Week 4. We hope you folks have all had a chance to order at least once and are eating well.
This coming week I am seeing things shifting into summer crops. The early season tender lettuces like butterhead are almost done, so we will shift into heartier summer crisp lettuce. We picked the last of our green garlic, but will have scapes for the next couple weeks. Beets have been added to the list this week. Peas and summer squash are just coming on. We will pick on Monday and see how many we get, so this is a good week to check back on Tuesday or Wednesday to see if inventory has been updated. I will know better what to expect out of the fields after Monday.
The rain and heat are making everything grow quickly, both veggies and weeds, but it does a number on our staff (who are heartier than most, but still only human). Ohh, and the insects and worms are thriving (biting horse flies, mosquitoes, gnats, aphids, etc.). The demands of the farm get really high this time of year just as the weather becomes brutal.
By the time July hits, our fields are full, the harvest is heavy, and the demands on the farm are great. This is why we schedule a week off from delivery right at the beginning of July (which conveniently falls on a holiday anyway). By removing the normal demands of harvest, packing, and delivering, we can catch up on planting, weeding, and prepping in the fields. We make sure everything is trellised. We pull shade cloth over the pepper tunnel. We give long standing crops fertility. It gives us a minute do catch up just a tiny bit. NO DELIVERY/PICK-UP ON July 4th and 5th.
Speaking of this heat. We take extra precautions here at the farm to pack and keep your food as fresh as possible. We put extra paper wrapping around the cheese, put an extra layer of cold packs in our coolers, and cover everything in the trucks and off site pick-up’s with insulated blankets. That being said, this heat is extreme. Retrieving your food on the early side of the pick-up hours, or after delivery, will help keep the quality high. Leaving freezer packs in your coolers will help too.
Happy eating this week. As always let us know if we can help in any way.
A Few Things:
- IN SUMMARY: Watch your store inventory this week as I expect to be updating a lot on Tuesday and Wednesday. The heat and summer demands are in full swing, we take a week off at the beginning of July to catch up on the farm and take a breath. No delivery/pick-up on July 4th and 5th. Plus the heat is hard on us humans too.
- THE HEAT: Although we take action here at the farm to help keep the food cold and fresh, things you can do are pick-up on the early side when possible, and/or put freezer packs in your coolers. This heat is extreme.
- Crop Highlight: Beets. Last summer the deer ate my first crop of beets and I nearly cried. But, when you taste early beets, you understand why the deer like them so much. They are so delicious and sweet. I make mine in the instant pot, cause it is quick and painless to simply throw the entire thing into the pot and then peal and chop it when it comes out. I slather them in butter, salt and pepper, and a sprinkling of dill if we have it. Yummy.
- ABOUT SCALLIONS: So, if you have been with us for a long time, you know we don’t grow a ton of scallions. The labor on them is a challenge for us. This year I did a trial run in our 8 x 10 raised bed located in our greenhouse. I planted them in clumps, so your bunch grows closely together, hopefully making it easier to care for, harvest, and clean (all something we struggled with in the past). We will harvest this week and see how it goes. So, we don’t have a lot to offer, but it may be the start of us growing more, using this method. Our second seeding is started and should be ready to transplant by late July.
LETS ORDER
Go to https://www.farmmatch.com/lotfotl
- HOW TO ORDER: (STORE OPENS AT NOON)
- Go to https://www.farmmatch.com/lotfotl
- Login
- IMPORTANT: Make sure that you have selected the correct location AND refreshed your browser page.
- Confirm that your credits have been issued to your account.
- Place your order following the order parameters:
~~Minimum total order of $40.
~~Maximum total order of $250.
~~Limit $200 on meat per week.
~~ Use all of your credits by the October 25th delivery.
- IMPORTANT: You must get a confirmation receipt email detailing your order. If you don’t, you did not complete your order correctly. Always review the email, to make sure the information is correct, especially the LOCATION.
- Thank you for understanding that we are not able to process late orders.
- Order on weeks that work for you, skip the ones that don’t.
- Final order of the season: When you use the last of your credits for the season, your credit card on file will be charged for any amount due. You will then have access to a limited menu for the remainder of the season.
HACKS AND ORDERING TRICKS:
- If the product selection is not display in organized groups, you are likely in the “Previously Ordered” section. Scroll down to all products and it will be easier to navigate. You can always X out these items each week to keep this section manageable.
- If products have a locked sign on them, you likely need to change your pick-up location. Click on the lock to see where this item is available.
- If you cannot see products, contact the farm.
- As a member with credits, when you place your order, FarmMatch will tell you it is going to charge your credit card, cause that is what it is programmed to do, as most farms are not issuing credits at the beginning of the season like we are. They are just selling outright to their customers. The program will apply your credits first, making your total due $0. So, your card will get charged $0 each week, up until you have used up all your credits.
RECEIVING AND/OR PICKING UP YOUR ORDER:
- IN PERSON PICK-UP
- LOTFOTL – Watch your step as you enter the barn. This is a self serve pick-up. Remember to check the cooler for your frozen items. Items are in the cubbys off to the right as you enter the building.
- HOME DELIVERY
- Remember drivers are instructed NOT to leave food if there is not a container.
- Watch for a text after delivery has occurred.
- If you don’t have food by 6pm, call or text us right away. Time is of the essence.
We are always happy to help. Contact us with questions. 920-318-3800. Texting will get you the fastest response.
With Gratitude,
Your Farmers