Howdy folks and welcome to week 1 of your 2016 farm share. Thank you to everyone who has joined us for another season and to all of you new folks who are on board with us for the first time. We hope you're hungry!

We're stoked to be back out in the dirt again and hope you all enjoy the fresh spring bounty as much as we do. Over the next few weeks I know we'll all be getting into a flow of harvesting and cooking/eating through the seasons. Spring is a great time to clear out the ol' fridge and make room for some fresh new ingredients. Make sure to stock up on some staples at the store--oils, vinegars, grains, beans, meat and cheese--once you've got the staples mealtime should be pretty easy with the produce you receive each week. We'll include a few recipe ideas each week too if you're in the mood to experiment with some of our favorite ways to prepare what's in your box. Always remember, we're eating the same things as you are because it's whats available on the farm so feel free to check into dishingupthedirt.com for weekly recipe ideas. We hope you have fun in the kitchen and enjoy the fresh taste of Tumbleweed Farm!

Currently on the farm we are planting a lot of summer crops and even have all of our winter squash in the ground! We're planting lettuces, herbs and kale weekly so that we'll have a healthy supply of greens all season long. The greens are looking beautiful and are more flavorful than ever! With that being said we wish we could say the same for the broccoli and potato plants. Unfortunately we've had a horrible battle with gophers who have decimated hundreds and hundreds of plants. We put in another bulk order for potato seed and after a week of panic mode they arrived to the farm and we promptly got them in the ground. The first round of broccoli has succumbed to gopher damage and root maggot damage and we're bummed to say that we won't have broccoli for quite a while. (we're really sorry about that!) But enough about the damage---the tomato plants are looking beautiful, the kale is plentiful and turnips (which are one of our favorite root vegetables) are sweeter than ever. If you've never had the pleasure of eating a raw turnip please take a bite out of one before cooking it! They are wonderful when cooked but enjoyed raw they simply cannot be beat! Also, the radishes are HUGE and crunchy and delicious. A little butter and sea salt is all you need for a tasty farm fresh snack!

There will be a lot of leafy greens and brassica crops that you'll find in your first few boxes. They are extremely tender right now and are loving this cool spring weather. Enjoy them while they're here because once the heat of the summer comes there flavors will naturally become stronger and some of the greens will be replaced with other summer crops as the season grows and the harvest list changes.

Thanks again for joining us this year and we look forward to sharing the farm season with you all.

Cheers from Tumbleweed Farm!