Thank you to all of you that came to help with the potato harvest! It was a great event and we will have a good crop of potatoes to share with you over the next couple of months. We have five varieties this year that range from red waxy to old fashioned grainy russet and after a week of curing in the barn you should start seeing them in your share. 2011 was the benchmark year for us in potato production with just over 14,000 pounds harvested. This year, while more challenging in moisture, weed pressure, and temperatures, still looks to be a good one as we expect somewhere between 12 and 13,000 pounds when we finish the harvest and tally. The Maine potato harvest made the news this week with harvests expected to be markedly down for the state, especially for commercial chip and french fry producers up in the county. Here’s a link to the Portland Press Herald article and video doc.
In addition to potatoes we hope to get our winter squash crop in this week. This crop looks great and if we can beat the deer this year we should have plenty of butternut, acorn, and sugar dumplings to fill your homes with that lovely fall smell. Like potatoes, this crop has to cure for a week or two but instead of going in the barn we set them out in the now empty green house to gather warmth and sweeten up.
As we move into new crops we say goodbye to some of summers standbys. Eggplant and cucumbers will make their last appearance of the season this week. The last round of these crops, along with zucchini and summer squash in the recent weeks brings one of the hottest summers in living memory to a close. It has been beautiful and a marked change to the abnormally cold and wet of the last few years. Our hope as farmers is that we can adapt to the swings in temperature and rainfall that seem to be the new normal as opposed to “extremes.”
Red peppers arrive this week and while they look great it will be a short-lived season for this crop. We’ll enjoy them roasted and raw while we can as they did not fair well in the humid days of August. The bells are sweet and wonderful but also try the pointed frying peppers -these are even sweeter! We have another appearance of fennel this week and hope that you will be inspired to explore this great italian vegetable again. Here’s a simple carrot fennel soup recipe from the NY Times that would go great with sliced tomatoes and basil!
Happy First Day of School to all of our eager students and teachers!
What’s in Upic
Beans -this is the last week – the leaves may look weak, but keep your eyes open for the beans underneath!
Cherry tomatos – waning
Flowers
Herbs
What’s in the share
Basil
Lettuce
Chickories
Asian Greens
Arugula
Fennel
Eggplant
Tomatoes
Carrots
Cucumbers
Peppers