Full Share: Salad Mix, Spinach, Beets, Garlic Scapes, Rainbow Chard, Carrots, Broccolini, Zucchini, Basil or Peas
Partial Share: Salad Mix, Hakurei Salad Turnips, Garlic Scapes, Rainbow Chard, Carrots, and Zucchini
Hello CSA members!
It’s starting to feel like July out there! On such a hot day, there’s no better topic to talk about than cooling. Of vegetables. In your refrigerator. While I hit on this topic every season, I do regret not covering it earlier this season. Did you ever wonder how a carrot can be stored for 6 months in a root cellar, but it only lasts about two days in your fridge before going limp? Well, the key is humidity, and refrigerators tend to have low humidity inside. And if you all remember that high school science class on osmosis, yes the one with the food coloring, then you know that the moisture in the carrot is going to move from the high concentration….i.e, the carrot, to the the low moisture area…i.e. your fridge, to equalize the humidity. Voila…limp carrot. So, what you need to do is to stop the loss of moisture, and the best way to due this is through that dastardly material known as plastic. Or even better, glass Tupperware. It’s the role that the crisper drawer is supposed to fulfill, but I haven’t found them to be all that effective. Cut the green tops off your carrots, and put them in a plastic bag with a damp paper towel or just a bit of water, or seal them up wet in a Tupperware container. I think you’ll find your carrots will easily last for weeks this way. For Kale, Chard, and other veggies, put them in a plastic ziplock, but leave it unsealed to allow a little air flow, without much moisture loss. The salad mix and other bagged greens are already in a perforated plastic bag, so it should hold well as is.
For a more thorough, vegetable by vegetable review of the best way to store your CSA items, see this website.
My nephew’s visit is coming to a close, so the drone project is wrapping up. Just putting the finishing touches on the video, and everyone is debating the music choice. For some reason, my recommendation of Megadeath’s “Symphony of Destruction” does not seem to be garnering many votes. Oh well. Hopefully, we can attach it to next weeks newsletter. For now, here’s a little overhead shot of the vegetable production portion of the farm.
Enjoy the dog days of summer, because I think they are finally here! We’ll see you at CSA distribution!
Todd and the Two Bear Farm Crew
