Hello Everyone!

This is going to be a short on since I need to get outside in 45 minutes to start picking vegetables with the team. (Yikes - didn't actually hit send and now it's 8:00 - the day got away from me - sorry for the late email!)

I have some great news, though: we got our grant for compost equipment! For those of you who weren't following, the Baker/Polito administration, in response to supply chain issues as a result of the pandemic, made grant funds available for the last two years to increase the supply of and access to locally produced food. The first year we didn't have a lease or land and couldn't really apply for anything, but last year I was determined to secure grant funding for our farm.

So, I applied for equipment to help us make large amounts of compost to increase the fertility on our farm. Currently, certified organic compost costs about $59/ yard delivered. It limits how much I can purchase. We can now, with this equipment, make compost for at least 1/3 of the cost of purchasing it. My grant had lots of great specific projections about increased yield and the importance of being able to add fertility to our soils with local inputs, but I'm in a rush now. You'll just have to believe it was great since we got it. :)

Grant writing feels like such a gamble. It takes so much time and for some reason these grants always come out during a busy time of year . . . why can't all farm grants be due in February? I'm currently working on an energy grant to try and get some solar panels on the farm . . . and it's literally my busiest month of the year! A farm grant due at the beginning of June that comes out at the end of April?

Anyway - I'm really proud since I wrote that grant on my own. It felt like a huge win.

Now to do the work that we set out to do if we received the funding!

We've had some requests for Harvey pics lately - there he is watering the extra onion seedlings. He really wants to water, but I rarely even let Kevin water so it's nice to have some extra plants and a sunny day so he can go for it!

The greenhouses are shaping up nicely! We are planing out tunnel tomatoes and cucumbers this week - it's still to cold to plant tender crops in the field, and we are grateful for the protected space!

Lettuce mix, 1 bag

Spinach, 1/2 lb bag

Bok Choy, 2 heads

Choose one bag extra greens: kale, claytonia, pea tendrils, micro greens, arugula (we are kind of in between plantings on a lot of these, so one or two of each variety might be missing at any giving distribution)

Mix and match, 2 pounds carrots, cabbage and potatoes from our friend Matt at Sparrow Arc farm in Vermont

Choose two: chives, cilantro, dill, radishes and scallions

Mother's Day is coming up next weekend so I added a few recipes with that in mind. I added a new page to the recipe pages on the Upswing website dedicated to bok choy so be sure to check out the other suggestions!

The perfect little brunch bite. Arugula would also work in place of the mustard greens - or use a combination of both!

Pick Up Details:

34 Rogers Rd, Holliston

Tuesday, 1pm-6pm

Park beyond the farm stand (up the hill, past the yellow house)

65 Brookline St, Pepperell (parking is more like 50 Brookline on maps)

Wednesday 2pm-6pm

Park in the lot near the greenhouses with the white 'Upswing Farm' sign

93 E Main St Hopkinton (but don't pull into the main entrance!, see parking info below)

Thursday, 1pm-6pm

Just west of the nursery is a traffic light. Turn up the hill onto Legacy Farm Rd North and then take your first right into the back gravel parking lot to park. You will see our truck and tents from the street.

Call 508-215-8378 with questions. If you text, please make sure to include your first and last name in the text.

Email brittany@upswingfarm.com with any planned schedule changes

Greens: In a plastic bag in the fridge, not near the freezer. (Ideally between 34 and 40 degrees with 98% humidity.) If they don't come in a bag, undo the twist tie when you get them home and put them in a bag. They will wilt without one.

Root veggies: All roots (even potatoes) want to be in the fridge. Onions, shallots will also want to go in the fridge (in paper bags, not plastic) since spring is sprouting season and they will want to grow if left on the counter. If they do sprout, you can still eat them! The whole green stalk is edible and delicious. Think "green onion". Potatoes should go in the fridge in a paper bag. If they sprout you can knock off the sprouts and still eat them.

Herbs and scallions: Unless you are drying them, they can go in a plastic bag in the fridge.