here's a very fun and informative CSA sheet made by new community member Katherine Weatherall.

we hope to be able to give you at least 1 kind of berry in your box every week for the next few weeks.
possible berries you might be getting this week:
strawberry, honeyberry, juneberry, raspberry, gooseberry
and hopefully soon, also currants, blueberries, and black raspberries.
here's some more info about honeyberries and juneberries on our website:
http://mustardseedfarm.org/?q=node/404

WEATHER REPORT:
We are already in a drought, and we are already struggling.
since we have been farming here (2008), we have been seeing the effects of climate change in our weather and growing conditions. we have seen increased temperatures, fluctuations, severe storms, floods, drought, new pests, and more. For the past several years, we seem to be experiencing more periods of drought . This year is yet the worst. We have had a drought in april, may and now June. We've had intense winds, heat, and very very little rain. The soil is getting dryer and harder. The plants are getting seriously stressed,
We do have a lot of irrigation on our farm, but it is not an amazing state of the art system that meets all the needs of the plants. it was designed to keep our plants alive through dry spells, until the rains came again. Our farm has always been trying to work with natural systems, and decrease our dependence on fossil fuels, and irrigation takes a lot of electricity and uses a lot of groundwater. But I'm not sure what we are going to do if the rains do not come again.

Drought stressed plants can be discolored, more damaged by pest pressure, smaller, and can go to seed earlier. all of these things are bad news for the farmer and farm members alike. We are already seeing some of these effects, and we apologize if you have gotten any uglier vegetables in your box. We have a large diversity of crops and soil conditions, and this helps us manage our risk. Some combinations will manage the droughts better, so we are not expecting any total crop failure. And a few good rains and everything could be ok. We will try to keep you informed as things go along. In the meantime, let us know if you want to help us water, and we all need prayers for rain.

peace,
alice mcgary
mustard seed community farm
978-471-8414