Hillsong Ridge Farm 2012 May Newsletter By: Jamie Spahn
Plant it and it will grow! Plant, plant and more planting. Transplants and seeds are making their way into the dirt at Hillsong Ridge. Rows of radishes, lettuce, beets, and peas are growing well from our early plantings in the lawn garden. Cabbage, Broccoli, Kohlrabi, Cauliflower and even some Black Cherry Tomato transplants are rooting and growing well with the rain and cooler weather. Onions, Potatoes, Carrots, Spinach, Swiss Chard and Kale are also enjoying the spring mother nature is providing so far. The next few weeks we will get Beans, Peppers, Tomatoes, Cukes, Zucchini, Sweet Corn, Pumpkins, and much, much more into the ground, along with our second plantings of things like lettuce and peas.
Grandpa said, “The radishes are ready.” It was so exciting to watch the girls go get the harvest baskets, walk to the garden, and point out to me which ones the radishes were. I told them, “Start pulling this whole row, put them in your baskets and bring them over to the hose to wash them.” I walked over to start cutting rhubarb and turned to see them both bent over picking radishes. How Cool! It didn’t take very long til they were over by the hose. (Kids and water…) Lucy worked hard and her basket was fuller than I thought. Lily just liked to keep turning the hose on FULL BLAST. We bundled 6 bunches of radishes! We are so excited to grow for you! It’s what we love to do!
WE HAVE A WEBSITE! Just another thing that makes this all so real. We are in the third year growing produce and it IS a business. Check out our site anytime. We will be making regular changes and updates to keep you posted on all that is happening at the farm. Thank you so much to Kathy Spahn (Grandma) and Joe Meinholz for putting this together. This is going to be a great way for us to communicate with all of you!
FOR SALE:
Radishes $1.75/ bundle
Rhubarb $1.50/bundle or $2 for 2
Potted Herbs and Specialty Garden Baskets $5-$18
Leaf Lettuce $2 = ½ lb $3.50= 1lb
Possibly Spinach by the end of the week.
Chickens:
Our first batch of chickens are looking good. We are aiming for the 2nd week in June to start butchering but that will be determined when it gets a little closer. I will be contacting those of you that pre-ordered your chickens the first part of June to schedule pick ups/deliveries. Most of the 1st batch is spoken for but we are still taking orders. We have also ordered the 2nd batch of babies to arrive next week. They will be ready the first part of July. Yum, chicken on the grill! I can’t wait!
Eggs:
We are still getting LOTS of eggs. Swing in at the farm to pick up your fresh eggs daily. Deliveries to Sauk, Cross Plains, and Spring Green on Wednesdays.
$3/doz
$4.50/18pk
CSA Weekly Produce Box Members:
As of right now we are on track for starting boxes the first full week in June. Expect things like lettuce, spinach, radishes, beets, kale, table onions and hopefully some asparagus and strawberries the first couple weeks. I will be meeting with some of our drop off sites to go over how things will work when boxes are delivered. I am also starting to put together our foodie sheets for the boxes. I am looking for easy recipes for first timers cooking with fresh veggies. Receiving produce is very new for some members so I want to help make it less overwhelming by making sure I have lots of good ideas of how to work with these foods. Please e-mail your ideas and recipes to hillsongridgefarm@gmail.com. Thank You!
WIN A FREE DOZEN EGGS!
Lots of our chickens are laying “double yolkers”. If you are eating eggs from Hillsong Ridge Farm, I would like to hear about your experience with these big eggs. The girls like to pick out the biggest egg in our dozen each week and make bets. The winner gets to eat the egg! E-mail your story to me at hillsongridgefarm@gmail.com. I will share the stories with the kids and the best story gets a free dozen eggs! (I will also share in next months newsletter)
Just a heads up, this time of year you will start receiving e-mail updates during the week to let you know what is for sale at the farm. As always, please feel free to contact me with any comments, concerns, or questions. You can reach me via e-mail or by phone (if I do not answer please leave a message and I will get back to you as soon as possible) or send a text.
Word of mouth has been the best way to spread the word about what’s going on at the farm. It is fun to hear how someone new found out about us. The word is spreading fast thanks to all of you that support us daily. We can work, doing what we love and supply you with healthy food you want to share.
Have a safe, happy, and healthy day,
Jamie
