Well, we made it through the first weekend of seedling sale. It was definitely nicer to have our plants picked up and not do any delivering. (even though we still did a lot of plant carrying!!) I'm still exhausted, but it was really fun to have some folks from our further locations come to the farm and see what we've got going on.

If you were planning on coming up this coming weekend for tours, I'm dropping the tour count to just Saturday and Sunday 10am. Kevin and I are both exhausted and this is my 'year of no', so I'm giving myself permission to cut back on a few tours.

If you came on a tour, we talked a lot about cover crop when we got out to the field, since we have a lot of it growing. Our new solar panels are working, generating energy for the farm whenever the sun is out, but our cover crop is working for us night and day, using the energy from the sun and the elements in our atmosphere to create food for this summer's crops (and all the microbes that live in the soil that help to make nutrition available to our crops).

Kevin, above, is showing how plants in the legume family (like peas, beans, vetch and clover) form a relationship with bacteria in the soil that sends signals to the legume to extract more Nitrogen from the atmosphere. The bacteria then make nodules full of NH3, which can be used by the plant as fuel. We mow and turn in the cover crop when the nodules are in peak production (or sometimes a little earlier if we need to get the cover crop to decompose before planting our main crop). The decomposed cover crop and remaining nitrogen nodules in the soil then feed our main crop, reducing our fertilizer needs.

Today is a big cover crop termination day. We are preparing to plant a half-acre of solanums (peppers, eggplants, tomatoes), three quarters of an acre of cucurbits (melons, squash, zucchini, cucumber), a half-acre+ of sweet potatoes and another half-acre of mixed vegetables including sweet corn.

There is a chance of frost Thursday morning, and I'm not one of chancing it when it comes to planting expensive-to-grow/hard-to-replace plants, so we'll be prepping the beds and then planting early next week.

If you got plants from us (or anywhere else) make sure to cover if nighttime temps are predicted to go below 40. Just don't forget to uncover! Even in our high tunnel greenhouses, where we have our early tomatoes and cucumbers already planted, we are going to add a layer of protection, just in case!

The weather is definitely trending warm! I've seen lots of active snakes, a sure sign that it's time to plant and soil temperatures are warming up.

Ok, So What's in the Share!?

Choose 2 bags greens: kaledescope mix, arugula, spinach, pea tendrils, micro . . . maybe some other choices later in the week

Choose 3: 3/4 lb bok choy, bunch of radishes, head of gem lettuce, bunch of scallions, bunch of dill, bunch of cilantro (there will probably not be enough cilantro for the end of the week)

Asparagus: 1 pound

Potatoes: 2 pounds

*Please note* we do our absolute best to estimate what our customers will prefer when it comes to choices based on years of CSA and market experience and data collection. That said, sometimes a crop is more popular than anticipated and we do run out of that choice. We try to avoid this, but have determined this is a better alternative than not giving choices.

*Please remember* this share costs less weekly than all of our other shares. The standard price is $22/week. It has a lot of high value but light-weight greens in it so it can sometimes seem smaller than a summer share, where instead of bags of greens you are getting multiple pounds of fruits and roots. This is the nature of seasonal eating in New England. We will get better at growing storage crops and overwintering crops so we can more "heavy" choices in spring - but for now, this is the spring share, exactly as we planned it, and we are very proud of what we are able to make available in APRIL!!!

Recipes

Hi - Jess Girotti here. If you have a recipe that you love that you'd like to share with other members or if a recipe link isn't working for you, feel free to email me at jgirotti@live.com. (Please note that I can't re-print a recipe from a cookbook that isn't already online.) Don't forget to check out the recipe pages on the Upswing website if you need more ideas for your other veggies.

SPRING SALAD WITH GOAT CHEESE

Spring on a plate! Asparagus, greens (it calls for romaine, but you can use whatever you've got), peas, mint, and lemon.

CREAMY SPRING TURNIP SOUP WITH RADISH GREENS & BACON

Even if you're not a fan of turnips, spring turnips may change your mind! Try them in this versatile soup that can be served hot or cold (depending on which way the weather decides to go this week).



BEST CAESAR SALD WITH CRISPY PARMESAN

This twist on a Caesar salad has kale and spinach (not to mention crispy parmesan!!).

CREAMY CUCUMBER RADISH SALAD WITH CHIVES

A crunchy, flavorful and colorful salad with only 5 ingredients!

MUSTARD GREENS WITH APPLE CIDER DIJON DRESSING

This salad only has a few ingredients, but it's packed with flavor. I love the combination of the mustard greens with the apple and fresh dill.

TURNIP & KALE GRATIN

They call this a gratin, but I think of it more as a strata with bread, eggs and cheese. The leftovers are great for breakfast!

IMPORTANT DETAILS

Below is information for pick up at all 3 of our weekly locations. If you can't remember your pick up location, please refer to the email sent on 4/10/2023.

Upswing Farm

65 Brookline St, Pepperell, MA

Your pick up day is Wednesday.

Hours are 2:00pm to 6:00pm.

Here is a list of the exact dates of your share pick up. *

I recommend stopping what you are doing and adding them to your calendar, with an alert, right now!

April 12th

April 19th

April 26th

May 3rd

May 10th

May 17th

May 24th

May 31st

Parking: Please park in the parking lot by the greenhouses and the white Upswing Farm sign. It's more like 53 Brookline if you are using GPS.

Picking Up Your Share: Please check in with Joella and cross your own name off the list !

This is very important. We need to know who has come! Then, read the signs and choose your produce based on the signs. Joella can answer any questions you have.

If you are going to be late: Text 508-215-8378. We can pack a box for you and leave it on the farm house porch (actually at 65 Brookline, up by the white barns)

If you can't make it: Please let us know a time when you can come by Thursday or Friday and we will leave your share out for you on the porch.

If you want to send someone else in your place: This is a great idea if you are going on vacation! Give your neighbor or anyone who is helping take care of your place your share for the week. Just make sure you forward the person you are sharing with the weekly email so they know pick up procedure. No need to tell us if you are going to do this.

Can't make it and want to donate your share to a local food pantry? Let us know and we will make sure it gets to one of the five food pantries we serve weekly.

Holliston Community Farm

34 Rogers Rd, Holliston, MA

Your pick up day is Tuesday.

Hours are 1:00pm to 6:00pm.

If you can't make it by 6:00, we can leave the share in the walk-in cooler for you to pick up later.

Here is a list of the exact dates of your share pick up. *

I recommend stopping what you are doing and adding them to your calendar, with an alert, right now!

April 11th

April 18th

April 25th

May 2nd

May 9th

May 16th

May 23rd

May 30th

Parking: Please driving up the driveway at 34 Rogers Rd, past the yellow house and past the farm stand and park in the parking lot. Please drive carefully, it is a narrow drive, and you will need to travel the drive from the house to the street single file. Please be patient and courteous with one another.

Picking Up Your Share: Please check in with Lindsay, cross your own name off the list !

This is very important. We need to know who has come! Then, read the signs and choose your produce based on the signs. Lindsay can answer any questions you have.

If you are going to be late: Text 508-215-8378 if you are going to be late. We can pack a box for you and leave it in the cooler to pick up later that evening or the next day.

If you can't make it and want to switch your pick up day to Thursday 1-6 at Weston Nurseries: Please let us know by Monday morning at 7am, if possible, so we can adjust our harvest for the week. Email upswingcsa@gmail.com.

If you want to send someone else in your place: This is a great idea if you are going on vacation! Give your neighbor or anyone who is helping take care of your place your share for the week. Just make sure you forward the person you are sharing with the weekly email so they know pick up procedure. No need to tell us if you are going to do this.

Can't make it and want to donate your share to a local food pantry? Let us know and we will make sure it gets to one of the five food pantries we serve weekly.

Weston Nurseries in Hopkinton

93 East Main St, Hopkinton, MA

Your pick up day is Thursday.

Hours are 1:00pm to 6:00pm.

Here is a list of the exact dates of your share pick up. *

I recommend stopping what you are doing and adding them to your calendar, with an alert, right now!

April 13th

April 20th

April 27th

May 4th

May 11th

May 18th

May 25th

June 1st

Parking: DO NOT GO IN THE MAIN ENTRANCE OF WESTON NURSERIES! There is no way to drive to the back lot from there. Instead, turn north at the light in front of Weston Nurseries onto Legacy Farms Rd North and turn right into the parking lot behind the nursery. You will see out white Box truck there, with tents. Park anywhere on the gravel lot, not too close to the tents, if possible.

Picking Up Your Share: Please check in with Anna (Ah-na) (she's new and she's great!) and cross your own name off the list !

This is very important. We need to know who has come! Then, read the signs and choose your produce based on the signs. Anna can answer any questions you have.

If you are going to be late: Text 508-215-8378. We can arrange a spot for you to pick up.

If you can't make it: Please let us know - we don't have a great alternative until the start of the Ashland Farmer's Market in Summer - so don't forget! If you can plan ahead you can come to the CSA pick up in Holliston on Tuesday. We just prefer to know by Monday at 7am if possible so we can adjust our harvest plan.

If you want to send someone else in your place: This is a great idea if you are going on vacation! Give your neighbor or anyone who is helping take care of your place your share for the week. Just make sure you forward the person you are sharing with the weekly email so they know pick up procedure. No need to tell us if you are going to do this.

Can't make it and want to donate your share to a local food pantry? Let us know and we will make sure it gets to one of the five food pantries we serve weekly.

Your Farmers,

Brittany, Kevin and the Upswing Farm Team

Also, I'm bad at spelling. I am a generalist, so as long as most of the letters are there, and there is good context, by brain prefers not to be bogged down by details. Also, I am frequently typing these emails late at night or early in the morning after or before a big day of work. I promise I'm not making spelling or grammar errors becauseI don't care. I really, really do care, I'm just no good at copy editing and I rarely have time to send these out for a proof read to Kevin who is still sleeping. I hope you can forgive me.