Hello CSA Members!
Another hot week of summer weather here on the farm and we are working hard to bring in the harvests. Carrots have arrived and the first batch is a early orange variety new to the farm this year. Lettuce is running low from all our spring plantings but we got three plantings in the last few weeks so more lettuce will be on the way for summer. Lot’s of other crops coming in too of course so harvesting and washing those and maintaining the tomato vines has taken a lot of time this week. Here is the list of the crops we have coming in this week for your home meals.
Zucchini: Plenty of zucchini coming out of the fields now. My favorite way to have them is zucchini fries. You can cut them in spears and bread them and fry them in olive oil for a tasty but healthy fried treat. Of course I like them in everything too like stir fry or roasted on the grill in spears or whole if they are small.
Summer squash: Similar to zucchini our summer squash may include three types. We have a two tone squash called zephyr, a yellow patty pan tea cup shaped squash and a golden zucchini type. They all are pretty similar but I think the zephyr is little more dense and has a slightly nutty flavor.
Kale: Blue curly kale is our kale this week. big bunches from our kale patch which is looking amazing and ready to supply a bounty of kale through the summer.
Beets: Golden beets is our main beet this week although some may receive white, red, or chioggia. These golden beets have great greens which can be used just like swiss chard or spinach. The roots down bleed like red beets and have a great sweet flavor.
Pea shoots: Pea shoots are back again this week. Some folks got them last week when we ran out of sunflower shoots but these are the main micro green planned for the coming week. Great as a salad green or added to other greens for a tasty salad but they can also be sautéed very lightly, they will wilt down fast with heat.
Carrots: These first carrots are a mid size nantes type carrot with good flavor. The tops are edible and carrot top pesto is a thing. I would certainly try looking up a recipe for it otherwise these carrots can be roasted whole or enjoyed in salads, stir fries and more.
Cucumber: We should have enough cucumbers for everyone this week and these watery fruits are very refreshing with just a little salt on a hot day. I also enjoy them with lime juice and tajin seasoning which you can find in the ethnic/south american foods area. However you like them they are very hydrating and cooling when the temps rise.
Sugar Snap Pea: This will be our last week for these sweet snappy pods, they come in fast and the vines don’t last that long before they slow down production. You can eat the whole pod on these and if you want when you snap off the top you can peel the string out of the back of the pod by simply snapping the top back and down. We try to patiently wait to pick them full and at their sweetest point with full size peas.
That’s our crop list for week #6 folks. This week I will prepare the fields for more plantings by removing the beds for the beets which are now all harvested and the broccoli which is all done. removing those should leave quite a bit of room for more cauliflower to go in and other plantings for fall. The first cherry tomatoes are ripening on the plants and the full size tomatoes are really stacking up on the vines as we prune and baby the plants. Soon we will have a lot of tomatoes which is one of the focal points of the farm here. I really think nothing compares to a fresh organic home grown tomato and we will be ready to test that theory very soon with all you CSA members. I hope everyone has a great 4th of July weekend at home or if your out stay safe out there and enjoy your family time! -Kyle
