Watermelon

What’s in Upic?……

Flowers      Herbs         Beans

Cherry Tomatoes

Here’s what to look for in your share this week:

Chard                  Arugula

Kale                     Summer squash

Eggplant              Lettuce

Green Peppers     Tomatoes

Cucumbers          Cabbage

Asian Greens       Chickories

What is summer without watermelon? Well thankfully we don’t have to figure that out as our favorite melon variety, Sugar Baby, comes in this week. These melons were close to being lost completely as we decided yesterday morning to not pick them this week, the thinking being that another week on the vine would give us even better consistency in sweetness and color. Yesterday afternoon we were picking tomatoes right next to the melon and noticed that crows had destroyed over fifty melons from the back part of the planting we hadn’t looked at earlier in the day. Needless to say, we put it into high gear and harvested all of the Sugar Babys, saving them from the local crows and ensuring that all of you will have one in your share. There may be a few “underdone” melons in the bunch. Our apologies if you get one of these…blame it on the crows.

Our organic pastured eggs are coming in well these days and the birds are really starting to make use of the green forage around the eggmobile. Having fresh grass in their diet helps the birds maintain their health but also ensures their eggs are packed with omega 3 fatty acids. These are the polyunsaturated “good fats” we all need and our bodies can use to for energy and metabolic function without raising cholesterol levels. All you have to do is notice the deep orange color of the yolks and you know these are not grocery store eggs. If you eat eggs, take a look at the following link to the NY Times from this past Sunday that gives detail to how most eggs are produced in the US. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/15/weekinreview/15marsh.html?_r=1&scp=3&sq=farming+eggs&st=cse

This is the point in the season when harvest takes over our lives on the farm. From mid-August until mid- September there are so many crops coming in such abundance that we barely have time to move the sheep on pasture and collect eggs. Yesterday we harvested about 1200 pounds of watermelon, 300 pounds of tomatoes, 160 pounds of eggplant, and 150 pounds of summer squash in addition to processing 200 pounds of onions that we picked last week.  Today we will cut 25 pounds of tatsoi, 65 pounds of lettuce mix, 20 pounds of mustard, 15 pounds each of endive and escarole, 60 pounds of chard, 20 pounds of kale, 30 pounds of baby bok choi, and 40 pounds of arugula.  Add in the washing and weighing of all of these crops and you’ll understand why we’ll be panting when you show up at 2:00 today. The best part of all of this work is seeing all of you take this food home to your families; the end result of us watching, waiting and nurturing these plants over the past few months.

Labor on Labor Day. Come out for our traditional labor on labor day harvest party. Monday September 6 at 10 am. We will be harvesting our potato crop this morning. This is a blast for all of us and a great way start the fall season. The tractor digs the potatoes and we pick them up. Its a great event for kids and adults. We’ll meet in the field. Just look for the equipment and park where you can.