Hi CSA members!!
The highlight of box number nine are the tomatoes! You might want to combine the lettuce and cucumber to make a great sandwich or a BLT. It is amazing how a garden tomato does not have that hard cardboard taste but more the one dripping in flavor.
Swiss chard squeezed its way into the family share. Chopped in bits, it makes a wonderful flavor-enhancer for a salad. Last night we pan fried it with onion. We fried the stems first and then the leaves for just a bit. It has a flavor similar to spinach but a bit stronger. I am a new follower of swiss chard!
Sweet corn is back. In all the years we did the stands, we had the wide gammut of what stage of corn people want. Some want the tiny blisters where you have to pretend corn is on the cob. Others like it big time mature. Today's corn is in the middle of the road. We had it again last night (quality control, you know...tough job on the farm!!) and it was just the way I like it. Pest pressure has been stronger this year than I have ever seen so you might find an earworm in a few. You might want to throw the whole thing away but a simple surgery with the knife and the cob is good as new. We usually don't have them in the first corn patch but this year has new rules. Growing produce, like teaching, is very humbling.
Whatever size zucchini you get, it is the jack of all trades. We will get Diane's zucchini bread recipe on the website this morning. Zucchini is also a free pick any time you come to the farm.
We will also get her onion ring recipe on this morning as well. The Walla Walla onions are the sweetest and best onion we raise. It is also the softest and most prone to spoiling so it won't lay around the house a long time staying happy. If you can't use the onions right now, slice them and store them in the freezer for winter. We have already done ours.
Kohlrabi squeezed its way in the box and so did broccoli, which will take a brief vacation from the box starting next week.
Last night, I planted baby bok choi, radishes, leaf lettuce and spinach for the fall. What a surprise that August, which signals the end of summer, is already here. August is such a beautiful month to savor. I remember the 34 great years I taught elementary school, I always savored the peace and quiet of the August crickets, knowing that such solitude was going to pass. This year, we have so many bluebirds that bring their soft song. The flavors of the garden come real in August as well. So there is lots of savoring to come.
At the end of each box session, we do have some produce that doesn't quite make the grade for the box. So for example, we have about a bushel of tomatoes with imperfections. If you would want them as a harvest event, give me a call. We always have cull potatoes so if you want an extra binge of potatoes, let me know as well.
Harvest events are at a bit of lull. Right now it is kohlrabi, where you get twenty. Pickling cucumbers is a free event until the end of the year, whatever size you get. They should be good again by tomorrow. Sweet corn will come in spurts for harvest events but we thought our members would prefer the later sweet corn that is unbeatable. So we planted massive patches for fun sweet corn harvest events. If you are in a time pinch, always let me know and we can squeeze people into anything in most cases. Tomatoes are looking good. The major harvest event will be the last half of August into September but there are some turning even now. The bulk of the harvest event season lies ahead. Free picks needing no coupons right now are basil, cut flowers, kale, regular cucumbers and pickling cucumbers.
MState, in Fergus, offers a sustainable food production course starting in August. It gives the nuts and bolts hands on instruction in everything from vegetables to raising cattle. There is a flier by the box check off so take one if you or someone you know, might be interested. I am an instructor in that class. So once a week those students will come to Bluebird Gardens to...get dirty!
Make sure you get the right size box. If you send someone to get the box for you, tell them what to look for. I am always bummed when someone who paid for a family share, winds up with only a share. Thanks for being mindful of that.
Have a wonderful week! Thanks for the feedback from so many. Pats on the back and kicks in the pants all help YOUR farm evolve into what you want it to be!
From YOUR farm!!
Mark
The highlight of box number nine are the tomatoes! You might want to combine the lettuce and cucumber to make a great sandwich or a BLT. It is amazing how a garden tomato does not have that hard cardboard taste but more the one dripping in flavor.
Swiss chard squeezed its way into the family share. Chopped in bits, it makes a wonderful flavor-enhancer for a salad. Last night we pan fried it with onion. We fried the stems first and then the leaves for just a bit. It has a flavor similar to spinach but a bit stronger. I am a new follower of swiss chard!
Sweet corn is back. In all the years we did the stands, we had the wide gammut of what stage of corn people want. Some want the tiny blisters where you have to pretend corn is on the cob. Others like it big time mature. Today's corn is in the middle of the road. We had it again last night (quality control, you know...tough job on the farm!!) and it was just the way I like it. Pest pressure has been stronger this year than I have ever seen so you might find an earworm in a few. You might want to throw the whole thing away but a simple surgery with the knife and the cob is good as new. We usually don't have them in the first corn patch but this year has new rules. Growing produce, like teaching, is very humbling.
Whatever size zucchini you get, it is the jack of all trades. We will get Diane's zucchini bread recipe on the website this morning. Zucchini is also a free pick any time you come to the farm.
We will also get her onion ring recipe on this morning as well. The Walla Walla onions are the sweetest and best onion we raise. It is also the softest and most prone to spoiling so it won't lay around the house a long time staying happy. If you can't use the onions right now, slice them and store them in the freezer for winter. We have already done ours.
Kohlrabi squeezed its way in the box and so did broccoli, which will take a brief vacation from the box starting next week.
Last night, I planted baby bok choi, radishes, leaf lettuce and spinach for the fall. What a surprise that August, which signals the end of summer, is already here. August is such a beautiful month to savor. I remember the 34 great years I taught elementary school, I always savored the peace and quiet of the August crickets, knowing that such solitude was going to pass. This year, we have so many bluebirds that bring their soft song. The flavors of the garden come real in August as well. So there is lots of savoring to come.
At the end of each box session, we do have some produce that doesn't quite make the grade for the box. So for example, we have about a bushel of tomatoes with imperfections. If you would want them as a harvest event, give me a call. We always have cull potatoes so if you want an extra binge of potatoes, let me know as well.
Harvest events are at a bit of lull. Right now it is kohlrabi, where you get twenty. Pickling cucumbers is a free event until the end of the year, whatever size you get. They should be good again by tomorrow. Sweet corn will come in spurts for harvest events but we thought our members would prefer the later sweet corn that is unbeatable. So we planted massive patches for fun sweet corn harvest events. If you are in a time pinch, always let me know and we can squeeze people into anything in most cases. Tomatoes are looking good. The major harvest event will be the last half of August into September but there are some turning even now. The bulk of the harvest event season lies ahead. Free picks needing no coupons right now are basil, cut flowers, kale, regular cucumbers and pickling cucumbers.
MState, in Fergus, offers a sustainable food production course starting in August. It gives the nuts and bolts hands on instruction in everything from vegetables to raising cattle. There is a flier by the box check off so take one if you or someone you know, might be interested. I am an instructor in that class. So once a week those students will come to Bluebird Gardens to...get dirty!
Make sure you get the right size box. If you send someone to get the box for you, tell them what to look for. I am always bummed when someone who paid for a family share, winds up with only a share. Thanks for being mindful of that.
Have a wonderful week! Thanks for the feedback from so many. Pats on the back and kicks in the pants all help YOUR farm evolve into what you want it to be!
From YOUR farm!!
Mark
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