Hello from Pitchfork & Crow~

This week we’re harvesting for both our very first CSA share and for the Salem Saturday Market!  Here’s what we plan to be bringing to market:

• Broccoli (just a small amount this first week)
• Broccoli Raab
• Chard
• Chicories (Catalogna and Castlefranco)
• Cooking Greens Mix (Kale, Yukina Savoy rapini, Chard, Collards)
• Green Garlic
• Kale (Red Russian and Lacinato)
• Lettuce (Romaine, Butter, and Leaf)
• Prize Choy
• Salad Mix (a mix of lettuces and spinach!)
• Spring Leeks

It’s June!  Can you believe it?  We keep hoping summer will make an appearance, but this past week’s rain and storms are suggesting otherwise for the time being.  Luckily we’ve prepared well for the weather by covering and trellising susceptible plants in the field.  And in between rain storms we were able to plant 2300 feet of beds with basil, cucumbers, winter squash, broccoli, corn, cabbage, celeriac, zucchini, and lettuce last Sunday.  Of course some of those crops are successions of things we’ve already planted two or three times.  Other crops are the single plantings we’ll do for the whole season, and we’re hoping the weather we’re expecting this weekend is kind to them.

This week marks the inaugural harvest for the Pitchfork & Crow CSA, in addition to our now routine market harvest.  We’re glad to have a couple of weeks of successful market appearances already this season and we appreciate your support.  The CSA now adds another layer of complexity to our operation.  The folks who have signed up to receive weekly boxes of vegetables this season have made our spring success possible with pre-payments, allowing us to purchase irrigation pipe, rent our land, and pay for our seeds.  Now, rather than simply bringing what we have available to market, we’re obligated to provide them with an agreed to amount of vegetables each week.  While we feel sure that our planning has paid off, this first week of double harvest is momentous and we’re all the more appreciative of the support we’ve received from this entire community of eaters!

So, through the weather and all we hope to still see you Saturday sometime between 9am and 3pm.  The Salem Saturday Market is located at the intersection of Summer and Marion streets NE in downtown Salem.

Thanks!
Carri Heisler and Jeff Bramlett