My sweet little dorm room.

This kind of thing gets us motivated!

Why we (mostly) grow OP-Open Pollinated seed

Seed Swap Madness! I tried to stay away, but got sucked into the excitement and left with several new varieties to try.

And speaking of the weather, come get your blackberries! Wear closed toe shoes and long pants, bring lots of containers and be ready to get poked!

In Your Share This Week

Lettuce – Magenta; some biggies some smallies.

Parsley – Survivor

Scarlet Nantes Carrots These old heirloom carrots date back to the 1850’s in France.

Summer Squash – Black Beauty, Golden, White Bush, Bennings Green Tint, Yellow Scallop, Lemon

Here’s an absolutely delicious use for those huge summer squashes! Use a standard vegetable peeler to shave off thin strips of… zuccha-cini! (or zuccha-getti!). Make a thick sauce by cooking together eggplant, your pepper and tomatoes and put the hot sauce over the fresh, raw ‘zucchacini.’ Grated fresh parmesan over all. Any type of large squash would work; peeling the whole thing first was probably not necessary. The strips ranged from 1/4 to 1” in width and were just peeled right into the pasta bowl.

Gold of Bacau Yellow Romano Beans – They’ve gotten a bit tough recently, but are still very tasty and both beans & pod are still edible. Best cooked for at least an hour in a soup, stew, crock pot or in the oven.

Walla Walla Onions – Try carmelizing one or 2. Then put on pizza, in lasagna, over pasta or just on toast!

Cucumbers, Marketmore & Diva (slicers)  or Wautoma (picklers)

Sweet Peppers Mostly Antohi’s, some Romanian Sweets – first peppers of the season!

Hot Peppers, Jalapeños

Tomatoes!! Glacier (red) & Taxi (yellow) – Finally we get some summer! Hopefully this is just the beginning…

‘Just a farmer’ you said and I laughed ‘cause I knew all the things that farmers must be able to do.

They must study the land then watch the sky and figure just when is the right time and why

to sow and to plant to buy and to sell to go to the market with cattle and well…

You know the books that farmers must keep to pay all those taxes and be able to sleep

and you know the fixin’ that farmers must do when machines like mad monsters blow a gasket or two.

I guess when God needed folks to care for His earth he chose “just farmers” cause He knew their true worth

Future grapes

Lush Spinach

Green Beans Overcame Early Trouble

Vining beans in search of a trellis

Healthy young tomatoes

Weedy Pea Patch

Two green bean buds-can you find them?

As you all are undoubtedly aware, it’s still really wet and cold this spring (as it was last spring). If you look at the weather records, even last April (April 2010) was warmer than this April. This April had only 2 days that reached the average temperature and 2 days that exceeded it, everything else was below or way below average. Also this year, we had an inch more rain than normal (last year we had less rain than normal). So what all this stuff means to us farmers and you members is: Our tender annual vegetables plants are simply not growing very fast. Maybe we should start harvesting dandelions; they’re going crazy!

When Do We Start?
We always intend to start in mid-May. Last year we actually did so, for the first time in many years. This year with it being so cold and rainy we plan to start the fourth week in May (May 23, 24 or 26 depending on your pick up site) and hope that we can accomplish that. However, there is a chance we will have to move it back one week and start May 30, 31 & June 2  to give our veggies more time to grow. We will let you know immediately if we have to move the start date.

Memberships Available
We still have plenty of spaces available. If you are planning to renew but haven’t gotten an email confirmation lately, please drop a quick line (email or phone) to let us know of your plans. Remember – we will thank you with $20 for each household who joins from your referral! We now have a Facebook page so that might be an easy way to let your friends know about us. One of the biggest misconceptions about CSA is that you have to pay the full amount up front, so if you do spread the word be sure to let folks know we take payments. We’d sure like to fill up!

InFARMation (and Beer!)
Friends of Family Farmers is a small but growing organization working to promote and protect socially responsible farming in Oregon. They have been holding monthly gatherings called “InFARMation (and Beer!)” in SE Portland for over a year covering all manner of topics related to food and eating. This month’s topic is the CSA Model and Farmer Shari will be one of the panelists. We are wondering if any of you long-time members would be willing to attend and be willing to answer questions other eaters or potential members might have. The event is Tuesday, 5:30 – 8:30, with speakers going from 6:30 – 8pm.  http://www.friendsoffamilyfarmers.org/?p=1050.

First part of the project to add 2 new greenhouses                  Transplanting Walla Walla onions on May Day

We’ll see you in a few weeks – visualize sunshine and warmth!

You may have heard of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) and we just wanted to let you know a little more about us. Over the last 25 years, CSA has evolved into a popular way for consumers to buy local, seasonal food directly from farm. Since 1997, Dancing Roots Farm has been harvesting weekly baskets of produce for our members and we’d like to be YOUR farmers!

Here’s how it works:

You become a member of the farm by purchasing a share (membership) then receive a basket of seasonal produce each week throughout the season. Shares usually consist of vegetables but other farm products, like eggs, are also available. Our season runs for 24 weeks, from mid-May to the end of October. In addition to a pick up site at the farm, we also have a Thursday pick up in the Piedmont neighborhood close to Peninsula Park and a Wednesday pick up in the NE Parkrose/Russell/Argay area. If we don’t have a pick up site near your home or work, check out www.portlandcsa.org for other farms that might.

One of the common misconceptions about CSA is that you have to pay the whole amount up front. While this does help cover seeds and other early season expenses, we will gladly take payments. The cost for a season at Dancing Roots Farm is $500; this works out to about $20/week. Some members do pay the full amount, but many send a $100 deposit and pay the balance in 1 or 2 payments. We try to be accommodating so our produce is available to those who want it.

For all of us who eat, being a member of a farm has many benefits. You get to enjoy just-picked, ultra-fresh veggies, brimming with flavor and vitamins. You get to try new vegetables, learn simple, tasty recipes and get more vegetables in your diet. You also get to develop a relationship with the farmers who grow your food and learn first hand how and when your food is grown. Parents often find that kids favor food from “their” farm.

We still have memberships available at all three locations. Give it a try – eat healthy and support local farmers!

More Reasons to Join Dancing Roots Farm

* Our pick ups are fun, family-friendly harvest celebrations each week! There’s always someone at the pick up to talk about food, recipes, what’s happening on the farm or anything else you want to talk about.

* Our weekly share, while changing with the seasons, is generally right for a household of 2 adults and up to 2 kids. Each year we adjust items and quantities in our efforts to improve the bounty and selection.

* Our vegetables are delicious, high quality and grown with out pesticides. We mostly grow heirlooms that are hard to find at the stores. These vegetables have been passed down thru generations because of their flavor, nutrition, and beauty. They’re harvested at their peak of ripeness in the morning and brought to you that evening. Now that’s fresh!

* We keep our membership price moderate and actively solicit donations to our Scholarship Fund. We’re doing what we can to provide healthy, fresh vegetables to those who want it.

* We offer several payment options. For some, paying the full amount with one check is preferred. For others 2 or 3 payments is better. If neither of those options works, give us a call and we can work something out.

To join, please go to our website www.dancingrootsfarm.com and click on the brochure icon. The brochure is also attached to this email. (Note: There is color on the front page – you might want to turn off the color before printing to save ink.) Print out the brochure, fill it in and send with your check made out to Dancing Roots Farm to the address below.

Thanks again for taking the time to look this over. You can also follow us on Facebook. Feel free to pass this along to any others who might be interested in eating fresh, healthy produce in season!