Full Share: Carrots, Zucchini, Sweet Corn, Slicing Tomatoes, Sungold tomatoes, Music Garlic, Sweet Onion……other?
Partial Share: Slicing Tomato, Zucchini, Sungold Tomatoes, Sweet Corn, Garlic, Sweet Onion….and?
Hello CSA members!
It’s week #14, and it’s going to be a scorcher out there this week. Or if you’re from New England, it’s gonna be a scorcha! The farm continues to chug along….the sweet corn is still in it’s prime, and the tomatoes are overwhelming us in quantity. Our irrigation is operating at about a fifth of its capacity, as the Stillwater River is so low our irrigation basin cannot recharge fast enough to run at full capacity. But, on the bright side, we still have some water. My biggest disappointment right now is that we have a bunch of ground that could really use a cover crop, but we don’t have the capacity to irrigate it right now. The areas that we were able to get seeded and watered look amazing, and are providing lots of pollinator habitat on an otherwise very dry landscape.
One of the leaders and main advocates for market farming is a Canadian named JM Fortier. I had to laugh the other day when I saw his latest video post where he told farmers that August is not the time to find perspective. It is not the time to questions your life decisions. August is the time to put your head down, do the work, and take it one day at a time. Once the season is over, that’s when you can ask those hard questions. And I think he is spot on. We’re at a point in the farm season where much of the planting and weeding is done, and the goal now is to irrigate, harvest, wash, and sell all the food we’ve been working all these months to grow. In a way it feels like a relief, but at the same time there is still a ton of work in front of us. But none harder than anything we’ve done so far. So here’s to putting your head down and doing the work!
I made the mistake of glancing at the news this week, and I was pondering a diatribe comparing the new average wage of UPS drivers compared to the average wage of school teachers, and what that says about the priorities of a consumer society, but I’ll follow JM’s advice….August is not a good time for such things.
So let’s stick to the basics…..in the share this week, you’ll be getting the second serving of sweet corn. After this week, the quality of the corn starts to wane a bit as it gets a bit more “doughy” and starchy, but this week it should still be prime. And we’ll see how it holds up….although the forecast for 3 days of 97 degrees may not do it any favors. The tomatoes have begun to ripen in a huge wave, and since we don’t have salad mix, we’re going to go real heavy on tomatoes. What’s the best way to eat them? Well, a simple tomato sandwich or BLT on fresh sourdough bread is tough to beat (Veganaise, mayonnaise, or olive oil are key). Or, slice them thick and lay flat on a plate, drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and top with , add a little parmesan cheese and basil for a summer salad. Last night I made some pesto pasta with broccoli in it, and I topped it with cubed tomato and I shaved the kernels off an ear of sweetcorn….it was delicious! I will say that a pinch of sea salt on any tomato really changes and draws out the flavor, so I recommend that. If anyone wants to do any canning, this is the year to do it. We are offering up 20# boxes of canning tomatoes (grade b…which means funky shaped yor slightly over ripe) for $35, as well as 5# bags of Sungolds for $20. You can make either of then into tomato sauce or salsa, while the sun golds can be halved and dried in a dehydrator to make amazing sun dried tomatoes. If anyone would like any this week, please let us know by tomorrow evening so we have time to box them up (while supplies last). I imagine this sale will continue for a couple of weeks.
Otherwise, we’re going to leave the share a bit open ended this week. There are a few things we’re picking, but they don’t seem to be up to the quantities we need for CSA, but we’ll see how tomorrow pans out.
Stay cool out there!
Todd
