Tomatoes begin in earnest! Here starts a beautiful, life-changing, delicious relationship <3 We are also pumped about a number of other new crops on the table like fennel, celery, and carrots. We will all eat well this week.
This Week’s Share:
Carrots
Fennel
Celery
Kohlrabi or Beets
Kale or Chard or Collards
Cucumbers
Zucchini or Korean Melons
Tomatoes
Reminder: NO pick-up next week!
To accommodate for travel around the fourth of July, and allow your farmers time to transition fields from spring to summer crops, we will not have a CSA pick-up Wednesday July 1-Saturday July 4. We will return the following week!
Announcements:
The field of kale and collards will be open for U-picking starting this Saturday June 27, at 1pm when the pick-up begins, and will be available until the following Thursday, July 2 at 6pm! Take advantage of this opportunity to cook up a few more spring greens before they are gone. These items are only available while they last for this limited window, before we need to terminate the beds to make way for the next crop!
This field is directly inside our main gates, closest to the three barns, on the right side. Look for the white sign with the blue arrow pointing at it, and look out for the red signs at the start of the beds indicating the kale and collards. These plants do not grow well in the summer heat, and they host pests like the harlequin beetle, flea beetles, and cabbage moths. We participate in a farmer-observed holiday known as “brassica-free July”, wherein we don’t grow any crops in the brassica family for a month of the summer to interrupt the life cycle of the pests. This makes a huge difference in having a successful fall harvest of all the things we love. Broccoli, cabbages, kale, collards, bok choi, mizuna, mustard greens, arugula, turnips, radishes, and much more will be back later in the year when the weather dips down to cooler zones and we’re starting to search for ingredients other than tomatoes anyway. Just about the time you get sick of eating one type of vegetable is about when it’s whisked away for months and replaced with the next. Seasonality! It’s a beautiful thing.
Reminder that U-picking hours for other items are Monday-Saturday, 8am-6pm. Please do not come to the farm on Sundays, as we do not have staff on site who can be available in case of an emergency. If the main gates are closed when you arrive you can follow the paved road to the right, and then follow the curve of the road back to the left. This will take you in a loop around the main deer-fenced area and up to the wash station/parking lot.
What else is on U-Pick?
In the raised brick beds, also known as the Cleeland Garden:
Mint
Oregano
Garlic Chives
Calendula
Sorrel, Sage, and Lemon Balm (to allow for healthy growback for these plants, pick the largest leaves from the outside, do not cut from the stem of the plant!)
In field “G” behind the pizza oven/parking lot:
Dill (flowers are also awesome for bouquets)
Parsley
Italian Basil
Greek Basil (Small leaves, round plant shape, smells like basil!)
Thai Basil (Dark purple flowers & stems)
Holy Basil (Light purple flowers and stems, used for calming tea)
Any Flowers:
Cosmos, Dianthus, Statice, Stock, Gomphrena, and Strawflowers are all blooming!
Before the spring treats are gone until the fall, I present to you a humble recipe for small-batch pickled beets. Even if you aren’t sure you enjoy the flavor of beets, try this method for a new cooking style beyond roasting. They make a fun tangy toast topping, colorful addition to salads, and a generally great snack. I like these as a little acidic bite served alongside beef and lamb, and as a way to make salad feel fancier very easily. And to show off to everyone their ruby color!