Category Archives: tomatoes

In the Share: Week 14

chickens, tomatoes, wildlife

TOMATOES F/P  The paste (aka roma, aka sauce-making types) are producing well.  The first round of red tomatoes is on its way out, with another planting about ready to kick in.  The heirlooms keep coming in all their rainbow of colors.  We’ve had a nice flush of green-when-ripe heirlooms and I’m separating them for you so that you know that you can eat them even though they are green.

EGGPLANT F  Tom has several suggestions for enjoying your eggplant. 

RED POTATOES F/P

GARLIC F/P

SWEET PEPPERS F  Just one or two this week.  We are waiting to pick them until they are ripe, so expect one or two for the next month or so.

SUMMER SQUASH P  A choice of yellow squash or zucchini varieties.

SALSA PACK P

RED ONIONS F

HERB CHOICE F  Basil, dried herbs or hot peppers.

NEXT WEEK:  Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, summer squash, red onions and carrots.

FARM REPORT:

A couple of cooler days and a bit of rain made good conditions for transplanting more broccoli and cabbage.

If you saw my post from two weeks ago (week 12 blog) then you know their is a little nest in one of our tomato plants.  Well, the eggs have hatched.

On Monday momma (or daddy?) bird was annoyed at our presence as we picked the tomatoes.  She could be seen flitting around the patch with a bug in her mouth impatiently waiting for us to go away so that she could feed her new babies.  I still am not completely sure what species of bird, but the babies (I count two but there may be more under all the downy fluff.)

They aren’t the only birds on the farm that appreciate tomato plants.  Our hens have been happily snacking on a few spoiled tomatoes.  On this particular day it looked like the chickens like salsa as much as we humans.

In the Share: Week 9

csa harvest, tomato plants, tomatoes

TOMATOES F/P  Just one or two for each share, mostly red hybrids and purple/chocolate heirloom varieties.  Our heirlooms come in every color and flavor.  Try a different one each week to familiarize yourself.  All tomatoes soften slightly when ripe and the color should be bright.  Don’t be fooled by the heirlooms tendency to keep some green on top even when ripe.

LETTUCE F/P  Another week of crunchy little crispheads.  Summer heat means no more until September.

COLORFUL CARROTS F/P  Orange and yellow ones this week.  Cut off the greens before storing in your refrigerator and the roots will last longer.

SUMMER SQUASH F/P  Yellow squash and zucchini.

RED ONIONS F/P 

SWEET PEPPERS F  Purple and green ones.

JALAPENOS F/P  Just one or two for each share to spice things up.

CABBAGE OR SWISS CHARD F

HERB CHOICE F/P  Parsley or basil.

NEXT WEEK:  Tomatoes, squash, potatoes, garlic

FARM REPORT:
Whew!  What a change in the weather we have had.  So incredibly hot and humid today, but only in the 70s for much of the past two days.  A nice two inches of rain came through on Friday, leading to a very muddy CSA harvest morning on Saturday.  It was no problem for the CSA crew who couldn’t be stopped from pulling load after load of muddy beets, carrots and onions.

We are eternally grateful for the CSA member work shift because they add extra help just where it is needed most.  The harvest is the end result of a series of steps that start with a seed being planted in the greenhouse or the field.  The final step of pulling roots, cutting greens and picking fruits all by hand requires easily half of our time in the summer.  By helping bring in the harvest, the CSA allows the farm crew to have the time we need to tend to the crops as they grow leading to larger harvests once they mature.  Case in point, the farm crew has been spending lots of time in the tomato and pepper patch mulching, staking and pruning.  The plants are responding well to our efforts and we are looking forward to a great summer harvest.

In the Share: Week 4

csa, mulching, potatoes, sugar snap peas, tomatoes, weeding

SUGARSNAP PEAS F/P  It is hard to judge how many will be ripe when we pick them with the CSA tomorrow, but the plants are loaded with fruit.  We will try to get some to everyone on Weds.  By Saturday and next week we should have lots more.

SPECKLED ROMAINE LETTUCE F/P  A lovely tender romaine heirloom that has a tendency to burn out in the heat.  Lucky for us it has headed up nicely for this week’s shares only.

BUTTERHEAD LETTUCE F  Smaller heads this week, the butterhead season is about done.  We have more red leaf lettuce and green romaines that will hopefully keep us in salads through June.

BROCCOLI F/P  Bunches include standard broccoli and it’s cousin, gai lan.  I hear broccoli leaves are the new kale.

SWISS CHARD F

TATSOI OR KALE P

TURNIPS AND RADISHES F/P  The first of the spring roots have taken their time, but they have turned out to be a nice intro to the root harvest.

GREEN ONIONS OR GREEN GARLIC OR GARLIC SCAPES F

HERB MIX F/P  Dill, herb fennel, parsley and cutting celery.  See Tom’s post on herb identification.

BOK CHOY F  Our white-stemmed varieties are growing handsomely.  If you haven’t yet stir-fried, I recommend the finished product.  Tom’s making one with tatsoi and green onions right now.

NEXT WEEK:  Lettuce, peas, turnips, greens, kohlrabi, beets and herbs.

FARM REPORT:

May is a make-or-break month.  If you get the plants in and the weather holds, it sets you up for a good summer.  If it storms and rains and stymies your planting schedule, you are in for a rough ride.  Last year’s 30+ inches of rain in the months of May and June gave us fits.

happy potato plants

This May was actually really great.  We received a nice amount of rain, but not too much.

The CSA crew on Saturday helped us with mulching our other big block of tomatoes and peppers.  It is a messy job, but it pays off in cherry tomatoes so totally worth it.

In the Share – Week 19

harvest dinner, high tunnel, tomatoes

 TOMATOES F/P  We have picked the majority of the patch and many of the late summer hybrids are ripening nicely. 

LETTUCE F/P  Dainty, speckled heads.

ROMA BEANS F/P

FINGERLING POTATOES F/P  See Tom’s post for these gourmet treats.

SWEET PEPPERS F/P  Tom talks potatoes and peppers this week.

GARLIC F/P  Essential for the above combo and also a star ingredient in the tomato and lettuce salad we had for dinner. 

EGGPLANT, SALSA PACK OR OKRA F

HERB CHOICE F  Cilantro, dill or arugula

STIR FRY GREENS F  A mix of bok choy, tat soi and gai lan.

NEXT WEEK:  tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, okra, salsa packs, greens and kohlrabi.

FARM REPORT:
Tom and I had a fun time at the potluck at the farm on Sunday.  The hayride was a hit,  the food was delicious, the kids played and the adults got in some good conversation over microbrews.

We were touched by the CSA’s gift of a commemorative stone in memory of our dear dog, Rocky.  At the time, I was so intent on not crying that I didn’t pay attention to the card attached.  Inside there was $135 to be donated to the Veggie Voucher Fund in Rocky’s honor.  I can think of no better way to remember his good nature than to help our members in affording their CSA share.

A big thank you to all the folks who donated your resources and creative energy towards making the potluck a real community event.

 

With the party over, we were back to work on Monday with the planting of the high tunnel first on the list.  Lettuces, radishes, gai lan, chard, endive, arugula, bok choy, herbs and tat soi were added to the spinach and hakurei turnips that we planted earlier.  By the end of the day we were watering them all in with the drip irrigation.

In the Share – Week 11

rocky, tomatoes, transplanter

TOMATOES F/P  The hot weather has finally kicked the tomatoes into ripening.  Everyone will get a few heirlooms and hybrids this week.  The heirlooms come in a rainbow of colors, even green when ripe.  Their flavors are as diverse as their colors, shapes and sizes.  We grow Cherokee Purple, Rose, Goldie, Aunt Ruby’s German Green, Black Krim, Green Zebra, Amana Orange to name a few.  The hybrids we grow are red and a bit thicker-skinned than the heirlooms, which is a good quality during a wet weather pattern.  We are trying a new orange hybrid variety, Sunkist, thanks to my mom’s advice.  Let us know what tomato is your favorite!

RED ONIONS F/P  Not as big and beautiful as last year’s crop, but they did survive the wet unlike some other crops I hate to mention (carrots)

PURPLE VIKING POTATOES F  We are very grateful for the good potato harvest that continues to feed us as we recover from the deluge of the last two months.  And they are high in Vitamin C.

SQUASH OR CUCUMBERS P  The cucurbit family is struggling in the fields.  Last year at this time we were swimming in zucchini and cucumbers.  Same number of plants in the ground, same fertility program, very different result.  Only variable:  weather.

GENOVESE BASIL F/P  A nice bunch for pesto-making.

SWEET PEPPERS, EGGPLANT OR SALSA PACK F  The first of these three with many more to come.  The salsa packs are in limited quantities this week.  See Tom’s post for the rundown on this member favorite.

GARLIC F/P  There is nothing like fresh, juicy garlic in the summertime.

CHERRY TOMATOES F We grow cherry tomatoes in every color of the rainbow too.  Some are heirloom, some hybrid.  Tomatoes are ripe when they are brightly colored and fleshy to the touch.

NEXT WEEK:  Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, salsa packs, squash, cucumbers, garlic, herbs, onions and potatoes. 

FARM REPORT: 
Yes, the spring carrot crop is a big bust.  Rot set in like we have never seen before.  Our second planting has succumbed as well as most of the first.  That’s 1800 ft. of carrots gone.  But no time to linger on that sad note, the fall planting get going.  So far we have planted cauliflower, cabbage, carrots and beets.  Tomorrow we hope to plant broccoli, turnips and radishes.  The rain has held off just enough to work the soil and plant.

While the humans dart across the fields at the farm, we are missing one of our crew.  Rocky, our canine companion and co-worker, has been boarded at the vet these past two nights.  He either stepped on a thorn or has a spider bite on his paw.  The medication has been unpalatable to him and we had to resort to kenneling him at our vet in Lawson, MO to manage to get him to take the pills.  We hope to pick him up just as soon as we can.   Not only do we miss him but the crops are unguarded without him.   Already some critter is going after the tomatoes in the field.  Yesterday morning we found many half-eaten tomatoes on the ground likely the leftovers of a possum or raccoon party the night before.  We cleared the plants of ripening fruit, but what we really need is our Rocky back on patrol.

In the Share – Week 12

barn, fall planting, sweetpea, tomatoes, tranplanting

TOMATOES F/P  Along with a lot of reds and pinks, the yellow and green heirlooms are ripening.  A new variety for us this year, the Aunt Ruby’s German Green stays green when ripe. 

CARROTS F/P  Freshly dug from the summer patch.  They are smaller than our storage types, but sweet.

WALLA WALLA ONIONS F/P  More sweet onions.  It is a bumper crop this year so we are sharing the overage… and we need to make room for the storage onions to come in to the barn from the field.

CUCUMBERS F/P  We have had a good run of cucumbers, but finally the patch is beginning to wind down.  Lately I have been making a quick cucumber salad at night:  cucumbers, onions, vinegar, honey, salt and pepper.  It is even better the next day for lunch and dinner too. 

SALSA PACK or SUMMER SQUASH F/P

CHERRY TOMATOES F/P

CABBAGE F  The last of the spring harvest.

EGGPLANT OR BEETS F

HERBS F

NEXT WEEK:  More tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, onions, eggplant and salsa packs.  Potatoes and garlic return.  Perhaps the first of the green beans.

FARM REPORT:
In the last 7 days the walk-in cooler needed repair, the exhaust pipe and one of the shocks fell off of the truck, the power supply for our computer went out, the refrigerator at the apprentice house died, and the van needed a tow.

Sweetpea (the name of our VW van since long before we became her owners) delivers the produce to the city twice a week and we are happy to have her back in good working order.  Thanks to the diligent work at the mechanics (and, of course, a decrease in the bank account) the van is running again and most of the other items on the list are fixed or on their way to that end. 

Meanwhile the crops pay no attention to our mechanical difficulties.  They are ready for harvest or to be planted.  They need water and weeding.   This week we transplanted cauliflower, broccoli and kale.

The new barn waits expectantly to be filled with our tools, equipment and workshop.  It looks so beautiful but at this point the only things in it are racks of onions drying.

In the Share – Week 9

new barn, tomatoes

TOMATOES F/P The first of the season.  Some will get cherry tomatoes, others a small sampling from the heirloom and hybrid slicers.   The hybrid red tomatoes are first to bear fruit along with a few of the “black” heirlooms.  The cherry tomatoes come in a rainbow of colors.  No matter the color, a ripe tomato should be bright -colored and soft to the touch.

NEW POTATOES F/P  We are determined to start digging the taters tomorrow despite the mud  Don’t expect them to be super free of dirt, but they are so yummy when fresh.  Refrigerate if you want to keep them for very long.  They have yet to grow their thick skins.

SWEET PEPPERS F/P  Pruning a few off the developing plants helps keeps them growing. 

CUCUMBERS F/P  The cukes are still going strong.

SUMMER SQUASH F/P  A mixture of zucchinis and yellow squash for all.  We are loving the zucchini noodles!

GARLIC  F/P  The garlic is juicy at this early stage.

BASIL AND PARSLEY  F/P  Basil for the tomatoes and parsley for the potatoes.

LETTUCE F  Small crunchy heads from a late Spring planting.

EGGPLANT F  We like to toss eggplant with olive oil and broil until it as soft as a cooked mushroom.

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

FARM REPORT:
A lot has happened since last Tuesday.  The most obvious change is the new barn shaping up before our very eyes.  It really is nice to see it come together so quickly and nicely too.  In a week’s time Arlen and his brothers had the structure up, roofed and concrete poured. 

The rainbow in the photo came after one of the many rain storms that have been around this week.  Storms with strong winds and lots of rain came through last night but everything fared alright.

In the Share – Week 2

broccoli, carrots, chickens, cover crops, freeze, potatoes, tomatoes

ASPARAGUS OR BROCCOLI F/P  The freeze slowed the asparagus harvest to a non-event, luckily the broccoli is starting to mature.

RED LEAF LETTUCE F/P  We love these red ruffley lettuces.  Half green & half red they make a beautiful salad all by themselves.

BUTTERHEAD OR ROMAINE HEIRLOOM LETTUCES Full shares get one of each.  Partial shares get a choice.  The heat is kicking in and we have a lot of lettuce in the field, so we are picking extra this week to keep ahead. 

ARUGULA  Full shares get both an herb choice and arugula, partial shares choose.   Add to your salad for a nice kick.

HERB CHOICE  Cilantro, dill, tarragon

BOK CHOY/TAT SOI  Add to some fried rice with farm eggs and you have yourself a meal!

GREENS CHOICE  Kale, Gail lan, Swiss Chard.  Partial shares can also choose the bok choy

GREEN GARLIC  the same concept as green onions, the young plants.  Use it fresh in salads.

NEXT WEEK:  More lettuce, broccoli, greens and herbs. 

FARM REPORT:  All hell broke loose after we last reported.  Two nights of freezing temperatures threatened to stop the harvest when we had barely begun.  In preparation, we covered the fields including the strawberries with their flowers and young fruit and the newly transplanted tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, squash, cukes and tender herbs. 

We thought we were prepared for the forecasted 36 degrees F Friday morning.  Unfortunately, it was much colder than that.  We registered 32 on our temperature gauge behind the greenhouse.  Out in the far field it must have been even colder.  Under the row cover the tomatoes were hit hard. 

Surprisingly, the plants without mulch fared better, including the peppers, eggplant, squash and cucumbers.  The potatoes lost much of their foliage but were better by yesterday.  After some time to evaluate, it looks like the damage is temporary and many of the plants will grow back with good health.  We have replaced the worst of the tomatoes with extra plants from the greenhouse.  We also send much appreciation to the fine folks at Gibbs Road Farm (KC,KS) for giving us extra plants. 

Meanwhile, the chickens were oblivious to all the plant drama this week.  Instead they are happily exploring their new home in the spring-planted cover crop of oats and peas.  

In the Share – Week 13

csa harvest, pond, tomatoes, wildlife

TOMATOES X 2 (F/P) The harvest is on and everyone will be getting a nice amount of tomatoes this week. The heirlooms are prone to cracking when the weather fluctuates as it has this year. Pick out the ugliest tomato you can find and see if it isn’t the tastiest.

CARROTS (F/P) We grew some big carrots this Spring and they are sweetening up nicely in the cooler. The fall carrots are growing, so we hope for a continuous supply through the end of the year.

GARLIC (F/P) I once ate at a restaurant called the Stinking Rose, where garlic is prominent in every dish.  

SALSA PACK OR OKRA (F) Its the first week with okra as a choice in the shares. We will try to spread it around as the harvest increases. No one that doesn’t want it should need to take it, but the okra-lovers will get their chance at some.

SWEET PEPPERS (F/P) Someone on Saturday mentioned making stuffed peppers, sounds good to me!

EGGPLANT (F/P)

CUCUMBERS (F) last of these until our last little planting matures.

HERB CHOICE (F/P) Lots of basil this week, also garlic chives and hot peppers.

NEXT WEEK: More tomatoes, peppers and eggplant. Melons (we think), potatoes and onions.

FARM REPORT:

Wow! What beautiful weather we are having. Tom and I feel fortunate to be able to make a living doing what we do every day, but when the days are this perfect we really cannot complain about anything.

Another reason to feel fortunate: with less than 24 hours-notice, the Saturday crew grew by 10 workers and we easily completed the CSA harvest. Thank you to all who made the trek through traffic and spent the morning picking cherry tomatoes and digging potatoes. It was a great example of the power of the CSA in action.

 And finally, how lucky are we that we were able to see one of our feathered neighbors so close up. We think it is a Great Horned owl.  We hear them often, but we usually only catch a glimpse as they fly by in the gathering dark.  This guy/gal seemed quite calm perched on our clothesline for quite some time before it silently flew away.

In the Share – Week Nine

rocky, shade structure, tomatoes

heirloom tomatoes

TOMATOES (F/P) A good share this week, mostly reds and pinks with a few greens and purples.  Wash them before you eat them as we don’t wash them at the farm.  Also, they are much, much better if they are never refrigerated.
LETTUCE (F/P)  One small, crisp summer lettuce head for everyone.
GREEN BEANS (F/P) The first round of beans did not fare very well.  We have more planted and are hopeful for a good crop later in the summer.
CUCUMBERS (F/P) The beetles are winning out there and it is only a matter of time before the squash and cukes bite the dust.  Another round of plants are on their way, but it will be a few weeks before they start producing.
SUMMER SQUASH (F)
BEETS OR CABBAGE (F/P)  The last of both until fall.  
HERBS (F) Basil, hot peppers or summer savory.
EGGPLANT OR PEPPERS (F/P)  The eggplant meatballs in Tom’s post this week is super yummy.
CHERRY TOMATOES (F) We grow cherry tomatoes that are red, pink, yellow, orange and purple.  Try them all and let us know which is your favorite.

NEXT WEEK: More tomatoes, eggplant, peppers and cucumbers. Maybe potatoes and garlic.

FARM REPORT:

It is a perk of the job to participate in the harvest of the summer fruits. The heirloom tomatoes are prized in large part for their thin skins and soft flesh, making it a delicate job getting them off the vine, out of the field, through the packing house and to distribution without bruising. The extra care is worth the effort once you have tasted a real tomato. We grow plenty of classic reds, but when your farmers go for a tomato it is more often a purple or a pink.  

The fall plants are getting planted in the field, with much more on the way. The fall transplants are seeded outside and they grow inside the shade structure until they are ready for the field.   This week we planted the first round of the fall broccoli and cauliflower. Soon we’ll transplant these little lettuces.

Our big polar bear of a dog is ready for fall already.  Rocky’s heavy coat keeps him chilled out on the concrete floor of the barn during the day.  He has the night shift to patrol the fields in the evening cool.