Share Notes 8-8-19

Share Notes 8-8-19

CSA Share Notes:

Summer is trucking along. A few crops are just coming into season (okra!) but several others are in their annual decline (tomatoes, squash, zucchini). We think we’ve got another week or two worth of great crops to send to you, but the Summer season’s end is inching closer, and is almost within sight. We’ll see what the garden does.

It’s time for us to switch gears in the fields and focus our attention on establishing fall crops.  Field prep is well underway with watering and tilling various zones (it’s so dusty out here this time of year we have to pre-moisten the soil to help weigh it down a bit, or else we lose loads of it to wind erosion when we plow.) and then we’ll apply compost and other soil amendments and start seeding. We’ve placed a couple of big seed orders for some fun fall varieties we’re really excited about.

If you’re wanting to keep the shares coming this fall, sign up for the next season! Registration is open and we still have plenty of room for you.

Now on to this week’s vegetable line-up:

  • Sweet Italian Peppers—Large shares received loads, and Regular shares received just a few 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 much smaller. Use our picture below to help you.
  • Sweet Bell Peppers—Regular shares received these peppers this week.  We used our Bell and Italian peppers with lots of onions in some tasty fajitas this week and they were killer.
  • Hot Peppers—Regular shares received a whole bunch of jalapenos and Large shares received cayenne, plenty for making some grilled bacon-wrapped stuffed peppers. If you struggle to know what to do with your peppers, pierce them with a knife, then stuff them in a jar and cover them with vinegar. Leave at room temp for 2 weeks to infuse and then store in the fridge. You’ve got yourself an awesome hot pepper “sauce.”
  • Cucumbers—Large shares received our slicing tomatoes and regular shares received picklers this week. If you got any really jumbo cucumbers, they will likely have seeds already developed in them. You can either cut the seeds away, and use as normal, or I like to use the giant cucumbers in a pitcher of cucumber water.
  • Sungolds—Everyone got sungolds again! We were scared there for a minute that we wouldn’t have more to send you, but they pushed through and really produced well this week. This might be the last of them, but we’ll see.
  • Heirloom Tomato—Large shares received a couple of Valencia tomatoes and regular shares received either a Rose or a Striped German (or 2 if they were really small).  Some of them are cracking at the tops, or splitting at the sides, common problems with tomatoes as they struggle in the heat. Just eat them up really quickly.
  • San Marzano Tomatoes—Still trucking along! This all-purpose tomato is an all-star.
  • Slicing Tomatoes— The quality is starting to diminish in the heat, but we wanted to give you everything we possibly could, so we sent some that are not peak quality. Scarf them up soon if they have blemishes.
  • Okra—We had enough to give to all of the regular shares this week! 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. Important tip: we pick them tender, but the larger okra begin to harden up off the plant if you don’t eat them soon, so refrigerate and use them up by the end of the weekend.  I love this Indian okra and tomato dish. I use ground spices where it calls for whole seeds, as I never have whole cumin or mustard seeds on hand.
  • Onions—Almost the end of them!

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- Jalapeno peppers, Italian peppers, bell peppers. 2nd row: mixed okra, a couple of slicer tomatoes, an Heirloom tomato, and pickling cucumbers. 3rd row: San Marzano tomatoes, onions, and Sungolds.

Large Share

Large share: 1st row- Italian peppers.    2nd row- Slicing cucumbers, onions, cayenne peppers.     3rd row- Sungolds, slicing tomato, Valencia tomatoes, and San Marzanos.