Hello! What a week and weekend. I don't even want to talk about seedlings! But, thank you to everyone who supported us. And a big thank you to Melody and Jennie and families for helping with boxes, Denise and Terry for your help packing, my mom and dad for help with packing and distro, to the Adams for your help on Sunday, Jess and Kaitlin for unloading on Sunday and of course, our super-hero farm supporter Lisa for your epic support. I love the huge and diverse community that supports us.

The great news? Asparagus is in! Thursday members got a taste of it last week, but we'll be having asparagus for the next few weeks at least! (If you don't like asparagus we'll send down some trade options).

Our neighbor Tony is a huge supporter of us (he let us use on of his greenhouses, which we have now passed on to another beginning farmer who is growing ginger!) and he's basically handed off his asparagus field to us. We'll pay him a percentage, but we are working on ways to transition it to organic production. It might be able to certify next year - he never sprays it, but it has had non organic fertilizer in the last 3 years, although he mostly uses manure from his cows.

Since we are certified organic I have to tell you this is not certified, but it's in transition.
It's going to be a very spinachy, lettucey couple of weeks. The whole farm grew at least a month's worth of growth this weekend - crops, cover crops, weeds and all. Lilac season is condensed into a few days - my bushes when from buds to blown out over the weekend . . .the smell is amazing, though.

We are harvesting our first crops from the field this week! Spinach, arugula, radishes and mustards all were planted on April 5th and covered with row cover. It's always exciting to do the first field harvest. I love growing in greenhouses and I want a lot more of them to do more season extension and winter growing, but there is something about field planting and harvesting that is and will always be special.

We hope you are enjoying your greens!
So, what's in the share?

Asparagus, at least one pound
Spinach, 1/2 lb
Lettuce: 2 heads
Choice greens (1 bag): arugula, lettuce mix, claytonia, micro greens, mustard greens
Choice 1: radish, bok choy, cilantro
Recipes

Looks like some more grilling weather coming up this week and those gorgeous greens keep coming! Threw in a few grilling recipes but don't forget to check out the recipe pages on the Upswing website if you need some other recipe ideas!

GRILLED ASPARAGUS
No recipe link needed for this one. Toss your asparagus with a splash of olive oil and some salt and pepper and grill it for 5 minutes or so, rolling them to the other side half way through.

My family's favorite way to eat greens is on a pizza. I like to grill my pizza dough and love to make my own when I have the time but you can always buy dough or even the pre-cooked crusts if you want to make it super easy.

This recipe is pretty genius for when there are lots of herbs in your share. Not only can you use a mix of whatever herbs you have, but you can freeze it for later use and it's applications are endless: pasta, potatoes, chicken, meat, fish, shrimp, eggs, sandwiches, dip for bread. I wasn't joking when I said versatile.

Spring time veggies, greens and a lemony vinaigrette. Any of the leafy greens from your share will work here.

this recipe calls for 30 oz of cooked spinach, kale or collards, but you can use any green (including mustards, swiss chard, turnip and radish greens and even arugula!). This is a luxurious way to use up a lot of greens!

Smoothies are another great non-salad option for using up your greens. This one has spinach, salad greens, mango and banana.
Sincerely,

Your Farmers
Brittany and Kevin
Thanks for the spring pic, Melody!
Pick Up Details:

Holliston Community Farm
34 Rogers Rd, Holliston
Tuesday, 1pm-6pm
Park beyond the farm stand (up the hill, past the yellow house)

On Farm, Pepperell
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

Weston Nurseries
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
Storing Spring Produce

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.