Category Archives: hot

In the Share – Week 11

carrots, cherry tomatoes, dry, hot, tomatoes
the harvest:  carrots, beets and onions

TOMATOES x2 (F/P) Last week CSA members on average received about 10 lbs. of tomatoes and this week it is looking to be about the same. Please don’t get too used to this excess. It is a freak of nature and it will only last a while longer. Last week we literally harvested over a ton.

CHERRY TOMATOES (F/P) That ton also included these beauties. We think we’ll have another round of quarts for everyone this week.

CARROTS (F/P) We dug these a while back and stored them in the cooler. We think they taste even better after a stint in the cold slammer.

WALLA WALLA ONIONS (F/P) The onions are a bit smaller than other years, but we have almost no culls thanks to the dry weather. Soon we’ll move on the red onions after the sweet Wallas are gone.

BEETS, SUMMER SQUASH OR SALSA PACK (F) This will most likely be the last of the beets until fall. We should have some for the partial shares next week.

PEPPERS: SWEET AND HOT (F) Another small taste of peppers. We are letting most of them stay on the plants to ripen.

EGGPLANT (F/P) The “plant” is rocking right now and will be for the next few weeks. It is so good simply broiled until it is brown and marinated in olive oil and spices. Partial shares get a choice of beets or eggplant.

HERB CHOICE (F/P) Basil, summer savory or a dried herb.

FARM REPORT




As CSA farmers we advertise membership in our farm as relationship based on shared risk but also shared bounties. Well, right now we are looking at extremes of both. We’ve got a ridiculously huge bumper crop of tomatoes and a drought of epic proportions. The tomato harvest threatens to consume all of our hours of all of our days.

 The farm crew of four: Tom, me, and our awesome farm apprentices Dani Hurst and Ryan Stubby do little else but harvest, sort, count and weigh tomatoes. Add 2 one-day-a-week volunteers (Thank you, M for Monday crew!!) and we still struggle to find time to plant for fall, tinker with the irrigation system and weed the sweet potatoes.  The CSA members bi-weekly visits keep our heads above water by assisting in the retrieval of the other crops from the field.

Saturday carrot harvest

And then there’s the heat and drought … Tom and I are increasingly concerned about the long-term effect on the crops. So far most everything is staying alive BUT we expect a lull in the harvest a few weeks from now.  Stay tuned for more on that as experience what may be the hottest, driest year on record.  Meanwhile, enjoy the bumper crop and think about putting up a little summer sunshine for later.



In the Share – Week 9

bean fence, dry, hot, pests

CARROTS (F/P) We are harvesting the carrots in bulk this week for future weeks out to cold storage. Carrots will be topped from now until the heat is gone.

TOMATOES F/P) We are getting record harvests of gorgeously voluptuous fruit. The heirlooms are winning over the red hybrids right now but we’ll see who wins in the end.

CHERRY TOMATOES (F/P) All the partial shares will get these this week. Full shares will get them too if we have enough or we will fill in with more slicers.

GREEN BEANS (F) Just a bit this week with hopefully much more on the way.

SUMMER SQUASH (F) The end of the first planting is near, but the round zucchinis and pattypans are beginning to coming in. Partial shares will get them next week.

CUCUMBERS (F) Ditto on cucumbers. In the shares will be a combo of the least bug-nibbled slicers and the best of the big pickling cucumbers. The second planting is flowering right now, so more are coming if it all pans out.

EGGPLANT AND PEPPERS (P)  One or two of each.

SALSA PACK (F/P) If you are new to the CSA you may not be familiar with tomatillos. They make a heavenly salsa either fresh or roasted. We give you everything you need including the garlic, onion and jalapeno. Add a tomato from your share and voila, our nation’s most popular condiment.

SWISS CHARD OR CABBAGE (F) In an effort to conserve moisture on the farm we are clear-cutting the leafy greens. The chard should grow back in time for cooler weather when that ever comes.

HERB CHOICE (F) Parsley, summer savory, thyme or a dried herb.

HOT PEPPERS (F/P) Just a couple to spice up your summer salads. Jalapenos and Hot Hungarian Wax peppers will be offered.

FARM REPORT:
Oh, boy it is hot and dry. We have shifted our schedule so that we start at 6 am and get out of the fields by mid-day.  Afternoons bring work in the packing room or the shady greenhouse.  The plants however get no relief and are sucking up as much moisture as they can get.

Tom and I are always excited when we identify a new species of of wildlife on the farm. We’ve seen foxes, ducks, all sorts of frogs and toads, even the occasional snake. Our latest addition to the list is this beautiful but brutal agricultural pest, the Japanese beetle.

So far we have found 2 adults on the farm. It has taken them countless generations to get to this part of the country but here they be. Once they fully inhabit an area, swarms of them often defoliate their favorite plants: grapes, beans, roses. Some say the healthier the soil, the less the little buggers are attracted to the plant.  We shall see soon enough.
Speaking of beans, the harvest has gotten a slow start but we have some beans from the first planting for this week. The second planting of bush beans look much better and the pole beans are beginning to vine up the fence that was put up in the nick of time by the CSA crew on Saturday.

Up go the 100 ft. sections. 
Tie to the posts and your done.

As they say, many hands make light work.