As July comes to a close and we have our first rain in almost a month (last one was but .22 inches) it’s time for the onion family to shine. Alliums are one of the first crops we start in the greenhouse (last week of February) and once they germinate their leaves start measuring the light they gather. Unlike leafy crops (lettuce or kale) or even most fruit crops (zucchini) that are ready for harvest after they gather a set number of light and heat hours, alliums will continue to grow until the hours of daylight stops lengthening  at summer solstice. Once the days start shortening the plants take notice and put all of their energy into making a bulb. This bulb is the onion’s attempt to store energy for the coming winter and kickstart the production of flowers and seeds next spring. Of course we don’t let this happen because we enjoy the eating these bulb so much.

We are harvesting our first sweet onions this week for Brunswick (delivered shares will see them next week). Sweet onions are available for just a short time as they don’t store well. This is the onion to chop raw into a salad or cut thickly to top your best grilled burger. Of course you can cook them but they really shine raw.

We also harvested garlic this week which is currently drying and curing in the barn. If you are on the way out to the Upic field you can check out out fan assisted drying contraption!  We should start seeing garlic in the share in about a month.


Flowers to Order

Need flowers for an event, dinner party or just to celebrate the week? Send us an email (info@crystalspringcsa.com) with the subject flowers and we can put together large or small arrangements with just a couple days notice.


What’s in the Share

  • Sweet Onions
  • Lettuce
  • Carrots
  • Baby Bok Choi
  • Kale
  • Kohlrabi
  • Summer Squash

What’s in Upic

  • Green Beans
  • Flowers
  • Herbs (basil!)