June 28, 2023

Although summer is officially here and temperatures are set to finally break 100 degrees, there was a freeze at Whipstone Farm last week! Luckily nothing was a total loss, as the crops that received most of the damage can recover easily. Pepper plants were spared and Whipstone is only growing greenhouse tomatoes this year. Some plants at both Whipstone and Willowbrook, however, are suffering from curly top virus this year. The Swiss chard and beets at Whipstone were just diagnosed and Willowbrook’s tomato plants have been hit particularly hard. Unfortunately, the only way to deal with curly top is to pull out the infected plants and throw them away to try to break the cycle of infection. The virus is transmitted by an insect that continues to spread the disease between plants after it eats from an infected plant. So Hilary at Willowbrook is diligently trying to remove diseased plants and hoping the second planting of tomatoes will make it. Let’s keep our fingers crossed for the tomatoes!

This week I am so excited to finally get my hands on some of Whipstone Farm’s famous carrots. These carrots are so sweet and crisp that they put grocery store carrots to shame. We also have some other season firsts this week. Sanders’ Farm is back with their delicious potatoes. Ramona and Dave Sanders grow produce on an acre in Camp Verde and primarily sell at the Verde Valley Farmers’ Market. We don’t know their secret, but they have managed to crack the code for growing amazing potatoes, so we snatch them up for the CSA whenever we can. We also have summer squash this week, which we should be enjoying for many weeks to come, and collard greens. We likely won’t have collard greens very often, so enjoy these sturdy greens with a sweet flavor.

Shanti from Whipstone Farm let us know that shareholders are still welcome to sign up for their flower shares this week. If you were on the fence and have been seduced by the beautiful bouquets these last two weeks, you are not alone! Please email us if you would like to add a flower share for the remaining ten weeks of the flower share season. Bouquets are $15 per week, for a total cost of $150. This is a total steal, as the same large Whipstone Farm bouquets sell for $25 at Interdependence Natural Foods.

Have a delightful week!
Meghan

What’s in your basket – June 28th

Carrots – Whipstone Farm
Collard greens – Whipstone Farm
Potatoes – Sanders’ Farm
Salad mix – Willowbrook Farm
Scallions – Whipstone Farm
Summer squash – Willowbrook Farm

Fresh lettuce for salad mix.

Tomato plant with curly top virus.

Fingers crossed for the second planting of tomatoes at Willowbrook.

Whipstone Farm flower harvest.