I do apologize that this newsletter is a wee bit late. I was waiting for a certain inspiration to bring me to this computer to write to you all. Not to say that our colorful harvest wasn´t inspiration enough, but what gave me much enthusiasm today was the wonderful meal that I just sat down to. It´s amazing what fresh vegetables give you: texture, incomparable beauty, aroma, and insatiable taste.

My meal tonight consisted of steamed beets topped with goat cheese, a delicious lettuce and arugula salad, and tender onions and beet greens seasoned to perfection. Most all of these farm fresh dinners leave me sitting full and contented. Prepared food is a crucial part of the cycle of farming.

Looking back on distribution tonight, I enjoyed the comments that I heard. Some mentioned that they are cooking more, or that their kids are eating new vegetables. These words are the best reward for us farmers: seeing that families are sitting down to dinner together over healthy, nurtured, slow foods.

The idea of slow food is quite simple...something that takes culture, time, energy, and tradition to create. From the many hours that its taken to water, weed, reseed, harvest, and wash the very beets that were on my plate, to the time that it took to prepare, and eat our social meal, I consider this very slow food.

The slow food movement "counteracts fast food and fast life, the disappearance of local food traditions and people´s dwindling interest in the food they eat, where it comes from, how it tastes and how our food choices affect the rest of the world." Slow Fod USA is a non-profit "eco-gastronomic" organization that envisions a good, clean, fair food system for the future. The organization upholds food tradition and varieties and hosts "conviviums" to keep local foods and food routes alive.

Along the lines of organizations and groups for change, I´ve been reading and talking a bit about the 2007 Farm Bill. Please take time to read the attached article in the Georgia Organics "Dirt" newsletter (page 1 and 7). The "Food Bill of Rights" is important for many reasons, especially if we care about what we eat, the way our crops are grown, how our crops are distributed, how the environment is treated, and how we feed the hungry. You can contact your representative to let them know that you care about how the farm bill should be revised.

So back from the big picture to our smaller plot, we´ve got one heck of a crew this summer. We are pleased to have many helpers, the newest, Brock, then, Mary, Lauren, Matthew, and RJ. We´re one mighty crew, and I´m so excited to have so many learning farmers. If we´re all lucky each of these folks will have successful farms in the future to strengthen our local food system. Our days pass by quickly especially with everyone´s enthusiasm and positive attitudes, even in the driest and warmest of conditions. Thanks to the crew, as well as our great volunteers, Stephanie Pearce and Hilary White.

We´ve had a small spattering of rain recently, but nothing too exciting or enough to really soak the ground. Everything in the field seems to be healthy; soon we can expect beans, potatoes, then peppers and tomatoes. The summer squash have been exceedingly productive, as they often are in the beginning of the summer. I hope you enjoy the harvest now, as they get tougher and tougher to grow as the pest population exponentially increases throughout the season.

The frequent afternoon heat is now driving our greens out of season as the fruiting vegetables take over. Their departure is sad, but it keeps me anxious for their fall return.

Kids Day last week was great. This week is going to be another super program complete with a hayride and a guest presenting an engaging program and art project based upon seeds. Join us at 9 am for all the fun, each Wednesday in June and July (not July 4th).

We´ve decided to highlight certain sections of our CSA manual in each newsletter just in case you haven´t had a chance to read it.

∗ Please bring us your compost at each CSA distribution. We have composting bays right next to where you park; you can bring us any of your cooked or uncooked vegetable matter. We´d love to complete another cycle where your food wastes can contribute to the fertility of our fields.

∗ Also, many CSA members have been arriving before 5 pm. This is fine with me, especially if you´d like to get a head start on our pick your own crops, but I would like to stand by our opening time of 5:30 pm. Perhaps next season if 5 pm works better for most of you, we can change our time, but since our 5:30 to 7 window has already been determined, we will continue to stick with this throughout the season. Thanks for your patience and willingness to bear with us as we get our produce set up.

And again, let us know what you are doing with your produce, we´d love to include your recipes.

Take it slow,

Paige and the super crew, Mary, Lauren, Matthew, Brock, and RJ