Farm News – July 16, 2015
Hello Everyone, so I thought I would try something novel in this week’s episode — praise the weather!
We have had 4 glorious days now without rain, with abundant sunshine and no unbearable heat. The soil is moist but not saturated thanks to our well drained sandy soils. The long term forecast looks outstanding, with occasional thunderstorms and no extreme heat. I know that some of you probably think I am never happy, since I complain when it rains and complain when it’s dry; but it’s all about balance and moderation. Thank you, Mother Nature!
The eggplant crop has begun! Can peppers and tomatoes be far behind? It is still not abundant but we should have enough for one medium size eggplant for all this week. Next week we expect a small amount of peppers. Tomatoes are likely to begin in 2 weeks. Melons are coming soon too. Sugar snap peas are coming in heavy again and a few snow peas as well. I expect we will continue to enjoy these sweet treats for another 2 weeks.
We have just about come to the end of our spring planted broccoli crop and cauliflower is winding down as well. For this week there will be a choice between the two (except for the Downtown Harvest group which has already had cauliflower twice and has not yet received the Napa cabbage). We are presently setting out thousands of broccoli and cauliflower plants for the fall harvest. Cabbage will be the entry in the brassica category for the next 6 weeks or so, beginning with a small green cabbage this week.
Greens are winding down as well. There will be a choice between Swiss chard and arugula this week. The kale has been over-cut and needs to recover; should be back in the lineup next week. We will also offer daikon or turnips as a choice in the root vegetable class for this round. Sweet onions with tops will be the allium for this share. They do not store well, so use them promptly or refrigerate them. The tops can be used for soup stock.
The share for this week will be: Eggplant, green cabbage, cucumbers, choice of turnips or daikon summer squash, sweet onions, lettuce, choice of broccoli or cauliflower, peas, choice of chard or arugula and choice of an herb (basil, parsley, summer savory or sweet marjoram).
Enjoy!
Farmer John
