2018 Harvest 2

2018 CSA 2.jpg

Howdy folks and welcome to week two of your Tumbleweed Farm share. We hope you enjoyed last weeks veggies and have cleared room in the fridge for this week's harvest. If you're anything like us, you may have an "oh sh*t, it's CSA delivery day" panic attack if you haven't been able to eat through last week's share. We have a little concoction that we whip up when we need to make room for more veggies and we call it "compost pasta." Basically, we take the contents of what's leftover and sauté everything in butter and garlic and toss it with hot pasta and cheese. It tastes great and no recipe required! 

The past seven days have been pretty darn wonderful at the farm. The weather has treated us well with cool and comfortable temps and we feel like we can actually watch the corn grow by the minute. The upper field is filling up quickly with summer crops and the squash, cucumbers and melons are established and looking great. We're starting to plant the first of the tomatoes in one of the hoop houses and we'll follow those up with peppers and eggplants.  It may still be May but we can almost taste the summer bounty.

This week we are really happy to have kale in the boxes because this same planting (over half of it) was wiped out by root maggot a few weeks ago. We didn't think we'd have enough for CSA but alas, what did survive is growing strong! The next succession of kale (which is in another part of the field) is looking pretty good so we're hopeful that you'll get your kale fix this season. The greenhouse beets continue to produce well and we think that carrots will be in the shares next week (fingers crossed!) This week we're happy to have spinach and mustard greens making their seasonal debut, along with the always popular "French Breakfast" radishes. We hope you're hungry this week and look forward to hearing what you all whip up in the kitchen.

Happy eating!

Your farmers,
T & A

Harvest 2

  1. Kale
  2. Head Lettuce
  3. Spinach
  4. French Breakfast radishes (remove the greens and store them separately)
  5. Beets (remove the greens and store them separately)
  6. Green Garlic
  7. Bok Choy
  8. Mustard Greens

Recipe Suggestions

2018 Harvest 1

2018 Harvest 1.jpg

Howdy folks and welcome to week 1 of your Tumbleweed Farm 2018 season share. We hope you all had a restful winter and are enjoying these warm and sunny days that spring has brought us. For those of you returning for another season, we are stoked to see you this week! And for all of you newcomers thanks for joining the Tumbleweed family. We are excited to be your farmers and hope you enjoy cooking and eating through the seasons with us.

I know we all might be a little rusty with meal prep and grocery shopping as we find our CSA groove but I know we'll all get there. The first few weeks you can expect a lot of leafy greens and roots. I know a lot of you are seasoned pros but for some of you it may be a little more daunting to figure out what to do with everything. As long as your cupboards are stocked with the basics (grains, oils, vinegars, butter, bread, pasta, meat, etc.) I'll think you'll be set up for success. We'll supply plenty of recipes and storage tips so you get the most out of your fresh produce. And please, never hesitate to reach out with questions. 

As we near the end of May the farm is overflowing with spring greens and is quickly filling up with summer and fall crops. The potato plants have poked their heads out (always a sigh of relief from us!!) and the garlic is starting to scape! I think you'll see garlic scapes in your boxes soon. Tomatoes are going into one of the hoop houses next week after we clear out the first round of spring greens. The tomato plants are looking really good this year and I know they'll be happy to get transplanted from pots into the ground this week. It's a busy time around here but we're so happy to be back at it!

This season we're excited to add a new pick up spot for our Hood River folks and are looking forward to seeing/meeting you on Monday's at Kickstand Coffee. Feel free to stay for a coffee or beer if you're not in a rush to head out the door. And for our all of our Portland peeps we're excited to clink glasses on Tuesday's with you all at Migration Brewing. 

It's great to get back into the CSA flow and we're so thankful to all of you for being on this journey with us. We hope you enjoy the first harvest of the year.

Happy cooking everyone!

Your farmers,
A & T

Tumbleweed Farm Harvest 1

  1. Baby Bok Choy (store in a plastic bag or produce bag to keep fresh in the fridge)
  2. Head Lettuce (give it a rinse and store in a plastic bag or produce bag)
  3. Turnips (remove the greens and store them separately from the roots-- this will prevent them from getting soft). The greens are edible and delicious too.
  4. Beets (remove the greens and store them separately from the roots)
  5. Radishes (remove the greens)
  6. Arugula or Mizuna (this week you either got arugula or mizuna--both are delicious as the base for salads, pesto, or tossed into hot pasta or topped on pizza)
  7. Green Garlic (store in the fridge) this can be used just like you would use a scallion but with a wonderful fresh garlic flavor. Bonus--no peeling!

Recipe Suggestions

Spaghetti with Arugula Almond Pesto (substitute with mizuna if that's what was in your box)

Spaghetti with Arugula Almond Pesto (substitute with mizuna if that's what was in your box)

 

 

2017 Harvest 24

2017 harvest 24.jpg

Well folks, here we are...the final harvest of the 2017 season. We hope you've enjoyed your experience this year with Tumbleweed Farm. This season definitely had its fair share of ups and downs but overall, Taylor and I are happy with what the two of us were able to produce. Every season has thrown something different at us but we're constantly learning and growing with the seasons. Hopefully, you've enjoyed the journey with us!

The CSA season may be over but we'll be at the Hood River farmers market for 3 more weeks (Saturday's from 9-1pm) and this coming Saturday we'll also be attending the annual "Stock Your Pantry" at the Rockford Grange in Hood River. It's a double market day for us but we're always stoked to participate in this great event. It's a market that's geared towards filling your cupboards and freezer with storage veggies, meats, grains, cheese, fermented foods and more. It starts at 2pm and goes until 6pm. It's a great opportunity to prepare for the long winter ahead!

This week's share has a somewhat intimidating looking winter squash but please don't fret! The mighty Blue Hubbard is not something to shy away from. This is one of the most flavorful winter squash varieties that we grow. It's sweet so it makes for a lovely pie filling or base for a pumpkin soup. If you're afraid you'll sever your arm slicing into one of these beasts just use your knife to poke holes all around the squash and place the whole damn thing in the oven (350F) for about 2 hours (the time will depend on the size of the squash). Once it's cooked through it's easy to slice and scoop out the seeds. This variety of squash stores well so you can save it for Thanksgiving or Christmas and share it with a big group. Or you can do what this character does to slice open his Blue Hubbard.  This week we're also introducing black radishes to you all. The variety is called Nero Tondo and it's a beautiful radish with black skin and a tuxedo white flesh. It's on the spicy side but tastes great when sliced thinly and served with a dollop of cold butter and sea salt. It's also lovely on pizza and the spices mellows out when it's cooked. Go wild!

Alrighty folks, we're going to sign off for the last time this season but we'll be in touch with each of you individually after the holidays to connect about next season. We always give priority to current CSA members before opening up new spots. So if you want in, you're all good! 

Thanks again for putting your trust and money into our farm. We couldn't make a living doing what we love if it weren't for all of you kickass folks!!! So thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Cheers to the harvest!

Your farmers,
A & T

Harvest 24

  1. Turnips (remove the greens and store them separately)
  2. Black radishes (remove the greens and store them separately)
  3. Kale
  4. Tumbleweed Farm Salad Mix
  5. Blue Hubbard Winter Squash
  6. Bok Choy
  7. Garlic
  8. Onions 

Recipe Suggestions

Pork and Butternut Stew (use the blue hubbard squash instead of butternut)

Pork and Butternut Stew (use the blue hubbard squash instead of butternut)