Farm News Crop Forecast
U-Pick Recipes Nuts and Bolts
Greetings!
Welcome to the farm for 2025!!!!
This is our 20th year! We’re having a great time, and made t shirts to commemorate the milestone- for sale in the barn next week! – and will be including some of the history of “the early years” in upcoming newsletters.
We’re looking forward to seeing faces old and new coming to enjoy the fresh harvest this week! Many thanks to the mentors and teachers, family, friends and all of you — the community we get to help feed — for making this place possible, in past years and present moments.
We’ve had a good spring. We’ve been a little busier than ideal, but lots is getting done. It’s been good to get some modest rains to bump our region out of the “abnormally dry” category in the drought monitor. We’re just barely out of that and could head back into it with a couple hot dry weeks, but for now we’ve got some moisture down in the soil. The dryness of course makes spring fieldwork easier to fit in, and the occasional rains have been welcome for all the new plants and seeds we’ve been planting out. There was a cold spell and some hotter days but they weren’t too extreme, and this cooler weather is a nice mellow start for many crops. Pretty soon it’s time to get into strings of sunny days in the 80s though! The veggies grow an insane amount in these long days around the solstice.
———
As usual in our climate we start with salad and stir fry fixings and have to wait a few weeks or more for the full juicy fruits and veggies of summer — but the freshness and flavors of these June crops are so nourishing! If you’re not sure what to do with some of it, see the recipes page on our website, or just type the veggie’s name in your search bar, and try something out. We love simple salads, sandwiches with radishes or turnips plus mustard and lettuce, and the heartier greens cooked down in soy sauce or any variation of a stir fry sauce, or a fried egg wrapped in a kale leaf — especially as it gets warmer out, the light salads and the salty greens get into places in our bodies where water and other foods just can’t get.
We have a fantastic crew again this year, and you’ll see them around the farm or coming in and out of the barn. Alex, and then River too, will be staffing the share pickup later in the afternoons, and this week will be helping Erin all afternoon to answer any questions and show the ropes to new folks. Ben will be in and out some, again sorry to not see you in the barn for a shift but grateful to have others fill in for him and take something off his plate.
Alex is in her 6th year working with us, and Elliott their 3rd, River his 2nd, and we are so happy to be working with them again! We are fortunate to have Camille join us, and the help of a group of Hmong farmers once a week. We’re often on the move, but especially around the barn, feel free to say hi or ask any of us questions if you can’t find something or need a hand.
We’re all happy to have the chance to work outside with plants and soil, growing food for all of us, and so excited to harvest and fill your kitchens with some good eats this week!
Crop Forecast
Spinach, Leaf and head lettuce, radish, scallions, salad turnips, and boc choi will be the stars the first couple of weeks, along with Arugula and Asian salad greens. We should have a little bit of asparagus as part of the share this week and next week too. Likely next week : Kale and/or Swiss Chard, Kohlrabi and Garlic scapes. We have a good selection but some things are a little slower or smaller than usual this year, due to the extended cool/cold period in mid-May. There should be more each week as we go forward.
This is a pretty good, very delicious spring spinach crop but isn’t going to last long (hopefully we’ll have it next week), and the lettuces are gorgeous and delicious. The greens look good too.
The garlic is growing fast and big, and already sending out its flower stalks, aka garlic scapes. The scapes can be used the same as the main stalk, or made into awesome garlic scape pesto (recipe below and on our website). They have strong garlic flavor when raw but are very mild when cooked.
Summer squash and cukes are a few weeks away, they haven’t even flowered yet. Beets maybe in 2 weeks, carrots in 3-4 weeks.
Overall it’s looking like a beautiful harvest! Our favorites in the kitchen this past week have been spinach, lettuce, boc choi, scapes, cilantro and scallions (and soy sauce!!!) It’s just so darn good to have fresh greens again!
After a few weeks of salad, sandwich and stir-fry fixings, we’ll start having more heartier veggies. Most of those crops look aeons away, but fortunately plants move fast at solstice time. Sometime in later July the tomatoes start trickling in, along with peppers and eggplant. By August we hope to be swimming in the unbeatable mix of juicy and delicious warm-weather fruits and veggies. We often wish it would start right now, but spring and early summer eating is simply lighter and just as satisfying!
What’s for U-Pick?
Many seasons kick off without a Upick crop ready, but we have a good amount of strawberries, and the cilantro is very ready to pick.
Cilantro is west of the driveway, down the hill from the barn, and will be marked by a green flag. You can cut straight across with scissors or rip a few stems by hand. We should have cilantro all summer and fall, and basil and dill into September once they start in a few weeks. We have many other herbs that will be ready in a few weeks too.
Strawberries — Will be open this week, please check the Upick board when you get here. We will send a separate email with details on strawberry amounts, later in the week. And we’ll send out a short email each strawberry week with the upcoming week’s picking amounts. We should be able to have a 3 week picking season… the details are up for grabs. Also we’re trialing a wool felt mulch on one of the plantings, we’ll share more later, and lettuce know what you think about it.
Snap peas are just barely starting to flower and should be ready by the end of June, and green beans aren’t too far behind.
You can U-pick anytime again, it does not have to be on your share pickup day. Weekends and evenings work for some people, that’s totally fine for us.
This spot in the newsletter will keep you informed about U-pick, and always check the U-pick board when you’re here to see what’s available and picking amounts.
When you’re picking if one or all of us are around, we might not be able to stop and talk, but you are always welcome here.
If anyone needs help picking their U-pick crops, please let us know. We can ask folks to help and we can match you up with a volunteer. If you are interested in helping please email us!
Nuts and Bolts
This first newsletter always gets long, we know, thanks for reading! There’s a lot to cover to start the season.
A special welcome to new members We’re so glad to have you on board! If you have questions about how the share works, please ask one of us. We hope you come and upick and get to know and enjoy the place. Check in on the crops as they grow, pick lots of strawberries, and herbs to add flourishes and depth to your meals, etc — we hope your visits here are a peaceful and health-giving part of your routine. Feel free to sit, rest, and/or play a little. You will be getting this newsletter every other week for the rest of the season. Please look for it on Monday nights–in it you will find lots of great information to guide you through the season.
Porta Potty — is available all the time — walk past the red barn, up the driveway, it’s at the top of the hill on the left, before the big grey shed. Please be sure that kids don’t wander into the shed or onto piles of parts, scrap steel etc. See below for more notes on keeping kids safe while enjoying the farm.
Video link is here — for new folks and when you are sending someone to pick up your share.
CSA Handbook for You — Many years ago we assembled a CSA Member Handbook to answer common questions and help make being a part of the farm as great an experience as possible for you and the rest of your household. It contains info about logistics on the farm, and lots of tips for U-Picking, storing and preserving the farm’s bounty. It is available online on our “Information for CSA Members” page (click here), but we have hard copies too, if you want one please ask.
Kid’s Play Spaces — Outdoor and Indoor — We love having kids here and we have 2 great places for them to play while you get your share. There is a kid’s corner back in the barn, and a fun space cleared under the trees outside for play and rest. Of course anyone can use the chairs and shade!
Reusable Bags for Purchase — We really like Chico bags. They’re washable, durable and last a long time. And are made from plastic bottles. We sell (right above our cost and much less than anywhere else) the same sizes as the disposable plastic bags, so when we say “1/2 thank you bag” of durable veggies and “3/4 produce bag of greens” (or whatever the share size is any week), these Chico bags are the same size to “measure” with. Erin or Alex can mark your bags with a sharpie at 1/3, 1/2, 3/4 etc if you want. “Produce” bags for greens are $3 each and “thank you” bags for durable veggies/ the big table are $6 each.
Sign-In The sign-in board is just inside the door, to your right. No more pins! Just mark an “x” by your name on the dry erase board. This year we split up the names into the type of share you have, i.e. “Tuesday Full Share”, “Tuesday Half Share very week”, “Tuesday Full Share every other week”. Find your category and then look for your last name below. Hopefully, these changes will make the process easier for you to sign in!
For split shares — please email or text your share partner to communicate “Who gets what this time”.
Food Shelf Donations With your support of the farm, each year we are able to donate 4-5,000 pounds of fresh produce to the Northfield Food Shelf. These veggies are simply the leftovers from the share pickups, the same fresh, high quality food that you get in your share. With the help of a few very dedicated volunteer drivers, sometimes CSA members and sometimes CAC volunteers or staff, it gets delivered to the food shelf that same week. So if at any time you do not want to take all that is yours in the share pickup, you can leave it and it will go to the food shelf to help feed those in need.
This spring we are fundraising for the Northfield Food Shelf — Donations can be made in the barn (checks made out to Open Hands Farm), see recent email for details.
From LuAnn at the Medicinal Herbs Garden
DID YOU KNOW? Your CSA membership covers your use of the medicinal herbs garden and occasional educational sessions offered during CSA pick up times. You may be curious about this garden and what is growing there, or you may be interested in knowing a bit about herbalism – how so many plants can be used in remedies for common physical ailments and imbalances. The medicinal herbs garden needs a couple more weeks of growing and then I hope to start offering occasional classes and being available for questions during CSA pick up times. I look forward to meeting you soon at the garden.
Share Pickup Hours TUESDAY and THURSDAY 1:30-6:30 pm.
Change Pick-Up Day Form — Click here. Please fill out this form instead of emailing us. Thanks!
Where is the farm? 4151 320th Street West, Northfield. 2 miles north of Northfield off of Highway 3. From Highway 3, go west on 320th Street West, and pull in the 1st driveway on the right.
Parking Please park on the right (east) side of the driveway. Try to pull in perpendicular to the driveway so you can turn around as you back out. Or back in, perpendicular to the driveway, so you can pull straight out. We ask that you not use the turnarounds near the barn or the house during the share pickup, to help keep kids safe around the barn.
KID SAFETY —Please Drive Carefully —Children are everywhere.
Please know where your children are at all times. ESPECIALLY note that All buildings, except the shareroom area of the barn, are off-limits to children. This includes the barn and the machine shed (hiding in the woods up the hill). There are sharp tools and parts in many places, of all shapes and sizes. Please keep kids near you when U-picking.
Be aware that farm trucks and tractors may be going up and down the driveway, near your cars and/or near the barn. We all drive carefully but please pay attention to small children especially in those areas, and back up carefully.
Another hazard you should know about is a small drainage pond / mud pit west of the barn— it is surrounded by “weeds” (plants we love) , we have it fenced off for safety and it is completely off limits. It catches, and drains, excess rain water from parts of the hill, along with water and soil from washing veggies in the barn, and keeps it all from eroding into the fields. We’re glad to have a decent solution to that problem but need your help in making sure kids know it is not a place to play.
We love having all of you come to the farm and hope it can be safe and fun for all! Thank you for making it such a great place to be! Thank you so much for your support!!
Your farmers,
Erin and Ben, with Allia, Alex, Elliott, Camille, River, Sai Dang and crew
Recipes
Bok Choy Salad with Roasted Chicken
Dressing:
¼ cup olive oil
2 Tablespoons white vinegar
2 Tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons white sugar
3 Tablespoons soy sauce
½ teaspoon minced garlic
Few dashes hot pepper sauce (or to taste)
Salad:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
¼ cup soy sauce
Salt, ground black pepper, garlic powder, and ground ginger (to taste)
2 heads bok choy, chopped
4-5 green onions (both white and green parts), sliced
¼ cup slivered almonds (roasted or raw)
3 ounces chow mien noodles
Whisk together all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl until combined. Let stand to meld the flavors, whisking occasionally to keep it from separating. The dressing can be made ahead of time and refrigerated; bring it to room temperature before assembling the salad.
Drizzle the chicken with soy sauce and sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and ginger. Broil it for 10-15 minutes, or until cooked through, then let cool and slice into thin strips.
Combine the bok choy, green onions, and almonds in a salad bowl. Add the dressing and toss to combine. Serve immediately topped with chicken slices and chow mien noodles. Serves 4.
Cilantro Dipping Sauce
1 cup cilantro
½ cup parsley
1/3 cup finely chopped almonds
1 serrano chili pepper (without seeds)
1/8 to 1/4 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper
4 tablespoons lime juice
4 tablespoons olive oil
2-3 tablespoons water
Combine cilantro, parsley, almonds, chili pepper, black pepper and salt in a food processor.
Chop so the mixture still has some texture but all ingredients are well mixed and are uniform in size.
Add lime juice and olive oil and mix. Scrape the sides of the mixer and mix again.
Remove sauce from mixer and add a little water to thin if you want to be able to dip into the sauce.
You can also leave the water out and use it as a paste.
Open Hands Farm 