Rolling In

It’s a busy harvest week for us, with plenty of new and exciting produce to enjoy as we move into the bounty of mid-August.  The crew has been racing to keep up with all of the harvesting demands. We used to be able to set aside half-days for transplanting or weeding but in this busy time we are struggling to fit in these other tasks as well.  In August we harvest many of our crops every other day to keep up with their growth.  Summer squash and cukes explode so quickly that we pick them almost too small to keep them from turning into baseball bats 48 hours later.   This year with the unusually hot days and absurdly warm nights have made keeping us fast growing crops a tough row to hoe

Tomatoes make their first appearance this week  and the one or two in your share is just a teaser. The plants are just getting going and there is quite a bit of green fruit for the month ahead.  The basil in your shares for a second week will go well any way you can imagine combining it with the tomatoes.

Beans Gone Wild

Speaking of harvesting madness…the next planting of snap beans is cranking in the UPIC field. Come ready to pick this week.

Green Garlic

Also new this week is green garlic. These heads are uncured and are meant to be used right away. Green garlic has a bright sweet flavor compared with the cured or dried heads you find in in the grocery store or locally later in the fall. Try adding some to salad dressings or sautéing a minced clove along with eggplant or summer squash. This garlic comes from Little Ridge Farm in Sabattus by way of a produce “swap” we are doing with them this season. We will offer them some of our potatoes and winter squash this fall in trade. Hope you enjoy.

Hot Weather and Hot Crops

Look for cantaloupe and jalapeños in your share this week. Both of these crops are heat lovers but generally do well in our normally less than hot environs.  The jalapeños are very good this year so use them cautiously but please try them.  Food that makes you sweat a bit is good in this weather.  While the jalapeños are hot this year the melon is not.  We usually grow sweet cantaloupe, but this crop we’re not so sure. The fragrance and flavor is good but it lacks sweetness. We questioned whether to share the melons with you at all and decided you can be the judge of its value in your menu.  We recommend refrigerating them and trying to eat them earlier as opposed to later.

More Eggplant and Zucchini?

Here’s a couple of recipes shared from a CSA member to get you inspired again. Zucchini Fritters and Eggplant Fritters  Delicious!

One more week to order Blueberries

Next week will be our last for blueberry deliveries so reserve your quarts this week for delivery next Tuesday (the  21st) and Friday (the 24th). Talk to us at pick-up for details.

What’s in UPIC

Flowers

Herbs

Snap Beans

What’s in the share?

Broccoli

Lettuce

Asian Greens

Arugula

Cukes

Summer squash

Eggplant

Jalapeños

Carrots

Onions or Leeks

Green garlic

Tomatoes

Cantalopes