Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Hiking and Outdoors-ing

We've been spending a lot of time exploring Alaska. Here's some pictures:

Hatcher's Pass


Hiking on snow in June in Hatcher's Pass


Wild Chocolate Lillies (my favorite!)


Yogis Practicing Warrior 3 Down by the Knik River


The Matanuska Glacier


Hiking Up Lazy Mountain


The Flag is the Summit of Lazy Mountain


The View from the Summit of Lazy Mountain


Jesse and Me on the summit of Lazy Mountain

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

First Harvest Day!

Monday was our first harvest day for this season's CSA. Since it is the beginning of the season, we harvested a bunch of greens. We had two different varieties of head lettuces, baby bok choi and three varieties of mustard greens. We harvested in the late morning and then we washed everything in big washtubs in our harvest shed. After everything was thoroughly rinsed, the head lettuces and baby bok choi air-dried on towels and we used a huge salad spinner to dry off the mustard greens. Then we weighed and bagged the greens in equal portions for our 40-share CSA.

What is a CSA? CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. It is a way to support local farmers, local food, and seasonal eating. When you buy a share in a CSA, the money you pay goes directly to the farmer and there are no middlemen between you and your veggies. In most CSAs, you pay up-front for the entire season and then recieve weekly boxes of fresh in-season produce that you pick up either from the farm or from a designated drop-off point. Usually there are different options that you can choose from: full share, half-share, and salad share. It is a great way to show that you care about small farmers and sustainable agriculture by directly supporting those that farm near you.

Check out localharvest.org to research CSAs near you!
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Our CSA Newsletter


Kate harvesting the baby bok choi


Me and Sonia harvesting mustard greens


Letting head lettuce air-dry


Mixing and washing mustard greens


Me and Sonia with bags of greens!

Farm Photos

The driveway up to the farm


The Farm House


The Yurt


Cows hanging out


Chickens and Ducks


Sleepy dog


Me and some planted raised beds


Lettuce to be harvested for the first CSA


SPROUTS!!


The Most Delicious Sandwich in the UNIVERSE (whole wheat bagel, roasted red pepper hummus, tomato, red onion, salt, pepper, non-dairy cream cheese, avocado, SPROUTS)