Share Notes 8-1-19

Share Notes 8-1-19

CSA Share Notes:

Welp, that cool front feels like it was months ago, and it’s blazing hot out here this week. We’re taking volunteers willing to come hold up sun umbrellas over us while we harvest.  We’re getting as much of the work done as we can between 6am-2pm and then we get back at it after 5pm when it begins to cool off, so that’s helping. Hopefully either a bit of rain or less humid conditions will be in our near future.

We’re not sure if the cool weather threw the plants off, or if the spike in heat did it, or what, but this week’s harvest is just a little bit smaller, all around, than last week’s. Still have loads of great stuff for you though. We’re predicting between 2 and 3 more weeks of good harvest for you, but we’ll see what the garden and weather conditions bring us!

Figs!! While we don’t have enough figs to go around to everyone, we’re delighted to see y’all enjoying them out of our web store.  My mom and dad grow them without any chemicals or synthetics right here on the farm with us, and they hope to have many more for you in the years to come.

Now on to your vegetable line-up:

  • Heirloom Tomato—Large shares received Rose or Striped German. The regular shares received 2 or 3 lovely orange Valencia tomatoes. Remember to handle them very delicately and eat them as soon as they are ripe.
  • San Marzano Tomatoes—This all-star is still rocking strong for now. I love this tomato for pretty much everything. It’s my favorite in a salsa, for cooking, for dehydrating, for roasting, for grilled skewers, it’s just an all around wonderful tomato. I choose a juicier tomato for salads, and a larger tomato for sandwiches, but the San Marzano does everything else in our kitchen.
  • Slicing Tomatoes— These tomatoes really tapered off big time this week but we still had enough for the large shares to get a few. Remember with any of your tomatoes that have slight cracks or bruising, they need to be eaten quickly as they will spoil first.
  • Squash—The leaves of these plants are badly diseased from Squash Bugs, a vector insect that eventually kills off the whole cucurbit family every summer.  It reduces the plants productivity, but doesn’t diminish the fruit quality, so the squash are still nice for you.
  • Zucchini— Same as above, but worse! They’re almost gone, so this might be the last you see of them.  We just have enough for everyone to get one zucchini, so enjoy it!
  • Sweet Italian Peppers—Regular shares received a big helping of these long, slender peppers. They’re sweet and so delicious. Don’t confuse them with the Cayenne peppers, which are similar in shape, but smaller. Use our picture below to help you.
  • Sweet Bell Peppers—Large shares received these peppers this week, and quite a lot of them. I suggest doing a big batch of stuffed peppers. Regular shares received one or two purple or green peppers as well.
  • Hot Peppers—Regular shares received a whole bunch of cayennes and Large shares received Jalapenos, plenty for making some grilled bacon-wrapped stuffed peppers.
  • Cucumbers—Everyone got a few slicers and a few picklers this week. As usual, we enjoyed our cucumbers all week long in tasty salads with chopped sweet peppers, tomatoes, and loads of olive oil, salt, and feta.  This is our lunch almost every day of the week this time of year.
  • Okra—We had enough to give to all of the large shares this week a mixed quart of our 4 heirloom okra varieties.  These are all unique, beautiful, and the long slender red okra as well as the Star-of-David okra stay tender, even when harvested a little big. They do harden up off the plant if you don’t eat them soon, so refrigerate and use by the end of the weekend.  There is a LOT more coming soon, so the regular shares should see them next week, we hope.
  • Onions—This crop is harvested in mid-spring, and stored in a dry, shady area of the barn till we send them all out. But it is reaching the end of it’s storage life over the next month, so we are going to load you down with them to get rid of all of them. Be forewarned! You’ll see lots of onions soon.

Veggie Storage tips:

Remember, tomatoes want to be at room temp, NOT in the fridge.  Onions also want room temp.  Keep them in a cool place on the counter. Your squash, zucchini, cucumbers, and peppers, will all last longest if stored in the fridge, although they are fine at room temp for a few days. Everything will need a gentle washing before cooking, but leave the dirt on until you’re ready to use them to prevent spoilage.

We’d love to hear stories and recipes of your culinary adventures this week. Send us a note or post a comment of how you’ve used your CSA share.

Your farmers,

Jess & Justin

Regular Share

Regular Share: 1st row- Italian peppers, bell pepper, Valencia tomatoes. 2nd row: Cayenne, squash, pickling cucumbers, zucchini.  3rd row: slicing cucumbers, onions, San Marzanos.

Large Share

Large share: 1st row- Bell peppers.    2nd row- heirloom tomato and slicing tomatoes, pickling cucumbers, yellow squash and zucchini.    3rd row- slicing cucumbers, okra, San Marzanos.    bottom row, jalapenos, onions.