Veggie Da Bull
Welcome to our 2nd issue of the 2023 Farm Newsletter Series! Our goal is to publish every two weeks to keep YOU up to date on farm happenings, fresh recipes, announcements, and farm reflections. Submit recipes and photos through our social media pages for a chance to be featured!
Announcements
💞The CSA is SOLD OUT for the 2023 Season with over 120 families participating! Thank You to all who are our Farm Family Members this year. We have at least 40 families that were with us pre-COVID that are back this year!!! Getting back to normal.
‼️REMINDER FOR EVERYONE‼️
Please CALL or TEXT Carol if you need to skip a week or pick up on a different day or location. Thank you in advance!
🏅In other announcements, Sycamore Spring Farm was recognized this month as “Business Partner of the Year” by the Maryland School for the Deaf through their “Work to Learn” program.
The goal of the program is to support students’ education and self growth and to prepare them for the transition from high school to the world of post-secondary education or employment.
It’s certainly true that here at the farm students get to experience a unique workplace, and learn traditional skills passed down through generations! We appreciate all their hard work around the farm through this mutually beneficial relationship.
Announcements
💞The CSA is SOLD OUT for the 2023 Season with over 120 families participating! Thank You to all who are our Farm Family Members this year. We have at least 40 families that were with us pre-COVID that are back this year!!! Getting back to normal.
‼️REMINDER FOR EVERYONE‼️
Please CALL or TEXT Carol if you need to skip a week or pick up on a different day or location. Thank you in advance!
🏅In other announcements, Sycamore Spring Farm was recognized this month as “Business Partner of the Year” by the Maryland School for the Deaf through their “Work to Learn” program.
The goal of the program is to support students’ education and self growth and to prepare them for the transition from high school to the world of post-secondary education or employment.
It’s certainly true that here at the farm students get to experience a unique workplace, and learn traditional skills passed down through generations! We appreciate all their hard work around the farm through this mutually beneficial relationship.
Sycamore Spring Farm honored as Business Partner of the Year by Maryland School for the Deaf
Thought You Oughta Know
Check out this Vegetable Planting Calendar for Central Maryland from the University of Maryland Extension. The green indicates when different veggies and fruits are ready for harvesting, generally. You also might notice that the shares are similar from week to week right now— this calendar is why!
What to Expect This Week
Recipes
Not sure what to do with all the items in your share? Check out these recipes for inspiration. Have a favorite recipe? Send it to us on Instagram or on Facebook for a chance to be featured!
Elderflower Tea
Elderflower tea is a spring delicacy. Elderflowers are the beginnings of elderberries- and they are in bloom for the next two weekends! They remind us of a fairy flower!🧚♀️
To prepare tea:
Herbalists have used elderflower for centuries to help aid symptoms of colds, flu, sinus infections, and upper respiratory infections.
It is thought to be helpful for cooling down a fever, increasing circulation, and boosting the immune system with vitamin C and antioxidants.
Elderflower also has slight diuretic and laxative properties that can be useful in the right situation. Topically, elderflower is thought to help with aching joints due to its anti-inflammatory properties.
- Kale
- Lettuce
- Salad mix
- Green garlic
- Carrots
- Beets + greens
- Herb bouquet
- PICK YOUR OWN: Elderflowers are blooming for the next two weekends! Strawberries are also just starting to come in!
Recipes
Not sure what to do with all the items in your share? Check out these recipes for inspiration. Have a favorite recipe? Send it to us on Instagram or on Facebook for a chance to be featured!
Elderflower Tea
Elderflower tea is a spring delicacy. Elderflowers are the beginnings of elderberries- and they are in bloom for the next two weekends! They remind us of a fairy flower!🧚♀️
To prepare tea:
- Cut large blossoms from bush, avoiding leaves
- Cut smaller flower clusters away from the large, chunky stems. Add to a tea pot
- Boil water, pour over, and steep for 5-10 minutes. The tea is a pale yellow and tastes amazing with a touch of honey.
Herbalists have used elderflower for centuries to help aid symptoms of colds, flu, sinus infections, and upper respiratory infections.
It is thought to be helpful for cooling down a fever, increasing circulation, and boosting the immune system with vitamin C and antioxidants.
Elderflower also has slight diuretic and laxative properties that can be useful in the right situation. Topically, elderflower is thought to help with aching joints due to its anti-inflammatory properties.
Roasted Beet Salad:
(Before becoming a CSA member back in 2006, Monica had never tried beets, and thought they were gross. But, she quickly learned that roasted beets were delicious, and a good thing, since we get lots of beets during the season!! Adding roasted beets to a salad turns them into a full meal, rather than a side dish).
(Before becoming a CSA member back in 2006, Monica had never tried beets, and thought they were gross. But, she quickly learned that roasted beets were delicious, and a good thing, since we get lots of beets during the season!! Adding roasted beets to a salad turns them into a full meal, rather than a side dish).
Submit your recipes through social media channels! Sycamore Spring Farm on Facebook, and @sycamorespringfarm_md on Instagram!
Farm Reflections
🍌Did you know that 30-40% of all food produced in the United States is WASTED? As in, it's grown for market, but isn't consumed for one reason or another. Not only is the actual food wasted, but all the water, labor, energy, and other inputs that go into creating it.
🥦For our part, Sycamore Spring Farm has partnered with a local grocery chain for many years and about once a month Farmer Carol does her “food run” to pick up whatever is being thrown away that day.
🥗🐔While it can be disturbing to see just how much food is destined for the landfill from just one location on a single day, we are always happy to rescue it! Volunteers help unpack the produce, and divvy up all those veggies and fruits into “gourmet chicken's salad,” as Farmer Carol likes to call it.
💪One box of salad is fed to the poultry each day. You know what they say, one man’s trash is another chicken’s treasure! A varied, colorful diet for the birds gives them important nutrients to help them produce the most delicious and healthy eggs for our customers.
🥦For our part, Sycamore Spring Farm has partnered with a local grocery chain for many years and about once a month Farmer Carol does her “food run” to pick up whatever is being thrown away that day.
🥗🐔While it can be disturbing to see just how much food is destined for the landfill from just one location on a single day, we are always happy to rescue it! Volunteers help unpack the produce, and divvy up all those veggies and fruits into “gourmet chicken's salad,” as Farmer Carol likes to call it.
💪One box of salad is fed to the poultry each day. You know what they say, one man’s trash is another chicken’s treasure! A varied, colorful diet for the birds gives them important nutrients to help them produce the most delicious and healthy eggs for our customers.
💡On a broader scale, food waste is turning in to treasure for more than just chickens.
📌An estimated 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions are attributed to uneaten food.
💰This February the United States Department of Agriculture announced its, “Compost and Food Waste Reduction Projects,” along with $9.4 Million in funding to 45 cooperative agreements across the US.
The USDA prioritized projects based on factors like:
🏭Instead of allowing food to decompose in landfills, releasing atmospheric-warming methane, food and agricultural waste is increasingly being sent to biodigesters. Biodigesters decompose the organic matter and trap the gas, which is then used as a carbon-neutral replacement for fossil natural gas. In fact, biogas is also called “renewable natural gas.” This market is growing rapidly in the US and worldwide.
Want to know more? Check out these links:
USDA CFWR Link.
Biogas Outlook
📌An estimated 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions are attributed to uneaten food.
💰This February the United States Department of Agriculture announced its, “Compost and Food Waste Reduction Projects,” along with $9.4 Million in funding to 45 cooperative agreements across the US.
The USDA prioritized projects based on factors like:
- economic benefits,
- making compost easily accessible to farmers and community gardeners, and
- integrating other food waste strategies, including food recovery efforts, and collaboration with multiple partners.
🏭Instead of allowing food to decompose in landfills, releasing atmospheric-warming methane, food and agricultural waste is increasingly being sent to biodigesters. Biodigesters decompose the organic matter and trap the gas, which is then used as a carbon-neutral replacement for fossil natural gas. In fact, biogas is also called “renewable natural gas.” This market is growing rapidly in the US and worldwide.
Want to know more? Check out these links:
USDA CFWR Link.
Biogas Outlook
❤️ The Sycamore Spring Heart Team
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