SP24 (W1): We Planted an Orchard!
Dear Farm Community -
Last week was one of the most diverse and active weeks we’ve had in a while! To start, the weather took us on a wild ride. Weather early in the week was beautiful with highs in the 70’s and sunny skies. But come Friday we were pushing through a stormy harvest day - unrelenting rain, bitter wind, and temps in the low 40’s. Shuttling back and forth from pack shed to greenhouses and harvesting a number of crops fully in the elements left us with soggy clothes and achey cold fingers, but we closed out the day in high spirits despite it all. When the days are that wet and that cold, I always think of this comic by Niall Breen, maybe you’ll get a kick out out of it too:
Our week wasn’t all soggy, though. We had a hard-earned major milestone for Diamond Hill Farm - we planted an orchard! Apples, Asian pears, peaches, pomegranates, figs, muscadines, persimmons, kiwi berries, blackberries, raspberries, plumcots, and plums all went in the ground on Wednesday and Thursday. While we’ll have to exercise a few years of patience for most of these to reach fruiting maturity, our fingers are crossed for blackberries and raspberries this year. Potatoes also went in the ground this week, continuing our big spring transplanting frenzy (along with more head lettuce, little gems, friseé, fennel, and lisianthus!)
This past weekend also marked our return to the Athens Farmers Market and we had a blast seeing familiar faces and getting in the swing of things again. Be sure to catch the first mid-week AFM market of the season this Wednesday March 6th at Creature Comforts Brewing Company from 5-8pm! We’ll be there every Wednesday evening with a full market spread from now till November. If you haven’t been to a Creature Comforts AFM market before, its a fun mid-week farmers market where you can grab a local beer, listen to some local music and (you guessed it) load up on all the local veggies & flowers you can carry.
Another reason to be excited this week…… Spring CSA is officially here!!! We are sooooooo excited to share with you an incredible year of dreamy flowers, flavorful veggies, and spectacular fruits! Before y’all head to grab your share this week, be sure to check the pickup day and location you selected. If you need to double check, this info is in your order details (home delivery members - you’re on our schedule for Wednesday!) If you have any questions you can reply directly to this email.
Your share this week (see complete list at the bottom of this email) is bursting with seasonal spring favorites. You’ll also see one item in your share that we actually grow year round in our seed house - radish microgreens! These greens are small but mighty - super versatile, super tasty, and nutritious beyond your wildest dreams. They are considered a superfood because of their high concentration of vitamin A, B vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin E, calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, iron, and manganese (and more). They are also super easy to incorporate into a host of dishes. Sprinkle them on top of your avocado toast or eggs, add them to a sandwich, try out this Mexican Coleslaw, or make this Microgreens salad that also makes use of the carrots in your share!
We look forward to seeing you at your pickup!
Happy Eating :)
Diamond Hill Farmers
P.S. Our weekly-pay CSA option can be joined at any time during the season, so it’s never too late to join the party! Check out the options at the links below:
$25 share: beets, carrots, green garlic, celery, microgreens, head lettuce
$35 share: beets, carrots, green garlic, celery, microgreens, head lettuce, chard, turnips, parsley