What’s in the Box:
Cherry tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, sunflower shoots, purple stripe garlic, eggplant, summer squash, zucchini, english cucumber, leeks, jalapeño pepper, green pepper, and curly kale.
What’s going on at the farm:
Another busy and challenging week on the farm this week as we prepare for fall while managing summers bounty. We have some more new crops coming for you in this weeks offerings too including a little heat with our fresh jalapeno’s. Our garlic was harvested this week and will be curing in the greenhouse until we trim it and make room for the onions to come in from the field. I planted four types of beans including regular green beans, dragon’s tongue beans, haricot vert, and edamame. We got some good rain a few days after planting which should provide some solid germination over the next few days as some sun and heat returns to the fields. More planting for fall will continue this week along with some research beginning for a big project coming up in my near future. I’ve been working on a grant for a third hoop house and got word this week that I may be getting a contract yet this fall even though I did not make it in the first round of funding. If that happens I will be taking down several trees around the future site this fall and I have to figure out exactly what building I will purchase and all the aspects of preparing the construction site. After purchasing and constructing the building and paying for all that upfront I would then be reimbursed up to a certain amount per square foot. That is pretty exciting news for our season expansion and growth for the future. I also had a chance to look at some new land this week a neighbor might be willing to rent to me, so I may be adding some new land for next year! The crew and I have been working hard pulling in all the harvests too. The cherry tomatoes are going bananas and all our summer crops and winter squash really started to take off this week in growth and production. All in all its all we can do to try and keep up but should make for some great CSA boxes over the rest of this summer! Here is your rundown this week.
Green peppers are here and these will lead off the parade of peppers coming in over the next few months. I like them on homemade pizza or stuffed and baked, sliced up in salads or skewered on kabobs!
Jalapeno peppers are also the lead for our wide assortment of hot peppers that are just starting to come in. These are very large this year and packed with heat so do be careful when cooking with these. Remember that any of the hot peppers have oils that can remain on your hands, knife, cutting board, etc… and make sure to rinse them and I would even recommend wearing gloves if you are going to remove the seeds and things by hand. One of my favorite things to do with these is jalapeño poppers but they lend a great spice and flavor to stir fries, pizza, tacos, nachos, or fresh pico too!
Cherry tomatoes are coming in so fast right now! They are definitely peaking this week and so I would expect a good portion of these in your share, i’m not sure how much is too much for each family on these but large shares got a whole quart last week. We may be increasing that amount this week for all shares but i’ll see how many we can get boxed up first!
Heirloom tomatoes are also peaking and looking great. They are so good this time of year with cheese, or oil and vinegar, or possibly a great home-made sauce for pasta or stuffed peppers.
Summer squash and zucchini is still pouring in too so more of these coming to you this week. I had some amazing home-made zucchini fries with them this week. It’s a little work to bread them and fry them up but oh man are they good!
Eggplant is also coming in very fast now. We have such a huge harvest this week so expect a good portion coming to you. Eggplant parmesan or noodles lasagna is so good with these and zucchini slices layered with sauce and ground beef. Ratatouile is a great way to use your eggplant, zucchini, onions, garlic, tomatoes, and squash all together for an amazing summer stew too!
Sunflower shoots are our micro green this week and you’ve had them before a few times this season but they can literally be used on anything or even eaten as a healthy snack!
English cucumbers are coming in a little slower now but we have a new planting of the baby ones coming in too so hopefully that one starts picking up. A summer CSA share is never complete without some crispy cakes to keep you cool out there!
Curly kale is our favorite kale here. I put in a new planting which is super tender and the first pick is coming to you this week. My daughter and I are going to experiment making different types of kale chips with these and our goal is to start making larger amounts of kale chips for market in the next year!
Leeks are ready this week too and these creamy members of the Allium family lend themselves well to stir fries, and soups. My favorite is potato leek soup which can be served hot or cold!
Thats’ the scoop for this week folks. Some other crops in the near future include a summer broccoli harvest, sweet peppers, hot peppers, and melons including cantaloupe and several types of seedless watermelon which are both looking great. I hope you all enjoy the veggies and eat well!
