Pesach is coming!
CHANGES IN PRE-PESACH DELIVERIES
Week of April 21-27:
Monday deliveries will be advanced to Sunday, April 21. NO WEDNESDAY DELIVERIES, except for specific delivery lines where boxes will be advanced to Sunday. Detailed messages to be sent regarding your delivery schedule.
For Sunday deliveries, the Chubeza Order System will close for any changes this coming Friday at 8 AM to enable us to prepare. Orders for sprouts will close early on this coming Thursday 18.5 at 12:00 noon.
Week of April 28-May 4:
Monday deliveries will be delayed to Tuesday, April 30. Wednesday deliveries as usual on Wednesday, May 1
For Tuesday deliveries: Chubeza’s Order System will close for any changes on Sunday, erev Chag Sheini 28.4 at 8:00. Orders for sprouts will close early on Thursday 25.5 at 12:00 noon.
For the coming two weeks, 21.4 – 2.5, the Ish Lechem bread bakery is closing for renovations and a holiday break.
During Chol Hamoed, there will be no vegetable deliveries, BUT – Everyone is invited to our long-awaited OPEN DAY, to take place Wednesday afternoon April 24, from 15:00 – 18:00. See you there!
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Next week, at the close of the Passover seder, the counting the Omer begins and will continue until the arrival of Shavuot. This is a fascinating period of transition, as we count the days and weeks which pass from one festival to the other. In days of old, these days would mark the passing of time from the first harvest of barley on Passover – seeds that were used mainly for animal fodder and basic food for the poor – till the Shavuot harvest of wheat, the grain constituting the main source of choice, refined food. This was how they counted these days laden with hard labor, and fears and hopes for the success of the wheat crop. The fickle spring always evoked great anxiety that extreme weather, plant diseases or pests might inflict damage to the crop just before harvesting begins. Counting down the days provided the farmers a tangible mathematical sense that the harvest is just around the corner and this year’s crop will be safely harvested. And then suddenly spring turns to summer.
At Chubeza, too, this is a season of counting: the dwindling number of winter vegetables in your boxes; two more broccoli beds, one more broccoli bed; three more weeks of carrots, two more weeks of carrots, one more… 200 cauliflowers to go, 50, 10…kilograms. The last of the kohlrabi, bunches of kale that are dwindling as we distribute them to your boxes…
At the other end of the spectrum, the new summer vegetables are gradually beginning to grow, as the countdown is speedily being reversed: 10 kg of zucchini, 80 kg of zucchini, and lo and behold- 400 kg, enough for all of the boxes! In a few weeks, our spring zucchini will be joined by its fellow new spring cohorts: string beans, spring potatoes, melons, fakus, and more…
Almost every year, the transitional seasons are those where there are fewer vegetables ripe-for-the-picking in the field. The field abounds with growing vegetables: even some winter vegetables are still left there. And of course, many summer vegetables, almost all already seeded and planted, sprouting, growing and blooming – each at its own stage. But this may not be so evident in your boxes just yet. A bit of patience is called for — just for a few more weeks till the long-awaited arrival of the eggplants, melons, watermelons, squashes of all varieties, and of course, the king… corn! All are currently concentrating their efforts upon reaching the finish line ASAP and would appreciate your encouragement. Let’s hear a hearty round of applause, whistles and cheers from the stands, please!
In springtime, the climate is warmer, thus growth is swift. This is great for summer vegetables—the zucchini are ready almost immediately, the melons are plump and large, and the corn quickly shoots upward. Winter vegetables, however, are a little shocked by this heat. They, too, are in a hurry to grow, but sometimes we get the feeling they are being pushed by a force greater than themselves which doesn’t necessarily take their regular slow, meditative pace into consideration.
The cabbage and cauliflower are also quite shocked by the heat that rushes them to maturity. During this period, they usually ripen before they have had time to grow, and are extremely sensitive to every delay or tardiness in being picked. This is why you sometimes get smaller cabbages and cauliflower than their winter brethren. Sometimes the fresh cauliflower is freckled and less white and spectacular than as its siblings harvested a month ago. The cabbage displays his anguish by turning yellow at the outer edges, even while still nestled within its leaves in the bed. They are all good and yummy, fresh and healthy, but they are pre-summer Brassicas and this is exactly how they should look.
At this point, our beloved tomatoes have already become non-seasonal, growing out-of-season with us in winter as well as summer (although it originates, of course, in the summer sun). We generally try to plan to sow the tomato plantings to create a sequence between a plot nearly finished with its growth and its neighbor which is starting to produce new tomatoes. Yet this year, two of our winter-spring plots were attacked by a tomato blight, thus halting their growth earlier than expected. The lower parts of the plants continue to produce tomatoes, but have ceased to continue to grow, thus decreasing the yield. New tomato plots are already planted and growing, but not yet yielding produce we can pick. So that your crucial tomato supply remains steady, we will be supplementing by purchasing from other producers over the next few weeks. Yet all of us are in the same boat, with our fellow farmers’ tomato plots in their final stages as well. Thus, some of the tomatoes will be less red and attractive than our usual blushing beauties.
And if you’re asking yourselves why we pick and pack vegetables that look less than beautiful – I highly recommend looking back at last week’s Newsletter which was devoted to our stalwart attempts to prevent the waste of vegetables in the field. We literally use all produce, provided, of course, that it is fresh, ripe and tasty, even if less than beautiful.
We realize that this is a relatively boring, monotonous time in your boxes, less exciting than the freshness of winter or the sweetness of summer. We believe that this is also part of what Community Supported Agriculture means – A community that marches side-by-side with a farm, granting it economic stability, the ability to grow a wide range of crops, and to work with a stable, yearlong crew and not temporary seasonal workers. The meaning of your “share” as customers is that together we share and enjoy the abundance. And during the transition between seasons, we all meet the same veggies again and again… until the arrival of the new vegetables waiting in the wings.
We hope you’ll greet this week’s boxes with delight, and that your spirits will be lifted as you spot the beautiful beets awaiting in the box… again… But soon we’ll miss them sorely, so give ‘em one more smile.
Renewal is really just around the corner!
We wish our vegetables a true-to-themselves growth, balanced and in sync with the weather, bugs, sunrays, and other components of the symphony of spring. May growth be accompanied by good health and the ability to meet the challenges of the upcoming summer. We shall welcome each crop with joy upon its very own arrival.
May you all enjoy a good week, of all things in due time, and the patience to allow them the time to act at their very own pace.
This year, the counting of the Omer joins another terrible, heavy count which began on October 7th – a count of the days of war, the days in which the men and women hostages are in cruel captivity, and our concern for their fate is painfully re-counted day after day. It also carries within it the fervent hope for the speedy end to this count and the return of all hostages to their homes.
May the Pesach festival bring freedom to all!
Alon, Bat-Ami, Dror, Einat and the entire Chubeza team
And, all together now, our winter and summer veggies send their best wishes to you as well!
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WHAT’S IN THIS WEEK’S BOXES?
Monday: Onions/scallions, bag of carrots/bunch of mini-carrots, lettuce, red beets, fava beans/garden peas/celery stalk, potatoes, zucchini, parsley/coriander, tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage/bell peppers.
Large box, in addition: Snow peas, Swiss chard, sweet potatoes/fennel.
FRUIT BOXES: Banana/apples, oranges/clementinas, avocados, loquats (shesek), pomelit.
Wednesday: Onions, carrots, Romaine lettuce, red beets, fava beans/peas/celery stalk, potatoes, zucchini/peppers, parsley/coriander, tomatoes, cucumbers, a pair of Lalik lettuces.
Large box, in addition: Swiss chard, sweet potatoes/cabbage, turnips/fennel.
FRUIT BOXES: Banana/apples, oranges, avocados, loquats (shesek), red grapefruit/pomelit.