Last Week of Summer Shares

Today's delivery marks the end of the Summer Share.  Wow, where did the summer go?  Fall Shares will be able to keep going for about another 10 weeks.    I can say that I feel that our investment was a good one. We haven't hardly had to go 'veggie' shopping since starting with the CSA.  We hope to be able to continue next year.  Andy says that he feel that things went fairly smoothly this year and he is hoping for the Fall Shares to step right in and do as well.  He says that it is always a challenge to have a consistent supply of produce for every week of the season, but it seems to get easier with each passing year.  He wants to thank everyone that has been a part of the CSA this year.  I would say that we all need to encourage our family and friends to look into being a part of the CSA for the coming year.

I always try to guess what will be in our box each week.  This week we had garlic, onions, peppers, green beans, greens, zucchini, parsley and okra.

I can say that I have never ever heard of hot pepper butter.  But I can tell you that we will always have a jar in the fridge.  I am thinking hamburgers and hot dogs for dinner tomorrow night.  We tasted it and it is spicy but our mouths are watering just thinking about dinner tomorrow.  It really isn't a butter like margarine or even butter like apple butter.  To me it is more like sweet pickle relish with a BIG KICK!

Now comes the real organic farming education...Organic Farming 101

Here is a list of products that Andy uses to deter insects and disease...

Neem

Garlic spray (made from his own garlic)

Mycotrol O

Montery Insect spray

Pygnaic

Dopel

Surround and Champ (copper spray)

All those products are approved by the NOP (National Organic Program).  They prefer to think of them as band aids.  They use them to help the infested plants to get back on their feet.  The primary focus is always to build up the soils.  Mocotrol O and Montery Insect spray and Dipel are beneficial bacterias of some sort thet will infest the insects and their eggs.  They are very affective in controlling certain s[ecieas of insects.  Surround and Garlic oil work more by deterring insects from the crops.  Surround forms a thin white coating on the plants and the insects really don't like it at all.  Garlic evidently has a bed smell that the insects don't care for either.  Champ or copper sprays help prevent diseases.  Pyganic is used to control tough cucumber beetles.  The bad part about using Pyganic is that it will kill some of the good insects as well as the cucumber beetles.  Andy says that they really try to use it very little.

After all that information...don't you just want to go out back and dig up the backyard and start your own organic garden.  Heck no...I think Andy and Lizzie and the helpers are doing a fantastic job!