Farm Newsletter July 23, 2018
Farm News Crop Forecast
U-Pick Recipes Nuts and Bolts
We could use help
PICKING GARLIC FRIDAY 7/27 —
Come for an hour or as long as you want, after 10:30 am! Bring pruning shears if you have them (and water and a hat). It’s a fun, great smelling, simple, big group project. We’ll be east of the driveway. Everyone who helps pick will go home with a few bulbs; it’ll be in the share in a couple weeks after it’s cured a bit. Thanks!
Greetings Friends!
No news is good news! We were gone for the weekend and Monday Ben was picking cukes and carrots with the crew and then cultivating and mowing the rest of day — and completely forgot that he was supposed to write the newsletter, so this will be a shortie. Hope you’re all well!
Crop Forecast
We’ll continue to have carrots, beets, sweet onions, cucumbers, zucchini and summer squash, leeks and cabbage. We may still have a gap in broccoli. We’ll start picking fennel too. We’ll be going up on the tomato limit soon, as more ripen. So far it’s just been a trickle. A trickle of yummy tomato juice on your chin!
Melons and peppers coming soon!! Watermelons are ahead of the canteloupes, so when they start we’ll just have red watermelon for 1-2 weeks, then cantaloupes and yellow and orange watermelon. We’re so ready to dig into those! The plants are healthy and it looks like they set plenty of fruit, so we should have our usual 4-5 week season.
We’ll continue to have greens and lettuce, and kale and chard. We might still be low on salad greens amounts — we planted in an incredibly weedy patch and it’s just not worth all the time to rescue those greens, and the weeds are going to seed fast at this point. So we mowed one planting, and should be able to start in the next planting , though it may be a little small. We plant every week for 20 weeks, and cover to protect it from the bugs; out of the 20 plantings something usually goes wrong with 1-3 of them. C’est la vie — we should be back on track soon.
What’s for U-Pick?
We Need U-Pick Containers!!!!
Remember to bring SCISSORS for flower picking — maybe leave a pair in your car.
Cherry tomatoes
Beans
Cilantro , Dill, Basil, PLUS Parsley, Oregano, Thyme, Sage, Anise Hyssop (great for use in tea).
HOW TO PICK BASIL : Pinch the stems above a “V” to encourage re-growth. Ask Erin for a demo if you’re unsure how to pick it.
Nuts and Bolts
Bulk Produce for You — Check here each newsletter for what we have available for extra purchase.
This week’s selection is : Carrots, Beets, Cucumbers, Zucchini, Summer Squash for $1 / lb. Lettuce Mix for $5 / lb.
Remember your reusable bags and also to sign in when you pick up your share.
Share Pickup Hours TUESDAY and THURSDAY 1:30-6:30 pm.
Change Pick-Up Day Form — Click here. Please fill out this form instead of emailing us. Thanks!
Please Drive Carefully —Children are everywhere.
Happy summer!
Your farmers,
Erin and Ben, with Allia, Alissa, Bisharo, Brian, Danny and Sahara
RECIPES
Summer Tomato, Onion and Cucumber Salad
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, or more to taste
2 medium cucumbers
4 medium tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch wedges
1 Vidalia or other sweet onion, halved and very thinly sliced
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh herbs, such as flat-leaf parsley, chives and/or tarragon
Whisk vinegar, oil, honey, salt and pepper in a large shallow bowl.
Remove alternating stripes of peel from the cucumbers. Slice the cucumbers into thin rounds. Add the cucumber slices, tomatoes and onion to the dressing; gently toss to combine. Let stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour.
Just before serving, add herbs and toss again.
Open Hands Farm 