Farming during drought conditions

Dean and Jean Braatz and their seven children are honored to be your Minnesota Farmers. 

Too hot, too windy, too dry! The unusual June drought Minnesota is experiencing is reflected in our field crops. Pepper plants in the field (left) are stressed and dying, and the earth around our young plants is cracked and dry. 

Farmers in Minnesota are experiencing very unusual early-summer weather. Usually, in June we’re mudding through monsoon rains! Not this year, though! Except for a mere 1/3 inch that fell last Sunday, it’s been weeks since our fields have enjoyed a good, soaking rain. Early rain helps our field crops flourish, and this year, they are suffering. We are so thankful that we grow some of your produce in high tunnels where we can control the moisture it receives.
When field crops are flourishing, we are able to introduce more varied crops into your boxes earlier in the season. Typically, you’ll start receiving beets, radishes and other field-grown items in late June and early July. This year, we’re packing in more of the lettuces and greens that we grow in the high tunnels.
We are hoping that our scheduled Tuesday, July 13, “break” from delivering your CSA shares will help our crops catch up and allow for more diverse boxes when Tuesday deliveries resume July 20.
One side benefit of the drought is that there are fewer mosquitoes! Less standing water means fewer breeding spots for the pesky insects. So we take the good with the bad, all the while praying for rain.

JUST IN TIME FOR THE THE FOURTH OF JULY! 
Delivery to your door Thursday, July 1
Shop now for July 1 delivery to your door of our special variety meat packs, steaks, roasts, pork and grill items. Purchase our brand new COW AWSOME IS THIS! meat package by clicking here, or shop all of our meat selections by clicking here. Deadline for ordering is 6 a.m. Wednesday, June 30.

The COW AWESOME IS THIS! meat pack includes:

• 1 package of ring sausage
• 1 package of hot dogs
• 1 package smoked brats
• 1 package fresh brats
• 2.5 lb pack hot beef
• 1 original summer sausage
• 1 jalapeno cheese summer sausage
• 1 package beef sticks
• 2.5 lbs of hamburger patties
• 1 package ring bologna

Meat, eggs, granola, produce delivered to your door Thursday, July 1.

In Your Share Box This Week
Click on the blue links for recipe ideas. 
 One Dozen Eggs – It’s another BONUS week! All produce subscribers will receive a dozen eggs in their share box. (That means our regular egg subscribers should pick up the dozen they’ve purchased and will find a second dozen in their share box.) We have such an egg bonanza that we would like to share the bounty with you! If you don’t eat eggs, please pick up your bonus dozen and bless someone else with them. Need more ideas for using your eggs? Click here!
 Beets (full shares; maybe half shares, too if we have enough!) – Red and/or white beets will be in your box this week. We find both red and white beets to taste almost exactly the same. White beets may be just a bit sweeter. Boil them and eat with butter and salt, or peel, slice and grill them.
Lettuce – Subscribers will receive a variety of lettuce in their box this week.
Cucumbers (full shares) –  Enjoy cucumbers in your favorite cucumber salad, refrigerator pickles or cucumber sandwich!
 Red Cabbage – Use your cabbage for coleslaw or cabbage rolls. Or boil and add a bit of butter for a great side dish.
 Red or Green Kohlrabi – Kohlrabi is a tasty treat when you’re looking for a yummy crunch! Cut off the outside and slice to eat fresh. Can also be grilled or added to salads. Check out these recipe ideas, too! See the link above for more ideas for using this versatile vegetable.
 Swiss Chard – Rainbow chard is great to sauté or stir-fry. For the evenest cooking, remove the colored ribs/stems from the leaves, then chop the stems and start cooking them before you add the leaves. Chard can also be eaten raw in salads. It has a slightly bitter taste when eaten raw, so you may want to add some apple, dried cranberries or raisins to complement its earthy flavor.
Surprises! – Depending on weather conditions and what’s ripe and ready, you may receive some surprises in your box this week!

NOTE: We make every effort to pack into your box the items listed in this email. However, as farming is dependent on weather and growing conditions, we sometimes get surprises and pass them on to you. This list is our best guesstimate. You may not receive every item listed AND you may receive some surprises that were not listed. Please be assured we have packed into your box the value you’ve paid even if the items don’t exactly match the items listed in this email. Thank you for your understanding!

WE NEED EGG CARTONS!
Do you have extra egg cartons? Our happy chickens are so busy laying eggs, we are running short of egg cartons! If you have extra egg cartons, please drop them off at your drop site when you pick up your share. They are much appreciated!
THANK YOU!

We make deliveries of a la carte items TO YOUR DOOR the FIRST THURSDAY OF EACH MONTH. Click below to order eggs, meat, produce, granola or maple syrup to be delivered to your door Thursday, July 1. Deadline for ordering is 6 a.m. Wednesday, June 30.

Delivery to your door July 1

Enjoy these Salad Days!

     Your early-season boxes include a number of beautiful greens. This week you’ll find a frilly green Two Star lettuce head and a head of red or green Romaine. There are so many ways to use these beautiful greens.
Members have told us they love making lettuce wraps with the large leaves. Others recommended grilling a chicken breast and making a great chopped salad, or putting their greens in smoothies for a nutritional boost. But that’s just a start … click here for more ideas!
So, enjoy the salad season! It doesn’t last forever, and you’ll be amazed how your box contents will change as we work through our Minnesota growing season.

CHICKEN IS NOW AVAILABLE!
Need some chicken to top your summer salad? Want to roast a whole chicken in a crock pot for an easy meal that keeps your kitchen cool? Our whole and cut chickens are now available! You can order a Bi-Weekly chicken subscription or order chickens a la carte for delivery to your drop site. Click here to order whole or cut chickens or any of our poultry selections.
How do you roast a whole chicken in a crock pot? Find our favorite method here!
In Your Share Box This Week
Click on the blue links for recipe ideas. 
Bok Choy – Bok Choy can be eaten like celery or used as a substitute for celery in soups or stews. The greens can also be used as wraps or chopped up and sautéed. Some members use the leaves to make Bok Choy chips.
 One Dozen Eggs – It’s another BONUS week! All produce subscribers will receive a dozen eggs in their share box. (That means our regular egg subscribers should pick up the dozen they’ve purchased and will find a second dozen in their share box.) We have such an egg bonanza that we would like to share the bounty with you! If you don’t eat eggs, please pick up your bonus dozen and bless someone else with them.
Green Leaf Lettuce – This Two Star lettuce is a green frilly lettuce, delicious in salads, wraps and sandwiches.
Collards – Collards are members of the cabbage family, and a staple side dish in Southern cooking. They feature dark green leaves and tough stems that need to be removed before eating. They are commonly used in Southern braises and stews, as the hearty leaves can hold up to longer cooking times. Click here for more ideas for Collards.
Green or Red Romaine Lettuce – Whether it’s in a Caesar salad or extra crunch in a sandwich, Romaine lettuce never disappoints!
Surprises! – We have lots of produce just beginning to ripen in our high tunnels and fields. You may receive a baby cabbage or peas or a summer squash or zucchini or broccoli or beets in your box this week!

NOTE: We make every effort to pack into your box the items listed in this email. However, as farming is dependent on weather and growing conditions, we sometimes get surprises and pass them on to you. This list is our best guesstimate. You may not receive every item listed AND you may receive some surprises that were not listed. Please be assured we have packed into your box the value you’ve paid even if the items don’t exactly match the items listed in this email. Thank you for your understanding!

WE NEED EGG CARTONS!
Do you have extra egg cartons? Our happy chickens are so busy laying eggs, we are running short of egg cartons! If you have extra egg cartons, please drop them off at your drop site when you pick up your share. They are much appreciated!
THANK YOU!

We make deliveries of a la carte items TO YOUR DOOR the FIRST THURSDAY OF EACH MONTH. Click below to order eggs, meat, produce, granola or maple syrup to be delivered to your door Thursday, July 1. Deadline for ordering is 6 a.m. Wednesday, June 30.

Delivery to your door July 1

Here we grow! It’s the second week of the CSA season

Farmer Jean shows off some frilly lettuce grown in My Minnesota Farmer’s high tunnels. Jonathan joins his brothers harvesting radishes.

As our farm is just southwest of the Twin Cities, your locally-grown produce is experiencing the same kind of hot, hot, hot temperatures that you are. Hot spells such as this, when there is little rain and hot winds, make for tricky farming. Our drip line system in the high tunnels helps us irrigate the produce. The animals require a lot more water, and the farmers do, too! We are praying for rain for our field crops, and though the forecast doesn’t look too promising, we continue to hope!

With the hot weather, we are thankful for our high tunnels where we can control the amount of water your produce receives.

 How to get the most out of your CSA share

So, you’ve picked up your big box of produce! Now what?
Last week, many members received two heads of lettuce, a red kohlrabi, some garlic scapes, bok choy and, if you receive a full share, some spinach or rainbow chard. That’s a lot of veggies to eat in a week, and it can be overwhelming!
One of our longtime members shared her thoughts how on to get the most from her CSA share. Following are her suggestions:

• Wash your produce right away when you get it home. After you pick up your produce and bring it home, take a few minutes to wash and prep the produce for use throughout the week. Then it will be ready to grab and use instantly for your lettuce wraps, relish trays, salads or other recipes.
• Lettuce – After your lettuce was picked, it was kept in a cooler until it was loaded on the truck for delivery. Nonetheless, if it was in our drop site’s shed for a few hours before you picked it up, it may look wilted. A quick fix is to fill your kitchen sink with cold water, chop an inch or two off the bottom to separate the leaves, soak the leaves in the cold water, and then spin it in your salad spinner. For best results, store the spun lettuce in your salad spinner until you are ready to use it. Or, if you don’t have a spinner, shake the excess water off your lettuce and refrigerate it in a Ziploc or produce bag with a few paper towels to draw off the moisture.
• Kohlrabi – Peel, slice and refrigerate your kohlrabi. Store the cut kohlrabi in an airtight container or plastic bag. Consume cut kohlrabi within a few days. Kohlrabi is delicious eaten raw, but there are many more ways to enjoy this tasty, versatile vegetable. Visit this website to find more ideas: https://www.thekitchn.com/5-tasty-ways-to-prepare-kohlrabi-60321
• Swiss chard, spinach, pea tendrils and bok choy can just be refrigerated as they are until you are ready to use them, then washed and chopped as you do your meal prep.
• Garlic scapes can be washed and chopped as you need them or can be chopped ahead of time so they can be grabbed right out of the refrigerator and tossed into your next casserole, salad or stir fry.
• Plan your weekly menu with your box contents in mind. Grill some chicken breasts to top your summer salads, plan lettuce wraps or tuna salad on a large lettuce leaf for lunch, plan a kale smoothie to go with your eggs for breakfast. You can plan ahead based upon the produce list you receive in your Friday email.

In Your Share Box This Week
Click on the blue links for recipe ideas. 
 Radishes – Eat raw, made into radish sandwiches, in a salad, or even broiled. Broiling radishes takes out the bite.
Green Leaf Lettuce – This Two Star lettuce is a green frilly lettuce, delicious in salads, wraps and sandwiches.
Red Romaine Lettuce – Red Romaine offers a delicious crunch to salads and sandwiches. Combine it with your other greens for a beautiful, tasty salad.
 Kale – Kale is a powerhouse of nutrients. Cooked kale offers more iron per ounce than beef. Enjoy kale in salads, smoothies, or make kale chips.
 Red or Green Kohlrabi – Kohlrabi is a tasty treat when you’re looking for a yummy crunch! Cut off the outside and slice to eat fresh. Can also be grilled or added to salads. Check out these recipe ideas, too! See the link above for more ideas for using this versatile vegetable.
 Pea Tendrils (full shares) – You will find this fun, trendy bonus in your share box this week. They can be eaten raw, cut up for a salad or sauteed and added to any dish to which you’d like to add sweet pea flavor.
 One Dozen Eggs – It’s a BONUS week! Whether or not you purchase an egg share, you will receive a dozen eggs with your share this week. Subscribers who receive eggs already should bring home an EXTRA dozen when they pick up their shares. We have such an egg bonanza that we would like to share the bounty with you! If you don’t eat eggs, please pick up your bonus dozen and bless someone else with them.

NOTE: We make every effort to pack into your box the items listed in this email. However, as farming is dependent on weather and growing conditions, we sometimes get surprises and pass them on to you. This list is our best guesstimate. You may not receive every item listed AND you may receive some surprises that were not listed. Please be assured we have packed into your box the value you’ve paid even if the items don’t exactly match the items listed in this email. Thank you for your understanding!

June 4, 2021

Great news! Your first CSA delivery is this week!

Dean and Jean Braatz and their seven children are honored to be your Minnesota Farmers! The tagline of their 12-year family farm business is “Our Family Blessed to Feed Yours.”

Welcome to the 2021 CSA Season!

My Minnesota Farmer is celebrating 12 years growing for Minnesotans who appreciate organically-grown vegetables, cage-free eggs, free-range chicken, pasture-raised pork, grass-fed beef, lamb and rabbit. Our product line also includes ground beef, mixed meat packs, Thanksgiving turkeys, homemade granola, and greenhouse plants for home gardeners.
This is the first week of drop site deliveries to our 2021 season members. Thank you for supporting our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm. We are excited to grow for you!
As CSA members, you will receive an email each Friday. Included in each email, you will find:

• In Your Share Box This Week – Descriptions and pictures of the produce you’ll receive in your box.
• Drop Site Etiquette – Guidelines for picking up your produce to make your CSA experience the best it can be. Scroll to the yellow box below for information about picking up your first share this week!
• Farm News – Updates from your Minnesota Farmers including family news, growing practices, weather and pests updates, and how they impact growing your food.
• Quick Tips/Food Prep Tips – How do you refresh droopy greens? How do you cut up a kohlrabi? How do you tell a cucumber from a zucchini? These question and many more will be answered!
• Clickable links to recipes, the My Minnesota Farmer website, and our Barn-to-Door website for sales, delivery to your door, and product information.

Need a reminder of what you ordered or when and where to pick up your order? Trying to remember if you’re a Weekly, Bi-weekly, Egg Share, Cut Chicken or Whole Chicken subscriber? As many subscribers ordered months ago, it’s easy to forget! To see your order, login to your My Minnesota Farmer Barn2Door account by clicking the button below. 

Check order

In the dropdown menu under your name, click on Orders. Set the start date to approximately when you placed your order, and your orders will be listed. Click on the reorder number to see your Order Summary, and then in the Actions dropdown menu, click on Download Receipt. On the receipt you’ll see a PDF of the individual items you’ve ordered, along with your drop site and pick-up dates.

Drop Site Etiquette

• At the drop site, there will be a checklist with your name and the items you are scheduled to pick up (full share, half share, eggs, chicken, etc.). Pick up the items you ordered and initial behind your name so we know you’ve received them. Note: As some subscribers have purchased Weekly shares, and some Bi-Weekly shares, be sure your name is on the list. If your name is not on the list, it is not your week to pick up a share.
• Be sure to take the correct size share. Black boxes are half shares and white boxes are full shares. Please double check that you take your food from the right size share box, as is noted on the drop site checklist. Drop site issues happen when someone has ordered a half or full share box, and only the other size share is there when they go to pick it up. Thank you for being considerate of fellow members by double-checking you are taking your produce out of the correct box.
• Bring your own containers (box or reusable bags) to transfer your food into for the trip home.
• Stack the boxes in the shed – one pile of half-share black boxes, one pile of full-share white boxes, and one pile of lids. This will help keep the shed neat and clean for people coming to the drop site after you.
• Go home and enjoy your fresh goodies.
• Call or text 612-245-6271 with any questions or concerns.

FAQ

In Your Share Box This Week
Click on the blue link for recipe ideas. 
 Red Kohlrabi – Kohlrabi is a tasty treat when you’re looking for a yummy crunch! Cut off the outside and slice to eat fresh. Can also be grilled or added to salads.
 Kale – Kale is a powerhouse of nutrients. Cooked kale offers more iron per ounce than beef. Enjoy kale in salads, smoothies, or make kale chips.
 Butterhead Lettuce –  Butterhead lettuce receives its name from the sweet, buttery flavor and delicate texture of the large, ruffled outer leaves.
 Garlic Scapes – Garlic Scapes have a mellow, garlicky flavor. The scapes are delicious sautéed in olive oil for an easy spring side dish. They can also be tossed with olive oil and grilled, or chopped and added to a stir-fry or creamy pasta.
Red Leaf Lettuce – The curly leaves of our Red Lettuce make for a fun, attractive and delicious salad or wrap.
 Bok Choy – Bok Choy can be eaten like celery or used as a substitute for celery in soups or stews. The greens can also be used as wraps or chopped up and sautéed. Some members use the leaves to make Bok Choy chips.
Spinach or Rainbow Chard – (full shares) –  Spinach is a superfood. It is loaded with tons of nutrients in a low-calorie package. Dark, leafy greens like spinach are important for skin, hair, and bone health. They also provide protein, iron, vitamins, and minerals. Rainbow Chard is great to sauté or stir-fry. For the evenest cooking, remove the colored ribs/stems from the leaves, then chop the stems and start cooking them before you add the leaves. Chard can also be eaten raw in salads. If eaten raw, complement its earthy flavor with apples, raisins or dried cranberries.

NOTE: We make every effort to pack into your box the items listed in this newsletter. However, as farming is dependent on weather and growing conditions, we sometimes get surprises and pass them on to you. This list is our best guesstimate. You may not receive every item listed AND you may receive some surprises that were not listed. Please be assured we have packed into your box the value you’ve paid even if the items don’t exactly match the items we’ve listed in this email. Thank you for your understanding!

 Washing Your Lettuce
Your lettuce heads are picked and packed right from the field or high tunnel, so you’ll want to wash them to remove any soil or little insect “friends” who may have hoped to share your pesticide-free, organically-grown greens.
The easiest way to clean your greens is to chop off the bottom inch of the lettuce head, fill your kitchen sink with very cold water, separate the leaves from the head, and submerge them in the cold water. Then swoosh them around to remove any soil, put them in your salad spinner, and give them a good spin.
We have found that it works best to store the clean, spun greens in your salad spinner in your refrigerator. Then they are clean, crisp, cold and ready to grab for wraps or salads throughout the week.
If you don’t have a salad spinner, you can wrap the leaves in paper towels and refrigerate them in a Ziploc bag or large container.

Eggs delivered to your drop site! 

Purchase Eggs A la Carte!
Then, when you get to your drop site, you’ll find your a la carte egg order on the checklist, along with your regular produce or meat order. Note: Deadline to order eggs a la carte is Monday at 6 a.m. for Tuesday drop sites and Friday at 6 a.m. for Saturday drop sites.

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