Week 3: January 9 - 12
The day before Christmas, we got a box delivered to the farm. It wasn’t huge - maybe two feet tall and a foot wide in both directions. But inside that box lay the blueprint for 2025 at 10th Street Farm. Seeds. 214 varieties, by our count, of future veggies waiting to grow in our fields and grace your plates.
Seeds are endlessly fascinating. They are a rainbow of white, black, red, yellow, silver, shaped like spheres, maces, hemispheres, feathers, and kidneys. It strains believability that these tiny parcels contain all of the instructions a tomato needs to become a tomato, or a carrot needs to become a carrot. And yet, just add water (and sunlight and heat and the magic of soil) and off they go.
We touch seeds almost every day on the farm. We pour them through our fingers by the thousand when planting microgreens trays each week. At other times, we painstakingly separate them one by one to precision plant a tray of radishes or bok choy. In some ways that box is like the seed of the season, waiting to be planted once the soil warms.
This time of year is about planting seeds in so many ways. In the wider world, people make promises to grow in the year to come, in one way or another. Here at 10th Street we’re planting our mental seeds, formulating better ways to get the work done in the year and years to come. But those actual seeds sit right nearby, waiting for their day in the sun.
Speaking of the year to come, we’re excited to announce that our 2025 CSAs are officially on sale! You can purchase your share by clicking this link and selecting the season(s) you’re interested in. You’re welcome to pay in full, but if you put down a deposit and pay the rest via check it’ll reserve your spot and save us a little on processing fees. Those of you who have been long-time share members will notice we have standardized the value of the CSA bags across seasons ($25 per half bag, $35 per full for each season). This means that for some seasons, prices have increased slightly. This helps us cover rising input costs, more closely aligns the CSA value with farm stand prices, and enables us to pay our employees and ourselves a living wage on the farm - a longtime goal of ours. We believe this work is valuable, and we hope you do too.
We hope your new year is full of exciting seeds that will grow in 2025, and we’re thankful you’re here supporting our growth as well.
Have a magical week,
Chris, Ashley, Hallie, and the 10th Street Farm Crew
Reminder: Your bag is hanging BELOW your name on the bag rack.
In Your Bag This Week
Carrots: Our winter carrots are sweet, crunchy, and oh so addicting! Store in your fridge.
Flavor Mix microgreens: Mild and tasty, these make an easy salad on their own or can add some color to any other salad. Try them on eggs or sandwiches – or anything, really! Store in a bag in your fridge.
Pea Shoots: Sweet and crisp, these make a great addition to sandwiches, wraps, salads or can be lightly sautéed as a side dish. Store in a bag in your fridge.
Spinach: Spinach gets sweeter the more it freezes and thaws, as the plant produces sugars to use as an anti-freeze to keep the plant alive. That’s why our winter spinach is the tastiest you’ll find! Use as a salad base, sautée as a side dish or bake into a casserole. Store in a bag in your fridge.
Garlic: The best cooking advice we ever received? When a recipe calls for a clove of garlic, use two or three! Store on your counter.
Kale: This kale has been growing in our 32-degree tunnel, so it is kissed by cold and sweeter than summer kale. Perfect for hearty salads or tossing in soups. Store in a bag in your fridge.
Bok Choy: So versatile! Use in Asian-inspired dishes like soups and stir fries, or just chop and add to anything for a bit more flavor and nutrition. Store in a bag in your fridge.
Sweet Potatoes: One of our seasonal favorites - creamy and sweet and just tastes like fall. Store in a cool, dark place.
What should I make with what’s in the bag?
We’ve been waiting to harvest our winter kale until this week, so it’s a real treat to have it on our plates again. We love kale in a hearty salad or grain bowl, and it’s the perfect addition to winter soups, like this one that looks incredible. We were recently intrigued by this kale sauce pasta, so we might have to give that a try.
We also have sweet potatoes for the last time this season, which is a treat. Our kids love them simply roasted with a little garam masala, which is a nice change of pace from the cinnamon you usually see them paired with. Try them in a curry or hash, or combine them with the kale for a virtuous yet tasty grain bowl!
With the bok choy and pea shoots, you’ve also got a great base for a delicious stir fry. And the spinach and micros always make for a tasty salad. If you’re anything like us after the holidays, your body will thank you for the fresh, healthy veggies!
If you've found a recipe you're loving, please send it our way. We're always looking for new things to cook and share with other members!
We wash everything in your bag but we wash them in bulk so some things may need an extra rinse at home. Thanks!
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