August - CSA Box #6
It’s more than halfway through the growing season and we are pretty happy with how things have gone. We are endlessly pulling weeds and behind on planting fall cover crops that will regenerate our soil. It is a nonstop to-do list and a race to the first frost at this point. It’s crazy to think in just a couple short weeks we will begin putting the garden to rest. Feeling a bit of the farmer’s fatigue but pushing through to bring ya’ll some tasty produce and lush bouquets.
Peppers - King of the North Bell and Corno di Toro peppers are starting to ripen in the hoop house. Many of you received green ones, but as the season continues expect many more types of delicious peppers of all colors. If this year is anything like the last, we will have a range of colors and heat levels to share.
Melon - Most of our melons have been plagued with misfortune. All of our French varieties have perished, and everything aside from the watermelons has produced very few before dying off. So we decided to split up a sample of what we harvested. Some of you got a piece of a honeydew and others received half a mini Kaho watermelon. The Kaho are a Japanese variety that ripens around 2-4lbs and has salmon-orange flesh. They were originally introduced to Japan from China in 1912. This winter we plan on doing our research to ensure a better harvest. We still have a few varieties growing right now. All hope is not lost!
Tomatoes - The highlight of this haul is the Bumblebee Sunrise variety which has an adorable name and beautiful marbled gold color. The larger heirloom tomato is called a Pineapple Tomato (although sweet it doesn’t taste like a pineapple) and also has a similar orange-red marbling. We have a lot more of these that will be ripe in time for the next box. The fluctuation between extreme drought and watering caused some splitting but be assured the inside is delicious. If there’s a little green on yours, it will ripen on the counter in a few days.
Corn - Allure sweet corn is one of our favorites to grow and this year it is the first to be ready for harvest. We didn’t peek inside at all of these but the few we tested were great. Hoping all of these are covered in kernels and to die for. Feel free to snap a pic of your ears and send it to us!
Squash - This is a repeat of the previous week and the same excuses. We have a lot of plants on the verge of producing but as of late there’s been barely enough to go around. The tides are undoubtedly about to turn but there are no guarantees in gardening. We have learned that you need an absurd number of plants in order to consistently be producing enough for 30+ people every two weeks. That inevitably means there will be quite a bit of squash that potentially gets wasted (or at the very least banished to the compost pile). However, we’d prefer to be living in a land of abundance so we could be spoiling everyone silly.
Eggplants are a similar tale of woe as the squash. These have been a challenge to store successfully, and it’s been a challenge for our plants to match our deadline. It seems like they hate the cold of the fridge just as much as they detest room temperature. She’s a real Goldilocks - never happy - no matter what we do. Next year, we’ve been toying with the idea of growing a larger number of the same variety so we have a consistent flush of one type. BUT then we worry people will tire of the same old thing! Let us know what you think, if we should continue growing these next year, and which kind is your favorite.
Moussaka - decadent and delicious this can be made vegetarian as well!
Cucumbers - The vines are slowing down at this point but we’ve been very appreciative for the insane amount we’ve harvested this year. We hope you all enjoyed the Suyos. There’s a chance the next box only has one cucumber.
Kale - We reverted back to the curly variety. These plants have become a favorite of ours since they don’t get very tall, which makes it easier to protect from pests with netting. We will definitely be growing it again next year. If you haven’t tried massaging these down with some avocado, you are missing out.
Potatoes - The new variety in this bag is the Dakota Rose (red). Our Russian Banana Fingerlings and Satina are back for another round. Next box we will give you a little break since we loaded you up heavy, but we likely only have one more share this season. We plan on growing more next year and taking a swing at some sweet potatoes.
Onions - Cabernet Red & Amber are in this box. We have a whole lot more of the Amber for storage.
Garlic - German Extra Hardy (again)
Leeks - These Alto Leeks grew incredibly tall. After reading a little more about them, we realized we should have harvested them a few weeks prior. We used these in the butter mentioned below.
Root Vegetables - A mix of beets and carrots was included in a bag this week. The carrots are scraggly and would make a great soup stock or broth. We have a lot more carrots planted and several other root vegetables ahead.
Leek Compound Butter contains blanched Alto Leeks, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Great for roasting with potatoes, atop meat, or slathered on toasted breads.
Variety is the spice of life! This week we had a few additional items like broccoli and cauliflower crowns or greens which we spread around at random so some of you may have received additional goodies. Not sure of what something is? Feel free to reach out and ask!
Herbs
BasilCilantroDillLavender
This week’s bouquets featured:
Dahlias, Zinnias, Sunflowers, Gladiolus, Gomphrena, Black Eyed Susan’s, Blue Vervain, Chocolate Lace Flower, Cosmos
We planted over 100 dahlia plants and have seen blooms from the majority this year. Almost 20 were started from seed, so it has been incredibly exciting to see what the flowers would look like. Seeds were purchased from one of our favorite flower farms, Floret, for a mix of open-faced varieties that attract pollinators as well as a cactus flowered mix from Baker Creek. A post dedicated solely to dahlias is likely inevitable. It is hard not to fall in love with these flowers. Camano Mordor so far has been the biggest producer. It is a volcanic reddish orange, with hues of raspberry, coral, and yellow. They form geometric ball-shaped flowers and were heavily featured this week.
Take our brief survey to tell us what you think so far!
