Summer Week 6—From Beans to Broccoli

So, a broccoli plant walked into a cabbage patch…

THIS WEEK’S SUBSCRIBER MENU:
• Broccoli
• Fennel
• Walla Walla Sweet Onions
• Choice of Lettuces
• Purslane or Tatsoi (like baby bok choy)
• Red Russian Kale or Swiss Chard or Collard Greens or Salad Turnips
• Fresh Basil
• Italian Parsley

LARGE SHARES: (also available in the Trading Box)
• Cabbage
• Zucchini
• Golden Beets

TRADING/SHARING BOX:
• Zucchini Blossoms
• Pearl/Green Onions
• Beets
• Zucchini
• Fennel
• Cabbage
• Lemon Basil

Click on the links above for information and recipes about these crops.

COMING SOON: Carrots, Beets, Cabbage. Cauliflower

The broccoli are heading up nicely, and there is enough for everyone this week! The large shares are getting the first cabbages brassica week!

During that sudden hot spell, we watered nearly 24 hours a day. High temperatures dry the soil, and water becomes the difference between life and death. The only thing is that when water is added to hot plants, they grow exponentially! Suddenly ALL the beans were ready, the lettuces were huge, and the cabbages and broccoli were heading up fast! This, we are out if beans until the next patch is ready (soon) and we have rolled into brassica season.

Actually the big brassicas can be tricky, and this video explains why:

At the end of a market day, we decide which things should go to the food bank, which can be saved until the next day, and which items go to the chickens. A little tired broccoli and fennel, mixed with chard and kale this time.

Unfortunately, the sudden hot spell means a decline in egg production. When the hens get hot, they have a hard time drinking enough water, and what’s a hen to do when an egg is 90% water? We add apple cider vinegar to their water to encourage them to drink more, but we still suffered a significant drop in our egg numbers.

We significantly overestimated our orders for eating chickens, so we have quite a lot of fryers (4-6#) and roasters (7-10#) in our freezers. Let us know if you’re interested in these tasty birds raised on pasture and corn-and soy-free feed.

The CSA U-Pick garden is now open. Sadly, as you know, pea season was all too short this summer, so there are no peas to pick, but there are LOTS of beans! We will be planting more peas soon, with hopes that the cooler fall temperatures will provide for better harvesting in September. There are a number of basils to cut and sample, and dill, and a few varieties of flowers as well.

Basil is in its’ prime right now, and now is the time to place orders for making pesto! Pesto kits will be coming this weekend—keep an eye out!

The peak basil season has arrived! Now is the time to place orders for pesto making! Make it now and stash it away for the winter!

Don’t be alarmed when you see Rigby with his new headgear. We had to come up with something to keep him from getting his head stuck in the fence. We were freeing him a dozen times a day, and eventually the worse was bound to happen. Problem solved with a few hose clamps and pvc pipe.

We’re getting ready to put all of our fall and winter brassicas into the ground, and it adds up to many thousands of plants. I know I am tired of bending over all day long, so when we found these transplanter pieces laying in the bushes, we decided to see if we could clean them up and get them to work. l make the job so much quicker and more pleasant.

The real pressure of farming is on now. We are in full swing of summer harvest, but we also need to get all of our fall and winter crops planted before the end of the month. Our apologies if we are scarce for the next few weeks.