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Yesterday the broccoli crowns were just the size of a quarter. Today they are almost 3" across. They'll be perfect by next week!

THIS WEEK’S SUBSCRIBER MENU:
• “Borlotti” Shelling Beans or “Yukon Gold” Potatoes
• “Cipollini” or “Torpedo” Onions|
• Zucchini and/or Summer Squash
• Red Butter Lettuce
• Collard Greens
• Napoletano Basil
• Fresh Thyme

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

COMING SOON:
Green Beans
Broccoli
Napa Cabbage
Radicchio

Last week was a glorious last gasp of summer. We needed it. The winter squashes are mostly ready to harvest now, and they were straddling the line between being not quite ready and very tasty. We need every little ounce of sunshine now to make up for missing out on the warmth we are supposed to have in May and June. The combination of soaking rain just before and after the week of 80° temperatures has made the broccoli head up and the cauliflower double in size. It looks like we will have beautiful broccoli next week. Victory!

The basils are holding up well, and we hope you’ve enjoyed them all. If you want to make pesto for the winter, don’t hesitate. Let us know if you want extra and we’ll set you up before the dreaded first fall frost comes and blackens it all.

We only have four weeks of the summer season left. Our delicious winter season starts November 2, and that’s only four more weeks. Let us know if you’re going to join us soon!

And, we will be opening up the pumpkin patch to picking next week!

The dill patch in full bloom. This is the stage that is best for pickles. Unfortunately, the pickles aren't doing well this year, so we have lots of lonely dill heads. It sure is pretty though.

THIS WEEK’S SUBSCRIBER MENU:
• “Stregonta” or “Cannellini” Shelling Beans
• Green Onions or Red Torpedo Onions
• Beets or Cucumbers
• Oakleaf Lettuces
• Zucchini and/or Summer Squash
• “Spice Boys” Basil
• Napoletano Basil
• Cilantro or Dill or Italian Parsley

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

COMING SOON:
Green Beans
Butter Lettuce
Broccoli

Last week was full of distractions. School started, which meant getting back into a routine of bedtimes, rising times, and mealtimes. That’s not how we live summer. We are very “in the moment” during the summer months; breakfast when you want it, dinner after dark, many snacks, and plenty of outdoor grazing time. That all changes when the bus will arrive at 8:25 in the morning.

Some of you know that I also drive a school bus. I am a substitute driver for the Kent School District. It fits in well with our farm schedule—I can be selective about working in the spring and fall, and do a lot of driving in the winter if I need to. This growing season has been so poor that our farmers market sales (which is the money that pays our bills during the summer) has been practically nothing. Luckily I have bus-driving, because now we need those driving hours to catch up on our late bills. So, I have been driving nearly every morning and afternoon. As if I needed more to do, I fell into the position of PTA President for our school. With all the budget cutbacks, the schools desperately need their PTA’s to help out on many levels. We were going to lose ours, so what’s a person to do? I stepped up to the plate. Talk about a learning curve! But I am excited about what we can do for Kent Elementary, and for the community. One of our plans is a school garden—more about that to come!

All of that to explain that last week flew by before I could get a blog post written. So here’s the short story of last week. It was hot, finally summer. We lost a few things, like the lettuce. We gained a lot of cucumbers and squash, and the things that we could water grew by leaps and bounds—the basil, broccoli, green beans. All of the fall and winter crops are looking great. The winter squashes are close to being ripe, even though they were planted a month late because of the cold June weather.

"Spice Boys" basil. It can be used like traditional Genovese basil, but it has a little cinnamon flavor too. It's actually good in a green or fruit salad. Or, try it as pesto with a zing.

We experimented with a few new basils this year. Last week you got to try the Lemon Basil. This week we’re picking the Spice Boys. I was curious how different it would be from Cinnamon. It looks the same, but has less cinnamony sweetness, and more savory basilness. Napoletano basil has large, ruffled leaves. A little less potent scent than the smoother-leaved Genovese that we picked for you last week. It makes a good pesto, and is good for wrapping things in the individual leaves.

The shelling beans dried very quickly in the heat. We have never had the beans actually dry. They usually get moldy instead in the fall rain. So, you may have to cook them a bit longer than before, but they are still tasty. You can also just let them sit in the open air (not in the plastic bag) and be dry beans to use later. We just don’t want them to go to waste.

Have a great week, and cross your fingers for a bit more summer warmth to make up for the icky spring!