Hi Reader,

"Isn't your arm in pain? You swiped that stand of stinging nettle against the barn during your video." Farmer Reuben asked me when I hit the stop button on my phone.

Oh! Is that what was in front of the cute goat kid mural of the milk barn? (You'll see in the video below.)

My little finger was stinging a bit in one spot so I was lucky that I didn't get jabbed in more places.

Stinging nettle on our farm isn't growing five feet tall like that so I didn't recognize it. But he was right. This is what stinging nettle looks like up close, with a little grasshopper.

The plant has little hairs on the leaves and stem that pierce our skin and inject acid which causes temporary pain and irritation. My little stopped stinging after a couple hours. But I know that my children have had more serious brushes with the nettles. It seems that the more area of skin that is affected the more the discomfort increases.

But this is not a warning to look out for this plant in your yard or the edges of the woods. Stinging nettle is actually a very beneficial plant for eating and health. It can be harvested with gloves and then cooked to use in any recipe using greens, including pesto. But even more importantly, it is full of valuable vitamins and minerals such as magnesium, calcium, iron and protein.

When my son was dealing with symptoms of Lyme disease, making a tea from the boiled nettle water was a great source of the chlorophyll which was part of his protocol. If you discover stinging nettle near you, try to remember where it is so you can find it when you need it. Drying, freezing or infusing in vinegar are great ways to keep it on hand. This article has great information if you are interested in more specifics and a number of great and interesting recipes. I really need to harvest some of this nettle. I like the idea of nettle vinegar! That would be so easy to make and use.

Farmer Date - visiting other farms

Reuben invited me to do farm errands with him Friday night. I jumped at the chance, actually. It's rare that we get to have a conversation without the kids while he's still awake. A little business planning, a farm visit and a spontaneous stop for cocktails at the Bookstore Speakeasy in Bethlehem turned out to be a great date.

Farmer Kathy at Flint Hill couldn't be found when we arrived at her farm to pick up the weekend milk order for our farm members. She's a very busy farmer but Reuben pays her a real compliment in the video below. Pay attention to the beautiful farm animal murals - that goat - and those nettles!

RAW milk needs green grass

You might not know why raw dairy from grass fed farms is a big deal but, let me tell you, it's a premium healthy food that families from NY and NJ drive to PA to get. When you taste this milk, you'll experience the difference and wonder how they can call what you buy at the store "milk." I can't make any claims about raw milk but I encourage you to do your own research. As farmers, we hear many success stories about our members health - and most especially their children.

We are lucky to have raw milk farms in the Lehigh Valley and Farmer Reuben knows them all. Flint Hill Farm is the only one that he recommends without any reservation!

I just heard from Farmer Kathy today that her cows are slowing down their milk production. Our grass fed cows have been producing less for our cheese business as well.

The reason for this on our farm is grass. The grass grows too slow in July when it is hot and we aren't getting much rain. Without plenty of fresh growing grass, the cows don't produce as much milk. It's likely that the pastures on Kathy's farm are growing slowly as well. We both supplement with organic hay, not grain so that our cows are honestly grass fed. Corn of course would increase the milk supply immediately but also change the quality of the milk. Neither Kathy nor Reuben will compromise with that.

🥬 I know that Flint Hill Farm is committed to Willow Haven farm members so I encourage you to order her raw cows' milk, raw goats' milk, goat chevre cheese and delicious mozzarella as well as buttermilk, kefir and yogurt. 🥬

The Friday morning haul of vegetables

I timed my visit to the pack barn so I could see the haul of vegetables coming out of the field today. I tried to stay out of their way because they were hungry for lunch and wanted to get everything in the cooler as fast as possible. I don't think they wanted to spend much time re-arranging the bins in the cooler but I think they had to anyway.

Want to see MY customized farm food delivery this week? I keep my box heavy on vegetables because we eat them all and I want to show you the variety that we are harvesting. I added special items to my box because we love the pink oyster mushrooms, blueberry yogurt smoothies and we use a lot of eggs.

My market box contents from top left: Red Russian kale, Italian basil, scallions, dill, green cabbage, green beans, pastured eggs, pickling cucumbers, collard greens, slicing cucumbers, chamomile, pink oyster mushroom, napa cabbage, fresh garlic, blueberry smoothie. (The amount of some items is larger but we remove some for a nicer picture.)

Beef/lamb sausage was also in my box but we ate it up that very night in a tomato sauce. If you are not a member yet, you'll be surprised how much really great food we have available to fill your weekly market box.

What's Coming?

We hope you are enjoying the bounty of produce each week in your farm food deliveries. This coming week you will see chamomile, two types of green beans, pickling and slicing cucumbers, and three types of summer squash to choose from.

Farmer Reuben says that the cherry tomatoes should be ready to pick by the time you get your boxes. There aren't many, so be sure to set your preferences (high- 5) so you have a better chance of getting the items you like.

Make Pickles this week

Use my instructions for Easy Fermented Pickles and take advantage of our bulk buy:

• 10 POUNDS of Pickling Cucumbers for $12
• Grab some DILL and GREEN GARLIC, too, if you plan to make pickles this week.

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Some other things to look for this week:

• Whole 4-5 lb Chickens, Pasture Raised right here on the farm
• Cherry Preserves (1/2 pints, just made today)
• TRY our Walnut Bread OR Cheddar Basil
• organic flour
• organic sugar
• organic chocolate chips

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Tomato season is starting and there are many weeks to come for fresh farm grown goodness.

Check out our market boxes HERE!

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Thank you for supporting your local farm.

We'll keep farming for you!

Reuben and Tessa DeMaster
​Willow Haven Farm​
​Directions to the farm​

P.S. Customize your box to grab those 🥒extra cucumbers🥒 for pickle making - it's easy. Now is the perfect time. If you have a box coming this Wed. or Thursday - customize now!​

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Are you new? More info about our farm:

The Next and LAST Pizza Night is Saturday, August 20. Reserve your table HERE. ​

SUMMER MARKET BOX: Get all the details on our website before you make your purchase. See the Market Box options here.​

WHAT'S IN A MARKET BOX? Yep. I get it. You need to know what comes in a box. What's available? What's in season and when? Find out if our MARKET BOX deliveries of local farm food will fit your life and your goals. YES! SEND ME THE GUIDE. ​

FARM STORY VIDEOS: The Willow Haven Farm YouTube channel has fun, informative, and educational videos of our farm life and what organic farming looks like here. Check out it out here >>> VIDEOS!

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