In Your Box
Beets
Chard or Collards
Cabbage
Kale
Lettuce
Turnips
Summer Squash

Recipe:

Beets with Lemon-Ginger Dressing

Featured Veggie - Beets
Our modern beet is a descendent from a wild seashore plant that grew along the edges of tidal marshes and salty water inlets around the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic coast of Southern Europe.  Beets are very nutritious with good stores of calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, carotene, B vitamins, and vitamin C.  The tops as well as the root are edible and have even more nutritional value than the roots.  You can do many things with beets including roasting, slicing on a salad, pickling, and even juicing.  To store beets, cut greens off and save for future use.  Leave one inch stem and the taproot intact to retain moisture and nutrients. After separating greens, beets store well for a few weeks in perforated plastic bag in the refrigerator.

Farm News
By Michele Ranieri

“If we throw mother nature out the window, she comes back in the door with a pitchfork.”  ~Masanobu Fukuoka

Last Sunday was our annual A Day on the Farm event.  Close to 2000 people wandered through the farm to enjoy the scenery, animals, and the many activities.  We had so many successes, but a few highlights were the kids activities, the field of fitness fun, the cooking demos featuring the cob oven that was constructed last year at the event, and the plant sale.  A Day on the Farm is our open house and signifies the opening of our Farm Stand.  Our Farm Stand will now be open every Saturday, 8am –1pm, through November 17th.  Stop by and enjoy some time on the farm, eat a pastry from Magpie Cafe, and pick up any additional items such as honey from our local beekeeper, jam preserved with fruit from Harvest Sacramento, or salsa from the G.E.O youth program.

This is an exciting time on the farm with so many new things developing.  We are beginning to see the fruits of our labor come to be.   Fruit is almost ready on the trees, flowers are ready to be harvested and sold, and our summer crops are trickling in.  Bulgur, one of our American Guinea Hog piglets, is moving to Blue Oaks Farm in Sonora to live with three females as a breeder.  We also have a new Suffolk ram joining our sheep herd.  He is a beautiful one year old fully black meat breed sheep.  We will have half meat, half wool bred sheep with the next round of babies.    

Finally, if you are still looking for a few plants for your garden stop by the Farm Stand this Saturday and choose from a variety of tomatoes, peppers, winter squash, flowers, herbs, and a variety of fruit trees.  You can also purchase plants by calling  916-363-9687 or by emailing This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Dates and Notes
Fun on the Farm  (for families and kids!)

Saturday, June 9, 2012 9:00am - 12:00pm

Meet the farm animals, take a walk to the River and discover all kinds of leaves you can eat, bake focaccia with fresh herbs and veggies, plant chive hairdos, create herb bouquets, and much more.

Please register through the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op online at www.sacfood coop.org or call 916-868-6399.