June June June. Like most months, there’s been ups and downs, things worth squealing about and things worth rolling your eyes over. Because of the nation-wide staff shortage, it often feels like we’re running the wick at both ends. We’re switching around farm crew and shed crew, and streamlining processes to make training as straightforward as possible. Honestly, though, this process refinement has been really good for us to set some more structures in place and get clearer around what we can do, not what we could do (which is hard when we like future dreaming at the farm!) Our small team has been doing the best they can and we’re grateful to be joined by a new team member this month to support with farmer’s markets and accounting. Welcome Lupe!

The chickens, of course, have no concept of the staff shortage, since they’re loving caretaker Daniella has been a rock star at keepin’ them clucking. Thanks to Nick and some of the Van Dyke staff, the chickens have been upgraded from the old RV to some new stellar hoop houses. These are much more suitable for them to sleep in at night and way easier for us to clean. Along with their new sleepover shed, and a day-time play pen, the chickens also now have access to some super rad egg-laying boxes. We constructed these out of our old squash bins and hope it encourages them to start laying some eggs- which should be happening any day now!

The chickens have also been enjoying their fair share of rotting blenheim apricot scraps. Typically the apricot season is pretty short, around 3-4 weeks, but this year we were surprised to get only a 2 week harvest (thanks to some unexpectedly hot June days). BUT they’re not leaving us without letting us sun dry and can a whole bunch. The Van Dyke drying racks were built in the 1920s out of redwood and still going strong. They can withstand lots of heat and moisture fluctuation, and we’re grateful to be able to partner with their processing team to still use them. As for canning, last week we sent 1,000+ pounds of ‘cots’ to Happy Girl kitchen for apricot jam- keep your eyes peeled for these in CSA!

First tomato harvest of the season. They’re coming!

Speaking of CSA, we’ve had a lot of vacation holds this month. This is typical for summertime and particularly more notable this year, since so many folks haven’t been able to vacation for a while. While the weekly box count is lower than usual, it’s kind of a blessing in disguise as we slowly grow and train our team. Only bummer is that the variety is most abundant in the summertime (like ‘maters). So when everyone ends their vacation holds, all our favorite things are on the way out the door (well, to the compost...) For those friends who stick around, though, the colorful selection is unreal! Basil has just started coming on. Tomatoes are being harvested, and the chamomile, lavender and edible flower selection is growing like crazy. Unlike previous summers, we’ve been having really good luck with carrots, Salanova and Little Gem lettuces. These are crops we’ve wanted to grow year-round for a while but are much more heat sensitive. So we’re stoked that they’re doing so well this year!

As always, we’re really grateful for the tremendous support that you - our stellar community - keep showering upon us. We truly couldn’t do what we’re doing without you.

June Farmer's Perspective: Jenn