May 18

Box Contents:

1 bu Carrots

.50 lb Arugula

1-lb bu Asparagus

1 bu Curly Kale

1 bu Red Beets

1-3 hds Fennel (depending on size)

2 pcs Red Spring Onions

Field Notes: Recent cloud cover and mild temperatures have kept the crops refreshed and thriving. One of our goals at the farm is to have crops overlap the seasons so that we can extend the harvest of one season into the next to minimize any production gaps. Right now, the spring onion, carrot, lettuce and fennel harvests are scheduled to overlap with the upcoming potato and summer squash harvests. Then potato harvest will overlap with the first tomatoes. The crop production flow is working in a synchronized fashion this year which is one farming’s biggest rewards: getting the timing of the harvests to happen when crops are most needed is one of the fruits of labor we strive to accomplish.

Box Notes: This week’s arugula is the first harvest from a new field, the leaves are small and tender and the flavor is mild. Also new this week is the fennel! Use fennel thinly sliced in salads (like celery), sautéed slowly with onions, or add to a soup broth. It’s also great roasted. Fennel has a subtle licorice/anise flavor that is on the sweeter side of the spectrum.

We have received customer feedback about ways to avoid the use of plastic bags for veggie box packaging. We have switched to using only paper bags when we unitize weighed items that are dry such as peas and fruit. When produce, such as carrots, are washed and weighed, we use plastic bags to keep the moisture from washing in the bag. Any produce we can pack without bagging – lettuce, kale, chard, onions, bok choi, asparagus - helps streamline the box assembly process and reduces material usage. Thank you for your feedback, we appreciate it!

When we pack items without the use of bags, weights are estimated. For example, we’ll put 4-6 heads of little gem lettuce in the box depending on their size to get close to 1 lb of lettuce and for the bok choi, a similar approach: 2-4 heads will make a pound depending on the size of each head so you may receive 2 bigger heads or 3-4 smaller ones.

Thank you for keeping the pick up sites tidy and for bringing the paper liners home to recycle. Our site hosts and delivery drivers appreciate your diligence with the upkeep of the sites.

Webstore Updates: White Grapefruit, Juicing Navel Oranges, and Gold Nugget Mandarins are still available. The white grapefruit and juicing oranges are from an old orchard in Esparto. They are not certified organic but are grown without the use of synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. The Gold Nugget Mandarins are from Fruit World Co. in Reedley and are CCOF-certified organic. The best storage method for the fruit is: keep it refrigerated.  Please place webstore orders 48 hours prior to your delivery day to ensure same week delivery. Due to a limited supply of pastured hogs, the pork will only be available at farmer’s markets at this time. We will update the webstore as product availability changes so please check it often.

• With the Shelter-in-Place order still in effect in Yolo County, we continue to implement our COVID-19 prevention protocol on the farm per the CDC and Cal-OSHA recommended best practices.

• Because of the recent surge in CSA subscriber sign-ups, we have added some new drop sites in Berkeley, Piedmont, Oakland, and Woodland. We also have a new drop site at Zuni Café in SF. Visit www.riverdogfarm.com to view the new sites to see if there is a location that is more convenient for you. You may change your pick up site 48 hours prior to delivery by logging into your account and selecting a new pick up location.

• Here are some updates/changes/reminders:

            New chicken orders are not available for now via the CSA. The weekly chicken subscriptions and orders placed prior to 3/21/20 will be fulfilled. There is a waitlist for new chicken orders placed after 3/21/20.

• New egg orders and add-on dozens are not available at this time via the CSA. There is a waitlist currently for new egg orders/egg subscriptions.  You may purchase eggs at the farmers markets in Berkeley and Sacramento when available. At markets, the eggs are available first come first serve.  

• New Egg Pick Up Procedure: At each delivery site, the eggs will be in a box with an open lid with a list of egg order names attached. Please look at the list, make sure your name is on the list, only take the eggs that are on the list. Please wear gloves and mask when picking up your order. Please only touch the eggs that you’re picking up. Do not touch any other egg cartons. Do not open any egg cartons. We are no longer labeling the egg cartons with subscriber names. Keep the site safe. Thank you!

• Please respect the site host’s privacy when you pick up your order. Do not knock on the site host doors. Call the farm if you need assistance finding the boxes, if an item is missing from your order, or your name is the not on the sign-in sheet.

  • Please take only the items that are yours. Check order labels for your name and match them to the items listed on the sign-in sheet. If you inadvertently picked up an item that is not yours, let the farm know so we can let the subscriber know.

  • NEW A/B subscriptions are no longer available.

  • Take the brown paper box liner with you to recycle at home. Gently unfold the cardboard boxes and place in stack with other cardboard boxes. Please help keep the site host space tidy and ready for the driver to pick up the following week.

  • To skip CSA Box deliveries, please login to your account and enter your skip weeks as a Monday-Friday selection: http://www.riverdogfarm.com/csa .

  • For current A/B week subscribers please note that the delivery schedule is every other week. Some months may have 3 deliveries, some may only have 2 but the schedule is every-other-week for your deliveries.

  • Reminder: So your subscription continues uninterrupted, please make sure your credit card on file is up to date on your CSA account. For those who need to end the CSA subscription, you MUST contact the farm through email to request cancellation.

  • Your subscription will continue and boxes will be delivered until you, the member, send us this email request. We will confirm the cancellation request via email. Thank you!