Good morning, everyone.

It's a big day today, we've decided to go ahead and plant out our peppers and eggplant, even though night-time temps are still in the 40's. I really like to delay until temps are mostly in the 50's, but our plants are ready to move out of their pots, and if we don't do this work now, it will bunch up with other planting and we won't have enough time to get it all done.

We are planting into a black mulch and covering with row cover, so hopefully those extra degrees will make the difference and keep our little seedlings happy. It's not that they would be killed by nights in the 40's, it just is so cold that they aren't really able to grow, and too much time exposed to low temperatures has been shown to be associated with lower yields.

By Friday we hope to plant our melons. The zucchini went in this past Friday after the freeze.

We were able to put heaters in all of our greenhouses, and we were glad we did, as we are now hearing from some growers, many of them further south than us, that they lost seedlings in tunnels without added heat. The photo above is of one of our tomato tunnels with row cover neatly tucking in the plants for the night to help retain some of that thermal mass of the greenhouse and keep frost off the plants. A nice tight piece of row cover in a tunnel keeps the fabric off the foliage which helps the plants stay healthy. The pictures below are of some frosted potato plants (they'll recover) and a freestanding propane heater in our furthest tunnel at about 4 am when Kevin went out to light it to stave off the coldest part of the morning. The other tunnels had kerosene heaters set to 36 degrees but without power we had to turn this one on manually. It did the trick and gave Kevin the opportunity to confirm the other heaters were doing their jobs.

Frost is expected at this time of year, I plan for it. But a freeze like that? We had significant damage on broccoli plants, which I would usually never think twice about. Only a section of a half acre planting that was covered with row cover to prevent pest infestation and warm the soil to promote growth, so most of the crop is fine. It was just so darn windy right up until the temperatures dropped that the wind blew a little row cover off.

Speaking of row cover blowing off, we had a heck of a time this spring with deer and coyote tearing up our row cover. We lost the equivalent of a full $400 roll of row cover after putting it out, having it tear, replacing it, and having them tear it again the next night.

We put up the deer fence a month early, but still the coyotes (who slink right under the fence with no concern) were tearing the cover. Finally, after doing a little research and learning coyotes hate the smell of white vinegar, Kevin bought 10 gallons, diluted it with water and sprayed the whole 1/2 acre section where they were doing the most damage. That seems to have kept them off, but the damage they caused earlier why that section of broccoli row cover was flapping in the wind.

The sections of row cover the coyotes destroyed completely if where we are harvesting some of the produce you are getting now. The flea beetle (little black beetle that makes holes in bok choy, arugula, radish and mustard leaves) got in, hence the little holes in the leaves.

Also, the freeze set back the asparagus hard. We picked it really hard on Wednesday prior to the freeze, and then anything that emerged before the freeze was damaged, so we have lower asparagus yields than expected this week. I had hashed a plan to go out an pick again today (after not getting the yields we wanted from our regular Monday pick) but I have so much to do that spending another 6-7 staff hours on an additional asparagus harvest to only have the chance to give you all an extra quarter pound . . . it just doesn't make sense. Hopefully harvest picks up next week and we can make up the difference.

Ok, So What's in the Share!?

3/4 pound asparagus

choose 2 bags: pea tendrils, micro greens, kale mix, kaleidescope mix, spinach

1 bag lettuce mix (if you prefer you can trade your lettuce mix for a different bag of greens, please just make sure the bag of lettuce mix goes into the other greens choice so we can keep track of our numbers)

Choose 3: bok choy, bunched kale, bunched swiss chard, dill, chives, radishes,

*Please note* we do our absolute best to estimate what our customers will prefer when it comes to choices based on years of CSA and market experience and data collection. That said, sometimes a crop is more popular than anticipated and we do run out of that choice. We try to avoid this, but have determined this is a better alternative than not giving choices.

*Please remember* this share costs less weekly than all of our other shares. The standard price is $22/week. It has a lot of high value but light-weight greens in it so it can sometimes seem smaller than a summer share, where instead of bags of greens you are getting multiple pounds of fruits and roots. This is the nature of seasonal eating in New England. We will get better at growing storage crops and overwintering crops so we can more "heavy" choices in spring - but for now, this is the spring share, exactly as we planned it, and we are very proud of what we are able to make available in APRIL!!!

Recipes

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.

ARUGULA PESTO

If you’re new to Arugula, it is a vibrant leafy green that pairs well with tangy goat cheese or blue cheese, citrus fruits like lemon, orange or grapefruit and sweet things like dates or caramelized onions. I’m planning on making mine into a pesto that I can toss with pasta for a super quick weeknight meal. If there’s any leftover pesto you can stir it into hummus, schmear it on sandwiches, toss it into soups or freeze it to use later.

SPRING GREENS AND LEEK GRATIN

This decadent gratin is great to use up 3 bunches of whatever greens you choose this week. It calls for arugula and spinach but you could swap out dandelion greens, mustard greens or chard.

SPINACH AND FETA FRITTATA

Got a little more or less spinach than the recipe calls for? No problem. If it’s close just toss it in, a little less will still work out fine especially if you increase the amount of the other veggies. If you have a lot more than you need just shred the extra up and mix it in with your salad or add it to a sandwich or wrap.

HOMEGROWN MICROGREENS SALAD

Microgreens, carrots, avocado, walnuts and blood oranges make up this vibrant salad.

GREEN GODDESS DRESSING

This dressing is a super delicious topping for any of the greens you get in your share and it uses a variety of fresh herbs so you can mix it up each time you make it.

SPRING RADISH SALAD

Thinly shaved radishes are the highlight of this spring salad. I like to substitute pea shoots for the watercress but really you can you any type of lettuce you like.

IMPORTANT DETAILS

Below is information for pick up at all 3 of our weekly locations. If you can't remember your pick up location, please refer to the email sent on 4/10/2023.

Upswing Farm

65 Brookline St, Pepperell, MA

Your pick up day is Wednesday.

Hours are 2:00pm to 6:00pm.

Here is a list of the exact dates of your share pick up. *

I recommend stopping what you are doing and adding them to your calendar, with an alert, right now!

April 12th

April 19th

April 26th

May 3rd

May 10th

May 17th

May 24th

May 31st

Parking: Please park in the parking lot by the greenhouses and the white Upswing Farm sign. It's more like 53 Brookline if you are using GPS.

Picking Up Your Share: Please check in with Joella and cross your own name off the list !

This is very important. We need to know who has come! Then, read the signs and choose your produce based on the signs. Joella can answer any questions you have.

If you are going to be late: Text 508-215-8378. We can pack a box for you and leave it on the farm house porch (actually at 65 Brookline, up by the white barns)

If you can't make it: Please let us know a time when you can come by Thursday or Friday and we will leave your share out for you on the porch.

If you want to send someone else in your place: This is a great idea if you are going on vacation! Give your neighbor or anyone who is helping take care of your place your share for the week. Just make sure you forward the person you are sharing with the weekly email so they know pick up procedure. No need to tell us if you are going to do this.

Can't make it and want to donate your share to a local food pantry? Let us know and we will make sure it gets to one of the five food pantries we serve weekly.

Holliston Community Farm

34 Rogers Rd, Holliston, MA

Your pick up day is Tuesday.

Hours are 1:00pm to 6:00pm.

If you can't make it by 6:00, we can leave the share in the walk-in cooler for you to pick up later.

Here is a list of the exact dates of your share pick up. *

I recommend stopping what you are doing and adding them to your calendar, with an alert, right now!

April 11th

April 18th

April 25th

May 2nd

May 9th

May 16th

May 23rd

May 30th

Parking: Please driving up the driveway at 34 Rogers Rd, past the yellow house and past the farm stand and park in the parking lot. Please drive carefully, it is a narrow drive, and you will need to travel the drive from the house to the street single file. Please be patient and courteous with one another.

Picking Up Your Share: Please check in with Lindsay, cross your own name off the list !

This is very important. We need to know who has come! Then, read the signs and choose your produce based on the signs. Lindsay can answer any questions you have.

If you are going to be late: Text 508-215-8378 if you are going to be late. We can pack a box for you and leave it in the cooler to pick up later that evening or the next day.

If you can't make it and want to switch your pick up day to Thursday 1-6 at Weston Nurseries: Please let us know by Monday morning at 7am, if possible, so we can adjust our harvest for the week. Email upswingcsa@gmail.com.

If you want to send someone else in your place: This is a great idea if you are going on vacation! Give your neighbor or anyone who is helping take care of your place your share for the week. Just make sure you forward the person you are sharing with the weekly email so they know pick up procedure. No need to tell us if you are going to do this.

Can't make it and want to donate your share to a local food pantry? Let us know and we will make sure it gets to one of the five food pantries we serve weekly.

Weston Nurseries in Hopkinton

93 East Main St, Hopkinton, MA

Your pick up day is Thursday.

Hours are 1:00pm to 6:00pm.

Here is a list of the exact dates of your share pick up. *

I recommend stopping what you are doing and adding them to your calendar, with an alert, right now!

April 13th

April 20th

April 27th

May 4th

May 11th

May 18th

May 25th

June 1st

Parking: DO NOT GO IN THE MAIN ENTRANCE OF WESTON NURSERIES! There is no way to drive to the back lot from there. Instead, turn north at the light in front of Weston Nurseries onto Legacy Farms Rd North and turn right into the parking lot behind the nursery. You will see out white Box truck there, with tents. Park anywhere on the gravel lot, not too close to the tents, if possible.

Picking Up Your Share: Please check in with Anna (Ah-na) (she's new and she's great!) and cross your own name off the list !

This is very important. We need to know who has come! Then, read the signs and choose your produce based on the signs. Anna can answer any questions you have.

If you are going to be late: Text 508-215-8378. We can arrange a spot for you to pick up.

If you can't make it: Please let us know - we don't have a great alternative until the start of the Ashland Farmer's Market in Summer - so don't forget! If you can plan ahead you can come to the CSA pick up in Holliston on Tuesday. We just prefer to know by Monday at 7am if possible so we can adjust our harvest plan.

If you want to send someone else in your place: This is a great idea if you are going on vacation! Give your neighbor or anyone who is helping take care of your place your share for the week. Just make sure you forward the person you are sharing with the weekly email so they know pick up procedure. No need to tell us if you are going to do this.

Can't make it and want to donate your share to a local food pantry? Let us know and we will make sure it gets to one of the five food pantries we serve weekly.

Your Farmers,

Brittany, Kevin and the Upswing Farm Team

Also, I'm bad at spelling. I am a generalist, so as long as most of the letters are there, and there is good context, by brain prefers not to be bogged down by details. Also, I am frequently typing these emails late at night or early in the morning after or before a big day of work. I promise I'm not making spelling or grammar errors becauseI don't care. I really, really do care, I'm just no good at copy editing and I rarely have time to send these out for a proof read to Kevin who is still sleeping. I hope you can forgive me.