Sorry, everyone, another drought email. That cloud you were watching pass over the farm in your radars last Tuesday didn't drop more than a 10th of an inch, if that, and we've had no rain since and no rain in the forecast. Our second pond is strikingly low, and although it is still recharging (we were told there is a spring just upstream that feeds into it), the rate of recharge is slower than what our drawn down would be if we were using as much water as we need.

Somehow we are still doing it - there is still food. It was a slightly smaller share last week, especially after two larger shares. Remember, we are basing this share of our original "small share" when we used to have two share sizes, it breaks down to $24/week. We dropped the larger share since in 2019 only 20% of our shares were large, and most of the people getting larges were sharing with another family or were our own staff and work for share members.

It streamlined the the decision making process for what the share would be for me, even though it is still not straight forward since we try to offer so much choice and I have to base what we offer each week on what is actually available. I try to group the choices based on value, cost of production, 'ease of grouping', what needs to get eaten or it will go to waste, and popularity. I realize sometimes the choices can seem funky, but in the end, even though I resist it, I'm a business person responsible for the bottom line of this farm, and I have to be careful not to give it away.

Oh, that is not very cute and farm-y, but that is what the pack sheet from week 6 ended up looking like. It gets printed in 3 sections so it's never on paper in this complete form. If you're really into it, I'll let you try and de-code the meaning of the colors, etc, but basically, I generate one of these every week to tell us what to harvest and where to send it, what kind of container to put it in, etc. And we are supposed to enter all the real numbers (see the one column with red print) but right now that data is still on hard copy and needs to be entered. When the next series of projects gets completed we will have an office adjacent to our wash and pack and the data will get entered at the end of the day the pack is complete (oh, dream of dreams!).

Speaking of dreams . . . we are going to be getting a well! We are working with the NRCS to help with the design and implementation of the well, but we are so very grateful we reached out to them. I knew, long before this year, how critical water is and our budget our first year here included funds for a well. We were just going to use a regular well drilling company. But their equipment was out of state, or 'the pandemic', or for some reason I can't remember, they couldn't dig the well. Which ended up working out great for us, because I was having trouble getting in contact with NRCS due to staff changes at the time.

The thing is, we would have spent more money for less water without the help of our well engineer, Manuel Diaz from NRCS. We are going to have to trench pipe a little farther, which might make up the difference in the cost, but after doing a test it looks like we are going to get upwards of 150 gallons per minute.

He came out last week, and when Manuel has time for you, you make time for him. It was really nice to pick my head up (literally out of the weeds, I was managing our amazing team in a big "save the leeks" weeding project). As Manuel and I were talking at the well site, a giant Blue Heron flew across the fields towards us, maybe just 25-35 feet up. We both paused and then he said to me, "I love my job. I get to help you get water to run your farm, and I get to see majestic birds fly over me."

Farms are measured in decades, not years, and last year (too much water) and this year (almost no water) will begin to be remembered by those themes. I feel like I've been given the chance to see two very extreme sides of growing crops here, which provides exceptional information on how to plan and manage for weather extremes in the future.

Because let's face it, climate change is here. Right now. If we are so capable as a species, can't we just collectively shift for a moment (the human race is measured in millennia and centuries, not just decades and years) and deal with it? Wouldn't it just feel great to all be on the same team for a (literal) hot second and figure this out?

Our corn game is rough this year (and let's face it, it's never great). For those of you who don't know, we have a very love hate relationship with sweet corn. The culture of sweet corn buying is, to us, the literal embodiment of the failings of American culture and economy: "I should get whatever I want, whenever I want it, perfect and cheap, and I don't have to know anything about how it's made or the impact it has on the world." Now, most people are not grotesque about their corn purchasing, but I've seen some rough behavior around corn, and knowing what I know about sweet corn production, it's beyond cringe-worthy.

Yes, it tastes great (and actually fresh it tastes AMAZING) but it often requires massive amount of tillage, fertility and pesticide and produces relatively little actual food per acre compared with most other vegetable crops.

We still want to eat some, and don't want to put the burden of spraying pesticides every 3 days on other farmers without giving organic production a go ourselves, so we grow some every year. And yes, there are worms (not too bad on this round, but don't worry, it has other issues) and sometimes lots of worms, but if you cut the tip off before you shuck the corn you'll never see it.

It tastes great. We eat it raw in the field. I have to check ears when I'm picking (and yes, I picked almost every single ear since there is so little corn it's not worth teaching anyone else - so you can blame every error on me) and I end up eating like 3-7 ears raw during the process.

The problem with the corn this year is the drought. The tips just didn't develop because it's just too dry and we didn't get water to them because there are other more critical crops to irrigate. So if you are a "tip checker" you'll probably not find any with fully developed tips. But the bottom 2/3rds are full and ready, just trim the tip and enjoy what's there. Try a little nibble raw.

Or skip our corn - it's just in the choice. There are lots of farm stands around all of our distribution sites that offer fresh corn they really invest in (and buy in from the Connecticut River Valley when their supply runs short). Farms with ample irrigation probably have great corn right now. And all local farms deserve your support, especially in hard seasons.

Oh, and the photo of the torn up corn above: Coyotes. They have sweet teeth, I told you. My friend and mentor Chris, who has been growing sweet corn organically for his CSA for more than 20 years now told me not to worry too much about coyotes, that they don't eat too much corn and they actually scare away the raccoons who can do way more damage . . . well, they've eaten probably 400+ ears now. It's probably partly for the water content, it's been so hot.

I'm trying to be patient, because there are PLENTY of rabbits and rodents around that I want the coyotes to help me out with. I'm starting to see their paw prints further from the melons and corn (note to self, don't plant corn and melons that will ripen at a similar time next to one another again). Let's hope they switch back to a more carnivorous diet soon.

Harvey helped me harvest the corn last Wednesday after summer camp (I realized at around 3:30 that the coyotes were getting into it, and although I wanted it to size up a little more, I didn't want Thursday CSA to miss the chance to get some corn, so we picked until supper - Harvey got himself a watermelon after the first 5 bags and went off in search of a yellow-jacket free spot to enjoy it. He said to me at one point (see top left picture) "Hey, mom, you know how they call them 'ears' of corn?" What a little joker he is becoming.

Wow, holy smokes, this email is long.

1 pint cherry tomatoes

3/4 pounds sweet peppers

1 and 1/4 pounds tomatoes (can repeat)

1 pint hot peppers

1 quart tomatillos

extra pint of cherry tomatoes

4 ears sweet corn

mini sweet peppers, 1 quart

micro greens (not available Tuesday this week)

1 bag arugula

Mix and Match 6 pounds :

Cantalopue (may run out by Thursday)

green cabbage

red long di tropea onions

eggplant

zucchini/squash

carrots

potatoes

head of lettuce

head of celery

bunch of scallions

bunch of basil

bunch of rosemary

Let's hope for rain.

Hi - Jess Girotti here. If you have a recipe that you love that you'd like to share with other members or if a recipe link isn't working for you, feel free to email me at jgirotti@live.com. (Please note that I can't re-print a recipe from a cookbook that isn't already online.) Don't forget to check out the recipe pages on the Upswing website if you need more ideas for your other veggies.

The hardest part of this recipe is chopping up the veggies (which is really not so hard). Fresh summer veg, sprinkled with parmesan and baked to perfection.

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)

Tuesday/Wednesday 2-6pm or Thursday 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 most potatoes) want to be in the fridge. Fresh onions will also want to go in the fridge. The whole green stalk is edible and delicious. You should twist roots like radishes, beets, turnips and carrots off of their greens before storing. The greens are all edible - so you can store them separately if you plan to eat them.

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

Tomatoes: Don't like the fridge! Store on the counter at room temp.

Cucumber, zucchini, eggplant, peppers, beans: In a plastic bag in the fridge.