BGF NEWS - September 29 , 2020 - VOL. XLV, NO. 18

In this week’s box:

Arugula (in the plastic bag)

Baby Choi: Shanghai Green and/or Koji

Jubilee Cherry Tomato Mix (see 7/21 newsletter for details)

Lettuce: Magenta or Muir

Peppers: asst. (see 8/11 newsletter for details)

Spaghetti Squash

Sweet Onions: Candy or Cipollini

Tomato: Slicers (see 7/28 newsletter for details)

and perhaps one of the following: (please see **NOTE  after "A Little Detail...)     

Broccoli: Gypsy

Cauliflower: Goodman

Eggplant: Orient Express

Mini Bell Peppers: bite-sized, sweet red, yellow & orange peppers

Summer Squash: see descriptions in "A little detail"

For those with the Egg option [Full Shares]: one dozen free-range eggs

For those with the Herb option: purple basil, rosemary & garlic chives

Featured Recipes:  

Spaghetti Squash with Garlic and Cherry Tomatoes

Sweet Pepper Pasta with Sausage

Lemon Garlic Bok Choy

What’s up on the farm?

 

Precipitation in the past week: 0.45" 

Aahhhhh, rain sweet rain! And cooler temperatures to boot. We are starting to see a real change in the scenery as well, more colors in the trees, lower angle of the sunlight, almost a burnished edge to the hills every evening.

This past week we cleared the tomatoes from both high tunnels and the eggplant went along for the ride. Currently the only warm weather crops left in the tunnels are peppers and basil, and we are loath to say farewell to those for the season, though the forecast for later this week might just say it for us. Into the cleared beds we transplanted chard and kale and sowed arugula, turnips, salad mix and spinach. We are now down to the very end of the sowing and transplanting for the season.

 

In the coming days we will transplant the last two beds of head lettuce in the field and sow a couple of final beds of greens in the high tunnels and that will be it for the 2020 crops. The biggest tasks to follow will be prep and planting the garlic for next season, clearing all the spent field beds and installing all the row cover in the fields and high tunnels for the late fall crops.

Upcoming dates of note:

Tuesday, Oct 13th: final CSA delivery of the 2020 season

Saturday, Oct 31: final weekly VegEmail delivery

Tuesday, Nov 10: bi-weekly VegEmail deliveries begin. We plan to  continue these deliveries on Tuesdays, every 2 weeks until the end of April.

A little detail on your produce this week:

Broccoli & Cauliflower: Wrap loosely in a plastic bag and keep it in the vegetable bin of your refrigerator for up to a week. Immediately before cooking, soak, head down, in cold, salted water (1 teaspoon salt to a 8 cups of water) for 5 minutes. Any [organic] critters will float to the top where you can rescue them or allow them to suffer a salty death. (Note: If you soak broccoli/cauliflower in salt water before storing, it will become too rubbery and too wilted to enjoy.) Slice the juicy, edible stems and use them wherever florets are called for. Peel particularly thick skin before using.

Choi (a.k.a. - pac choi, bok choy or pok choy) is a structural-looking leafy-green vegetable.  It is a member of the cabbage family and is a traditional Asian stir-fry vegetable.  Both the stems and leaves of choi can be used and are especially tasty in cooked recipes.  If cooking them, separate the leaves and stems, and begin cooking stems first to avoid overcooking the more tender greens. You can also use the leaves like any green-leafy vegetable and the stems like celery.  We tend to use choi leaves as a sandwich wrap, or just roughly chop the whole thing and sauté with garlic and/or onion.  Cook until stems are tender and dress with a little seasoned rice vinegar. Store choi loosely wrapped in a plastic bag in your produce drawer.

Eggplant: Eggplant prefers to be kept at about 50° F, which is warmer than most refrigerators and cooler than most kitchen counters. Wrap unwashed eggplant in a towel (not in plastic) to absorb any moisture and keep it in the vegetable bin of your refrigerator. Used within a week, it should still be fresh and mild.  The shape of an eggplant determines how it is best prepared. Slice a straight, narrow eggplant into rounds for grilling or broiling, and cut a rounded, bulbous eggplant into cubes for stews and stir-fries.

Peppers:  Place whole, unwashed peppers in a plastic bag, seal, and refrigerate for a week or more. Rinse peppers just before use. For sweet peppers, cut around the stem with a small knife and lift out the core. Slice down the side to open it up and then cut out the inner membranes. Store unused portions in a sealed bag or container in the refrigerator.

Spaghetti Squash: A true winter squash, store spaghetti squash like you would an acorn or butternut squash, at room temperature or a bit cooler (basement) with good air circulation. To prepare, bake in the oven or the quicker version is to microwave 5mins/1lb until fork goes through. Cut squash in half and scope out the seeds.  Scoop out seeds, then scoop out the flesh of the squash and flake off “spaghetti” into strands and use as a pasta replacement or as a vegetable side dish.

Summer Squash/Zucchini: Refrigerate unwashed zucchini and summer squash for up to a week and a half in a perforated plastic bag or in a sealed plastic container lined with a kitchen towel. These do not need to be peeled to use, just slice them up and go! Our varieties: 8 Ball (green,round), Golden Glory (bright yellow zucchini),  Patty Pan(scalloped white, green or yellow), Slik Pik (thin, yellow) or Zephyr (green & yellow)

Tomatoes:

 always store whole tomatoes at room temperature, out of direct sunlight. Once cut, store in a sealed container in the refrigerator.

A few other details: All of your GREENS will keep best if stored in a plastic bag, with the top folded over and placed in the produce drawer of your refrigerator.  

** NOTE: You will notice over the course of the season that some box contents listed above say "Perhaps one of the following..."  These are items that we can’t harvest in sufficient quantities for the whole CSA to receive at one time.  We do track who gets what and we will do our best to ensure that everyone eventually receives each item.  On some items this may take several weeks, so please be patient.

Is a weekly newsletter not enough for you and you want to read more about our daily adventures or see pictures of the farm?  Follow us on Facebook at Blue Gate Farm and/or share your recipes, experiences and questions with other BGF members at Blue Gate Farm Community.

That’s about it this week, if you have any questions or comments be sure to let us know. 

Best from the farm,

Jill & Sean (and Luci, Indigo & Sky)

Indigo, Luci & Sky

BGF NEWS - AUGUST 11 , 2020 - VOL. XLV, NO. 11

In this week’s box:

Beans: Empress, Fortex and Golden Goal
Garlic: hardneck
Head Lettuce: asst.

Jubilee Cherry Tomato Mix (see 7/21 newsletter for details)
Kale: Asst.

Peppers: asst, see descriptions below

Spaghetti Squash

Summer Squash: see descriptions in "A little detail"

Tomato: Slicers (see 7/28 newsletter for details)

and at least one of the following: (please see **NOTE  after "A Little Detail...)     

Broccoli: Gypsy

Cantaloupe: Minnesota Midget
Cauliflower: Goodman

Cucumbers: Suyo Long, Lemon, Marketmore or Striped Armenian

Eggplant: Orient Express

Okra: Bowling Red & Candle Fire

Snap or Snow Peas

For those with the Egg option [Full & Half Shares]: one dozen free-range eggs

For those with the Herb option: sweet basil, ginger mint, thyme

Featured Recipes:  

Spaghetti Squash with Garlic & Burst Cherry Tomatoes
Roasted Green Beans with Parmesan and Basil
Penne Ortolano

What’s up on the farm?

Precipitation in the past week: 0.2"

Well the biggest news this week is that we didn't have storm damage, unlike so many people around the state. It was just about a year ago that we were hit with a tornado that did extensive damage around the farm so we are most relieved to have skipped that experience this round. We are so sorry for all our farmer friends and others who are now trying to figure out how to dig out from the storm.  We did have plenty of wind and a tiny bit of rain. It sure looked impressive as it rolled in. We were in the field trying desperately to get transplants planted ahead of the rain. This was the kind of planting we refer to as "whomping it in!" Which means we are not doing any extra steps, just basically stuffing plants into small holes as fast as we can. Four of us "whomped in" over 600 napa cabbage and lettuce transplants in about 40 minutes and then made a mad dash for the barn amid wind and rain. I wanted to get a picture, but was too muddy to touch my phone! Then after all that, we only got 0.2" of rain, not even enough to really water in the new plants so the irrigation will have to take over again.

The irrigation system has been working hard this week, as has the crew. A big focus this week has been clearing all the spent beds to prep for fall crops. I'm embarrassed to say that we had to resort to weed whackers and mowers in some beds, but you do what you have to do. We made good progress and are looking forward to the getting all the new crops in.


Some fun things this week include the appearance of spaghetti squash and sweet peppers in today's delivery. The peppers have been a bit slow to color and we really prefer to send them out ripe so we waited until now. We grow quite a variety of peppers and hope that we can get all of them into your boxes before the end of the season, so here's a little  sweet pepper introduction so you will know what you are receiving (hot peppers will follow soon).

Ace- green to red bell, thin walled

Bianca- ivory to red bell

Carmen-green to red Italian pepper (long, pointed)

Golden Marconi-green to yellow Italian pepper (long, pointed)

Islander- purple to orange bell

Paradicsom Alaku Sarga Szentes- squat green to yellow Hungarian pepper

Lunchbox Mix: bite-sized peppers in yellow, red & orange

Quadrato D'Asti Giallo-large, thick walled green to yellow bell

Revolution-large, thick walled green to red bell

Meet the Crew: Emme

One of my favorite parts of being part of the crew at Blue Gate Farm is that I have the opportunity to "be the change [I] wish to see in the world."  I am passionate about local food, ecological health and the relationship between the two.  I often feel overwhelmed by the state of our planet and global food supplies, and that all of our problems are too big to fix.  Being able to make a living while growing eco-friendly, chemical-free food for local consumers still feels like a dream.  There are days, however, when the physical demands of the type of labor we perform remind me that I am indeed awake.But my love for the work is not purely philosophical.  It is a workout - physically, mentally and emotionally.  Some days, it  takes a lot of work to convince myself that I can do the actual work.  It feels good to complete the tasks - physically, mentally and emotionally.  Growing nutritious food has become both a cause and effect of my own wellness plan, and that is a connection that I believe will remain intact long after my last date of employment on the farm.

I am fiercely proud that I have been able to be part of the farm for four seasons now.  I am infinitely grateful to have members like you making this great livelihood possible.  Each week as I pack your boxes, I hope that the food brings you similar joy as it does to me.

A little detail on your produce this week:

Basil hates the cold and will turn black with exposure. Keep long stemmed basil in a glass/vase of water on your counter top (out of direct sunlight). Stems that are too short (trimmings/tops) should be placed in a plastic bag or clamshell, with a dry paper towel. Then put inside of a paper bag (for insulation) and put in the warmest part of your refrigerator (usually the door) or on the top shelf towards the front.

Beans:Fresh beans are an easy "store."  Just leave them in their plastic bag and keep them in the produce drawer.  Can last up to 2 weeks.

Broccoli & Cauliflower: Wrap loosely in a plastic bag and keep it in the vegetable bin of your refrigerator for up to a week. Immediately before cooking, soak, head down, in cold, salted water (1 teaspoon salt to a 8 cups of water) for 5 minutes. Any [organic] critters will float to the top where you can rescue them or allow them to suffer a salty death. (Note: If you soak broccoli/cauliflower in salt water before storing, it will become too rubbery and too wilted to enjoy.) Slice the juicy, edible stems and use them wherever florets are called for. Peel particularly thick skin before using.

Cantaloupe:  If your cantaloupe seems a bit short of ripe, keep it at room temperature for a few days or until there is a sweet smell coming from the stem end. Once the melon ripens, store it in the refrigerator. It is best not to cut a cantaloupe until you are ready to eat it. If you need to return cut melon to the refrigerator, do not remove the seeds from the remaining sections as they keep the flesh from drying out. Use within 3-5 days.

Cucumber: Store unwashed cucumbers in a sealed plastic bag in the vegetable crisper bin for about a week. Keep cucumbers tucked far away from tomatoes, apples, and citrus—these give off ethylene gas that accelerates cucumber deterioration. You can do a lot of fancy things to the skin of a cucumber, but when it is young, fresh (and unwaxed), it really only needs to be thoroughly washed. However, if the skin seems tough or bitter you can remove it; if the seeds are bulky, slice the cucumber lengthwise and scoop them out.

Eggplant: Eggplant prefers to be kept at about 50° F, which is warmer than most refrigerators and cooler than most kitchen counters. Wrap unwashed eggplant in a towel (not in plastic) to absorb any moisture and keep it in the vegetable bin of your refrigerator. Used within a week, it should still be fresh and mild.  The shape of an eggplant determines how it is best prepared. Slice a straight, narrow eggplant into rounds for grilling or broiling, and cut a rounded, bulbous eggplant into cubes for stews and stir-fries.

 
Okra: These lovely, dark red, horn-shaped vegetables are a warm weather treat. Extremely cold sensitive, store in their plastic bag in the warmest part of your fridge, or place the plastic bag in a small paper sack and store in the crisper drawer and use within the week. Traditional southerners will cut into rounds, bread in cornmeal and fry, but our favorite version is our dear friend Annie's method, "All I do is rinse off the pods and lay them in a saucepan with a little water in the bottom. Ten to fifteen minutes is all it takes...twenty if the pods are really big and "woody" feeling. I put salt on them and eat as finger food. It reminds me of young sweet corn."

Peas: best kept in a plastic bag or glass container in your refrigerator. Use within a week.

Peppers:  Place whole, unwashed peppers in a plastic bag, seal, and refrigerate for a week or more. Rinse peppers just before use. For sweet peppers, cut around the stem with a small knife and lift out the core. Slice down the side to open it up and then cut out the inner membranes. Store unused portions in a sealed bag or container in the refrigerator.

Spaghetti Squash: A true winter squash, store spaghetti squash like you would an acorn or butternut squash, at room temperature or a bit cooler (basement) with good air circulation. To prepare, bake in the oven or the quicker version is to microwave 5 mins/lb until fork goes through. Cut squash in half and scope out the seeds.  Scoop out seeds, then scoop out the flesh of the squash and flake off “spaghetti” into strands and use as a pasta replacement or as a vegetable side dish.

Summer Squash/Zucchini: Refrigerate unwashed zucchini and summer squash for up to a week and a half in a perforated plastic bag or in a sealed plastic container lined with a kitchen towel. These do not need to be peeled to use, just slice them up and go! Our varieties: 8 Ball (green,round), Golden Glory (bright yellow zucchini),  Patty Pan(scalloped white, green or yellow), Slik Pik (thin, yellow) or Zephyr (green & yellow)

Tomatoes: always store whole tomatoes at room temperature, out of direct sunlight. Once cut, store in a sealed container in the refrigerator.

A few other details: All of your GREENS will keep best if stored in a plastic bag, with the top folded over and placed in the produce drawer of your refrigerator.  

** NOTE: You will notice over the course of the season that some box contents listed above say "Perhaps one of the following..."  These are items that we can’t harvest in sufficient quantities for the whole CSA to receive at one time.  We do track who gets what and we will do our best to ensure that everyone eventually receives each item.  On some items this may take several weeks, so please be patient.

Is a weekly newsletter not enough for you and you want to read more about our daily adventures or see pictures of the farm?  Follow us on Facebook at Blue Gate Farm and/or share your recipes, experiences and questions with other BGF members at Blue Gate Farm Community.

That’s about it this week, if you have any questions or comments be sure to let us know. 

Best from the farm,

Jill & Sean (and Luci, Indigo & Sky)

Indigo, Luci & Sky

BGF News - September 3, 2019-Vol. XLII, No.14

BGF News - September 3, 2019-Vol. XLII, No.14

In this week’s box:

Basil: Genovese or Italian Large Leaf

Beans: Carson (yellow) and/or Provider (green)

Chard or Kale Mix

Cherry Tomato Mix

Cucumbers: Lemon (round, yellow), Marketmore (English-type) or Suyo Long (long, Asian)

Garlic: Farmers Folly Mix see detail below

Purslane

Spaghetti Squash

Sweet Peppers: Ace (green to red), Islander (purple to orange)

Summer Squash: 8 Ball (green,round), Golden Glory (bright yellow zucchini),  Patty

      Pan (scalloped white, green or yellow), Slik Pik (thin, yellow) or Zephyr (green & yellow)

Tomatoes: see descriptions in 7/30 newsletter post

and perhaps one of the following: (please see **NOTE  after "A Little Detail..." below)     

Broccoli: Imperial or Belstar

Cantaloupe: Minnesota Midget

For those with the Egg option [Full shares]: one dozen free-range eggs (asst. colors)

For those with the Herb option: Thai basil, dill, lemongrass

Featured Recipes:  ** indicates a BGF favorite 

Roasted Green Beans with Parmesan and Basil

Spaghetti Squash with Garlic and Burst Cherry Tomatoes
Tomato Cucumber Purslane Salad

What’s up on the farm?

Precipitation in the past week: 1.75"

While I always resist making predictions about the weather, this sure feels like the last gasp of summer this week. Honestly, we kind of hope that it is. Not that we exactly wish for summer to be over, but we have been putting a lot of fall crops in the ground recently and they really dislike summer temperatures. If we get too many days of too high temperatures, it can cause these crops to bolt, or go to seed prematurely. This ends their use as vegetable crops, so we prefer them to ease into a nice slow slide into fall weather, much like we've been enjoying recently! In the past week we've sown fall spinach and tatsoi as well as started flats of chard, kale and napa cabbage to be transplanted into the high tunnels. We also continued our fall field transplanting with more broccoli and kale, with many more crops scheduled to go in the ground this week. We had hoped to get them in late last week, but our surprise 1.75" rain on Thursday morning put a hold on that plan. To make space for these crops we've been clearing more spent warm-weather crops like cucumbers, summer squash and the first sowing of beans. We still have later plantings of these crops, but especially the cukes and summer squashes are just about done. This will likely be the final delivery of cucumbers and possibly basil, which was really stressed out by the storm a couple of weeks ago.

Speaking of the storm, our recovery continues. We are filled with gratitude for the many kind words, offers of help and hours of labor put in by the crew, friends and family. We spent much of the Labor Day weekend getting the roof rebuilt and recovered. While not quite done, we are now rain-tight and feeling much more secure. There is still much work to be done on the high tunnels, but the supplies are ordered and we hope to have a schedule for those repairs soon.

On a related note, many of you are familiar with our annual fall event, Farm Crawl. We are sad to announce that this year's Crawl has been cancelled due to several farms retiring and others suffering damage in the recent storm. It is unclear at this time whether the event will continue in future years. 

And finally, a little tale of the Farmer's Folly. I will spare you the lengthy bedtime version, but last fall when planting garlic in a new plot, the FarmHer had a record keeping irregularity. This wasn't realized until after we harvested the garlic this summer and found the record of the planting details...which weren't exactly how we remembered...or how we grouped our harvest. In short, we mixed some of our Northern White garlic in with our Music garlic and now have no way of separating them. Our Northern White variety is still true, and we will use that for sale and for seed stock. However the Music mix is now labeled Farmer's Folly since we aren't sure which it is. What does this mean for you? Really very little,  it is all delicious and wonderful for use in the kitchen, it is just no longer a clean seed line and we will have to start over with buying new seed for our Music variety.

A little detail on your produce this week:

Beans: Fresh beans are an easy "store."  Just leave them in their plastic bag and keep them in the produce drawer.  Can last up to 2 weeks.

Broccoli: Wrap broccoli loosely in a plastic bag and keep it in the vegetable bin of your refrigerator for up to a week. Immediately before cooking, soak broccoli, head down, in cold, salted water (1 teaspoon salt to a 8 cups of water) for 5 minutes. Any [organic] critters will float to the top where you can rescue them or allow them to suffer a salty death. (Note: If you soak broccoli in salt water before storing, it will become too rubbery and wilted to enjoy.) Slice the juicy, edible stems and use them wherever florets are called for. Peel particularly thick skin before using.

Cantaloupe:  If your cantaloupe seems a bit short of ripe, keep it at room temperature for a few days or until there is a sweet smell coming from the stem end. Once the melon ripens, store it in the refrigerator. It is best not to cut a cantaloupe until you are ready to eat it. If you need to return cut melon to the refrigerator, do not remove the seeds from the remaining sections as they keep the flesh from drying out. Use within 3-5 days.

 Cucumber: Store unwashed cucumbers in a sealed plastic bag in the vegetable crisper bin for about a week. Keep cucumbers tucked far away from tomatoes, apples, and citrus—these give off ethylene gas that accelerates cucumber deterioration. You can do a lot of fancy things to the skin of a cucumber, but when it is young, fresh (and unwaxed), it really only needs to be thoroughly washed. However, if the skin seems tough or bitter you can remove it; if the seeds are bulky, slice the cucumber lengthwise and scoop them out.

Peppers:  Place whole, unwashed peppers in a plastic bag, seal, and refrigerate for a week or more. Rinse peppers just before use. For sweet peppers, cut around the stem with a small knife and lift out the core. Slice down the side to open it up and then cut out the inner membranes. Store unused portions in a sealed bag or container in the refrigerator.

Spaghetti Squash: A true winter squash, store spaghetti squash like you would an acorn or butternut squash, at room temperature or a bit cooler (basement) with good air circulation. To prepare, bake in the oven or the quicker version is to microwave 5 mins/lb until fork goes through. Cut squash in half and scope out the seeds.  Scoop out seeds, then scoop out the flesh of the squash and flake off “spaghetti” into strands and use as a pasta replacement or as a vegetable side dish.

Summer Squash/Zucchini: Refrigerate unwashed zucchini and summer squash for up to a week and a half in a perforated plastic bag or in a sealed plastic container lined with a kitchen towel. These do not need to be peeled to use, just slice them up and go!

Tomatoes:

 always store whole tomatoes at room temperature, out of direct sunlight. A light "squeeze" is the best test for ripeness. Once cut, store in a sealed container in the refrigerator.  

A few other details: All of your GREENS will keep best if stored in a plastic bag, with the top folded over and placed in the produce drawer of your refrigerator.  

** NOTE: You will notice over the course of the season that some box contents listed above say "Perhaps one of the following..."  These are items that we can’t harvest in sufficient quantities for the whole CSA to receive at one time.  We do track who gets what and we will do our best to ensure that everyone eventually receives each item.  On some items this may take several weeks, so please be patient.

Is a weekly newsletter not enough for you and you want to read more about our daily adventures or see pictures of the farm?  Follow us on Facebook at Blue Gate Farm and/or share your recipes, experiences and questions with other BGF members at Blue Gate Farm Community.

That’s about it this week, if you have any questions or comments be sure to let us know. 

Best from the farm,

Jill & Sean (and Luci, Indigo & Sky)

BGF News - August 21, 2018-Vol. XL, No.12

BGF News - August 21, 2018-Vol. XL, No.12

In this week’s box:

Basil: Red Rubin

Beans: Mix: Carson (yellow) & Empress (green)

Cherry Tomato Mix
Cucumber: Diva/Marketmore  (green, English), Suyo Long (long green, Asian)

                     or Lemon (round, yellow) final delivery

Head Lettuce: Concept (dk green), Magenta (red) or Nevada (bright green)

Peppers: Ace or Revolution (red bells), Islander (purple to orange bell), Quadrato D'Asti Giallo
                 (yellow bell), Golden Marconi (long, pointed yellow) or PASS (small, yellow)

Spaghetti Squash
Sweet Onions: Ailsa Craig

Tomatoes: asst varieties, see descriptions on the 7/24 post

 and perhaps one of the following:

Broccoli: side shoots

Cantaloupe: Minnesota Midget or Rocky Ford (green interior)

Cauliflower: Sicilian Purple (purple) or Goodman (white)

Okra: Burgundy & Candle Fire

Watermelon: Sugar Baby (dk green stripe w/ red interior) or Cream of Saskatchewan (lt green,

                         striped with white interior)

           

For those with the Egg option [full shares]: one dozen free-range eggs

For those with the Herb option: sweet basil, oregano, lemon balm

  

Featured Recipes:  ** indicates a BGF favorite 

Spaghetti Squash
Spaghetti Squash with Garlic and Burst Cherry Tomatoes

Summer Pepper Salad

Broccoli & Red Pepper Stir-fry

What’s up on the farm?   

Precipitation in the past week: 0.8"

A rainy Monday morning on the farm

The above photo is the most important thing that happened on the farm this week...it rained! Not a lot, but more rain than we have seen since June (.2" late last week and .6" on Monday.) It came slow and soft and while we would like much more, it was most welcome! This will help the fall crops more than anything else we can do though we will have to turn the irrigation lines back on tomorrow.

I'm not sure I have done an adequate job of sharing how very dry it is here (and in areas south of us). We hope you haven't felt the reality of the drought in your weekly deliveries. We've tried to keep the boxes as full and varied as possible, but it is getting harder and harder to do so, especially with crops like cucumbers and summer squash finishing up for the season. There isn't much new yet to give you. We are seeing the greatest shortages in leafy greens and tomato volume, though the tomatoes seem to be ratcheting up their production this week. The greens front is really a struggle for us right now. We had nearly 300 heads of lettuce bolt far sooner than we were expecting, which means only a small percentage of them are usable. We do have more lettuce coming, but it has been slowed by the weather and may not be ready for next week's delivery. The replacement chard crop is struggling as well, but we hope to see it start to size up in the next couple of weeks. New kale is growing nicely in flats, but still has to be transplanted and grow out for about 4 weeks.  It isn't all bad, as I said, the tomatoes seems to be speeding up and the peppers look pretty good, though they too are slow to color.

We are sending out something new and fun this week that we hope you will enjoy. It is the first time we've grown spaghetti squash and the crop was pretty good in the field. We hope you enjoy it, whether it is an old favorite or a new adventure for you!

Spaghetti squash, sunflowers and smiles!

More seasonal progress around the farm this week. We cleared the high tunnel cucumbers and spent lettuce, plus the unusable lettuce from the field. Beds are prepped and ready to be resown. We have some surprisingly good germination in our late carrots and the choi and turnips are looking pretty good. A few things will need some remedial sowing, but hopefully not too many. Let's keep hoping for more rain soon!

A little detail on your produce this week:

Cantaloupe:  If your cantaloupe seems a bit short of ripe, keep it at room temperature for a few days or until there is a sweet smell coming from the stem end. Once the melon ripens, store it in the refrigerator. It is best not to cut a cantaloupe until you are ready to eat it. If you need to return cut melon to the refrigerator, do not remove the seeds from the remaining sections as they keep the flesh from drying out. Use within 3-5 days.

Cucumber: Store unwashed cucumbers in a sealed plastic bag in the vegetable crisper bin for about a week. Keep cucumbers tucked far away from tomatoes, apples, and citrus—these give off ethylene gas that accelerates cucumber deterioration. You can do a lot of fancy things to the skin of a cucumber, but when it is young, fresh (and unwaxed), it really only needs to be thoroughly washed. However, if the skin seems tough or bitter you can remove it; if the seeds are bulky, slice the cucumber lengthwise and scoop them out.

Okra: These lovely, dark red, horn-shaped vegetables are a warm weather treat. Extremely cold sensitive, store in their plastic bag in the warmest part of your fridge, or place the plastic bag in a small paper sack and store in the crisper drawer and use within the week. Traditional southerners will cut into rounds, bread in cornmeal and fry, but our favorite version is our dear friend Annie's method, "All I do is rinse off the pods and lay them in a saucepan with a little water in the bottom. Ten to fifteen minutes is all it takes...twenty if the pods are really big and "woody" feeling. I put salt on them and eat as finger food. It reminds me of young sweet corn."

Onions: cured and ready to use or store at room temperature or a bit cooler (basement) with good air circulation. Once cut, store in a sealed container in the refrigerator. Sweet onions don't store as long as other types, so be sure to use them in the next few weeks.

Peppers: Place whole, unwashed peppers in a plastic bag, seal, and refrigerate for a week or more. Rinse peppers just before use. For sweet peppers, cut around the stem with a small knife and lift out the core. Slice down the side to open it up and then cut out the inner membranes. Store unused portions in a sealed bag or container in the refrigerator.

Spaghetti Squash: A true winter squash, store spaghetti squash like you would an acorn or butternut squash, at room temperature or a bit cooler (basement) with good air circulation. To prepare, bake in the oven or the quicker version is to microwave 5mins/1lb until fork goes through. Cut squash in half and scope out the seeds.  Scoop out seeds, then scoop out the flesh of the squash and flake off “spaghetti” into strands and use as a pasta replacement or as a vegetable side dish.

Tomatoes: prefer to reside on your counter and not in the refrigerator unless they have been sliced. A light "squeeze" is the best test for ripeness. 

Watermelon: Handle watermelons carefully. When harvested at their peak ripeness, they can crack or split easily if bumped or roughly handled. Refrigerate watermelons right away. (Watermelons do not ripen off the vine and do not emanate a ripe smell.) Cut melon should be covered in plastic wrap, chunks or slices should be kept in an airtight container, and both should be refrigerated. Eat all melons within a week. 

A few other details: All of your GREENS will keep best if stored in a plastic bag, with the top folded over and placed in the produce drawer of your refrigerator.  

** NOTE: You will notice over the course of the season that some box contents listed above say "Perhaps one of the following..."  These are items that we can’t harvest in sufficient quantities for the whole CSA to receive at one time.  We do track who gets what and we will do our best to ensure that everyone eventually receives each item.  On some items this may take several weeks, so please be patient.

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That’s about it this week, if you have any questions or comments be sure to let us know. 

Best from the farm,

Jill & Sean (and Luci & Indigo)