8th Week of the Summer CSA Share: July 20-23
look at that pollinator! photo by Adam Ford
This Week’s Availability
This week we will have slicing cucumbers, summer squash, zucchini, purple kohlrabi, caraflex cabbage*, red and yellow beets, fennel, new red and yellow potatoes, broccoli, garlic scapes, scallions, baby bok choi, green curly kale, lacinato kale, spinach, baby lettuce, basil, parsley, cilantro, and the first round of cherry tomatoes and slicing tomatoes**!
I can’t help but be pretty excited about fennel at the moment. We don’t normally grow a summer variety, usually just fall fennel, so it’s a treat for us to have it this time of year. I know some folks aren’t a fan of the flavor, but if you are, check out this week’s recipe at the bottom for baked fennel. Fennel is also good on the grill, and blended into sauces. (Mmmm… I just roasted a bulb and then pureed it into a jar of last year’s tomatoes for the meatiest flavored tomato sauce.)
*What is caraflex cabbage? Caraflex cabbage is a cone-shaped, green cabbage with thinner leaves that are conisdered mild and sweet. You can use them just like any other green cabbage variety… they are just a bit better.
**And tomatoes! We are growing more tomatoes and cherry tomatoes than we ever have in the past, but the first week we will likely only have enough to have one item’s worth for everyone, choosing EITHER cherry tomatoes or large tomatoes. But have no fear, they will kick in soon and you can expect the ability to overwhelm your senses with endless tomatoes soon.
Fill out the delivery form by noon on Tuesdays.
washing carrots, photo by Adam Ford
eventually there will be a pick-your-own flower patch here, photo by Adam Ford
Farm News in photos
Many of you often ask when I find time (with two little kiddos and a farm) to write these newsletters….. and this week, I just haven’t found that moment, so enjoy Adam’s photos as this week’s update!
Lettuce getting loaded into the spinner… did you know we fill large (new, clean) mesh laundry bags with greens in a large container, and then transfer 3 full bags at a time into a converted washing machine to spin the greens dry? Laundry technology adopted for produce…. photo by Adam Ford
Morgan washing scallions…. that spray table has been with us since our first year farming in Pennsylvania, and obviously works well! We scored it from a retired farm operation where we also bought our first high tunnel that we set up in Pennsylvania, and is still serving the CSA we started there, photo by Adam Ford
Sam uncovering a killed cover crop, in preparation of getting slits ripped in the residue for transplants, photo by Adam Ford
Ryan cuttings slits in a different field’s cover crop reside.. then we tuck transplants right into there, leaving them super well mulched, photo by Adam Ford
I like noticing all the stages of production, even when they are less beautiful… this chard plant has been harvested and will recycle it’s nutrients back to the soil, photo by Adam Ford
more tendrils, photo by Adam Ford
from left to right, sod swale, melons, celeriac, leeks, melons, sod swale, newly seeded cover crop, sod swale, winter squash and corn field, photo by Adam Ford
Have a great week,
-ESF Team: Kara, Ryan, Morgan, Taylor, Sam, Grace, Molly, Katie, and Cindy
Cherry tomatoes making their slow debut, photo by Adam Ford
plants are the most delicate art, photo by Adam Ford
Ryan getting his ripper tool ready to cut slits in the cover crop fields, photo by Adam Ford
Tassels on the grain corn we are experimenting with this year, photo by Adam Ford
Soraya turned 3 with this fun flower crown that Ryan made!
Sky enjoying black currents behind our porch, photo by Adam Ford
Winter squash and grain corn looking lovely together, photo by Adam Ford