Hello Everyone,
We
received about 1.3 inches of rain from last week’s storms that were predicted
to bring 2 to 4 inches. While I was glad
not to get 4 inches, I was hoping for a little more. After 3 weeks without rain
the ground quickly soaked up the moisture and is still on the dry side. The
precipitation was helpful for germinating seeds and watering in some of our
transplanted crops; giving us a break from moving the sprinklers around the
field.
We
are probably at the height of our tomato production at the moment, so expect
large quantities of the fruit this week. It’s uncertain how long we can sustain
this level of production as there is quite a bit of disease in our early
plantings of hybrids. There are some later planting which look okay so far, as
well as the plants in the high tunnel greenhouse, so I expect to have tomatoes
in the shares for at least another 6 weeks. We have been sending a few heirloom
tomatoes along with the regular types for the past couple of weeks. We have Brandy wine, bi-colors like Striped
German and Pineapple, and my favorite Cherokee Purple, which is dark and has
green shoulders. We also have a variety call Aunt Ruby’s German Green which is
green with just a slight yellow blush on the bottom when ripe. I think it has
tremendous flavor, much better than the more widely grown Green Zebra. Heirlooms have a short shelf life so judge
their ripeness by softness; don’t wait for green shoulder to color up or Aunt
Ruby’s to turn red!
Gorgeous, sweet and
delicious melons continue to ripen prolifically. There are more cantaloupes now
and soon more watermelons. Beans are
becoming more abundant and soon we will have the delicious heirloom Rattlesnake
beans. Some groups may receive a variety
called Dragon Langerie, a wax bean with purple streaking. These are string
beans not shell beans, so don’t be fooled. It’s been 2 weeks since you’ve had
cabbage, so you know what that means- get ready to make some cole slaw!
The share for this week will be tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, summer squash, string beans, Yukon Gold potatoes, peppers, red onions, melon or watermelon, bok choy, savoy cabbage, and choice of
Goldenberries or cherry tomatoes. We are in a rotation with eggplant, so if you
did not get any last week you will receive some this week or next.
Enjoy!
Farmer
John