It stopped raining! The sun came out! Seedlings have been growing! Full disclosure, this is Kevin here pinch hitting for Brittany. I'm pretty sure there is written record of me saying that I would be writing more of these emails, that was months ago... better late than never!

I am not a morning person. Despite my profession it is a true fight with my inner demons to rise from my nightly grave and get this sort of work done. Brittany and I have always split the difference between the morning and night shift. It tends to work out because there is plenty to do regardless of the time of day, but in truth sometimes I feel like a fraud because of the classic thought that farmers should all be rising with the sun (or before it in some folk's case...) and seems to take pride in it. But I have an understanding partner and she has never once sleep shamed me just because she's usually up before 5 and I sleep until a very painful 6 o'clock. But there are greenhouses to close, evening foliar sprays to apply, irrigation to run etc., we are a team and I appreciate that about our farming relationship. We've taken on a lot here and there's no way we could do it without one another.

We've all been pushing it hard here on the farm, the team is learning certain tasks with a little bit of the sink or swim mentality as we prepare for our very exciting annual seedling sale (it's just around the corner!) while also taking care of the rest of the farm. We need to prepare beds for our last spring plantings and first summer plantings, we're starting to cultivate more, the deer fence went up (a big project in and of itself), we're still building greenhouses and executing infrastructure projects, it's a total whirlwind of activity here at just about any time of the day.

More and more of us are beginning to wear small backpacks while we work so that we have all our needed supplies with us at any given time. It is amazing how much time you can lose to the little things. Oh no I forgot sunscreen! Where is my water bottle? My blood sugar is low! I need a knife; this asparagus is hard to pick without it! I may or may not have been thinking about wearing my camel back to work today as I fell asleep last night... it's time to treat every day like a backpacking trip.

My closing note to this rushed and scattered email is that one of the small things we've finally started doing is bolstering our local marketing. In addition to the annual fliers and handouts we do and the internet advertising I feel like we've finally landed, we're on the placemats at Franny's (our local diner) and we're sponsoring the PYSL (Pepperell youth soccer league) along with lots of other local businesses. Upswing farm will be engrained in the local mindset soon enough... On that note, I adore watching Harvey play soccer, it is a beautiful mix of hilarity, enthusiasm and friendship. Let's all make a vow as parents and supporters of children to support their interests without making it about us. Also support our local businesses!

See you at the seedling sale!

Ok, So What's in the Share!?

Choose 3 bags of greens: baby-ish kale, kaleidoscope mix, arugula (definitely not our best, kind of spicy and some it a little bolty, but if you like arugula it is delicious), lettuce mix, pea tendrils, microgreens and maybe a few other choices.

3/4 pound asparagus! There will be plenty more in our future, definitely moving into one pound per share at least next week.

Choose 3: 1/2 poung bok choy, gem head lettuce, bunch of red russian kale, bunch of cilantro, maybe a few other choices . . .

Our storage carrots are mostly gone, we will have to wait for this year's carrots to mature, but we do have potatoes and daikon radish so if you would like to make a substitution, you can sub 2 pounds potatoes for one bag of greens, and one poiund potatoes for any of the items in the bok choy/lettuce/red russian kale mix.

*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.

ASPARAGUS & SCALLION QUICHE

My go-to asparagus recipe is to keep it simple and either roast or grill it with salt and pepper, olive oil, and a squeeze of lemon. I'm looking ahead to Mother's Day this weekend though and eyeing this scrumptious quiche recipe!

ONE PAN BEEF & UDON NOODLES WITH BOK CHOY & PEANUTS

Meal services are super quick and convenient, but between Upswing and my meat CSA I usually have plenty of food and just need ideas. I do, however, find that their recipes are quick and delicious so often find myself saving recipes from their websites - like this one!



POTATO & MUSTARD GREENS SALAD

I love a good potato salad but get bored with the same old recipes. This one brings the excitement back with mustard greens, Thai chile paste and cornichons!

GRILLED PROSCIUTTO WRAPPED ASPARAGUS

Here's another Mother's Day brunch possibility - but honestly, it's easy enough for any day of the week!

ARUGULA AND 3 PEA SALAD

Snow peas, frozen peas, and sugar snaps served atop arugula with radishes, garlic-herb goat cheese, fresh herbs and a shallot vinaigrette.

CHICKEN & KALE TACO SALD WITH JALAPENO-RANCH DRESSING

Champagne mangos and avocados have been on sale at Whole Foods and I've been trying to incorporate them into my meal plan. This salad is a always a huge hit. Adjust the heat by adding more or less jalapeno.

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.