This is the time of year when we are harvesting every last summer vegetable from the field. The weather is still warm, but most of the summer crops have been producing for so long. There will be bits of this and that as we clean the fields of the remainders of a wonderful summer harvest. We don’t waste a thing.
This is the time of year when we start to look forward to the change in seasons. The insects have a continual chirp song in the evening and we know that summer is coming to an end.
It seems that a farmer is never satisfied. It is too rainy, it is too dry, it is too cloudy, it is too sunny, it is too hot, it is too cold. Mother Nature is always in charge and all of our complaints make no difference. In the big picture, things balance out. Last summer we had nothing but rain and cold weather. This summer there has been endless sunshine and no rain. Put the two together and you have a perfect summer.
Summer vegetables are at their best flavor and fill your share. The tomatoes continue to ripen, the peppers are sweet and the basil makes the perfect addition. Jen has just finished the Stoneledge Farm Summer Newsletter that highlights all of the different tomatoes that we grew this year. To view the newsletter just go to the farm website, click on the Newsletter link and then on the PDF. It’s a beauty.
I have been a bit reluctant to express our complete joy with the tomatoes this season-just in case. My grandmother instilled a healthy dose of superstition at an early age that follows to this day. There was no way I was going to jinx the harvest. Now that we are actually filling baskets with tomatoes, it is time. The tomatoes will be coming on stronger and stronger as they ripen in the hot summer sun. There are a variety of tomatoes that will come your way in no particular time or fashion.
Summer time. Isn’t it wonderful? Hot, sunny and humid. I never thought that the dog days of summer would feel so good. Last summer we were just miserable, frustrated and tired. The endless rain and cold weather seemed like it brought such dreary days not to mention the mud,mosquitos and blight. This summer has been very different and we are so very happy to be able to fill your shares with Tomatoes, Summer Squash and Cucumbers. Tomatoes are just starting and we are still anxiously watching them ripen. The Cherry Tomatoes are always first.
We had a wonderful farm work visit. Members from many of the different CSA locations were able to come to the farm and work for the day. We harvested garlic and weeded the fall Leeks. It was great having so many extra hands to help with the work. We even were able to enjoy the creek at the end of the day. Thank you to all of the members that traveled to the farm. It is a real pleasure for us to get to work along side the CSA members, have lunch together and spend time getting to know each other. If you were not able to come to the farm, we will be having another work visit in August.
The heat wave that has been upon us has really been giving us a run. We start work when the sun is barely up to try to beat the intense heat of the day but by nine o’clock, it is tropical already. The summer vegetables don’t seem to mind as long as we also irrigate. Right now it is a good thing to be a summer squash.
Happy Fourth of July. The sunshine and heat have really made it feel like summer has arrived. We are slowly moving toward the vegetables that like heat and some of the greens that have filled your bag for the last weeks are now gone. It is all part of eating with the seasons.
With summer also come some of the vegetables that you have been waiting for: Summer Squash and Sugar Snap Peas. I think that both are member favorites, the Sugar Snap Peas make a one week appearance, the Summer Squash should be with us for a while.
The Sugar Snap peas are an edible pod pea. Snap the string that lines one side of the pod and eat the whole thing. They are great raw and also wonderful cooked quickly so they are still bright green and crunchy. Enjoy them because they are here for such a very short time.