Category Archives: summer squash

In the Share: Week 8

Garlic, lettuce, summer squash

CRISP LETTUCE F/P  It took major “babying” of these summer crispheads under their shade cloth, but they managed to get to a respectable size despite the blazing heat.

ROMAINE LETTUCE F  Meanwhile these little romaines were out in full sun and somehow managed to make nice little romaine hearts.

SUMMER SQUASH F/P  Finally the squash has begun to produce, especially the yellow squash.  There are smaller amounts of zucchini so far.

NEW POTATOES F  I am eating maybe the best potato salad I’ve ever had thanks to farmer Tom. See his post for the recipe.

WALLA WALLA ONIONS F  These yummies are in the potato salad too.

CHARD OR GAILAN P  These plants have a thick layer of mulch around them and are happily giving us their green goodness into the heat of the summer.

KOHLRABI P  It’s the partial shares turn to have fun with the alien vegetables.  Peel it well and eat it raw, it’s so easy.

GARLIC F/P  More hardheck, drier this time but not completely cured.

HERB CHOICE F/P  Basil, summer savory or cutting celery.

TOMATOES AND CUCUMBERS ??  We have small amounts of both and we plan to share them with you however we can.  It’ll be a suprise.

NEXT WEEK:  Squash, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, carrots, beets.

FARM REPORT:
We have really lucked out on the weather this year.  It has been at times uncomfortably hot, but more importantly the rain and sunshine has been just right.  Today we were surprised by a mid-morning shower that dropped a nice 1.7 inches of rain.  After a week of dry weather, it was just perfect for keeping the crops happy.

The dry spells in between the rain showers are key to the farm staying on schedule.  During the last dry spell we planted another round of summer squash, cucumbers and beans.  These crops only produce for a while and need to be succession planted so that we can enjoy their tasty fruits all summer long.

On the left are the newly seeded rows, on the right the squash we are picking currently plus a row of mulched okra.  The row cover is protecting the pickling cucumbers from the dreaded cucumber beetles.

One of the big tasks right now is harvesting the garlic.  Once they start to die back in the fields, they need to be pulled while they still have plenty of green leaves.  The leaves extend to the heads where they form the layers that protect the cloves and allow the garlic to keep for months.

So far all of the hardneck is out of the ground and hanging in the old tobacco-drying barn to cure.  We are now working on the softneck varieties.  We love growing our garlic, which involves saving the best 20% of the heads for seed to plant later in the fall.  The hardneck variety, Musik, is a German Porcelain type that we brought with us from Peacework Organic Farm in Western New York, where Tom and I met.  I can’t help feeling sentimental about our garlic that has weathered the ups and downs through the years with us.

In the Share: Week 6

cabbage, summer squash, sweet potatoes

 CABBAGE F/P  Some are pock-marked from the hailstorm but otherwise perfectly edible. 

LETTUCE F/P  Lettuce season may last one week more – enjoy them while they last

FRISEE F/P  Small frisee hearts for your salads. 

GAI LAN, BROCCOLI SIDESHOOTS OR KOHLRABI F/P

SWISS CHARD, KALE OR BOK CHOY F

BEETS OR TURNIPS F  The turnips were harvested in bulk on Saturday with the CSAs help.  No tops, just bottoms.  The beets will have both.

HERB CHOICE F  Parsley, chives or mint.

NEXT WEEK:  Green onions, lettuce, carrots, squash (hopefully!), kale or chard and potatoes.

FARM REPORT:
Another week, another round of the “dodge-the-rain” game.  If anyone is keeping score out there, add another 2 inches of rain to the tally.  Thankfully farm apprentices, Semra and Megan, were willing to relinquish one of their day’s off on Thursday, the one day that was just dry enough to plant.  We seeded cucumbers, summer squashes and beans and transplanted more tomatoes, herbs, melons and flowers.  At 4 pm the much anticipated box of sweet potato slips arrived via UPS and we immediately hopped on the transplanter to put them in the ground too. 

The work went slowly due to the imperfect nature of the ground that has stayed too wet to prepare properly, but we managed to get all 1200 feet of the sweets in the ground by the end of the day.  By the way, if anyone wants some slips for their garden let us know, we have some extra.

On a rare sunny day we put another coat of “Surround” on the squash plants.  They have been in the ground since early May and are slowly growing and just starting to fruit. 

The spray consists of a fine white clay that coats the leaves and is unappetizing to the dreaded cucumber beetles and squash bugs.  At this point, our problem is not that we haven’t been able to plant, but that the plants that are in the field, like these squashes, are growing very slowly due to the boggy conditions and lack of sunlight.  If the rains could just taper off and we could get some sunshine, we think that the plants would wake up and start growing again.

In the Share – Week Seven

pests, solar irrigation, summer squash

SUMMER SQUASH (F/P) The zucchini and yellow squashes are coming on now. There are a few round and pattypan ones in the mix, eat them like any of the others.

CABBAGE (F) Celebrate our independence with a Fourth of July coleslaw.  Or see Tom’s post for a July Julienne!

TOMATOES (F/P) We are going to do our best to get everyone a tomato or a few cherry tomatoes this week. Some may be less than ripe, so store on the counter until the fruit is bright-colored and slightly soft.

GREEN PEPPERS (F)

CUCUMBER OR EGGPLANT (F)  Just a first taste of these, with lots more to come.

SWEET ONIONS (F/P)  These are the Walla Wallas, great raw in salads.

BEETS (F) beautifully tasty.

HERBS OR HOT PEPPERS (F/P) Thai basil, Italian basil, rosemary or jalapeno or wax hot peppers.

LETTUCE (P)  Summer lettuce means crisp, crunchy heads

NEXT WEEK: More squash, cucumbers, peppers, eggplant and tomatoes. Carrots return.

FARM REPORT:

melons ready for drip tape

Irrigation is the name of the game this week at the farm. Up until last week we were getting adequate rainfall and hadn’t needed to irrigate the summer crops. We apply tons (literally!) of hay mulch to the plants and that holds in moisture up to a point. With the ground drying out and an irrigation pond chock full of free water, we are happily sending that water to the crops. The solar-powered pump pushes the water along the drip tape that we place along each row.  It is a laborous job getting all of the lines set, but once they are there we can quickly water the fields by flipping a switch.  

How about that, as if on cue it has begun to rain.  A short-lived shower, but we will take it.

Also this week we continue to work on everybody’s favorite, the tomato.  This Spring was like no other, and certainly not like last year which was our grandest tomato harvest yet, weighing it a over 9,000 lbs.  We are not expecting such a stupendous harvest this year.  On top of poor weather conditions for fruit set in May, many of the flowers are being eaten away by white flies.

white flies on the tomatoes

Tom has not seen such a phenomenon since he had his little backyard garden in Rochester, NY. It only makes sense that a Rochester-worthy pea harvest should be followed by the same climate’s pest.  We are spraying organic safer soap which should take care of the problem, but some damage has already occurred.

In the Share – Week 6

onions, strawberries, summer squash
earliest yellow onions ever!

LETTUCE (F) The lettuce patch is getting smaller by the day. What remains are the crisphead varieties that can handle the summer heat more than most.

BEETS (F/P) The first pulling of the beets will commence tomorrow morning. They are still young and tender and the greens are great!  Sautee the roots and greens together in a pan and you’ve got a glorious dish!  Can you tell that beets are my favorite vegetable?

CABBAGE (F/P) We grow small varieties that mature quickly for the spring.  Just the right amount for a big bowl of cole slaw.

SUMMER SQUASH (F/P) The squash harvest is beginning to get weighty. Look to Tom’s post for some easy recipes to enjoy the bounty.

BROCCOLI OR PEAS (F) The last picking of both of these spring vegetables. We’ll have broccoli again in the fall when it really thrives in the cool weather.  The peas are a spring-only crop so enjoy this offering.

PLUM PURPLE RADISHES (F) The last planting of radishes is here for this week only. Partial shares get a choice of radishes or herbs.

YELLOW ONIONS (F/P) We are really psyched about our big yellow onions. We planted them last summer, mulched them over the winter and here they are – a good 2 months before we would have anything of this size and maturity. Keep these on your counter, it is too moist for them in the fridge.

HERB CHOICE (F/P) Parsley, mint, summer savory or basil

ALSO THIS WEEK: Parker Farms CSA shares

NEXT WEEK: More summer squash. Walla Walla onions and carrots. Swiss chard and kale.

FARM REPORT

Every plant and beast on the farm sighed with relief as the rain fell Sunday night.  The slow steady rain seeped in the ground, filled in the cracks and washed us clean.  About an inch fell and we needed every drop.  We continue to irrigate and mulch and the crops seems to be thriving so far.  The moist soil allowed us to begin renovating the strawberry patch.  With all the berries picked, there’s nothing left to do but mow it all down.

farm apprentice, Ryan, mowing the strawberry patch
Mowing the plants removes any diseased leaves and opens up the crowns to the sanitizing rays of sunshine.  We’ll give them a good helping of organic fertilizer, till the paths and then let the plants grow back.  By fall the patch will be full of healthy leaves and tidy rows ready to produce next year’s crop.  
With the upcoming arrival of summer (June 20), harvest begins to play a bigger role in our daily routine.  We are currently picking the summer squash twice per week.  The plants are healthy and the harvest weighty.  Soon we will add tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers on to the routine.  
summer squash ripe for picking