Cosmic Apple Gardens
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Share #13 September 1st and 5th

8/31/2017

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Crop List: Cosmic Mix, Broccoli, Garlic, Red Worland Potatoes, Beets, Basil, Tomatoes, Summer Squash, Cucumbers, Maybe Bok Choy, Sunflowers and Kohlrabi

We are on the see-saw between summer and fall crops. The summer crops have begun to slow down a bit and the fall crops are starting to look ready! We will keep harvesting all the summer goodies until we have a freeze. Any freezing temps look to be so far in the future no one is predicting them yet, not until long after the heat wave we are about to experience!
Fall crops are patient. We can leave them in the field until we are ready to pull them in. If you get inundated with veggies (you will) use up the summer things first, they don't keep as long. Spuds, beets, carrots, onions and garlic will all store for a long time. Remove leaves and keep in your fridge, except the garlic, put it on your counter. There are two main reasons to remove the green parts, the leaves will rot, shortening your storage time. Also in a last ditch effort to make seed the plant will send the sugars in the root to the leaves, leaving (HA!) you with a less tasty carrot, beet or onion.
Shares! How much longer!? We are not sure yet. Our goal is to go at least 16 weeks, which puts us at Sept. 22nd and 26th. Last year it took us 17 weeks to empty the garden out! We will keep you posted and let you know the end date as soon as we know it! Mother Nature is still in charge.
The shares will continue to get bigger and heavier as the roots come in! There will be more and more items in the shares, so bring more and more bags!

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WASH YOUR VEGGIES!!
​Whole and Half pigs for sale. Email dale@cosmicapple.com for details!
Bring Bags to pick-ups!
If you can't make it to pick up your veggies, send a friend!
Missed shares are forfeited for the week. 
Members get 20% off at the Farmer's Markets!
The Driggs Market, The People's Market and Jackson Saturday Market
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Share #12 August 25th and 29th

8/24/2017

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Crop List: Cosmic Mix, Spicy Mix, Turnips, Broccoli, Filet or Yellow Beans, Arugula, Tomatoes, Kohlrabi, Summer Squash, Cucumbers, Maybe Sunflowers, Carrots and Specialty Radish
PictureCosmic Totality as seen at the farm, by Suzy Kneeland

After Eclipse...the new normal.
Whoa. That was cool. Beyond what I thought could be possible, kind of cool. It felt like the quickest two and a half minutes of my life, but also felt like the most expansive. The most amount of emotions jam packed into about 153 seconds. I feel cracked open and changed. Like anything is possible. It was dark in the middle of the day!!! Anything IS possible!
I love the human connection we are putting on it. We have all been asking each other where we were when it happened. I love how the unanimous reaction was cheering and clapping and hooting and hollering. Who planned that part? I love remembering the faces around me, and the new story we now share together.
And the farm. I'm tearing up now thinking of it. We did not plan on camping out there, but we did, starting on Saturday. We did not leave until the afternoon after the eclipse (we don't actually live there, but want to someday!) Many of the locals hunkered down leading up to the eclipse. We did not know what to expect with traffic, groceries and gas. It was easier to stay put. But without knowing it was happening, we got grounded! The perfect balance for the cosmic event of our lifetime.
The farm happens to be my favorite spot on Earth (followed closely by a choice hot spring). To be there is what made the experience that much more powerful. I don't think traveling to an unfamiliar climate or terrain could ever be close to what we saw here, in the Tetons with our own community. The familiarity with what we consider normal light and animal behavior, could not be replicated with travel in the mix.

We think the chickens went in the coop, but could not see them or the pigs. The cows came out to pasture and did a bit of mooing, but they could have been talking to the other cows. They do that sometimes. During totality they kept grazing! The dog curled up under a shrub, but I think he was just weirded out because his humans stopped work and ran up the hill at the time we should have been getting ready to drop bits of lunch on the ground for him. He was also tired from 2 nights of camping. A flicker came to rest on a branch next to us for a bit. Closer then I think it would have normally been at that time of the day, we may have invaded it's nesting area.
Like I mentioned last week, the eclipse freaked out the plants. We have noticed how quickly things have ripened since then. It may have kicked them into a bit of a panic to ripen, or it could just be the warm weather. So many unknowns.
My "knowns"...I do know the eclipse was one of the most awesome moments of my life. I know it affected every plant, animal and human here. I know it expanded my world in ways I have yet to find words for. I also know it deepened my connection to the farm and my community. And somehow rocked me to the core. Since I was born, my cells have known the rhythm of night and day. I've been shaken at the cellular level. Things are different now in the best way possible!


​WASH YOUR VEGGIES!!
​Whole and Half pigs for sale. Email dale@cosmicapple.com for details!
Bring Bags to pick-ups!
If you can't make it to pick up your veggies, send a friend!
Missed shares are forfeited for the week. 
Members get 20% off at the Farmer's Markets!
The Driggs Market, The People's Market and Jackson Saturday Market

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Share #11 August 18th and 22nd

8/14/2017

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Crop List: Cosmic Mix, Red Sails Head Lettuce, Broccoli, Bok Choy, Fennel, Maybe Beans, Sunflowers, Tomatoes, Cucumbers and Summer Squash

It is Eclipse week on the farm. Is that happening by you too? Just kidding. How lucky are we, the people of the Tetons, to live in one of the most amazing spots on the earth and to get to witness an eclipse from our backyard. I'm excited. I know this blog will be read by half of you before and the other half after, but bear with me I can't just ignore it and not write about it this week...I mean it is a COSMIC event.
The workshares on Monday morning are going to start harvesting at 6 am (instead of the normal 7 am start) so we can have all the veggies tucked away in time to witness the eclipse. These are volunteers folks, and they all want to come pick your veggies for you instead of asking for the day off. AND they want to get here extra early to make sure it gets done. I feel honored to hang with them during the event! And that is what we are going to do. Our family and the crew will stop and take the time to observe this phenomenon together. That is the part that gets me. So many people across North America are going to stop the business of doing things for a couple of minutes and just observe. Outside. I love it. It is something beyond each of us, yet for a few moments it will connect us all. Without walls to separate us, in the same air, under the same sky, gazing at the same thing, standing on the same earth. Looking at something we need to keep life going as we know it, watching it slip away and return.
Our markets have been slammed. It's not tourists. It's locals. I've realized that every person who "lives here" (even for 2 weeks) is here now. And I think most folks have friends or family visiting. Lots of people usually leave and go on vacation in August, but the People of the Tetons are all here, for this eclipse. I can not imagine another event that would change the travel plans of locals so drastically, to keep them all here. It just feels like one big powder day, and some of our lines are going to get skied before we can get to them!
What is the Cosmic energy of the day, and how will it affect the plants? According to the Biodynamic Calendar it is a blank day. In short, the plants will be freaked out! Just like the animals. This is a major disruption to the normal flow of things. Plants "inhale" at night. They rest, absorb, turn inward before the morning. During the day they "exhale". Stretch and grow...just like us. But we logically know what is happening, and know the break will not be long enough to rejuvenate us. The plants know fall is coming. They are putting all the energy they have into reaching maturity. It is kind of the "do or die" time. We can feel it to, the last days of summer. Our towns are busy with people trying to grasp the last of vacation time, make the last of the big money before town empty's out. Energy is high, we are all running on the power of the summer sun. We are at our peak of breathing out, before fall turns us inward. And then there is this little confusing cosmic blip that makes us all stop...inhale? exhale? and just keep breathing. What an interesting moment to be alive. What a beautiful moment to be here. What a cool moment to just breathe in the Tetons. We are so blessed. I am so grateful.


WASH YOUR VEGGIES!!
​Whole and Half pigs for sale. Email dale@cosmicapple.com for details!
Bring Bags to pick-ups!
If you can't make it to pick up your veggies, send a friend!
Missed shares are forfeited for the week. 
Members get 20% off at the Farmer's Markets!
The Driggs Market, The People's Market and Jackson Saturday Market
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Share #10 August 11th and 15th

8/10/2017

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 Crop List: Cosmic Mix, Summer Squash, Shell Peas, Yellow Beans, Filet Beans, Cucumbers, Swiss Chard, Head Lettuce, Specialty Basil, maybe Tomatoes, Red Cabbage and Sunflowers

The beans are coming in, and it looks like a beautiful crop. Most of the farm's volunteer time now is devoted to picking beans and peas. These lovely crops just take time to get off the vine! Beans are one of the crops that remind me of childhood. The family of a dear friend had a huge garden and I can remember standing in her yard eating beans and running to the back porch to avoid a thunderstorm. I love how flavors have the power to magically turn into time machines.
The sunflowers and tomatoes are taking their mid summer break. The plants just seem to need a moment to pause before putting out the next flush of goodies. We are rotating them around the sites as available. 
Broccoli!! We planted a lot this year! It is almost ready. We think it may start in Tuesday's shares, but Friday the 11th will be a bit premature, so get ready for broccoli the week of the 15th! ...at least that's what we think....Mother Nature likes to surprise us sometimes with other plans!
The abundance of the season is upon us. The garden is yielding, and will not stop until early October. The shares will just keep getting bigger! Savor the flavor of summer, this is the time of year I dream about when I read seed catalogs in the middle of winter. 

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Bob Arndt, we'll miss you...
Many of you know Bob was killed in a car crash on June 30th. Bob and his wife Melanie picked their veggies up a few hours before the accident and were members of the Cosmic Community. Bob was a proponent of local foods for as long as we knew him. He always had a smile at the market for us and was a constant supporter of the farm. He happily bought our eggs for the Harvest store in 2003 when we could not find anyone else to buy them! He always took the time to understand the producers hurdles and it was easy to see his desire to find ways everyone could work together outside of the traditional supply chain, long before it was normal to support local farms. Bob and Melanie helped to build the thriving local food scene we enjoy in the Tetons, slowly, steadily and with kindness. We are grateful for your work, and will miss you Bob.
If any of you are interested in supporting Melanie, a meal train has been set up for her. Details here: https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/4d1047


Featured Meat of the Week: Pork Shoulder Roast
YUM! Another really easy meal to come home to after a day on the river! I put mine in the slow cooker, add some Bar-B-Que sauce, turn on low and walk away. Pull the pork and put it on 460 buns. Enjoy with a huge salad and a side of sauteed beans. Our shoulder roast is $8.25/ pound and available in the coolers at your pick-up location!

WASH YOUR VEGGIES!!
​Whole and Half pigs for sale. Email dale@cosmicapple.com for details!
Bring Bags to pick-ups!
If you can't make it to pick up your veggies, send a friend!
Missed shares are forfeited for the week. 
Members get 20% off at the Farmer's Markets!
The Driggs Market, The People's Market and Jackson Saturday Market


0 Comments
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    I'm Dale Sharkey, my husband Jed Restuccia and I run the farm. We have an amazing crew who help us, you may get to hear from them too!

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