Hello everyone!

I didn't realize my last email would come off as such a downer! I think I wrote it so fast I was being particularly honest. Yes, I'm pushing myself every day to get it all done around here, and I worry about a lot, but I also know that every challenge in my life right now is something that I chose, and I'm deeply grateful for that. And, like I said in the last email - I see that light at the end of the tunnel. Someone once said to me 'farms are measured in decades, not years'. It provides wonderful perspective in highly challenging moments. And pushes me towards patience in a way that I really need in this profession.

(Did I reference that saying in my last email? Oh boy, sorry if I'm a broken record. I'd check and edit but it's 5:55 and I still have a to print the seeding lists, write the pick and pack lists and have a plan for the morning for a 7 member crew. It's an important saying, it's fine if I say it twice!)

Speaking of challenging moments - the darn turkeys ate my sugar snap peas. The can slip right under/fly right over a deer fence so there really is no good way to keep them out. Hunting season starts this week so they will all go into hiding and it won't be a problem, but gosh is it frustrating, especially since I pushed it really, really hard on April 5th trying to get them, and our earliest carrots, into the just-dry-enough ground before it rained.

It's ok. I ordered more seed. I'll replant. I was already planning a second succession (when you plant something multiple times throughout the season so you can have a longer harvest window). It just means peas will be a couple weeks late. It stinks when you know that they are a highly popular crop that make kids and parents happy, but that's a part of why CSA is so great. The turkeys didn't mess with the carrots, so they should be on-time.

We've got over-wintered carrots in the share this week and they are not nearly as small as last year's! We dug these right before the ground froze in late December and stored them with the soil still on them. It actually helps to preserve the flavor. We will rinse the soil before distribution, but won't be able to get them perfectly clean. A veggie brush or just a peeler will do the trick.

How do I know keeping them dirty is worth it? The Saturday before Easter my mother-in-law was helping Harvey prepare for Easter, and we didn't have any carrots in the house. I told him to take her to the cooler to get carrots. He said, "Ok, great, let's get the dirty carrots for the Easter Bunny - those ones are the sweetest!"

We've also got lettuce mix and baby kale mix in the share this week! We planted it way back in February after clearing a bed of spinach, and it's just ready now. In summer, a bed of direct seeded lettuce mix takes about 21-28 days from seed to harvest.

I love season extension, I love greenhouses and eating locally year round, but it does take quite the investment in infrastructure, time and very dedicated planning. But oh does it feel good when harvest time comes! We've got excellent greens in the share this week. I've been sticking to lots of salads, and gently cooking any greens (except lettuce and claytonia) and eating with eggs!

Also, we had a crew birthday party, since half of us have a birthday in the last half of April, and we got it catered last minute by the Lazy Bubble in town - it was awesome! We are so grateful for Chef Chris and Anne-Marie.

Kale Mix (could be a massaged kale salad or braised or used in the kale recipe below!)

Claytonia This is a younger succession so there are fewer flowers, but the leaves are extra tender and sweet!

Choose: Pea Tendrils or Micro greens (maybe a few other choices)

Jess Girotti here, with your recipes for this week. If you need more ideas, head on over to the new recipe pages on the Upswing website. I've added recipes that highlight each vegetable along with information on storing and preparing produce!

Ohmygosh. I can smell this one cooking just by reading the ingredient list, and it smells AMAZING. Basmati rice, coconut milk, curry powder and fresh lime juice. Can't wait to dive in!

Claytonia, also known as miner's lettuce, and basil tossed with a simple Asian vinaigrette and pine nuts.

Two different CSA members recommended this super simple pasta dish bursting with springtime flavors.

I feel like it's easy to get stuck in a salad rut (not a bad rut to be in, IMHO) but this recipe helps to bust you out of that rut with a quick sauté of kale and garlic with an over-easy egg on top.

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.