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| Box 4: Beets with greens, green beans (VG and Malek in Nekoosa), carrots, rainbow chard, basil, cucumber, zucchini, VG garlic, sage and blueberries (Malek in Nekoosa)
This box brings us just shy of half way through the central WI growing season...WHAT???? How can it be that after just 2 more boxes we are back to school? Each box gets heavier and heavier and you can start to see some of the ol' standbys coming to play. More beets and carrots but a dash of zucchini and cucumber reminds you of the taste of summer. We picked our blueberries this year at Malek's farm in Nekoosa. Our traditional Trachte's farm in Pittsville lost a substantial amount of their plants to the harsh winter but we hope to highlight their farm later this season as they catch up. FYI Malek's has you-pick blueberries (2$/lb) and raspberries (3$/lb) for the next couple of weeks yet and also have potatoes. They aren't organic so make sure to wash carefully just prior to eating.
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| Judith and Craig sorting through the first picked garlic this year. There is plenty more that is going to be cured and put into the late season boxes for winter storage.
We seem to have moved on from our aerial predators the bald eagle(s) to a land predator that has proven much more deadly-raccoon. This guy or family of guys has taken down at least a dozen of our precious hens which has made us step up our game on electrical fencing and live trapping. It makes it interesting to find a balance between free range and totally out in the open to predation but we are finding our happy medium and will be raising some new gals to join the bunch soon. Wisconsin Rapids just passed action to allow back yard hens in town which is GREAT but we encourage you all to do your research on pens and yards that will keep your birds safe and healthy.
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| Aida is quite the helper "pick one, eat one" is her motto and boy does she stick to it! |
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| I can't stop staring at rainbow chard. It grows a tad slower then a traditional green variety but it is worth the wait. The variety of color assures you that you are receiving a hefty dose of antioxidants with your greens and this past week the deer have left it alone so we can have some too :) |
