Share Notes July 1 & 3

Share Notes July 1 & 3

CSA Share Notes:

As many of you are already well aware, this growing season has been so difficult! From the extreme winter storms, to the month of constant rain that delayed our summer planting, followed by 3 straight weeks of intense heat and humidity, the weather this year has been a bit “extra” as the kids say. Things are healthy but late. So, so late! Give us and our garden time. If the weather continues to cooperate with our plans, we will have lots of abundance coming very, very soon.

For now, as the summer crops begin to mature, we are only getting a small amount of fruits on the squash, zucchini, and cucumbers each harvest day, so we’re spreading these crops around to everyone in pretty small amounts until we have more. The tomatoes and peppers are pretty close, but not quite ready. The sungold cherry tomatoes are covered in green fruits, so it’s possible we could have a few ready next week, then the Romas typically ripen next, then last are the nice big slicers. We can’t wait for those tomatoes!

I bought good tomatoes at the farmers market this past weekend, grown farther south of us, so they’re ready sooner, and I just polished off the most refreshing lunch: a salad of peach, tomato, cucumber and basil with a little olive oil and balsamic. Some mozzarella pearls would have taken it to 11.

So be patient alongside of us, as we wait for more crops to ripen. We are really looking forward to packing your boxes super duper heavy, but we’re not quite there yet this season.

Here’s this week’s vegetable line up:

  • Peaches!—A special treat for you on a week when our harvest is light.  These lovely, delicious peaches came from Winona Orchards, who we love to support whenever we can. The Sattlers grow the highest quality fruit around these parts, but warning, they are *not* claiming to grow organically. He is very mindful with what he sprays for pests, using the lightest application to get the job done, and spraying many weeks before harvest to reduce any residual product left on the crop. To remove any residues, we put our peaches in a bowl of water with a couple of tablespoons of baking soda and let them sit for about 5 minutes before rinsing off the baking soda water, then we also peel them. Also, your peaches will likely need a day or two to ripen on your counter before they’re ready to eat. Perfect timing to enjoy this holiday weekend.
  • Zucchini— For the Large and Regular shares.  We have two different types, Tigris and Black summer that you’ll get to try throughout the summer. Both delicious.
  • Summer Squash— A few to everyone. There are three different types you might have received, crook neck, and straight neck, along with Zephyr, which is half lime green, half yellow, and 100% delicious.  Mini shares also received one of our cute pattypan squash to try. These are pretty adorable squash.
  • Cucumbers— Enough pickling cucumbers for everyone to receive at least one or two, and enough slicing cukes for most of our large shares to receive one.
  • Basil—1 or 2 leafy stems of our sweet, large leaved Genovese basil.   **READ BASIL STORAGE TIPS BELOW**  This is great in a fresh cucumber and peach salad, in a potato salad, or atop pasta primavera with your squash, or wilted into a Thai curry.
  • Kale—Large shares received Red Russian kale, and regular and mini shares received Curly kale. Try them sauteed down and mixed into a veggie egg scramble. They’re excellent cooked into a pot of beans, served up with corn bread, too.
  • Potatoes—between 1-3# of our Red skinned potatoes (the weight you received depends on your share size). These are excellent for potato salads
  • Onions— Yellow and reds. We hope we’ve grown enough to ensure you get them in your box each week of the Summer CSA.
  • Garlic—the first of this years’ garlic harvest. This crop struggled through that month of rain, and we thought we had lost a lot of it to rot, but lucky us (and you!) it has dried really well and is delicious.

Veggie Storage tips:

Basil should never be below 50 degrees or it will turn black so *do not store it in the fridge.* It prefers to be in a nice cool spot in your kitchen, away from the sun, stem down in a fresh glass of water.  Trim the stems and refresh the water every other day or so, and your basil will last at least a week or more. If it’s wilty when you receive it, fully submerge it in a sink of cold water for an hour or two to help it perk up, then trim the stem before putting it in a glass of water.

All your kale, squash, zucchini, and cukes will keep longest stored in the fridge sealed up in produce bags.   Potatoes, garlic, and onions prefer a dry, room temperature spot, away from direct light (but don’t put your potatoes in the complete dark or they’ll sprout!).  Everything will need a thorough 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 top left to right: Curly kale, peaches above red potatoes, and Genovese basil. (2nd row) yellow squash, 2 onions, garlic, zucchini, and cucumbers.

 

Large Share

Large Share top left to right: Red Russian kale, peaches above yellow squash and red potatoes, and Genovese basil. (2nd row) 3 onions, garlic, zucchini, and cucumbers.

Mini Share

Mini share: Curly kale, peaches and pattypan squash above red potatoes (2nd row) yellow squash, 1 onion, garlic and cucumber.