SUMMARY: Twelfth Week of Summer 2020! - EXTRA VEGGIES! - CLASSES AND TOURS - VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT- ACI DONATION UPDATE AND DONATE TODAY! - DID YOU KNOW? - LOCATIONS AND TIMES - WHAT TO EXPECT THIS WEEK - WHAT TO EXPECT NEXT WEEK
Week 11 - Twelfth Week of Summer CSA 2020!
HELLO DEAR MEMBERS! Well, if you don't know that we are having a historic freeze by now, you must be hiding under a rock! Yup, starting tomorrow and heading through Wednesday we are having record-breaking cold temps that could reach down into the teens here on the farm!
In the winter time these temperatures aren't a problem for us. That's because we don't grow tomatoes in the winter! 😉 But we do grow tomatoes, squash, peppers, cucumbers and so much in the summer, and all of those crops are going to come to an end👎 . It's super frustrating because we are probably going to have 4 more weeks of beautiful weather before fall starts! Who would ever have imagined a hard-freeze during the Summer? Oye, oye, oye!
Ok, well, you know, it's not that big of a deal. Yes, we are DONE with our squash and cucumbers. The tomatoes? Well, they have already slowed way down, but we will be keeping them around for a few more weeks with a heater in the greenhouse. The peppers we will also try to keep alive, but harvesting them early is the most efficient and realistic approach.
So what does this ultimately mean for you? Well, it may not mean much except you won't receive as many summer crops moving forward. This week we will harvest every last cucumber and green bean and squash and they will all go in your share. You will also get peppers and tomatoes this week and next week there will be more peppers and tomatoes, but no squash, green beans or cucs. Now, I'm only talking about the fruits, but there will be a loss of some herbs, the ceasing of growth on all the pumpkins and winter squash (not like we had much anyway because of the hail), and we will have to keep a close eye on the fragile items like lettuces and radishes.
The bottom line: All in all, I don't think you'll notice much. I have to warn you and I have to complain - if we didn't, then what's the fun!? 😀 No, really, I think everything will turn out fine and we will just be forced to transition to Fall/Winter sooner than we planned. But, hey, that's life and that's the pleasure and adventure of eating local, seasonal food💚!
This week: Enjoy your share this week. It's going to be another gorgeous and abundant share with lot's of extras for sale!
Enjoy your share this week and don't forget to join the fun and share your recipes and pictures in the Facebook Community Group!
EXTRA VEGGIES FOR SALE
DON'T FORGET: SNAP MEMBERS ALWAYS RECEIVE 50% OFF!!
&
As always, all prices are
"Pay-What-You-Can-Afford."
See the weekly "What's in your Bag" e-mails that get sent on Wednesdays for your "extras" list.
For Payment: Cash or Check at the drops or the balance can be sent via PayPal to contact@ahavahfarm.com or via Venmo to 719-233-7828 or by paying with credit card over the phone.
CLASSES AND TOURS
Plenty of Room in our Upcoming Tours
We have one more tour for you to register for on 9/29, It's completely open, so register now!
Tour Schedule:
Tours: NEXT TOUR COMING UP: 9/29! Tours are always a good time and we always learn a lot too! Educational tours are centered on environmental stewardship and the pure standards we have set for our farm. We walk the entire farm and learn about biodiversity, microbiology, the benefits of no-till and our other sustainable farming methods. We talk about energy, nutritional density of our food and we even tour the wash-rooms, the nurseries, our blacksmith shop, our storage facilities and more.
Tours start at 9am on the following Tuesdays: 9/29 (OPEN).
We would like to offer more classes, specifically on food preparation etc. If you are an individual that would be interested in using our facilities to host a class we would love to encourage this. Please reach out to us with your ideas.
VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT
Due to this week's weather emergency I am postponing this week's "Volunteer Spotlight." This section will return to next week's newsletter.
Want to get involved? E-mail us to let us know. We are always looking for volunteers and we would love for you to join the party!
AHAVAH COMMUNITY INITIATIVE
The Bring-a-buck jar needs your dollars! Please don't forget to bring a single dollar every week! It's not much, and anyone can do it, but it only works if we ALL do it 🧡!
Help create access to the purest food on the planet and DONATE TODAY! We truly believe that Ahavah Community Initiative (501C3) is one of the best ways to make a direct impact on YOUR community. Our mission is simple and the finances are completely transparent. 100% of your donations go straight to supporting our mission to "connect under-served people to locally-farmed, regeneratively-grown produce..." etc. Our board is 100% volunteer and there is no paid staff. Our meetings are public and our minutes are available at request.
Please consider a tax deductible donation to ACI by clicking the button below, and please consider making it a monthly donation by clicking the box:
DID YOU KNOW?
A new "Did You Know" will return next week due to this week's weather emergency. Here is last week's:
Did you know that if you have SNAP (aka EBT, AKA food stamps) we will offer to double your dollars? Yup! That's right and that's one of the coolest things that Ahavah Farm offers our members! SNAP, in and of itself, is not our favorite program. No, it's actually very clunky, expensive (yes!) and very inconvenient for our farm. Why do we do it? We do it because we care - that's it! There is no catch and there truly isn't much more to it than that. It creates extra headaches and paperwork and often times we don't even get paid (you can imagine how it is working with a government program, right?). 😀
Although it isn't the most beloved program for our farm, it is actually one of the coolest programs we offer because it's 100% about YOU! If you are a CSA member that has SNAP, we offer you $2 for every $1 you spend! Think about that! That's the purest possible produce you can find for the price that is less than the cheapest grocery store's non-organic and you can use SNAP to pay for it all! It's really a huge benefit to SNAP members and we want everyone to know about it so it can be taken advantage of.
How do we do it? Well, it's part of a state-sponsored program that Colorado offers calls "Double Up Colorado." You can click on the link to learn more about the program. We have to go through special training and an application process every year to re-qualify. There are also a lot of special rules. The bottom line is that we qualify and all our SNAP members do too and there is no catch and it's really easy to do - that's what matters! We have done this program now for two full years and it's been another great way for us to help fulfill our mission to our community by serving free food to families that are hurting. As often as we can give it away, we will! So, the next time you sign up for a CSA share or you go to purchase extras, you can now know that you can get 2x your money with our Double-Up SNAP program!
Any current members out there who didn't know? Contact Havah to switch to a SNAP share and get free food!
CSA PICKUP LOCATIONS AND TIMES
NOTATE TIMES: Times are subject to change.
(photo credit: Megiddeh Goldston)
THURSDAYS:
COS North / Monument @ Beasts and Brews (7 Spectrum Loop, Ste. 140)
12pm to 1pm (Drive Thru)
NOTE: Beasts and Brews IS OPEN for business! They are doing take out orders and still offering a special discount for CSA members. Inquire inside or call ahead to pick up lunch to go! Go to www.beastsandbrews.com to learn more.
Denver @ JCC (350 S. Dahlia St.):
2:30pm to 4pm (Drive thru)
FRIDAYS:
Colorado Springs @ Ranch Foods Direct (4635 Town Center Dr.):
1pm to 2:30pm (Drive Thru)
2:30pm to 6pm (Inside store)
NOTE: The Ranch Food Direct Store IS OPEN! Please go in and support your local food producers - bread and baked goods, meats and veggies and so many other local goods and necessities. They are stocked! Go to www.ranchfoodsdirect.com to learn more!
Peyton @ Ahavah Farm (7545 Log Rd.):
10am to 11am (Drive Thru)
COMPOST
Be a part of our ZERO-WASTE mission here at Ahavah Farm and bring us your compost! PLEASE REMEMBER - NO PLASTIC BAGS. Want more information? CLICK HERE to learn about the program. Thank you everyone who has been bringing their compost! We are so excited that we can help on your mission to become Waste Free! __________________________________
BAGS! We need your bags!!!
Thank you everyone for recycling your bags with us! When we receive your bags we immediately quarantine them for 2 weeks before reusing them to ensure they are safe of any yuckies. Thank you for bringing them and any others you may have!
__________________________________ What to expect THIS week:
As always, nothing is guaranteed. These are the items that are "in season" and are anticipated to be ready this week (which may or may not be available at the CSA):
Small = 4-6 items per week
Medium = 7-9 items per week
Large = 10-12 items per week
Turnips - White globes of sweetness! Nothing beats these...so you tell me😁!
Radish Microgreens - The spicy variety of microgreens that we will be offering this week, though they will only be for sale and won't be included as part of the CSA this week.
Head Lettuce - Beautiful head lettuce this week. Red and green.
Beets - Oh my, these are some of the most beautiful beets ever! Gorgeous huge roots with very tasty tops!
Cabbage Microgreens - The sweet variety of microgreens. Like the radish micros, they will only be for sale and won't be included as part of the CSA this week.
Jalepeno Peppers - Big, beautiful and tasty! Perfect to dry and save for winter too! Drying them is so easy: CLICK HERE
Green Beans - These are the best green beans we have ever had. They take FOREVER to harvest, but they are worth it! Enjoy. :)
Chives - Bunches of chives to brighten almost any dish. Chives are sort of like a cross between garlic and scallions, but they are harvested without the roots - only the greens.
Tomatoes - Tons of tomatoes. Some minor grasshopper damage on some.
Parsley - One of our favorite things to eat on the farm. Here is a link of 15 ideas of what to do with fresh parsley: CLICK HERE
Salad Mix - Fluffy salad mix. Beautiful.
Basil - Remember to dry this if you don't use it! We give you a bunch too, so it's great for pesto!
Radishes - Depending on the harvest this week, we may only include them for sale.
Peppers - Yes, the peppers are in! Hopefully we will have them for a few weeks.
Squash - Squash is starting to come in, but as you saw above, we got hailed out yesterday so we aren't so sure about the yield.
Sunshoots - Our sunshoots have been on a roll for 4 straight weeks and the feedback is continuing to roll in about how much you all love these! We have had a few people say that once they got creative with them they fell in love with them. Here are a few great ideas for your sunshoots, the most nutritious thing we grow: https://www.martinsgardenacf.com/sunflower-shoots-recipes
Pea Shoots - We love these raw as an anytime snack. We also add them to soups. Like peas? You will love these.
Cucumbers - Not a ton of cucs this week as it is our first real harvest, and as I mentioned last week, it won't be a huge harvest. It will probably be large shares only at first.
Swiss Chard - Big beautiful chard. Some minor grasshopper damage, but waxy and beautiful none the less.
Is that it? It's a lot, but I think so! I may be missing something...who knows, you might be surprised with something else too!
What to expect NEXT week:
Although we will be having this incredible freeze, I don't think you will notice a large change from this week. We are so well prepared and working really hard through this, so I believe we will be good to go. The biggest change will be no squash and no cucs and the tomatoes have way slowed down so we think it's time for some greens! Enjoy some green tomatoes next week and the week after - fun!
That's it for this week! Love you to pieces! Yosef, Havah, Kids and Team The Camire Family
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