One late summer visitor you may not have noticed are the plentiful monarch butterflies that are visiting us now. September is the peak season for these pollinators in Arizona, as they migrate between the northern climes where they spend the summer and Southern California and Mexico, where they overwinter. One of our shareholders, Lisa Jansen, volunteers with the Southwest Monarch Study. After sending us home with a caterpillar last summer so we could watch it become a butterfly, I have slowly gotten hooked on these amazing butterflies. My butterfly net arrived last week so I can now catch, tag, and release monarchs to help track their migration. If you are interested in creating havens for these and other pollinators, you can plant butterfly bushes, wildflowers, and milkweed, which monarchs lay their eggs on. They are such a sight to behold, and we all know how important our pollinators are.
Since we are nearing the end of the season, it is time to reserve your spot for our 2017 CSA season. Next year’s CSA will run from May 17th-October 11th. We hope you will join us for another season of delicious local food! If you would like to sign up, please fill out the Early Bird Contract and return it along with a $50 deposit by October 12th.
Have a wonderful week!
Meghan
What’s in your basket – September 21st
Cherry tomatoes – Willowbrook Farm
Cucumbers – Willowbrook Farm
Garlic – Willowbrook Farm
Green Beans – Whipstone Farm
Kale – Whipstone Farm
Salad mix – Willowbrook Farm
Shishito pepper – Whipstone Farm
Tomatoes – Willowbrook Farm
These beautiful green bean plants aren’t looking so hot now after the first frost.
Transplanting cool season flowers for the spring.
My first monarch catch and release!