Dear Friends,
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I am coming through town tomorrow with spring veggie bags, containing red potatoes, carrots, cabbage, winter squash, parsnip, a couple of onions and fresh dug garlic scallions for $18. Let me know if you want one delivered to the drop off spots in Canton or Potsdam.
 unrolling the plastic |  ready to let the sides down |  all done |  wind casualty |
We got the greenhouse plastic on and finished batting it down in the pouring rain with no wind. Thank you Bob, rob, Len and Aaron. I added the side curtain fasten strings the next day when we got 6omiles/hr winds. The tunnel stands! the outhouse blew over! Fortunately it had no floor and the bucket is still upright. With that big project done I am all on to the next.
 healthy onions |  ready to plant lettuce |
The days are beautiful, sunny and cool and warm ones too, just right for the sunchoke harvest. Jerusalem artichokes, sunchokes are a native to the area in the sunflower family and make a tuber that is tasty. We used to have two large beds 15'wide and 150' long and could harvest 1500lbs a year. A daunting job considering they grow 18" or more deep and need hand digging because there is no mechanic bed-lifter or potato harvester getting them out. I don't hire help until May to save money and so we are close friends, the sunchokes and I. I spread the harvest into two two hour harvest times and do other work in between to mix it up. I have orders for 250lbs and a few more days and I am there, just before they start sprouting again. Once you plant them they come back every year whether you want them or not. So, I trimmed the fields to only 8' wide and it makes it much better, since we don't sell so many of them anymore. Most people don't know about them. I am attaching recipes and health benefits for the curious.
the alternate box?
CSA friend Jeanna suggested to do an alternative box for people who have their own gardens and don't need so much of everything. Who want the early first zucchini and tomatoes and not so much later when their own come on but she would like flowers then. We do offer the market spent down option where people pay a certain amount up front and just subtract from it when they shop at the market. Maybe we can do a CSA spent down, but I have to make sure it doesn't get too complicated for the packers if it not me. Are there any gardeners out there feeling this?
back home happy
On Sunday I went down late enjoying my days of not milking before the new calf comes the middle of May. When I came to the bottom garden gate I saw hoof prints, cow hoof prints trying to get into the garden but the gate was closed for the night. Then I saw a trampled down gate and that they were gone. I called no response. Then the neighbor who has Jeff's (my former cow partner who moved to Vermont) land was in the driveway and told me that the cows showed up 7am in the morning and that he put them in a pasture. When Steve and I came they were ready to go home and fast. We were able to lead them home along the road and saw that they had walked on the right side of the road till the crest of the road, crossed at the top and walked on on the left side of the road where coming cars could see them, like we always used to do it when they spent their summers over there. They also had walked around Lexi's house looking for her. She feeds and milks the cows 1/2 the time and they love her.
that's the news for now, CSA info is attached for sign up
peace, Dulli
that's the news for now, CSA info is attached for sign up
peace, Dulli
