Welcome to Green Gate Farms Spring CSA, Week 4! Happy Earth Day!
Upcoming Classes:
- Mother’s Day Bouquet-Making Class at our east Austin farm! Saturday, May 8th, class repeats at 10:00 and 1:00. After a tour of the flower fields, Farmer Erin will teach you how to make an extra special bouquet for your Mom using freshly harvested flowers and herbs. (Admission includes tour and one bouquet.) Bring your friends! We’ll meet at the picnic tables beside Big Red Barn. Sign up here on our website.
- Floral Tattoo Classes are back! Saturday, May 22 at our east Austin farm, class repeats at 10 and 1. Learn how to make a bracelet, necklace or anklet of fresh flowers and herbs. This fun, easy class also includes a portrait session. Perfect for birthdays, celebrations. Sign up here. Farm Camp for Adults GGF founders will share their secrets (and mistakes) is happening May 2nd and June 6th!
Farm News:
- Farm Stand and REKO Ring: Preorder for a touchless pick up at our east Austin farm, Saturdays, 10-12. To join our Reko Ring online ordering group follow this link!
- Green Gate Gift Cards Available Need something special for your friends and family? Give the gift of fresh, organic food! We have Farm Bucks for all your celebrations.
FLOWER BOUQUETS AVAILABLE
- Our flower fields are beginning to pop – ranunuculs, narcissus, sunflowers and more are starting to bloom. The fragrance is amazing! You’re welcome to join our 12-week Flower CSA to receive a weekly bouquet (prorated from the week you join) or sign up for 4-weeks of flowers for the month of May or June. Each week we post a photo that helps you identify your stems as well as gardening tips.
Get Involved!
- Flower Power Workshares: Learn how to cultivate organic cut flowers this spring. Perfect for gardeners of all abilities. Apply here
- Spring Veggie Workshares: Learn to grow organic veggies with us at the farm
- We’re hiring! Seeking a farm manager and seasonal workers for both farm locations. See www.greengatefarms.net
Spring CSA - Week 4 Veggie Share
- Beets
- Black Spanish Radishes
- Bok Choy
- Leeks
- Mint
- Lettuce
- Swiss Chard
Sneak Peak Of The Week 5 Veggie Share:
- Spinach
- Kale
- Lettuce
- Parsley
- Spring Onions
- Root Veggie (Likely beets or radishes)
- Summer Squash
- Brassica (such as broccoli, cabbage, etc.)
*Items are subject to change based on availability!
Few April Showers, Waiting On Flowers
By Farmer Erin
Today is a gossamer day. The breeze, light enough for hovering dragonflies and darting hummingbirds. The sun, just right. Birds chirp as I lay out my recipe for this week’s bouquets for our Flower CSA customers.
I marvel that the cold-loving ranunculus and larkspur (and even a few valiant bluebonnets) are still vibrant. Nights in the 40s have helped these beauties continue to put out blooms despite highs in the 90s. But as these focal flowers wind down, I’m getting ancy for the next round of blooms.
We’ve planted more than 75 different kinds of flowers, shrubs and herbs so part of each day is spent in anticipation. Today my attention shifted from gorgeous double daffodils (from east Texas grower, southernbulbs.com) to the emerging clumps of dahlias, the wands of multicolored false indigo and the delicate nigella just beginning to open like pale blue starfish.
I monitor fields, hoophouses, and greenhouse for the sea of snapdragons, marigolds, lilies, calendula, suns all poised to pop. But not yet. So I wait. And I calculate. Will our blooms and harvest begin before the grasshoppers begin munching? Will the sunflowers grow faster than the weeds? Should I bother to weed the field lisianthus now being devoured in an untamed row? So much to consider. The first of the orange firewheels indicate that the shift has begun. It’s just a matter of time (and degrees) before the delicate yellows, blues and whites of spring are pushed aside by the urgent reds and oranges of summer.
Daily I remind myself that blooms will come when they are ready and I need to appreciate what’s in front of me. Flower farming (all farming, really) is a perpetual lesson in patience.
Time to focus on the scent of rose and daffodil as it mingles with mint and lavender. Each of our bouquets feature focal flowers, supporting flowers, greenery and striking bits (like blooming sage or wands of lavender). But the most important part of any recipe is aroma. To me a bouquet must have scent, otherwise, why bother?
So, today, I will slow down. I’ll make a bouquet for you as I listen to “This is Happiness,” a marvelous audiobook set in Ireland. Savor what we have, and not think too far ahead. Hope you can do likewise.
P.S. And for those who want a peek at what’s coming here it is, oh my: (https://www.kxan.com/weather/warning-signs-could-2021-repeat-the-weather-disasters-of-2011/)
Food and Flower Snapshot
- Veggie CSA Spring Season, 10 weeks: March 31st - June 2nd
- $25 each week, prorated
- 5 pick-up locations, Wed/Sat; no home deliveries
- Additional vegetables, herbs, flowers and specialty items (e.g., pickled okra, plants for your garden, etc.) posted every Wednesday on Green Gate’s private Facebook page; touchless pickup at our intown farm is on Saturdays, 10-noon. (8310 Canoga Ave., Austin 78724)
- Volunteers welcome at both farms. More information on our website.
- Got a question about your CSA share? Contact your Community Organizer, the volunteer who manages your pickup site and handles any issues that might arise.
Recipes From Kalina:
Beet, Feta, and Mint Salad - Use your beets and mint this week to create this light spring salad!
Dining Down Under: Beetroot, Feta, Walnut and Mint Salad - Honest Cooking & Travel Magazine
A gorgeous salad for a light lunch or serve it with duck for a special dinner.
Miso Roasted Black Radishes - Try this savory and earthy recipes for your black radishes this week!
https://veryveganval.com/2020/05/17/black-radish-recipe-miso-roasted-black-radishes/Leek and Goat Cheese Frittata - I myself have been going through a frittata phase, and I really enjoyed this recipe. I hope you do to!
https://www.finecooking.com/recipe/leek-and-goat-cheese-frittata