What's in Your Share This Week
Lettuce: Most of you will be getting the wonderful red and green butterhead variety
called Skyphos. Not only is it one of our favorites for looks and taste, it has been
handling the warm, dry conditions remarkably well. Some people may get crisp green romaine or green butterhead.
Cherry Toms: Thank goodness these summer delights like these conditions. The
Sungolds are really producing and the other cherries are starting to ripen as well.
Salad mix: Still going strong but there may be a lull for a couple weeks as the next
crop grows out.
Rutabaga greens: Kind of a new crop for us, but a fun surprise. They are very
similar to turnip greens but with a little more substance. They are great prepared
the same way as any braising green.
Summer Squash: So many great kinds of squash this time of year and not your
grandma’s baseball bats either (though we’ll have those for you zucchini bread
lovers). We harvest squash and zukes when they are small and tender. Many of you
may be familiar with the Pattypan type shaped like a flying saucer, but for those of
you uninitiated, this is another type of summer squash. The name comes from the
French word for a kind of baking pan or patisson.
Peppers OR Eggplant: These crops don’t mind the dryness so much, but they really
want heat, which it seems we’re finally getting after so many chilly nights. There
is a mix of eggplant varieties this season including the standard black elongated
type. Don’t be intimidated by any green ones you might see. This is a variety called
Applegreen and it’s one of my favorites. I was actually quoted in the Fedco seed
catalogue this year singing its praises. I think it holds its texture really well, which is
nice if you don’t like your eggplant mushy. I’ve been sautéing it by itself lately to put
on sandwiches. You may get a smattering of green or colored bell peppers, Feherezon paprika peppers in yellow-green stage (shaped like a frying pepper, mostly sweet with a touch of heat sometimes), and/or Hungarian Hot Wax-- long, lime green, sweet-hot.
Beans: Both our bush beans and pole beans are producing now. I like all kinds
of fresh beans, but am especially fond of the flat poded Romano type. They get
nice and big, which makes them fast and easy to pick, but have a nice juicy crunch.
Everyone will have a chance this type, but we also have green, yellow and purple
podded round beans.
Herbs, Dill, Parsley or Cilantro
Mini Cabbage: Either compact green heads (Early Jersey OR Gonzales) or tiny reds. These little guys are a baby variety called Red Express that has been
grown for European markets for a while now. It can be prepared any way you
would cook cabbage, but these might be fun cut in half and either roasted in the
oven or grilled. Have fun!
In some boxes depending on the day of pickup:
Slicing Tomatoes: Yay! Tomatoes are in. These are mainly from the hoop house,
but the flavor has been really great. The field tomatoes are starting to produce as
well. Those who don’t get slicers this week will get more cherries.
Cucumbers: We’re starting to get more cukes, but aren’t at the green avalanche
stage. Hopefully we’ll get there soon. Rain wouldn’t hurt.
Announcements:
1. A-Z Cookbooks are in, come and get your copies! $15 each.
2. We are putting out a request for plastic grocery bags- if you have a stash of clean plastic handle bags, we are accepting donations to use at farmers' market AND if folks forget their bag/cooler when picking up CSA shares Tuesday at the farm.
3. We are missing a good number of CSA boxes, take a look around to see if you've squirreled one (or more!) away. Each TC share (Sat, Mon, and Wed. pickups) are allocated two boxes for the season-- please remember to bring back the previous week's empty box when you pick up the full one! Thanks.
Field Notes
First off we want to thank all of you for your support in our decision to suspend the
CSA boxes for a week. We received so many kind words of hope and encouragement
from many of you as we struggle through this drought. The diversity and quantity
in the boxes this week are fruits of that rest time. Unfortunately there is no real end
in sight and it has become a real 24-hour a day job to keep the irrigation going. We
got our hopes up a couple days ago when the forecast was predicting a long period
of 80% precipitation this weekend, but that has dwindled to a few hours at 30% or
less. Not very encouraging. At this point all we can do is keep on keeping on. Lots
of new crops have been planted and seeded and are surviving the harsh conditions.
Hopefully they’ll get a good soaker one of these days soon. On a bright note, the land
we are farming south of town (in Grawn) has been receiving more moisture (also a little bit
of hail) and are looking very healthy. There are also little things to be grateful for
in the midst of a huge challenge. Last night I went out late to change the irrigation
zones and while I was listening to make sure the drip lines were filling properly, I
got to watch the deep orange slice of the moon sink towards the hills and listen to
the sounds of the frogs, insects and coyotes. It was so beautiful I forgot about all the
worries and consternation over the lack of water.
Our dear visitors Holly and Kelsey have headed out on the next leg of their journey
to the sorrow of everyone on the farm. They brought so much fun and hard work
to the farm. They also got the farm crew out for a fun social event that we’ve been
hoping to do all summer. As part of their traditional half-birthday celebration we
went sailing on the bay. It wasn’t much of a windy day but a good time was had by
all as we tried to stay out of the way of all the fancy racing boats.
-BWR
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