switch that locks the gears into drive. This is called a ground driven implement and can be pulled by both horses and a tractor. The seat....well, it leaves a lot to be desired.
In the field, one guy drives the tractor and another sits on the planter. The planter operator has the job of shaking the potatoes down by shaking the hopper or banging on the side with a stick. It doesn't look very professional but it works. I'm assuming JD intended it this way or they wouldn't have put the seat there. I'm assuming newer planters are improved and work without as much intervention.

Below the planter there are 4 disks under each hopper. In front of the hopper, two discs are positioned to push dirt away from the planter and create a furrow for the potato to drop into. Behind the planter there are two more discs that are positioned to create a hill of soil over the potatoes. This protects the potatoes from popping out and getting sunshine as the light will turn them green.
Above, Chef Derek took a break from the kitchen to help plant potatoes. David holds it steady on the tractor to make a straight row.

In all, we planted about 4 acres of potatoes. Some varieties will yield more - like the red norland - which can get up to 10 lbs return for every 1 lb planted. That doesn't mean they all grade out, and the weather conditions have a lot to do with the yield.

Time will tell but we hope to have a decent harvest. We finished planting the potatoes in early June and just two weeks later the weeds were already coming strong (pictured below). We went through with a set of discs and cultivated the weeds and hilled up the potatoes again. With the abundant sun and dry weather, we hope we set the weeds back a few steps. The plants are growing well and we are applying fertilizer this week to help them boost their vegetative growth to create bigger plants for bigger potatoes. Then we'll cultivate again and hopefully by then the plants can shade out the weeds and grow undisturbed.
Bag Contents
Small Omnivore
Blueberries
Cucumbers
Onion
Kale
Broccoli
Kohlrabi
Ground Beef
Small Vegetarian
Blueberries
Cucumbers
Onion
Kale
Broccoli
Kohlrabi
Beets
Yogurt
Mini
Blueberries
Cucumbers
Kale
Broccoli
Onion
Large Omnivore
Blueberries
Cucumbers
Onion
Kale
Broccoli
Kohlrabi
Ground Beef
Cherries
Cauliflower
Red Potatoes
Zucchini
Lettuce

Large Vegetarian
Blueberries
Cucumbers
Onion
Kale
Broccoli
Kohlrabi
Beets
Yogurt
Cherries
Cauliflower
Red Potatoes
Zucchini
Lettuce
Small Vegan
Blueberries
Cucumbers
Onion
Kale
Broccoli
Kohlrabi
Beets
Cherries
Reminder: Carnivore Share bags are every-other-week based on pick-up location. You will be randomly assigned to a group (A, B, C). Check for the assignment in your last name. By the end of the season, all groups will have received the same amount of all products.

REMINDER: Last week we were rushing at the warehouse and messed up and forgot to send the Beachwood Carnivore Bags. Beachwood will receive their bags this week.

Week 6 Carnivore Locations:
Avon, Brecksville, Lakewood, Middleburg Heights, North Olmsted, Ohio City Provisions, Strongsville, Tremont, Westlake


**Carnivore share bags are only available at the first "dropoff location" listed on the location tab of your account as of 6/1. Carnivore shares cannot be transferred. We pack for the exact number based on location.**
RECIPES
For more recipes, visit our archive at https://freshforkmarket.com/recipes/
SPECIAL ORDER TRANSFER
Your special order will only be delivered only to your primary location as selected in your profile (see below). Please review this BEFORE placing your order (adjust + save as needed).   Please do not email or call to change the location of your special order.  It sounds easier said than done. Our software prints a pick list per location for what products we must take along. If we attempt to move it manually there is a high probability that we'll mess it up and no one will be happy.


Please leave the "new" location set in your profile until after you pick up your special order. You will have to log back into your account to change it back to your usual stop BEFORE you place your next order the following week.

When you get to your check-in, please let the greeter know you also have a special order to pick-up. The order is packed separate from the regular share.
OUR FAMILY OF COMPANIES