Produce Box ALERT - August 2, 2012

Photo: arvindgrover/Flickr

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Collards are one of the few vegetables on our list that actually become tastier with frost. Both cold-tolerant and heat-tolerant, collards are an understated, easygoing crop. According the Heirloom Organics website, collards can tolerate slightly alkaline soil and drought. Quality of leaves may suffer under these conditions, so it’s best to grow collards in a cool, moist atmosphere with balanced soil and plenty of sunshine.

Here at Two Crones Farm we grow several different varities of collards, with one of our favorites called Tree Collards. Since this variety has no seed it must be propagated from cuttings.  Kathi has successfully propagated new starts so if you would like to plant some for yourself she would be happy to share.

We are so fortunate in our area to be able to grow the garden year round. This week marks the beginning of the fall planting, all from open source seed or seed that we have collected from prior years. If you have a particular winter crop that you like let us know, we'd love to customize our garden plan to suit your tastes!

This week the boxes will include:

Seedless Grapes

Cantalope or Honey Dew melon

Sweet Corn
Allium Mix - Onions: purple, yellow, white or shallots, garlic
Red Potatos
Mixed Greens
Heirloom Tomatos - limited quantities available
Apples - limited quantities available
Butternut Squash
Cucumbers - English & Lemon
Farm Fresh Eggs - limited quantities available
Local Honey - 16oz Raw ($10 additional)

 

Volunteer Opportunity:

Have you heard about the work that we are doing with Food Rescue? If you or anyone you know has excess fruit from their backyard trees our group of volunteers would love to help collect and distribute to families in need.There will be a flyer in your box this week with more information on how you can get involved!

                                    We are ever grateful for your support,

Farmer Kathi & Farmer Shelee

Corn Heaven

Morning Shelee:

We were in Corn Heaven last night....thanks to you. Will shift to Melon Heaven for lunch....

Fargo and Nang

Waking up to this message from one of our happy customers just made my day!  Here at the farm we can only grow so much due to space limitations.  This fact has created the opportunity and motivation for me to seek out other local sources of non-GMO, organically raised produce to include in our weekly produce boxes.

The importance of eating non-GMO food is explained in depth in an article at ECOWATCH .  As a foodie, farmer and nutritionist I'm more than a little into all the research showing us how damaging GMO produced food is to the health of our family & community.  I hope you can take the time to read more information about your food choices. 

We are doing our part to supply as clean a souce of fresh produce and we thank you for joining us in this effort.  By creating a demand in the marketplace one shopper at a time my hope is that we can expand the discussion by opening the hearts and minds of others that may not know the impact of GMO's.

If you are a current customer, THANK YOU......we and the other farmers we work with appreciate your support very much.  You are each a voice for changing the way we do business in Solano County.  Supporting your local small family farmer is a great start!

Produce Box ALERT - 7/26/12

Our Heirloom Tomatos are starting to blush up and Butternut or Delicata Squash are almost ready !

Looking forward to adding them to your boxes in the next couple of weeks. 

Lemon Cucumbers are in full blossom now so we'll be adding them late into the season, too.

 

This week's boxes are set to include a nice mix of fresh veges:

1# Squash Mix - Italian, Yellow, Crookneck, Baseball

Sweet Corn

Summer Melon - Cantalope or Honey Dew

Stone Fruit Mix - White or Yellow Peaches, Nectarines

Mixed Greens - Kale, Chard, Collards, Mustard

Lettuce - Romaine or Green Leaf

Ratatouille Mix - Red/Yellow Bell, Eggplant, Onion, Garlic

Broccoli - limited quantity until fall harvest

Heirloom Tomato - First harvest, limited quantity available

Eggs

Two Crones Relaxation Herbal Tea Blend

Remember: Local Honey is available in 16oz jar ($10 additional)

Thanks for supporting our local urban farmers!

To Order Email:  info@twocronesfarm.com

or leave a message (707)812-0546

Pick up after 1pm on Thursday, Delivery available to Benicia, Vallejo, American Canyon ($5)

Our little CSA Produce Box program is growing!  We are deeply grateful for the referrals you are sending our way for fresh local produce picked at the peak of flavor.

This week's produce boxes will once again be available for pick up or delivery on Thursday.  Deadline for orders is

Wednesday, 7/18/12  6pm.

$20 Box includes:

Peaches or Seedless Grapes

Limes or lemons

Melons - Cantalope or Persian

Green Beans or Sweet Corn

Cucumbers

Bell Peppers - Red/Yellow/Green

Baby Eggplant

Squash Mix

Mixed Greens

Two Crones Relaxation Tea Blend

Cherry Tomatos

Lettuce - Romaine or Green Leaf

$30 Box includes:

16 oz Local Honey for Bay Area Bee Company

Please confirm your order by Wednesday, 6pm.

SPECIAL NOTE:

This Saturday evening we will be hosting our monthly Underground Dinner

prepared by Chef Stan Smith of The Dinner Project.  

If you would like to make a reservation please let us know by Wednesday as well.

Visit our page Fork & Knife blog page for details. $45/person, bring your own choice of adult beverage.

We appreciate each and every one of you, thanks for your support!

Ever since I was a kid I have loved to watch okra mature because of the way it grows on the plant, like bananas, pointing up to the sky.  This is the first year since gardening in the Bay Area that we've had the heat needed to really get a decent harvest locally.  Once I began researching more about Okra the more enamored I've become since it is full of essential vitamins and minerals.

Okra, also known as "lady finger" or "gumbo", is a highly nutritious green edible pod vegetable. Botanically, this perennial flowering plant belongs to the mallow family, related to hibiscus and named scientifically as Abelmoschus esculentus.

The plant is cultivated throughout the tropical and warm temperate regions of the world for its fibrous fruits or "pods". It grows best in well drained and manure soil. The plant bears numerous dark green colored pods measuring about 5-15 cm in length. It takes about 45-60 days to bear ready-to-harvest fruits.

Health benefits of Okra

• Very low in calories, provides just 30 cal per 100 g and contains no saturated fats or cholesterol; but is a rich source ofdietary fiber, minerals, vitamins; recommended in cholesterol controlling and weight reduction programs.
• The rich fiber and mucilaginous content in Okra pods helps smooth peristalsis (movement) of digested food particles and relieve constipation condition.
• The pods contain healthy amounts of vitamin A, and flavonoid anti-oxidants such as beta carotenes, xanthin and lutein. It is one of the green vegetable with highest levels of these anti-oxidants. These compounds are known to have antioxidant properties and are essential for vision. Vitamin A is also required for maintaining healthy mucus membranes and skin. Consumption of natural vegetables and fruits rich in flavonoids helps to protect from lung and oral cavity cancers.
• Fresh pods are good source of folates; provide about 22% of RDA per 100 g. Consumption of foods rich in folates, especially during pre-conception period helps decrease the incidence of neural tube defects in the offspring.
• The pods are also an excellent source of anti-oxidant vitamin, vitamin-C; provides about 36% of daily recommended levels. Consumption of foods rich in vitamin-C helps the body develop immunity against infectious agents, reduce episodes of cold and cough and protects body from harmful free radicals.
• The veggies are rich in B-complex group of vitamins like niacin, vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine), thiamin and pantothenic acid. The pods also contain good amounts of vitamin K. Vitamin K is a co-factor for blood clotting enzymes and is required for strengthening of bones.
• The pods are also good source of many important minerals such as iron, calcium, manganese and magnesium.

And so it with gratitude that we are able to include Okra in our produce boxes this season!