Full Share:  Carrots, Beans, Cauliflower, Yukon Gold potatoes, basil, zucchini, summer squash, cucumbers, Sungold tomatoes, Poblano peppers, and eggplant

Partial Share: Carrots, cauliflower, summer squash, Sungold tomatoes, cucumbers, Shishito peppers, and Yukon Gold potatoes

I never thought I’d say this, but 85 degrees almost feels cool! Week #13 is the false summit week of a farm season, where as a farmer you want to think the end is in sight and you can let your guard down, but there is really still a ton of work to be done. With five days of harvest and three farmer’s markets each week, it’s hard to find time to fit in some of the other projects, both harvest-wise and infrastructure wise.  The garlic cleaning is going well, but it’s a large daunting task, and one that has to be completed soon so that the onions and winter squash can be harvested and moved to the greenhouse to cure.  The farm looks different as we’ve turned many of the spring crops back into the soil, and are re-conditioning beds and starting to plant fall crops such as spinach, radishes, and turnips.   But while we are planning and preparing for fall, we need to recognize that we are still in peak summer for the next few weeks. All of the warmest weather crops, such as tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and green beans are coming into harvest, and the sweet corn is not far behind.

Being a CSA Farmer is a tricky arrangement.  With 230 shares, many of which are split between two or more people, we are dealing with roughly 450 individuals.  And that’s 450 people with different palates, different eating habits, and different food preferences.  And not only are we trying to keep all of these disparate folks happy for 20 weeks in a row, but we have the added constraint that we can only work with what the farm provides that week.  Some weeks are easy to build a share, because we might only have 9 crops ready, so we put all 9 in the box.  But this time of year, things get tricky.  There is so much food that is ready, most of it won’t hold in the field or in the cooler, and mother nature has usually messed up all our timing and planning.  In the end, whether you may like a certain item or not, we at least aim for it to be the highest quality we can produce.  This week, you’ll be seeing some of the aforementioned warmest season crops (tomatoes, eggplant, green beans, and peppers), but then you’re also getting your third week of cauliflower in a row….thanks Mother Nature!

Early morning cucumber harvest.

Last week we had a couple of requests for some recipe help with the cauliflower, but we also had some  members offer up some unique ideas of their own.  The most unusual was probably the buffalo-wing style cauliflower floret.  Another creative idea, one that Rebecca often uses, is to make cauliflower rice.   There was also the potato and cauliflower mash. And if none of those work for you, here’s 43 other ones to peruse!

Early morning cauliflower harvest.

This is the time of year when we annually offer up bulk basil for sale to anyone who wants larger quantities for freezing or making pesto.  It’s $12 a pound, while supplies last.  We can handle orders for Glacier, C. Falls, On-farm and Kalispell this week, and will fill orders for Whitefish next week.  Just email us at info@twobearfarm.com at least 24 hours before your CSA pickup and tell us how many pounds you want.

See you at CSA distribution!

Todd and Two Bear Farm Team