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Hey Folks! “The sky is crying, Can’t you see the tears roll down the street” – Elmore James
So, we just can’t seem to get two days in a row without the heavens opening up on us! Oh well, we just have to tough it out and do the best we can. The farm is a muddy mess with puddles and deep ruts in the roads. Hopefully we will dry out soon. (more…)
Hi Everyone! One of my members with family in Seattle informed me that the Pacific Northwest is unusually hot and dry, and that they are plagued with forest fires just as is California. So, my stereotype of the region as a rainy place may no longer hold true. Northern Europe, Scandinavia, Ireland, and the British Isles too, are suffering with drought and excessive heat, and many farmers have lost their entire crop. Meanwhile here in the Northeast it’s the monsoon season! But there’s nothing odd going on with the climate folks! I guess this is the new normal- that there is no normal; we just have no idea from season to season what to expect. I hate to be all doom and gloom but perhaps I am merely mirroring the predominant gray skies! (more…)
Tomatillos are also called “tomate verde” in Mexico (which means green tomato) and are considered a staple in Mexican cooking. They are a member of the nightshade family, related to tomatoes. Tomatillos now grow everywhere in the Western Hemisphere and are common in Texas gardens.
Tomatillos can range in size from about an inch in diameter to the size of apricots. They are covered by a papery husk which may range from the pale green or purple color of the fruit itself to a light grocery-bag brown. Before using tomatillos, remove the outer inedible husks, and rinse well, as the fruit is covered in a sticky wax. They are very easy to cook because they don’t need to be peeled or seeded. Their texture is firm when raw, but soften when cooked. (more…)
In the summertime, succotash just calls out for those fresh, abundant summer vegetables – fresh corn on the cob, lima beans, onions, tomatoes, and bell peppers – red, yellow, orange or green, or even a combination of a few. You could even add in some summer squash or zucchini, eggplant, or whatever is fresh at the farmers market or in your own backyard garden.
This recipe from Deep South Dish puts a southern spin on the classic Native American succotash.
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Hi Folks, Another week and another 6” of rain! All I can say is if I wanted to live somewhere it rained all the time I would have moved to Seattle! Hopefully we are coming to the end of this wacky weather pattern and the jet stream will move back up into Canada where it belongs. The tomatoes are starting to show signs of decline but we will fight the blight and try to keep them alive. We are set back on our planting and for a few crops it’s too late for this season (like that last planting of sweet corn I had planned). We do have lots of corn planted and the first of it began to mature late last week – the sweet treat I alluded to in my last update. We hope to have enough for everyone this week, but if you don’t receive any you will for sure next week. (more…)
Every summer around this time, I overhear members asking themselves and others what the deuce to do with more cucumbers. Besides add-ins to salads, or cool refreshment for your eye-lids, why not take a few minutes to make fridge pickle chips? (more…)
Hello Folks, “And the rain let up, and the sun came up, while we were getting dry”- Van Morrison. It was a challenging week but it could have been worse, so I guess I’ll forego my usual whining about the weather. I won’t even mention how many inches of rain we got (6). The fields have mostly dried out, and on Sunday I was able to work some ground. This afternoon I am going out to plant some seeds while my crew tries to catch up on the transplanting work.
The melons have begun to ripen, and last week a few lucky folks received watermelon as a surprise. We will be starting to ship watermelon, cantaloupe and other melons in rotation during the next five or so weeks. August is melon month!
It should be tomato month as well — if only they would start ripening! The plants are healthy so far and are loaded with green fruit. I expect we will have enough to ship some out to you by next week. Soon we will have red and yellow peppers too, as well as another sweet treat (I don’t want to give up all my surprises).
The share for this week will be: Garlic, lettuce, squash, cukes, peppers, eggplant, rainbow carrots, beans, either broccoli, cauliflower or red cabbage, choice of an herb and probably melon. There will be tomatillos as an “extra”. Premium shares will include a second lettuce and kale.
The fruit share for this week will be: Nectarines and yellow plums.
Enjoy! Farmer John
When in Cape May, stop by George’s Place restaurant on the corner of Beach and Perry Streets for delicious Greek food. They won’t part with their recipe but I came pretty close to re-creating this delicious side salad they serve with many of their entrees. This serves 6 nicely as a side. (more…)
Hello Everyone! So, we finally got some rain and now it doesn’t want to stop. We are already at 3 inches with 2 more days of potentially substantial precipitation to come. My crew worked though periodic sprinkles punctuated by heavy downpours and short burst of sunshine to get the harvesting done. I had hoped to get some seeds in the ground but now it’s much too wet and will be for at least a week. Nor is this good weather for the crops — both the melons and the tomatoes are susceptible to fungal diseases when it is this wet. But all we can do is stay calm and soldier on! (more…)
Hi Everyone! We received a bit of rain this past Sunday morning, about a half an inch. We need more and it seems we have a shot at some precipitation tomorrow. We have begun harvesting the garlic but we broke the under cutter blade that we use to loosen the ground for easier pulling. When the soil gets dry, it also gets very hard. We should have the parts to fix it in a few days, and hopefully with a good rain and softer ground, we can procced with the harvest. (more…)