CSAs and the End of Graupelbopolus!

Hey folks! I was convinced I was going to see some graupel this past Monday, instead I was told to expect some large hailstones falling from the ominous sky, and a lot them.  Fortunately, this wasn’t the case, and while there was some smaller hail in the Rattlesnake Valley, it wasn’t large enough to do any extensive damage to our crops. Unfortunately for some of our neighbors just to the south in the Bitterroot Valley, the situation was different.

Late spring hail is always a fear for farmers and can do some serious damage to fruit tree blossoms, seedlings, and newly transplanted veggies, so say thank ya, we dodged a big bullet this time. Hail is a pretty amazing occurrence and people have always attempted to figure out ways to quell the damage it can do to food crops, including ringing church bells, firing off canons, and even cloud seeding. Click on this link to read more about hail!

Well, despite what it looks and feels like outside, summer is almost officially upon us, and at the PEAS Farm that means CSAs have begun! This past Thursday and Monday marked the first CSA pick-ups of the year and folks went home with some delicious nutritious veggies!  Included in the CSAs this week were lots of early season crops which are mainly green leafy veggies, including kale, my favorite! This makes sense considering most plants’ life cycles. Seed crops, like peas and beans, and fruits, like tomatoes, peppers, and squashes, occur at the end of that life cycle, so we won’t see them at CSA for a while. But enjoy these wonderful greens while you have them, they are all delicious, nutritious, and full of antioxidants!

Look for more leafy greens, radishes, and kohlrabi in this next week’s CSA, and soon enough, we will have peas and early season carrots and zucchinis from our hoophouses for folks to enjoy!