What do you know? Another gray, cloudy, rainy week...
I never thought I would be the kind of person who cared so much about the weather, but marrying a farmer means our livelihood depends on it.
Randy was incredibly stressed out this week about pulling up the onions. We have never harvested the onions this late before, but constant heavy rains and no drying sun means that they're soaked in the ground. When they're soaked, the necks are in danger of rotting. We decided to start pulling them out anyway, and when we do that, we lay them out on the plastic in the field first and then in the greenhouse to dry.
Well, we did that, and then on one of the misty mornings, the rain blew under the greenhouse sides and got the onions wet. They just would not dry out. We needed to continue to the process before losing the onions in the field, so we started to crate the ones that we had in the greenhouse to get them out of the way. However, they're still wet in the crates and we're worried we're going to lose them. Such is farming.
Because of this, our Saturday pickup members got onions with wet necks. Please use them ASAP if they're damp. At least you know that they're incredibly fresh!
Here's a photo of the field at Booth Hill after Friday morning's heavy rain.
This is one of the reasons why we grow on raised beds. Having the plants up higher means the beds can drain better and the water doesn't pool where they are - it pools between the rows instead.
Luckily we've had a little bit of sun and breeze this weekend already, which should help the fields to dry out a bit more.
This week we also focused our efforts on weeding. Here are some crew members in the Swiss chard. We decided to do an impromptu grab-a-green last week, and we hope you enjoyed the choice. This week, we're going to include beans in your share, but we'll also include eggplant in the swap so you can decide which you'd rather receive. I polled you all in the Facebook group, and the results were split in such a way that we think that will be the best decision.
Weeding is one of the chores on the farm that never gets done enough to our liking. Thank goodness for black biodegradable plastic, which smothers out a lot of the weeds on the raised beds.
We also did a ton of planting this week.
This is the final round of cucurbits for the year heading into the ground - squash, zucchini, and cucumbers, which should take us hopefully through September. When the nights get chilly they slow down immensely.
Here's a fall planting of kohlrabi.
And lettuce, which will come back in September.
Planting typically continues until September 15th!
We got out first harvest of seedless table grapes this week!
It was just enough for 15 bags in the store, but they were SO sweet.
The top dark purple variety in the following photo is called jupiter, and it has a different, citrusy, hoppy flavor. So unique! The traditional red variety on the bottom tastes like a classic seedless red grape.
We're planning for a larger harvest next year. Unfortunately with the frost in late May, the beautiful clusters of grapes that had been forming were fried. Grapes are a one-time harvest in the later summer, so that's it for the year.
In other fruit news, we checked the red watermelons that were ready this week and a lot of them were damaged by wildlife. Melons are so hard to harvest at the right time, and sometimes they fall victim to woodchucks, coyotes, turkeys, and other wildlife looking for water. Unfortunately that means that we don't have enough to cover everyone's share. We wish we could grow more plants, but they take up a LOT of space. The melons we do have will be for sale in the store going forward. The yellow watermelon and cantaloupe are finished for the season.
The good news is that blackberries are still here and red and golden raspberries are back!
We'll be harvesting these daily in the store while they last. I feel incredibly spoiled so have such awesome options for fresh seasonal fruit. It's always been a dream of ours, and to see it come to "FRUITion" is a treat.
This week, shishitos and bell peppers will be in your share. If you've never had shishitos, they're flavored like an intense green bell pepper, though sometimes they can be spicy. They're my favorite quick side dish. I toss them in olive oil and blister them on a griddle for a couple of minutes and serve them with a quick aioli dipping sauce. It doesn't get easier than that!
If you didn't know, colored peppers are ripened green bell peppers. We're still waiting for them to turn red, orange, and yellow later this season. Bell peppers continue through October, so this week we're having our first taste of them.
Thank you to member Carrie for sharing the photo of your Roseland's pizza in our Facebook group. If you don't follow us on social media, Roselands is a HUGE supporter of us, ordering hundreds of pounds of tomatoes every week each summer. Their seasonal tomato pie is incredible (and in our opinion, they have the best pizza around!) We recommend trying it if you haven't yet. We don't wholesale to a lot of places, but Roseland's is a huge account for us.
I can't believe we are already saying this, but we're starting to think about next year. Enrollment for subscriptions will begin in October with early registration perks as always. If you have any feedback for us about this year's program, please share your constructive comments with us so we can keep them in mind for our planning purposes. Thanks so much for being here and have a wonderful week!
In Your Share (Listed approximately from shortest shelf life to longest)
Large:
2 lbs. of slicing tomatoes
1/2 lb. of green beans (use the swap if you'd rather have eggplant!)
1 pint of shishitos
1 lb. of green peppers
1 bunch of carrots
1 quart of beets
1 head of garlic
Small:
1 lb. of slicing tomatoes
1/2 lb. of green beans (use the swap if you'd rather have eggplant!)
1 pint of shishitos
1 lb. of green peppers
1 bunch of carrots
Caring For Your Share (All of this information, plus long-term storage info, can also be found in our Vegetable Library of Resources).
Keep tomatoes out on the counter and out of direct sunlight, where they will get plenty of air flow. Do not put them in the fridge; it will dry out the tomatoes and change their consistency. Tomatoes continue to ripen after harvested, so use within a few days. To ripen a tomato quickly, put it in a paper bag in a dark place, like a cabinet.
Remove the greens from the carrots and store them in plastic bags in the vegetable crisper. Use greens within the week, but the carrots may last for weeks when stored properly.
Store garlic in a cool, dark place out of the refrigerator, like a cabinet or pantry. Ensure that it has air flow. We leave the neck on the garlic to prevent it from rotting at the base of the bulb.
Store shishito peppers in a plastic bag in the fridge. Wash when ready to use.
Store beans in a plastic bag in the fridge. Wash and blot dry when ready to use.
Store peppers in a plastic bag in the crisper drawer of your fridge. Set the crisper drawer to low humidity to allow some of the ethylene gas that results from decomposition to escape. Ethylene gas will cause the peppers to rot sooner.
Store beets in a plastic bag in the fridge; they can last up to a month this way. Wash when ready to use.
The LGF Cooking Club (Recipes to try in addition to those in the Library of Resources!)
Large Share Additional Items:
Please note that Victoria does not work on Thursdays this season. Emails received on Wednesday night through Thursday will be answered on Fridays.
How to Change Your Pickup Day
If you need to skip your share for the week, or change your pickup day, you must provide us with 48 hours notice since we pack shares the day before pickup. Once your share has been harvested and packed, we can not cancel your pickup.
For Tuesday pickups being changed, we need to know by Sunday. Wednesday pickups, we need to know by Monday. Saturday pickups, we need to know by Thursday. You have the option to choose another of those pickup days: Tuesday, Wednesday, or Saturday. Or, you can skip a pickup and double the following week.
If you miss your pickup, we will hold your share for 24 hours after your pickup day (Monday for Saturday members), and then it will be donated to a local food pantry. With more members than ever before, we don't have the cooler space to hold onto shares longer than this. This is a great option if you accidentally miss your pickup - just come the next day.
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