Week 12
The butternut squash has died back enough that we can see some beautiful tan butternuts under all the foliage. They look awesome. All our onions are out of the field and curing and it feels great to have that done.
No carrots this week to give you all a chance to use up what is in your veggie drawer and for a change of pace but we have some left from Saturdays stand if you need to buy some. We will have lots of stuff on the trade table for those of you who hate beets!
Hope you all have a fantastic week.
Salad Mix
Cherry Tomatoes
Tomatillos
Cilantro
Onion
Jalopeno Pepper - Perhaps it is the extra heat we have had this year but so far the chiles I have eaten have been spicy compared to other seasons.
Beets - Red
Kale - White Russian
Sun Jewel Melon- Large Only
Corn - Large Only
There are some directions for tomatillo salsa if you click on the tomatillo recipe on the right hand side. It is great with chips, as a sauce for enchiladas or a good base for braising chicken.
Monday, August 26, 2013
Monday, August 19, 2013
Week 11
When I was ordering seeds last winter I was thinking of you all. For the past few years we have given you the same varieties of winter squash each year. We grow a few other varieties but the farm share always gets our favorites and the ones that seem the most popular. In an effort to make things a bit more interesting for you and me I went looking for a new winter squash for this year. We planted two new varieties that are growing next to the sun jewel melons and the whole place is a mess of foliage that I have resisted looking in because I would have move some vines around to try to find a place to step. On Friday when we harvested some melons for the stand my curiosity got the best of me. The first one is called sweet fall and it is described as a 4 pound squash. Well, I can't seem to find one that looks smaller than 12 pounds! The other squash is suppose to do well in short season climates (we have a long growing period due to the temperate climate but the lack of heat still means all heat loving crops need to be short season varieties) but I could only find lots of really small immature squash. Darn it. Looks like we might be sticking with the old favorites again this year.
I know it probably seems a bit early to be talking of fall but as we pull the onions out to dry down and watch the squash leaves start to yellow a little bit it is hard not to think about it. Even your boxes have a touch of fall in them. Our first round of fall cabbages and broccoli are beginning to mature and they look great. Summer isn't usually a time of year people think of as good broccoli growing weather but we always get some of our nicest crops this time of year. There is plenty of summer in your boxes today as well and we have more of it to come next week.
Lettuce
Carrots
Cherry Tomatoes
Slicing Tomatoes
Cabbage
Broccoli
Yellow or Orange Bell Pepper - Large Only
Cilantro - Large Only
Swiss Chard - Large Only
When I was ordering seeds last winter I was thinking of you all. For the past few years we have given you the same varieties of winter squash each year. We grow a few other varieties but the farm share always gets our favorites and the ones that seem the most popular. In an effort to make things a bit more interesting for you and me I went looking for a new winter squash for this year. We planted two new varieties that are growing next to the sun jewel melons and the whole place is a mess of foliage that I have resisted looking in because I would have move some vines around to try to find a place to step. On Friday when we harvested some melons for the stand my curiosity got the best of me. The first one is called sweet fall and it is described as a 4 pound squash. Well, I can't seem to find one that looks smaller than 12 pounds! The other squash is suppose to do well in short season climates (we have a long growing period due to the temperate climate but the lack of heat still means all heat loving crops need to be short season varieties) but I could only find lots of really small immature squash. Darn it. Looks like we might be sticking with the old favorites again this year.
I know it probably seems a bit early to be talking of fall but as we pull the onions out to dry down and watch the squash leaves start to yellow a little bit it is hard not to think about it. Even your boxes have a touch of fall in them. Our first round of fall cabbages and broccoli are beginning to mature and they look great. Summer isn't usually a time of year people think of as good broccoli growing weather but we always get some of our nicest crops this time of year. There is plenty of summer in your boxes today as well and we have more of it to come next week.
Lettuce
Carrots
Cherry Tomatoes
Slicing Tomatoes
Cabbage
Broccoli
Yellow or Orange Bell Pepper - Large Only
Cilantro - Large Only
Swiss Chard - Large Only
Monday, August 12, 2013
Week 10
Looking around the garden I can see the decline beginning to happen. Each week there is a little less green as we till in crops that we have finished picking. I love watching the season unfold.
I ordered seed garlic last week and hopefully next year's garlic will be a success. I wasn't able to get our favorite variety but am looking forward to trying a couple new ones. At 20 bucks a pound it would have been cheaper to try to find some local seed from friends but everyone I talked to had some disease issues in their garlic this year and I wanted to take as few chances as possible even if it means it will take a few years of saving seed before we are up to the 300 pounds we planted last fall. We will be more careful about culling plants that don't look good and about what garlic we save for planting.
Last week some of you had a Sun Jewel Melon in your box and the remainder of you will receive one over the next couple weeks. It is a Korean melon with a crisp flesh. I just learned that some people eat the seeds. They are the sweetest part of the melon.
You received our first picking of corn last week and may receive the last picking off the planting today. It is tough to say just how much is out there and I am not sure if you will have it in your boxes today. We have two more plantings behind the current one so you will receive more corn at some point regardless of whether you have some in your box today.
Carrots
Cherry Tomatoes
Slicing Tomato
Summer Squash
Walla Walla Onions
Basil
Asian Cucumber - Large Only
Lemon Cucumber - Small Only
Wax Bean/Green Bean
Corn - Maybe
Sun Jewel Melon - Rotating Item
Lettuce - Large Only
Looking around the garden I can see the decline beginning to happen. Each week there is a little less green as we till in crops that we have finished picking. I love watching the season unfold.
I ordered seed garlic last week and hopefully next year's garlic will be a success. I wasn't able to get our favorite variety but am looking forward to trying a couple new ones. At 20 bucks a pound it would have been cheaper to try to find some local seed from friends but everyone I talked to had some disease issues in their garlic this year and I wanted to take as few chances as possible even if it means it will take a few years of saving seed before we are up to the 300 pounds we planted last fall. We will be more careful about culling plants that don't look good and about what garlic we save for planting.
Last week some of you had a Sun Jewel Melon in your box and the remainder of you will receive one over the next couple weeks. It is a Korean melon with a crisp flesh. I just learned that some people eat the seeds. They are the sweetest part of the melon.
You received our first picking of corn last week and may receive the last picking off the planting today. It is tough to say just how much is out there and I am not sure if you will have it in your boxes today. We have two more plantings behind the current one so you will receive more corn at some point regardless of whether you have some in your box today.
Carrots
Cherry Tomatoes
Slicing Tomato
Summer Squash
Walla Walla Onions
Basil
Asian Cucumber - Large Only
Lemon Cucumber - Small Only
Wax Bean/Green Bean
Corn - Maybe
Sun Jewel Melon - Rotating Item
Lettuce - Large Only
Monday, August 5, 2013
Week 9
Most small farmers have mixed feelings about sweet corn. On the negative side is that it takes up a lot of space, loves nitrogen and water, is very hard to make any money on unless you are growing acres of it and it can be a little iffy to pull off a good crop in the Pacific Northwest. On the plus side is that nothing tastes as good as freshly picked sweet corn. That one plus keeps us growing it. There is one key to enjoying your sweet corn. You should eat it as soon as possible. Once corn is picked it immediately starts converting sugar to starch. Modern hybrids have been developed to slow this process but it still holds true with the variety we grow.
Last week a farm share member who is from the same town in Montana as Kelly was telling us about her and her husband's trip "home". Naturally most of the discussion focused on where they ate and where we eat when we go back to Helena. Nothing brings back memories like eating food you ate when you were younger. There is a sandwich place in Helena that is famous(I use that term loosely) for their ranch dressing. It sparked a conversation about ranch dressing and how none of us had made it but remember our mothers making it with the packet when we were kids. Well, forget the packet. I am including a link for a homemade ranch dressing that will make a happy home for your parsley.
Have a wonderful week and enjoy the summer sunshine.
Lettuce
Carrots
Green Beans
Bell Peppers
Cherry Tomatoes
Corn
Parsley
Kale - Small Only
Salad - Large Only
Cucumber
Ranch Dressing
Most small farmers have mixed feelings about sweet corn. On the negative side is that it takes up a lot of space, loves nitrogen and water, is very hard to make any money on unless you are growing acres of it and it can be a little iffy to pull off a good crop in the Pacific Northwest. On the plus side is that nothing tastes as good as freshly picked sweet corn. That one plus keeps us growing it. There is one key to enjoying your sweet corn. You should eat it as soon as possible. Once corn is picked it immediately starts converting sugar to starch. Modern hybrids have been developed to slow this process but it still holds true with the variety we grow.
Last week a farm share member who is from the same town in Montana as Kelly was telling us about her and her husband's trip "home". Naturally most of the discussion focused on where they ate and where we eat when we go back to Helena. Nothing brings back memories like eating food you ate when you were younger. There is a sandwich place in Helena that is famous(I use that term loosely) for their ranch dressing. It sparked a conversation about ranch dressing and how none of us had made it but remember our mothers making it with the packet when we were kids. Well, forget the packet. I am including a link for a homemade ranch dressing that will make a happy home for your parsley.
Have a wonderful week and enjoy the summer sunshine.
Lettuce
Carrots
Green Beans
Bell Peppers
Cherry Tomatoes
Corn
Parsley
Kale - Small Only
Salad - Large Only
Cucumber
Ranch Dressing
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