Share Notes July 31, 2025

Let the intense summer heat begin! Whew it’s hot out there y’all. Our bodies and the plants are feeling it!

The last 3 weeks were our peak production for the season, and now many crops are winding down fast.  A few examples: We had been getting about 2 crates of tomatoes per day, now we’re getting about 2 crates per week.  A week ago we were picking around 20-25 squash/zucchini each day, the last 4 days we picked a total of 15. Now that’s a clear signal that a plant is tired!

Things usually wrap up in Mid August most summer seasons. We are seeing lots of new green tomato fruits set on the plants, we have new plantings of squash and zucchini that will begin producing in a few weeks, and we have young arugula and radishes on the way- we’ll see how they do in the heat. Also, Peppers, Eggplant, and Okra laugh under the August sun and keep right on trucking, so those crops are still going strong! So with all that said: who knows! Summer could be totally done in another week, or it could last a little bit longer.

With us alternating locations, most locations have received 4 boxes over the past 7 weeks. We would LOVE to get everybody 6 or 7 boxes to feel like they got a nice full season, but it could take us another month to get there. Not entirely sure if we can make that happen for ya, but we’ll absolutely give it our best shot!

For now, we have an amazing abundant share for you! So many beautiful summer colors.

Here’s your vegetable line-up:

• Basil – Any of y’all struggling with wilted basil?  This basil is shockingly resilient IF you a) Get to it asap after delivery is complete and promptly and get it into water, and b) wait very patiently for it to perk up. It might take a day or even two. Trim the stem a half inch at a 45* angle, and give it plenty of time to recover and you’ll almost always have gorgeous basil that lasts ages on your counter in a glass of water.
• Cucumbers – several for everyone!
• Potatoes – White kennebecfor Regular and Mini shares. This is the final week for this crop. We’ll plant more next Spring!
• Onions – Just a little for everyone this week. We’ve got maybe 2 more weeks of onions stored!
• Garlic – A few for everyone. Have you tried roasting a whole head and squeezing the gooey cloves out on crusty bread? I’ve heard it called Cajun Butter when served this way. So delicious.
• Okra – Enough for everyone this week! This is a Texas Heirloom called Hill Country Red and it stays tender and delicious even when it gets large. It’s perfect when prepared at high heat: oven roasted, grilled, or blistered in a cast iron. Okra needs to be eaten really fresh, so make a plan to use it up within the first 2 or 3 days of getting your box.
• Hot peppers – Jalapenos for everyone this week!
• Shishitos – For the Large and Regular shares. These are generally considered a sweet pepper, but watch out, because about 1 in 10 are pretty warm.  These are excellent blistered in a cast iron and then dipped in a dipping sauce of your choice.
• Sweet peppers – Our bell peppers went mostly to the Large and Regular shares this week (Mini shares each got one bell). Everyone is also getting to try our long, slender Italian Sweet peppers this week. These are not the least bit spicy, and come in pale yellow, and pale green. They’re thin walled, excellent for slicing into thin rings for a salad or pizza, and they’re also delicious stuffed or dipped.
• Eggplant – The Large shares received slender Japanese eggplant and Fairy Tale eggplant. Regular shares received 2 Italian eggplant, including our beautiful heirloom Barbarella. The Mini shares received a Barbarella and several fairy tale eggplant.  Eggplant wants fast, high heat cooking, just like okra, to prevent a funky texture. If used super fresh, theres no need to sweat them, but if you store them for a couple of days, you’ll want to slice and salt them to let any bitterness sweat out before cooking.
• Slicing Tomatoes –  This crop is about done for a while, although we’re seeing lots of green fruits, so hopefully there will be a fall flush.
• Sungolds – Large share received this crop this week.
• Squash –  one for each mini share
• PEARS!! – These huge Orient pears come from Victor Zillmer in Lindale. He uses no chemicals on his orchards, so they’re clean as a whistle! These southern pears are picked hard and allowed to ripen slowly.  Victor says 10 days on the counter and they’ll be perfect. In my experience, they do even better when stored in a paper bag in the refrigerator for about 2 weeks *and then* brought out to the counter to fully ripen, so your mileage may vary. Also, you’ll discard the peel and just eat the sweet flesh.
• FIGS! – Again from our friendly neighbor farm, Zillmer Farm in Lindale, TX. We had enough to give them to the Large shares. He grows his fruit with no chemicals, so they can absolutely be considered clean!

Veggie Storage tips:

• Everything wants to be washed well before cooking, but keep the dirt on till then, to prevent faster spoilage.
• Fridge storage this week: figs, pears, peppers, squash, eggplant, cucumber, okra, all sealed up in a container or plastic bag.
• Counter storage:  Don’t refrigerate your basil, tomatoes, garlic, or onions.
• Dark cabinet storage: Potatoes keep best away from the light, but in the open air. Don’t keep them in the plastic bag, switch to a paper bag or in an open-air basket in your cupboard.

Regular Share

Regular Share – top row left to right: Basil, Italian and Fairy Tale Eggplant, tomatoes, cucumbers, (2nd row) jalapenos, shishito peppers, onions and garlic, potatoes, pears, Bell and Italian peppers, and okra.

Large Share

Large shares – top row left to right: Basil, Japanese and Fairy Tale Eggplant, tomatoes, cucumbers in a line through the center, (bottom row) jalapenos, shishito peppers, onions and garlic, pears, Figs and Sungolds, Bell and Italian peppers, and okra.

Mini Share

Mini shares – top row left to right: Basil, Italian and Fairy Tale Eggplant, tomato, cucumbers, squash (2nd row) jalapenos, onions and garlic, potatoes, pears, Bell and Italian peppers, and okra.

Flower Shares:

Lovely color mixes this week. Loads and loads of zinnias, basil, giant marigolds, ammi, cockscomb celosia, a bit of trailing amaranth, some Mahogany Splendor hibiscus, and a few rudbeckia. I hope you love the color scheme you received this week! Snap a picture of yours and show us on instagram!

We’d love to hear stories and recipes of your culinary adventures this week. Tag us on Instagram or Facebook, showing us how you’ve used your CSA share.

Your farmers, Jess & Justin