This Week's Vegetable Notes - by Diana Nolden, assistant growing manager

Some long-term shareholders may have noticed the early debut of some vegetables. Fennel, collards, and redbor kale are a few vegetables making it into the boxes sooner than in past seasons (read Bob’s column in future weeks to learn more about the historical harvest chart). However, with all this produce jumping the gun it was our green beans that were slow to move. In past years we plant them with enough time to be harvested at the summer open house. Maybe they were planted late--I'm not sure if this was my fault (for not giving them a high enough priority) or Nature's fault (as the source of the weather)--but just days after our shareholders were out wandering the fields at the open house, the green beans were ready. So we invite you back to the farm to fill a bag with fresh green beans. The u-pick flowers are in the same field so you can take a bouquet home.

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I have one sibling, an older sister who now lives in Seattle, WA. She and her husband flew home this past Thursday for a two-week stay, during which she will visit Angelic Organics for the first time. Bob asked if she was going to work with the crew, I just smiled and said “no”.

Joleen has never enjoyed the physical labor involved with living on a farm--and this is coming from one of the more spoiled farm kids you would ever meet. We had only a few chores, usually feeding the calves with oversized milk bottles. However, during the summer months we would be called upon to help unload hay, a job that was always met with resistance. I would get on my jeans find some gloves and head out the door while my sister stomped around slamming doors all the while complaining. Her grunts and under the breath comments only stopped when it became too hot to do anything but put bales on the elevator. Later years my dad just stopped asking her to help.

One day while Bob and I were having a meeting, Farmer John’s sister Carol stopped by the farm. She referenced a comment made that Mary Jane (John’s other sister) was always the farm girl while she was inside brushing her hair. Later Bob said it sounded a lot like Joleen and I. There is some truth to that. However, it seems that she is rediscovering her farming roots, keeping a small vegetable garden at her home in Seattle. I like getting phone calls from her with questions about vegetables, seeds, watering, and compost. Even after all these years she still is making the comment that it is hard work.

Please note: this box summary is written the week before you receive your box. Some guess work is involved: some things may be in your box that are not listed, and some listed things may not be in your box. As always, be sure to thoroughly wash all your vegetables.

The page numbers listed below refer to cooking tips and recipes in Farmer John’s Cookbook: The Real Dirt on Vegetables as provided to all shareholders. Some recipes are listed at AngelicOrganics.com/RecipeService

FRUITIING CROPS

Peppers-prize-winning peppers (see future newsletters for stories about my fair entries), pp. 215-222

Eggplant-in all boxes except for shareholders who pick up at the farm. For farm shareholders, eggplant can be found in the swap box. Take only 1 or 2 please. pp. 174-180

Cucumbers-pp. 95-101

Zucchini & Summer Squash-pp. 145-150

STEMS

Celery-pp. 169-173, best when used for cooking. See last year's newletter for information on our celery.

ALLIUMS-pp. 121-128

Sweet Onions-makes great onion rings.

ROOTS

Carrots-with tops, pp. 163-168, great for carrot cake!

BRASSICAS

Cabbage or Cauliflower-pp. 257-269

Broccoli-unlikely, pp. 248-252

COOKING GREENS-pp. 81-94

Kale-Winterbor; maybe, else look in the swap box.

HERBS-pp. 102-120

Basil

Cilantro

Dill-add some flavor to your salad.

SALAD GREENS-pp. 136-141

Lettuce--heads of pic 714 (a romaine), Red Salad Bowl (a red oakleaf), Magenta (a red summercrisp) and/or Nevada (a green summercrisp)

Arugula-make it into pesto

A Special Offer in our Unsettling Times
Angelic Organics is now offering you the opportunity to secure your weekly deliveries of fresh vegetables and herbs far into the future. We hope this brings peace of mind to our shareholders in this time of uncertainty about food production and the economy in general.

You can now sign up for 2009 shares and many additional years at discounted prices. For instance, 2009 shares are currently $20 off what they will cost by Sept 1. You can even sign up for a 20-year share for huge savings (and security.) To sign up for 2009 and beyond us the form included in your vegetable box this week or print and fill out this form: www.AngelicOrganics.com/2009.pdf. Click on the form to see farm-related gifts for signing up for two or more years. This opportunity to sign up at these excellent prices and to receive your farm gifts is good until August 11, 2008. Other aspects to this offer expire August 31, 2008.

Already a multi-yr shareholder who would like to extend your share?
You can slip into the pricing structure as on the pdf form and/or contact the farm for clarification. Or you can wait for a letter by regular mail from us which will confirm your existing multi-year share information and offer you details on how to further extend your share.

Waiting will be Costly
With food inflation running so high, we will have to raise our prices soon, beyond the 3% increase we have already factored in. We predict at least a $10 price increase on Jan 1, 2009. The huge increase in petroleum prices has escalated our expenses. We are dependent on fuel to heat our homes, our greenhouse, to grow our crops, to cool them, and to deliver them. Our workers also face added expenses in driving back and forth to the farm and for their own utility bills, food bills, etc, so we will offer them a 2009 wage increase across the board. But for now, we are holding our prices according to last year's projections, besides offering a substantial extra early signup discount. You can still ensure a steady delivery of our vegetables into the future at a reasonable price.

Your Support
Your commitment to us into the future helps Angelic Organics, by helping to secure infrastructure and equipment. It helps the planet into the future, by helping it to rejuvenate and recover from its inundation of toxic chemicals. And it helps you, by ensuring an uninterrupted supply of healthy, locally grown, fresh vegetables and herbs into your kitchen.

The Future of Angelic Organics
Farmer John will return to the farm in 2009, inspired with ideas from visiting vegetable operations and farm communities throughout the world. John has a recalcitrant yearning to farm. He recently helped bale hay on Roxbury CSA Farm in NY, loaded bales and weeded gardens on a dairy farm in Italy, and has now committed to rebuilding a cultivator on Plaw Hatch Community Farm in East Sussex, England, where he is currently working on his autobiography. Upon his return, I am excited to work with John to make Angelic Organics a more viable and well rounded farm organism and to deepen and enrich the shareholder community's relationship to the farm. We plan to devote the next 2 or 3 years to mapping out a plan for Angelic Organics through the year 2030.

Best,
Bob