First share pickup this Thursday! Details will be emailed out...

(If the embedded video doesn't play, please click the blue 'Coburn Cove Cooperative Farmstead' link at the bottom of your email to view the blog itself. Navigating to the blog also lets you leave a comment :)

Greetings all!

We've been really busy in the garden, ramping up for our first baskets to deliver to you. Here is a little 'sneak peek' video, that will show you some of the stuff getting ready now as well as planned for the future:

Regarding our recent survey, it was unanimous... given the fact that our share pickup place is not yet open on Wednesdays, you all picked THURSDAY as your preferred alternate day. So, look for an email to the group with details about pickup shortly.

Finally, if you said you wanted a 'sweets' add-on, please pre-pay directly to Laura, at thecrunchybaker@gmail.com ($30 for the single, $60 for the double). Several people said they wanted to add this, but I believe she's only received two payments thus far...

We look forward to seeing you all later this week!

Welcome to the 2020 CCC growing season, y'all!

An early pic of our 'root crop' row, before any have sprouted
(you can click on any blog pic, to view a higher-res version =)

I've been putting off this 'introductory' blog post for some time now, and am finally getting around to it. First of all, thanks to our returning members, for continuing to anchor us in this belief that we're trying to do something every spring and summer that is meaningful to other families. If it wasn't for you, I surely would have decided that we're some special kind of crazy by now! =) Secondly, thanks to our new share members, for 'leaning' out and being willing to try a new sort of 'little community' with us, around the growing, foraging, preserving and ultimately sharing of food.

Some baby tatsoi greens, that at the time of the photo had not yet taken their lovely 'flower petal rosette' shape (spoiler -- they have near-perfect radial symmetry, and are much bigger, now!)

This is a good time to remind the majority of you all that have not yet paid -- please drop us a payment (my PayPal address has been in previous emails, but I'll resend after this): $175 for veggies only, and an additional $25 if you wanted to add eggs and another $50 if you wanted to add beef.

Some of the ladies (and one of our roosters) that we have to keep happy, and away from predators -- so they keep us happy (with eggs and antics)

Well, if its not about time, for the first big food-from-the-ole-homestead crisis... =( This Friday and Saturday, it will be getting sufficiently chilly at night that we will have to cover all of the potatoes we are growing (like, ten half-rows), as well as all of the vegetable seedlings and seeds we've put in the ground (about four full rows). If you want to earn SUPER brownie points, please offer to come join us either today (Friday) or tomorrow (Saturday) evening, raking up grass clippings to spread over plants as well as tethering landscaping fabric over the smaller things! I can feed you, and offer you some homemade hard cider ;)

Squash and friends, in a not-quite-ready-to-fly holding pattern of experiencing nighttime temp dips and about a half-day of sun

 To put the scary news more properly into context, there's plenty of stuff out the door, in the stable, and as-I-type sprouting in the basement here at the Mikulski-Schulz homestead right now. Here are some things that are looking great / on track, for their respective weeks (summery-stuff obviously will be yielding their 'fruits' only later): chard, spinach, tatsoi greens, radishes, turnips, rutabagas, salsify, carrots, beets, kale, kohlrabi, cabbages... cucumber, crookneck squash, bean and eggplants... sweet and hot peppers, tomatoes, sweet corn, melons, onions, potatoes... I'm gonna stop trying to remember more, but in case you couldn't tell, the goal was a veritable smorgasbord. BUT... pray for us, again, and please, these next two nights... we'll have to protect virtually all of this from the frost!

Lettuces that are now full grown (and being enjoyed by us)... don't worry, there are many more rounds to replace, on the books!

So our first share basket pickup is at present scheduled for Wednesday, May 27th from 4-6 PM at or nearby to the Old Wedge (River Arts)... details on the exact location are TBD, and will come out in a week or two. Recall that we promise to grow, pack and deliver you ten baskets of goodness... if for some reason we manage to fall short, we'll refund you the difference... if for some reason we find we can keep going for several more weeks beyond the initial ten, we'll see who wants to re-up -- and we'll keep up some of the goodness, into the coming school year =) In any case, it will be great to finally see many of you again, after a long pause created in most part by the highly personally-restrictive state of being sufficiently cautious about the spread of CV19 in our communities.

That's right little guy... keep putting on circumference, somewhere sometime in the future, someone is experiencing the joy of a well-seasoned Kohlrabi-slaw :)

Thank you again for joining us, and may this be the best season of Coburn Cove Cooperative veggie and community goodness that we've ever had!!! =)

sincerely,
your (wanabee) farmer Matt

Week 10 -- We rocked it, ya'll!

First, some pictures that tell a story, and that ARE NOT the share basket:

Now that you're intrigued, here's the bad news... I'm not telling you the story, just yet. You're left to your imagination -- at least, until we meet again, where I promise I will tell this interesting homesteading tale to you!

Now, for a picture of Share Basket #10, in all its glory:

Some new friends and some old ones, here =) ...and of course, some important notes:

1) Potatoes -- 100% from our garden, from volunteer plants (from a much larger planting my dad and I did last year) that I re-homed into a half of a row, late this spring. Sooooo good, sorry they didn't make more!

2) Better-boy red slicing tomatoes -- come from First Step Farm, an awesome place that grows produce for the Candler and Canton communities while helping people struggling with addiction get their lives back on track. They pick 'em awefully orange (IMO), so I table-ripened these myself for all of us, with the old-bananas-and-apples-in-a-bag trick ;)

3) Basil-in-a-box -- I had to harvest them in the heat of the sun, unfortunately -- so they won't have a long shelf-life... BUT, I noticed that our plants that looked terribly yellow had produced some green side shoots, so I tried to selectively pick some of those for ya!

4) Eggplant -- you either got two big round ones, or a few smaller ones

5) Corn -- I'm so sorry, everyone was supposed to get one -- but I forgot to put the one on the table, into the share basket where it belonged. Do let me know if you're the one that I owe one ear of corn, and I will make it up to you somehow =P

I wanted to close by thanking you all again for allowing me to share my joy of homesteading with you all (and for making it a much more sensible adventure, financially speaking). With your funds, we were able to cover all of our supply costs... now, allow me to keep a rosy-eyed view of it all, and to not attempt to calculate exactly how many hours I spent down there at the plot, making it happen =P

Finally I wanted to thank Doro and my kids, who have ALWAYS been extremely helpful, anytime there was more work that needed be done, in a shorter period of time than I could have done myself. I love you, Mikulski-Schulz tribe!!!! XOXO

Looking forward to seeing you all throughout the coming months, and to doing this hyperlocal food 'thang again next year!

Matt

Week 9 -- Sorry no share-contents picture this time! =(

Hey everyone!

So, I had Doro and I's share splayed out on the table yesterday (as I usually do, while I'm packing the other baskets), but forgot to take a pic before rushing off to the Wedge... and then I forgot to text her, and ask her to take a pic -- before she rinsed, trimmed and packed everything where it needed to go! Anyhow, there were only two new things that deserved a little explaining, and even though I THINK I told you all in person, I can put it here as well:

Popping corn -- These are the smaller cobs; I think the variety is 'strawberry' (color-wise it makes sense). Peel, rinse off/out any stupid tiny wormies that might be trying to have a party with one or more kernels, and then place on a sunny windowsill for a couple of weeks. Should be dry enough for popping by then!

Regular corn -- I had hoped, SO BADLY, that I could find two ears for each member... but unfortunately, many of the ears I squeezed in testing had not-fully-mature kernels in them. So, be prepared to use your veggie-slicing knife in remarkably precise fashion, to cut each family member a justly-portioned mini-cob! =P Also, this is an heirloom variety that has a bit more starch than your typical Ingles fare... great for making creamed corn, but be ready for some squeakiness (if you were just gonna boil, butter, and typewriter-munch those kernels off).

Next Wednesday is the last share delivery day (and probably a good time to stop, as tomato production is basically non-existent, and things will be turning into an okra-only parade in just a week or so)... It has been a great summer being with you all, and sharing in this local bounty... I will try to find something special to put in that last basket, so that we can go out with a proverbial bang! =)

Your mini-farmer dude and friend,
Matt

Week 8 -- still going strong, and... homemade pickles!

Hey everyone! Sorry for the delay, I hope you recognized the pickle(s) for what they were, and got that zip-locked baggie in your fridge as soon as you could yesterday! Here's a picture of the share contents, spread out on our dining room table (where I pack the contents, every week):

(You can click on the image, to blow it up more... go ahead, try it ;)

Here's some notes:

- Everyone got either a big orange beet and a carrot, or a handful of carrots

- Everyone got either one HUUUUUGE pickle, or 2-3 smaller ones. Do slice them according to your preference, and serve them chilled (ice-chilled is doubly nice)

- Slicing tomatoes, as you can see, are falling out of production... I may be able to glean some more slicing-style ones for the final (ie, Week 10) basket, but even that will be a pleasant surprise if it happens

- The frequent rain has made it difficult to gather the golden cherry tomatoes before they develop small cracks... I have tried to pick out all the 'soft' ones, and let you decide about the half-or-so that are split but still perfectly edible. Do rinse them before you eat them, though, as again... I had to pick a few funky ones out of the picking basket

- Everyone got one 'UFO' squash and a combination of other squashes that included at least ONE (sometimes two) green or yellow zucchini

- Lots of peppers... I'm trying not to give ya'll too many, which is why I had some for extra selectin' up in the passenger seat. By all means, take more from that bucket, and make yourself a nice, spicy conserve or something! (or, dice em up and freeze em, and have them ready to go for a recipe a month or more from now =)

- Okra... I pick them all somewhat soft and still flexible, but some get picked early in the week... and they ripen somewhat even after picked... while I try to set aside tougher ones for my family to eat (we don't mind em, really), you may have one that you find too tough in your basket. Leave it on the windowsill, let it finish ripening and drying out, and harvest the dark, pea-like seeds inside to try growing some of your own (either indoors over the winter, or next spring ;)

Thanks for sharing in this bounty. I'm already looking forward to seeing what kind of basket we can grow for you, next week! ;)

Week 7 -- our most diverse, so far! =)

Sorry for the late post and ID / tips... these last four weeks are going to be crazy... putting together the share, keeping the garden from not getting overgrown, picking things on time, AND working at the school as we launch into our 2019-2020 season. Anyhow, here's the fun, that grew out of the sun for us all these past few months:

Clockwise, from top left: carrots (two types), normal lettuce, bell peppers, okra, poblano peppers, zucchini, crookneck squash, pattipan (what we call "UFO") squash, eggplant, bolting lettuce, eggplant, malabar spinach w. vine, canteloupe (two lucky baskets had them stowed away, because we only had two ripe ones), loose malabar spinach leaves, and green beans (eggs and slicing tomatoes in the middle).

We also had two fun grab-bags: One was a handful of dried mushrooms (hen-of-the-woods, honey mushroom, and porcini) -- of your choosing; the other was as many unsorted (ie, some split ones in there) golden cherry tomatoes as you wanted to stuff in a zip-lock bag.

I can't offer many cooking tips I don't think you already know about these things, except this one: the malabar spinach, while nutritious and succulent, needs flavor. It also should be cooked sooner rather than later, as it certainly can wilt. Finally, in case you haven't noticed, the vines should be rinsed just before throwing in the pan (I suggest flash-frying with either soy sauce, or some bacon grease).

We set aside some eggplant, squashes and okra for the party tomorrow AND for the coming week's share, and some other things are either still coming in OK, or are about to start coming in -- so I'm optimistic that next week will have a bounty in it, as well. As always, thanks for letting me be your wannabe farmer :)

Week 6... and b-day bash/garden celebration, in a few weeks!

Hey there,

It was such a joy, putting together the basket for you all this week. Here's whats up:

Some notes:
Immature onions -- you either got three small, or one or two bigger

Tomatoes -- I tried to give one of every type / ripeness, to everyone

Apples -- foraged off an old abandoned homestead out in Robbinsville... delicilous, even with the spots (kids and I have already barefisted several)

Eggplant or okra or green beans (roulette; we didnt have enough for all to get one of each) -- self-explanatory

Lettuce -- its still bolting, but still not too bitter

Staghorn sumac berry juice -- wonderful, locally foraged beverage that has a lovely sourness, about the closest thing to Appalachian lemonade that you can get. Courtesy of me :)

More details on the upcoming party, to come soon!