Wanted to show how much the summer cover crop has grown! over 6′
The crew planting sunflowers.
Another hot one out here. We’re getting used to it by now. We’ve had a good run of rain, though it looks like it has ended and we’ll starting irrigating tomorrow. We continue to plant and sow more and more vegetables and flowers. There is an end in sight, almost. Believe it or not we’re about to plant the fall greens. The beds are almost ready; looks like Monday may be the day. The winter squash has started to put out some sizable fruit, though it does look like most of the Delicata squash has succumbed to phytothera. The rest looks pretty good, really good actually.
The first sweet corn is coming along. I’m gonna say two weeks. This year we’ve purchased some extra electric fencing which we will place around the sweet corn to try to foil the raccoons. They always know when the corn is ready, the day before we do. This year they are in for a shock! The night before harvest we put together a harvest list; what we want to harvest for the CSA and how much we want to get for market. We usually feel pretty in tune with what’s going on out in the fields and more often than not, know what there is to harvest. But sometimes we’re surprised by something. Yesterday it was watermelons! What a surprise it was. Melons are very unpredictable, to say the least. They are prone to succumb to many diseases, can split with too much rain, taste terrible (too much rain), and it’s a little bit of an art to determine if they’re actually ripe. So a lot can go wrong trying to grow melons in WNC. But sometimes the stars align and…there’s melons to enjoy. So enjoy!
Speaking of two weeks…our family will be taking a trip July 28th until August 8th. If there are any worker members or anyone at all that would like to help out on the farm that period would be great. The interns will be very appreciative of the help. Our vacation gives us a break from the farm, which is welcomed by us, but it also give our interns a manageable period of time to run the farm on their own. They have to make all the decisions and do all the work without us looking over their shoulders. So wish them luck and come out and lend a hand if you can!
Shisito peppers! are in the box for the first time. These are some really tasty peppers, NOT hot. Simply fry them up with some oil and salt and pepper, and eat. Delicious.
Please return your CSA box next week. These boxes are waxed and are not recyclable, but we reuse them. So PLEASE remember to bring them back next week.
Ideas for Cooking
(We want to thank long time CSA member John Loyd for providing ideas and inspiration in this section!!!)
“I am not a vegetarian because I love animals; I am a vegetarian because I hate plants.” A. Whitney Brown, formerly of Saturday Night Live
There are a lot of these ingredients around right now. Either in your box on in our booth.
This recipe is great when fresh basil is in. There is also a lot of Japanese eggplant around. It can be stuffed with pesto and backed for about 30 minutes or so. Also oiled and grilled is good.This Week’s Recipes (click on link)
GREEN BEAN, TOMATO, AND POTATO SALAD with ALMOND and BASIL PESTO
CETRIOLI ALL MENTA (Sautéed Cucumber, Tomato and Mint)