foxlinecityfarm

A fun week of chilly days that lit the fire in us that it is time to hustle and get those last Autumn crops in the ground.  The sunlight is changing and we can feel the difference.  The days start a bit later as it is just too dark and we quit a bit earlier as we just cannot see well enough to pull the weeds.  It is a nice change from the long days of mid summer.  Supper is earlier and bedtime too.

Outside garden transplanting is done for the season.  An odd feeling.   The last transplanted broccoli  went out and it is a long shot.  We try a late LATE! broccoli rotation just for fun.  This variety is a cold hardy variety that we love to try and stretch it to Thanksgiving.  With a bit of row cover (sometimes 2 layers) we are able to have a super late harvest.  We have the room now in the garden and it is worth a try.  It all depends on the weather and a bit of luck.

We zipped around the garden and hoop house planting all the late leafy green, turnips and radish crops that thrive in the cooler temperatures of Autumn.  Scott prepped the beds and snapped the lines and I was right behind planting the seeds.

We have started harvesting the late squash and pulling the beginning of the late Summer/Fall carrots and it looks like it will be a bounty.  Still chugging along with the potatoes and hopefully this duty will be done at the end of this week.  Oh, Scott is going to peek in on the bees this week as they seem to be extra busy.  Honey in our future!

 

REMINDER……NEXT WEEK’S CSA PICK UP AND DELIVERY WILL BE TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 8TH NOT MONDAY THE 7TH DUE TO THE HOLIDAY WEEKEND….

SUMMER SHARE #14

PLEASE RETURN ALL BAGS AND REUSABLE PACKING MATERIALS…WE’RE RUNNING LOW.

A great share this week and as it was coming together I realized it is a week of “smooth and round”…..enjoy!  1381 pounds from the garden going home to share members tonight.

SNACK PACK

Head Lettuce-A nice head of that delicious Summer Crunch.  Our lettuce rotation will start shifting with the season to cooler lettuces, leaf lettuce and green mixes will return soon.

Sweet Pepper-The pepper plants are still loaded with tons of peppers.  A great pepper year for us.  Enjoy.

Summer Sweet Onions-This is the end of our summer onion harvest.  Store in the refrigerator as these are not storage onions.

Cucumbers-This is the end of the cucumbers for the Snack Pack Shares for the season.  We are going to pull the vines this week and plant long rows of Spinach.

Carrots-Delicious Crunchy Carrots!-As I mentioned before 1 of our goals this year was to grow tons of delicious carrots….enjoy another rotation of these tasty treats.

Spaghetti Squash-I love the start of squash harvest season…..we added this crop last year at the suggestion of a CSA member on their end of the season survey.  Such a good idea and a great addition to our weekly mid season shares.  Enjoy.

Cherry Tomato Mix-A sweet 1/2 pint again this week.

Paste Tomato Assortment-A combination of 4 varieties.  Enough to make a quick sauce this week.

Slice Heirloom Tomato-The Slice tomato harvest slowed this week with the cool and overcast days.  We have some but not the bounty of last week.

Watermelon-Another great watermelon harvest!  This variety is called Blacktail Mountain.  Larger then past harvests and SWEET!  We are enjoy watermelon daily around here and Maeve invented a great treat.

FULL SHARE

We do a quick morning harvest to grab the last goodies from the garden on CSA day…..

Head Lettuce-A nice head of that delicious Summer Crunch.  Our lettuce rotation will start shifting with the season to cooler lettuces, leaf lettuce and green mixes will return soon.

Sweet Pepper-The pepper plants are still loaded with tons of peppers.  A great pepper year for us.  Enjoy.

Mini Sweet Pepper Mix-A nice bag of these tasty treats.

Summer Sweet Onions-This is the end of our summer onion harvest.  Store in the refrigerator as these are not storage onions.

Mini Cipollini Starage Onion Mix-These cute little guys are the start of the storage onions in the shares.  Great for grilling or adding to soups and stews.

Cucumber-The last of the Long European slicing cucumbers.  The vines are coming down this week.

Carrots-Delicious Crunchy Carrots!-As I mentioned before 1 of our goals this year was to grow tons of delicious carrots….enjoy another rotation of these tasty treats.

Spaghetti Squash-I love the start of squash harvest season…..we added this crop last year at the suggestion of a CSA member on their end of the season survey.  Such a good idea and a great addition to our weekly mid season shares.  Enjoy.

Cherry Tomato Mix-A sweet 1/2 pint again this week.

Paste Tomato Assortment-A combination of 4 varieties.  Enough to make a quick sauce this week.

Slice Heirloom Tomato-The Slice tomato harvest slowed this week with the cool and overcast days.  We have some but not the bounty of last week.

Watermelon-Another great watermelon harvest!  This variety is called Blacktail Mountain.  Larger then past harvests and SWEET!

Potatoes-A bag of smaller Carola potatoes.  Perfect for roasting or boiling and/or broiling.  Scott’s favorite potato.

Kohlrabi-The end of the summer kohlrabi.

Sunflower Bouquet-Enjoy!  We love sunflowers at the end of summer….more to come.

Cantaloupe-Finally!  We have been waiting for these guys…. the start of the cantaloupe season.

Eggplant-The harvest slowed a bit in the cooler temperatures last week but enough for Full Share.

BEST GUESS FOR NEXT WEEK-SALSA MIX KITS, TOMATOES, GROUND CHERRY, CELERY, COLLARDS, CANTALOUPE, PEPPERS, SPAGHETTI SQUASH, PURPLE POTATOES, PEARS, SUNFLOWERS, AND MORE…..

 

 

 

 

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WOW!  What a difference a week makes. Cooler temperatures that feel almost cold some mornings.  Warm sweaters, a few extra layers and a cap that all come off around lunchtime and back on again in the evenings.  It is transitioning quickly to Autumn.  Wonderful rain showers arrived-finally! that came down long, slow and steady.  We had over 2 inches and the garden sure perked up and our irrigation load has eased.

The end of season hussle is here.  Last crops are all about in and the Fall and Winter over Spinach seeded in too.   We start the huge potato harvest that always seems a bit overwhelming but we chug along.  Cleaning up the edges of the garden and a heavy harvest load keep us busy.

Those tasty plums that we did not eat fresh are all stored in the basement in quart jars as beautiful jewel toned juice.  I’ll added some to our pear sauce for color, jazz up our winter smoothies and drink it straight as a treat this winter.

SUMMER SHARE #13

Another great summer harvest this week.  And another 1000+ pound week thanks to those watermelon.  1281 pounds of fantastic garden goodies going home this week.  Eat well!

SNACK PACK

Lettuce-A crunchy dark romaine is the treat this week.

Kale-A nice sized assorted bundle to add to a fresh salad, smoothy or make baked crisps.

Ground Cherries-They are back!  We did not plant them last year and many members commented on the end of season survey that they were missed.  So a nice long row went in of these sweet treats.  Keep on the counter and not in refrigerator.  Peel back the husk and eat fresh.  Tastes a little like pineapple to us.

Sweet Mini Pepper Mix Snackers-A beautiful and bountiful bag of these pretty treats.

Sweet Bell Pepper-1 bell in each share.

Jalapeno HOT Pepper-A few to spice up some salsa or sauce this week.

Leeks-This is the start of the late summer leek harvest. Enjoy!

Onions-A few more sweet summer short term onions.  Store in the refrigerator as these are not winter storage onions.

Potatoes-Another great harvest! And again thank you Uncle Jim for your help!   We love the potatoes this year.  This week is Peter Wilcox.  Great all purpose potato but excellent roasted or boiled.  Higher carotenoid content than most potatoes and delicious.

Watermelon-Another delicious melon this week.  We started harvesting 2 more varieties. 1 called Minnesota Midget that is long and has yellow rind and another called Black Tail Mountain-BIG! dark and round.

Cherry Tomatoes-A pretty half pint again.

Heirloom Slice Tomatoes-A great!!!! harvest this week.  Several in each share.

Pears-The first year our trees have produced a bounty to share.  Keep on the kitchen counter to ripen up a bit.  Enjoy.

FULL SHARE

 

Lettuce-A crunchy dark romaine is the treat this week.

Kale-A nice sized assorted bundle to add to a fresh salad, smoothy or make baked crisps.

Ground Cherries-They are back!  We did not plant them last year and many members commented on the end of season survey that they were missed.  So a nice long row went in of these sweet treats.  Keep on the counter and not in refrigerator.  Peel back the husk and eat fresh.  Tastes a little like pineapple to us.

Sweet Bell Peppers and Assorted Sweet Peppers-Several in every share.

Jalapeno HOT! Peppers-A few to spice up a few meals or salsa this week.

Leeks-This is the start of the late summer leek harvest. Enjoy!

Onions-A few more sweet summer short term onions.  Store in the refrigerator as these are not winter storage onions.

Potatoes-Another great harvest! And again thank you Uncle Jim for your help!   We love the potatoes this year.  This week is Peter Wilcox.  Great all purpose potato but excellent roasted or boiled.  Higher carotenoid content than most potatoes and delicious.

Watermelon-Another delicious melon this week.  We have started harvesting 2 more varieties. 1 called Minnesota Midget that is long and has yellow rind and another called Black Tail Mountain-BIG! dark and round.

Kohlrabi-The last from this rotation of planting.

Cherry Tomatoes-A colorful pint again this week.

Heirloom Slicing Tomatoes-A bounty harvest this week.  Enjoy!

Cucumber-Really!  I think this is the end…..Really!

Eggplant-We planted 4 or 5 varieties this year and 1 or more will appear in your share.

Pears-The first year our trees have produced a bounty to share.  Keep on the kitchen counter to ripen up a bit.  Enjoy.

BEST GUESS FOR NEXT WEEK-tomatoes, spaghetti squash, celery, lettuce, garlic, melon, cantalope, summer squash, and more…….

 

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That oppressive heat last week did not knock us down too much.  We rose with the sun and got the bulk of our work done and watered like maniacs again.  We wait and wait and hope for rain.  Afternoons were spent with easy tasks or inside work.  We are beginning to see the garden clearing out and a few late season “quick crops” are filling in.  Our Summer and Storage onion crops are both completely out of the ground now and as these beds are prepped late season transplants or seeds are quickly planted.

We transplanted out more broccoli this week and kept the drip line running in the heat just to be safe.  Lots more to go out in the garden as we transition to Fall.

We have a simple daily goal…..pick something, plant something and weed something.  Over and over and that will keep us on top of the many duties in the garden.  Too much focus in one area and another quickly falls behind.

Melon harvesting has started and it looks wonderful out there.  We had high hopes for a great melon season this year and it is here…. We are excited about the varieties we selected,  we planted in a great location and lots of irrigation.  Several weeks of harvest in front of us.

Melons are favorite crop of mine for some reason.  Scott said as we were harvesting “A dream come true for you”-and he’s right.

 

 

 

SUMMER SHARE #12

There is no way around it….this weeks share is just “pretty”……really pretty!  The colors are truely amazing.  Enjoy the beautiful and delicious bounty.  AND we reached another goal….we passed our 1000 pound weekly produce goal.  1201 pounds going home tonight! We never did that before.  Thank you watermelons!  Such a great season.

 

SNACK PACK

 

Head Lettuce-Either a Romaine or Summer Crunch this week as we harvest both from the hoop house.  We are having a fantastic lettuce season this year.  Our goal is always a fresh head every week and so far we have hit it.  Enjoy!

Carrots!-A beautiful mix.  So colorful and different flavors too.  Enjoy.  A great summer harvest.

Peppers-A big harvest this week in the heat.  A bounty to enjoy.  A Sweet Bell and another assorted long sweet in every share.

Onions-2 more of those tasty summer sweet onions.  Keep in refrigerator as these are NOT the winter storage onions.

Cucumbers-A few for everyone and we think this may be the end of our cucumber run this season.

Kohlrabi-2 of these crunchy snackers.  Great to add to salads or a veggie tray.

Watermelon-The melon harvest has begun….we are thrilled.  An assortment of “icebox” sized melons were picked and you will find a sweet melon in your share.  The flesh will be red, pink, yellow, or orange.   The start of a long melon season.

 

Cherry Tomato Mix-The beautiful and sweet assortment.

Slice Heirloom Tomato-A beauty or 2 in every share.

Plums-The last of these tasty snackers.

 

Eggplant-1 or 2 in every share this week.

 

Full Share

 

Head Lettuce-Either a Romaine or Summer Crunch this week as we harvest both from the hoop house.  We have had a fantastic lettuce season this year.  Our goal is always a fresh head every week and so far we have hit it.  Enjoy!

 

Carrots!-A beautiful mix.  So colorful and different flavors too.  Enjoy.  A great harvest.

Beets-A nice big bunch from the hoop house so the greens are perfect too for eating.

Fennel-We had  to include fennel this week as it pairs so well with beets.

Mini Sweet pepper mix-A big bag of assorted mini sweet snackers.

Sweet Bell Pepper-1 in each share.

Sweet Summer Onions-2 in each share.

Daikon Radish-That big purple beast in your bag.  Slice off a portion and peel.  Beautiful internal color.  A great addion to salads.

Kohlrabi-2 of these crunchy snackers.  Great to add to salads or a veggie tray.

Watermelon-The melon harvest has begun….we are thrilled.  An assortment of “icebox” sized melons were picked and you will find a sweet melon in your share.  The flesh will be red, pink, yellow, or orange.  The start of a long melon season.

Cherry Tomato Mix-The beautiful and sweet assortment.

Slice Heirloom Tomato-A beauty or 2 in every share.

Plums-The last of these tasty snackers.

 

BEST GUESS FOR NEXT WEEK-peppers, eggplant, watermelon, kale, ground cherries, tomatoes, pears and more!

 

 

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We liked this past week.  The tomato harvest was bountiful, we had time to weed and tidy up and once again it seems like we planted a whole new garden.  The strong transition to Autumn crops and organization is in full swing.  Scott spent a a lot of time with our compost piles sifting and adding the fresh compost to prepared beds for replanting.

A new bed of turnips was planted where the leeks came out and a long row of Swiss Chard went in where the summer onions were pulled.  Radishes went in and again more carrots.  Late Fall seeds were started in the greenhouse for transplanting in a few weeks.

 

The new zucchini patch went in where the garlic use to live and we should be mibbling on summer squash from this patch in a few weeks.

We peeked in on the watermelon and cantalope and feel we are still 2 weeks out on this harvest so we check and wait.

A very special treat this week.  Our wonderful neighbors Dick and Caryl Pfaff gifted us delicious plums.  Dick was given the tree as a Father’s Day gift from his daughter 7 years ago and this is the first year it has produced.  The tree was loaded with fruit and so beautiful.

We had a great time picking the plums and enough to make jam, can and fruit leather.

 

 

SUMMER SHARE #11

Please remember to return all share bags and reusable packaging material.

Another great harvest and a few treats tucked in….enjoy all of it.  980 pounds of garden goodness. WOW!

SNACK PACK

Lettuce-A great head of romaine this week.  Deep green crunchy and delicious. The variety is called Sparx.

Potatoes-Beautiful Carola.  Mash, smash, fry, roast or steam.

Sweet Summer Onions-Store in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator.  These are not storage onions.

Cutting Celery-Amazing flavor!  Add leaves to salads, or use leaves and stalks to flavor soups, sauces or stir fry.  This is what celery is suppose to taste like.

Kohlrabi-Peel outer skin and eat raw with salads or with dips.

Sweet Yellow Pepper-A delicious sweet beauty.

Corn-Conventional corn grown for us by Scott’s Uncle.

Basil Plant-A wonderful Thai basil plant!  Great flavor.

Cherry Tomatoes-A 1/2 pint mix of these little gems.

Slice Tomatoes-Choice of Heirlooms.

Plums!-A special treat! Leave on the counter a few days to ripen.

Eggplant-BARABOO SNACK PACK ONLY THIS WEEK.

Raspberry-ERDMAN SNACK PACK ONLY THIS WEEK.  THIS IS THE END OF THE RASPBERRY ROTATION.

 

 

FULL SHARE

Lettuce-A great head of romaine this week.  Deep green crunchy and delicious. The variety is called Sparx.

Potatoes-Beautiful Carola.  Mash, smash, fry, roast or steam.

Sweet Summer Onions-Store in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator.  These are not storage onions.

Cutting Celery-Amazing flavor!  Add leaves to salads, or use leaves and stalks to flavor soups, sauces or stir fry.  This is what celery is suppose to taste like.

Peppers-Sweet bell and long yellow bananna.

Corn-Conventional corn grown for us by Scott’s Uncle.

Basil Plant-A wonderful Thai basil plant!  Great flavor.

 

Cherry Tomatoes-A 1/2 pint mix of these little gems.

 

Slice Tomatoes-Choice of herlooms.

Paste Tomato Sauce Kits-A collection of paste tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, and oregano.  Perfect for a pasta sauce or pizza sauce this week.

Green Filet Beans-The end of the beans for a few weeks.  Phew!

Cucumbers-A few snackers for salads.

Cauliflower-A late summer harvest.  ENJOY!  One of Jennifer’s favorite.  I could eat bowls FULL.

Zucchini-Picked small and tender. Baraboo Full Share only.

Plums!-A special treat! Leave on the counter a few days to ripen.

BEST GUESS FOR NEXT WEEK-mini snacking pepper mix, lettuce, summer onions, kale, carrots, beets, kohlrabi, and more…..

 

 

 

 

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BEANS!  That was the big theme for this week.  Beans, beans and more beans…. We picked, pulled, planted and gave some away….We pulled the bean plants from the first plantings this Spring and replanted another round of green bush beans for a late harvest. And started picking a new crop of delicious green and purple French filet beans.  The plants are loaded and we pulled handfuls at harvest.

We canned 20+ pounds of green beans one hot afternoon for our pantry and are now well stocked for winter.

 

We peeked in on the dragon tongue beans and they have a ways to go until they reach “shell out” maturity but a bounty of beans are out there.  Something to look forward to with a late season harvest.

When not focused on the beans we watered…..the irrigation now runs around the clock somewhere in the garden.  I know Scott is getting tired of me rushing from some area of the garden and saying “IT’S DRY-BONE DRY! POWDER DRY!! WHEN DID YOU IRRIGATE!”  The strong winds and high heat we had all week quickly dried out the soil.  We hand watered the little carrot and beet seedlings daily in addition to drip irrigation…. and had to water the hoop house and greenhouse 2-3 times daily to keep up.  Lots of time spent with the watering wand.

Scott is thrilled that he completed the garlic harvest.   Lots of hand digging but the full crop is now out.  We separate the heads by size and hang them to dry in groups of 10.  A second rotation of zucchini will take it’s place.

Maeve and I wandered the watermelon and cantalope patch and Maeve is certain there are over a thousand out there.  By the way things look I do not think she is far off in her guess.  We were curious and picked a melon and it is just starting to turn pink inside.  I asked Scott to turn on the irrigation when we walked back and he sighed and said it just ran over there 2 days ago…”IT’S BONE DRY! POWDER DRY!!!!” was my reply.   A few weeks to go until these beauties are ripe.

 

SUMMER SHARE #10

Please return your share bags and any reusable packing materials.

 

Hard to believe it is half way through the season.  Such a strong 1st half of the season and so many goodies yet to come.

839 pounds of produce to enjoy this week!  WOW!

SNACK PACK

Head Lettuce-A sweet fluffy head picked in the early morning light before the heat sets in….A  Summer Crisp named Muir.  Our first year planting this variety and it may become a new favorite.  Delicious!

Cucumber Snacking Mix-A mixed bag of munchers and american pickling.

Dill-A bundle for a small batch of refrigerator pickles or cucumber salad.

Potatoes!-Scott’s favorite variety.  Carola.  We just started hand digging this crop and it is a bounty.  Again, the best potatoes we have ever had and a huge thank you to Uncle Jim for his help!!!  Perfect skin and the plants are loaded. We chuckle when we pull them from the ground…. Carola can be steamed, boiled, mashed, or fried.  More to come of this fantastic potato.

Summer Leeks-We harvested the last of the summer leeks to go with the Carolas this week.

French Filet bicolor mix-Long green and purple filet beans.

Corn!!!!-The 1st harvest of the season.  We DO NOT grow our corn.  It is conventionally grown corn grown by Scott’s Uncle for us.  When we poled CSA members in the past and asked it they would like conventionally grown corn in the shares the overwhelming response was “yes!”.  We have limited space in our gardens and not able to grow corn so this is our best option.  We look forward to a few more weeks of the corn harvest.

Cherry Tomatoes-The plants are really starting to produce with the heat this week. So pretty!

Slicing Tomatoes-A few heirlooms to choose from.

Zucchini-We planted several varieties and pick them small.

FULL SHARE

 

Head Lettuce-A sweet fluffy head picked in the early morning light before the heat sets in….A  Summer Crisp named Muir.  Our first year planting this variety and it may become a new favorite.  Delicious!

Cucumber Snacking Mix-A mixed bag of munchers and american pickling.

Dill-A bundle for a small batch of refrigerator pickles or cucumber salad.

Potatoes!-Scott’s favorite variety.  Carola.  We just started hand digging this crop and it is a bounty.  Again, the best potatoes we have ever had and a huge thank you to Uncle Jim for his help!!!  Perfect skin and the plants are loaded.  Carola can be steamed, boiled, mashed, or fried.  More to come of this fantastic potatoe.

Summer Leeks-We harvested the last of the summer leeks to go with the Carolas this week.

French Filet bicolor mix-Long green and purple filet beans.

Corn!!!!-The 1st harvest of the season.  We DO NOT grow our corn.  It is conventionally grown corn grown by Scott’s Uncle for us.  When we poled CSA members in the past and asked it they would like conventionally grown corn in the shares the overwhelming response was “yes!”.  We have limited space in our gardens and not able to grow corn so this is our best option.  We look forward to a few more weeks of the corn harvest.

Cherry Tomatoes-The plants are really starting to produce with the heat this week. So pretty!

Eggplant-Italian or Asian will be in the shares this week.

Peaches!-Tree ripe and our first harvest from this tree planted 7 years ago.

REMAINING RASPBERRY SHARES WILL BE NEXT WEEK.

BEST GUESS FOR NEXT WEEK-Peppers, cauliflower, tomatoes, corn, potatoes, cutting celery, lettuce, and more….

 

 

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