Hi everyone!
Full disclosure, our daughter Janina is going through a major sleep regression and it’s been incredibly time-consuming. I ended up taking a day off from work this week to try to regulate her sleep schedule (to no avail), so I will need to keep this short and sweet. Here they are at the PYO raspberry event on Wednesday! They actually really enjoyed being there (and we did, too.)
One of the major projects we tackled this week was harvesting and hanging up all of the garlic. We plant around 100 lbs. of garlic cloves every year and each clove becomes its own head of garlic. We know that it’s ready to harvest when the leaves turn yellow and start dying off.
It was crunch time to get all of the garlic in from the field before it rained, and we tackled a row or two each day until all 4 rows were complete. The crew pulled it up, hauled it in on the wagon, tied it up in groups of 10, and hung it from the barn rafters.
It’ll stay there for a month until it’s dried out, and then we’ll cut off the stalks and use it in shares and have it out for sale. If you cut the stalks too soon, you risk the heads rotting and it is not shelf-stable.
Another task we tackled was rolling up all of the drip irrigation from the old brassica field. Brassicas are cabbage family crops, like kohlrabi, radishes, cauliflower, and broccoli. Since all of this planting has been harvested, the crew pulled up all of the drip tape and Randy will plow it under and replant it for the fall. I posted this photo on Facebook and joked that it looks like the tug of war event in the farm Olympics.
This week, you’re all receiving a head of cabbage, and your share will have either a red or green cabbage in it. However, the swap box will consist of other colors of cabbage so you can trade your own out for another color. Typically, red cabbage is thought to be sweeter and used for slaws, in salads, atop tacos, or in German sweet and sour cabbage like in the recipe below. Green is often used more for dishes like stuffed cabbage or in classic coleslaw. Member Carrie actually sauteed it and put it in an omelet, which surprised and wowed us all at the breakfast potluck (and ended up earning second place in votes). Let’s share what we’re making with cabbage in the Facebook group this week!
Randy wasted no time in turning the garlic field over, and as soon as it was harvested, he plowed, harrowed, and fertilized it and then planted beets for the fall. He’s looking forward to sharing some more of his growing processes in the upcoming newsletter next week. In between growing and packing orders, both of us have also been working with the state on other tasks – Randy with worker safety trainings and me with technology for farmers’ markets.
A few crop updates:
· The first round of beans is phasing out, though we plant more successions. We’ll be taking a break for a little while and then you’ll see more beans in your share in a couple weeks.
· Raspberries are also very sparse at this point. While we do expect to have more throughout this week, containers will be in limited supply. We’ve finished with PYO for the season. We recommend coming early in the day if you’d like to get one, and even then we can’t guarantee we’ll have them every day. · Cucumber bulk boxes are still available daily this week (25 lbs. for $32). If you wanted to get one, we recommend planning for it this week. Although we will continue to have pickling cucumbers for the next couple of months, this first planting was our largest. In the near future, we may have to reduce the number of days they’re available. Maybe not, but we think it best to plan to get yours sooner rather than later for the best availability.
· Field tomatoes are starting to ripen and we’ve harvested the first of the grape tomatoes for the store in small quantities. You can most likely expect to begin receiving tomatoes in your share within 2 weeks and then just about every week thereafter for a couple of months.
And, now I’ll leave you with a couple of pretty photos for the week. Any sleep regression tips? Please send them our way!
In Your Share (Listed approximately from shortest shelf life to longest)
Large:
1 bunch of kale
1 eggplant
2 lbs. of cucumbers
2 yellow squash
1 head of cabbage
1 quart of beets
1 onion
Small:
1 bunch of kale
2 yellow squash
1 head of cabbage
1 quart of beets
1 onion
Caring For Your Share (All of this information, plus long-term storage info, can also be found in our Vegetable Library of Resources).
Leave the outer leaves on and store the head of cabbage in the fridge. The outer leaves will keep moisture in the head and prevent it from drying out.
Store eggplant at room temperature, like out on your counter, but keep it away from other fruits and vegetables that will emit ethylene gas, as this will cause it to rot faster (tomatoes, melons, bananas, etc.)
Store yellow squash and cucumbers in the crisper drawer of the fridge for approximately a week. Wash when ready to use.
Store fresh onions in the crisper drawer of the fridge - you can even use the tops as green onions.
Store beets in a plastic bag in the fridge; they can last up to a month this way. Wash when ready to use.
Store kale in a plastic bag in the fridge. Or, snip the ends and store in a glass of water, like a bouquet. Wash and spin out when ready to use, within a few days.
The LGF Cooking Club (Recipes to try in addition to those in the Library of Resources!)
Additional Large Share Ingredients
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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