foxlinecityfarm

A bright sunny morning today after many days of rain and cold.  A week of working in rain gear, long johns!! and a cap but all is well.  Crops are really strong and aside from a few broccoli transplants failing in the muck we dance on into July.  We are relieved and grateful that severe weather has passed us by.

We pulled the early sugar snap peas down and replanted the area with a second rotation of cucumbers, Scott is tying up the peppers that are growing tall, the hoop house was replanted after the bounty harvest of greens last week, we harvested the carrot trough and replanted it that evening, pickled the remaining garlic scapes and made some pesto too, and Maeve and Scott picked our sour cherries from our tree we planted when Maeve was born and froze them for winter. The final planting of squash went in, and we weeded. A fun week for all of us.

pickled garlic scapes.

Cherry Picking on Sunday.

Maeve with her harvest.

Replanting the carrot trough with the gorgeous tomato plants behind.

Tomato Plants are as tall as Maeve!

The big news is we purchased a fancy new potato digger!  Scott has had enough of hand forking our miles of potatoes and we are moving on.  It will save hours and HOURS! of time for us and will also work for garlic harvest and sweet potatoes too.  We are thrilled and cannot wait to give it a spin.

Potatoes look gorgeous this season…..I might just say best ever!

SUMMER SHARE #5

WHAT IS IN YOUR SHARE

Another fantastic share this week!  It’s a bounty again….Enjoy this week’s harvest.

332 delicious pounds of garden produce going home with members today.

SNACK PACK

carrots, broccoli, head lettuce, turnips, garlic, collard greens, cabbage, shelling peas, and zucchini

Carrots-This is the first harvest from the outdoor carrot trough.  Sweet and snappy.

Scott and Maeve pulling carrots.

Perfect!

Broccoli-A second harvest of early broccoli.  Nice big heads and delicious.  A great harvest for us.

Packing up the broccoli for the shares.

Head lettuce-A Summer crisp this week from the hoop house.  Sweet and juicy.

Summer crisp at morning harvest.

Turnips-This is the 2nd and final picking of these beauties from the hoop house.  We will see them again in the Fall.

Turnips soaking in the dunk tank ready to be scrubbed.

Garlic-FRESH! Just dug early garlic.  Our garlic crop looks great this year and we had to take an early peek.  More to come all season long….

Collard Greens-MY favorite,  I just love them. We use them as our bread replacement….or for burritos and tacos too.  Can also make a fantastic slaw, great in broth or wilted down for a delicious side.

Collard Greens at harvest.  We planted 3 varieties this year.

Collard green roll up.  Our “go to” lunch these days.

Cabbage-The first harvest of these little beauties.  Perfectly sized for a coleslaw side or added to salads. And delicious cut in 1/2 and grilled. Sweet and delicious.

Baby Cabbage Harvest.

Shelling Peas-A big box!  Shell and eat raw, add to salads or pasta or quickly steam with salt and butter.  A true summer treat.

Scott Pea picking in the rain….

Zucchini-The plants are just starting to produce.  We planted over 70 plants this season and a second patch is ready to go in as well for a long season of this summer staple.

The daily zucchini harvest.

FULL SHARE

carrots broccoli, head lettuce, turnips, garlic, collard greens, beets, cabbage, shelling peas, arugula, and zucchini

Carrots-A bounty from our outside trough.  Easy harvest and a fun time.  Will pulled them all and completely replanted before dark.

Maeve with her carrot harvest.

The oddball of the day.

Broccoli-We set a goal this year of “TONS! OF BROCCOLI”.  This is the second planting of the early broccoli and it is a great harvest for us…..lots more to come.

This picture was taken 8 days ago.  The broccoli headed up that quickly to a nice sized head to harvest.

Head Lettuce-A snappy summer crisp from the hoop house this week.

Turnips-Final harvest of this sweet treat.  We cut the tops and popped them in the dunk tank and they scrubbed up to look like beautiful eggs.

Turnips ready for the shares.

Garlic-Just dug delicious fresh garlic.  Cannot think of anything better.  A bumper crop for us this year and garlic to enjoy all season long.

Collard Greens-Fresh and raw in a salad or slaw is a treat.  Make a sandwich, taco or burrito.  Steamed or tossed into broth is a favorite too.

Collard Greens harvest.  YUM!

Scott washing the collard greens….in the rain.

Beets-1st outside harvest of these little gems….

Baby Beets at harvest.

All washed up and ready for the shares.

Cabbage-2 of these little lovelies in all Full Shares.  We planted this variety for the 1st time last year and loved them…..many more to come.  Perfectly sized for a meal or 2.  Sweet!

Baby cabbage ready to harvest.

Shelling Peas-A big box for everyone.  So worth the time to shell.  Great as a fresh snack all alone.  We love it added to pasta and nothing better than lightly steamed with salt and butter.

Shelling Peas at harvest.  We planted 3 different shelling pea varieties this year.  Enjoy!

Arugula-A nice sized bag of one of our favorite greens.  Cooked or raw it is delicious.

Washed and spun arugula!

Zucchini-The harvest is kicking in….a little heat this week and we will be picking this summer staple ALL summer long until frost.

BEST GUESS FOR NEXT WEEK-cabbage, red head lettuce, joy choi, garlic, zucchini, cucumbers?, snow peas, eggplant!? (it is almost ready-really!), swiss chard, and more……

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Rain is the theme for this week.  Over 3 inches and it is raining now.  We have not had any crop issues yet due to all this moisture but enough already!

The watermelon patch went in this past week and we focused our time on weeding and garden maintenance.  Scott got all the tomatoes trimmed up and secured to the trellises and started on pepper supports.  We made our way down many of the rows to “clean things up a bit”, we direct seeded long rows of carrots in the hoop house and seeds were planted in the greenhouse for Fall crops that will go out in a few weeks.

Carrot planting.

1st ripe tomato!

Cucumbers sizing up too.

1 proud new owner of 1 mighty fine tractor….

WHAT IS IN YOUR SHARE 

The night before all washed, weighed and bagged ready for packing.

Share packing in the morning of pick up.

A great harvest and a HUGE bounty of leafy greens from the hoop house.  Several crop rotations ready at the same time due to the heat.  Celebrate the bounty, chuckle a little bit along with us-grab your salad fork and dig in….. Here they come….

258 pounds from the garden this week.

SNACK PACK

head lettuce, leaf lettuce, turnips, kohlrabi, garlic scapes, sugar snap peas, fennel, and pac choi

Head Lettuce-We harvested several varieties this week and the shares will have either a summer crisp or a butter head.  BIG! delicious heads.

Summer Crisp at harvest. Gorgeous!

A fluffy butter head with the morning sun shining at harvest.

Leaf lettuce-A colorful mix of baby leaf lettuce.

Leaf lettuce at harvest.

Salad Turnips-One of our favorite early season treats!  Enjoy on a salad or saute.  Greens are edible too!

Scott starting the salad turnip harvest in the hoop house.

Beautiful turnips after scrubbing at the washing station.

Kohlrabi-A few more beauties from the garden.  This is the final early summer pick.  We will see them again in the Fall.

Kohlrabi harvest.

Garlic Scapes-Remember to use just like regular garlic…..great mild flavor. Make a quick pesto for pasta or spread on hearty toast or bruschetta. Long storage life in the refrigerator too.

Recipe below from West Coast Seeds but many variations on Pinterest.

Ingredients:
10 garlic scapes
1/3 cup unsalted pistachios (or substitute lightly toasted pine nuts)
1/3 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Use a blender or food processor to pulse into a paste the scapes, pistachios, cheese, salt, and pepper. With the machine running, slowly drizzle in olive oil so that it emulsifies. Store in a sealed jar in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. For pasta, add the pesto to cooked noodles of your choice and thin with an amount of the pasta cooking water to the desired consistency. Garnish with fresh basil leaves.

Sugar Snap Peas-Another great harvest this week of this early season treat.  Enjoy!

After the morning Sugar snap harvest.

Fennel-Add the wispy fronds to salads, shave the bulb thin and add to fresh salads too.  Great with apples, Roasted it is delicious with pork.

Fennel at harvest from the hoop house.

Pac Choi-A warm loving green choi that we did not expect to see for a few weeks….Crunchy great flavor fresh,  saute or a great addition to soup.

Pac choi washed and ready to bag in the shares….

Full Share

head lettuce x2, leaf lettuce, beta mix, salad turnips, kohlrabi, garlic scapes, sugar snap peas, shelling peas, fennel, pac choi and zucchini!

Head lettuce-2 heads in every share this week.  We picked several varieties a bibb and either a butter head or a summer crisp in every share….

Baby Bibb lettuce heads ready to harvest.

Leaf lettuce-A nice big bag of baby leafy green mix.

Beta Mix-My favorite leafy green mix we offer.  Baby beet and Swiss chard greens.  Just delicious as a fresh mix but amazing lightly sauteed with garlic scapes and olive oil.

Beta Mix at harvest.

Salad Turnips-A big bunch of these beauties….remember the greens can be lightly sauteed too.

Turnip Harvest.

Washing Turnips.

Kohlrabi-The last of these crunchy beauties from the bed.  More this Fall.

Garlic Scapes-The last of these too-A nice big bunch to carry you for awhile.  LONG storage life in the refrigerator.  Makes a delicious pesto-a recipe above- Quick and easy.  Also makes a great hummus dip and also grilled.

Sugar Snap Peas- A nice big bag again this week…and the 1st week of….

Shelling Peas!-We just started harvesting these sweet treats.  Peel/shell and eat.  A great snack food but makes a great summer meal with garlic scape pesto, pasta and fresh peas

Shelling Peas filling out.

Fennel-Beautiful bulbs and fronds for fresh salads or delicious grilled with apples and pork.

Hi Auntie Howdy-I saw a safety pin beaded basket the other day and thought of you-do you still have your collection?

Pac choi-A harvest that jumped ahead in the heat.  A crunchy addition to salads, or fantastic grilled or sauteed.

Pac choi at harvest in the morning dew.

Zucchini-Can you believe it!  The first harvest and a few in every full share……

The zucchini harvest has begun!

BEST GUESS FOR NEXT WEEK-head lettuce, collard greens, baby cabbage, broccoli, carrots!! beets? (still waiting) and more….

Sneak peek at next week’s harvest.

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Holy Cow!  We had a great week here in the garden!!!  We just decided to ignore the heat and power on.  A long, long row of broccoli went in, another rotation of beans, another row of edamame, spaghetti squash, mini cabbages, lettuces, golden beets all transplanted out too.  Cucumbers are growing tall and starting to flower and we are weaving them up the trellis, the 1st zucchini of the season are sizing up,  the tomatoes look great and doubled in size and we even weeded out the beet beds. We ran out of space for planting and Scott quickly squeezed in 2 additional planting beds.  Bountiful rains came without severe wind or hail and we are grateful.  The watermelon patch and sweet potato slips are going in this weekend and we will be over the HUGE! early season planting push.  Life is good……..

Tomatoes!

Zucchini patch is flowering…..

Scott squeezing in another bed-

And replanted the next morning after a rain.

WHAT IS IN YOUR SHARE

A 3rd week bounty.  179 pounds going out the door this week.  Lots of treats in the shares!  Enjoy.

SNACK PACK 

Head lettuce, mixed baby asian greens, baby arugula, kohlrabi, garlic scapes, broccoli, sugar snap peas and a dark purple asian mustard greens.

Hi Auntie Howdy…..hope you are having a good week and the garage sale went well.

Head Lettuce- A delicious and HUGE! head of a summer crisp.

Head lettuce at a VERY early morning harvest to beat the heat.

All cut and ready for the cool water of the wash tubs.

Mixed baby Asian greens-A mild blend of assorted mini choi and kales.  Can be enjoyed fresh in salads, or a light saute.

Baby Asian Greens at harvest.

Kohlrabi-The first picking from the patch.  Raw is best in our opinion.  Just peel the outer skin and eat the white flesh with a bit of salt.  Can be cooked and added to a stir fry.

Kohlrabi at harvest.

Garlic Scapes-This is the top flowering shoot of the garlic plant.  We cut it to promote bulb development.  Tastes just like garlic!  Long storage life in the refrigerator in a plastic bag.

Scapes ready to cut.

Broccoli-WOW! We are thrilled with the 1st very early harvest of the season.  Sweet and delicious.  More to come.

Rubber pants, after a huge rain, high humidity and 95 degrees-not fun but I am ignoring it…..

Sugar Snap Peas-1st pick from the patch-A early season treat.

1st picking in the pea patch.

Purple Mustard-A beautiful leaf color. Mildly spicy Asian green-Adds a nice kick to fresh salads.

Purple Mustard after watering.

FULL SHARE

Head lettuce, Spicy mini asian greens blend, arugula, kohlrabi, garlic scapes, broccoli, sugar snap peas, purple mustard green, pink vivid choi

Head lettuce-A jumbo head of summer crisp lettuce.  Sweet, juicy and delicious.  A favorite variety for us.

Washed head lettuce ready to be bagged for shares.

Spicy Mini Asian Greens Mix-mizuna, mustards, kales and choi.  A zippy blend for fresh salads or light saute.

Spicy Mini Asian Greens Blend.

Arugula-A big bag of the peppery favorite.  Fresh or sauteed it’s wonderful.

Arugula ready for harvest.

Kohlrabi- 3 beauties in every share.

Scott cutting the leaves of the kohlrabi after harvest.

Garlic Scapes-We cut the whole patch and a nice big bunch in the Full Shares.  Use as you would the garlic cloves in your cooking.  A mild garlic flavor.  Makes a great pesto for pasta.

Broccoli-the 1st early picking of the season.  Tasty and sweet.

Just picked broccoli.

Sugar Snap Peas-1st picking from the patch.

Peas ready to be bagged.

Purple Mustard Green-A spicy and pretty addition to fresh salads.

Purple mustard ready for harvest.

Pink Vivid Choi-Beautiful and Huge Choi-Juicy leaves and stems-perfect for a crunch in salads or added to stir fry.

Vivid Choi in the wash tub.

BEST GUESS FOR NEXT WEEK-fennel, head lettuce, turnips, leaf lettuce, chinese cabbage?, beets? and more……

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A fantastic week of getting things done in the garden!  ALL the tomatoes transplanted and trellised in a long 12 hour planting day.  465 plants in the ground by dark.  The long row of peppers went in Sunday morning and they have already grown 2 inches and are all settled in.  We tried something new this year and held off planting the leeks until they were a bit larger and what a difference in planting.  1300 leeks in a 2 hours dash.  Much easier than years past where we planted these thin little threads that about drove us nuts.  Summer lettuces transplanted into the hoop house and zucchini beds and sunflowers too.  Nice to finally feel almost to the top of the Spring planting mountain.

Tomatoes going in the ground and the sun is setting….

Last 1…Phew!

Scott poking the holes with his “leek poker” he invented…..

Planting leeks with a friend who crawled out of the hole.

Hoop house transitioned to Summer crops.

WHAT IS IN YOUR SHARE

A great early season harvest this week!  235 pounds going home with share members today.

SNACK PACK

kale, head lettuce, radish, carrot, swiss chard, spinach, basil plant

Kale-A nice sized bunch of a beautiful assortment.  We planted 2 long rows this season of 10 different varieties just for fun.

Harvesting Kale in the morning before the heat.

Head lettuce-A pretty freckled butter crunch.  Perfect and sweet.

Lettuce at harvest.

Radishes-A medley bag again this week and the last of the radishes until Fall.  Long storage life in a sealed bag in the refrigerator.

Carrots-The last of the baby Spring carrots with more to come in a few weeks from the 1st outdoor planting.

Swiss Chard-Spring Swiss Chard is delicious.  We love it with eggs.

Scott triple rinsing the Swiss Chard.

Spinach-Might be our last harvest until Fall with the high temperatures around the corner.

A great outdoor Spinach harvest this week.  A leaf above kissed with morning dew.

Basil Plant-9 varieties to choose from. Pick a beauty.

ALL Basil!

FULL SHARE

kale, head lettuce, leaf lettuce, mustard greens, radish, carrot, swiss chard, spinach, rhubarb, basil plant

Kale- A nice big bunch of tender Spring leaves.

Kale soaking in the wash tank.  Looks like Mercury Glass.

Head Lettuce- A snappy sweet butter crunch.  A freckled guy that is delicious.

Bagging this week’s head lettuce.

Leaf Lettuce-A colorful leaf lettuce assortment from the hoop house.

Cutting leaf lettuce in the early morning.

Leaf lettuce after the triple rinse and spin.

Mustard Greens-A spicy green that adds some snap to a mixed salad.

Purple Mustard Greens.

Radish-Another medley bag.  And the last of the radishes until Fall.

Carrots-The final harvest of the baby Spring Carrots.  The next crop is a few weeks out.

Swiss Chard- A favorite of mine and the 1st harvest always the most tender.

Washed and ready to be bunched.

Spinach-Might be the end of our early Spinach for the season.  Enjoy!

1 crate of the morning Spinach harvest.

Spinach all rinsed and ready to bag.

Rhubarb-1.5+ pounds in all Full Shares.  Enough for a pie or a crisp or 2.

Pulling Rhubarb.

Basil Plant-Many varieties to choose from.

Purple basil.

Mammoth Leaf Basil.

“traditional” genovese  basil…

BEST GUESS FOR NEXT WEEK

baby arugula, mixed loose leaf greens, garlic scapes, peas????, head lettuce, fennel and more….

a little sneak peek…..

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A fantastic 1st share of the season and right on schedule.  We were concerned with the cooler temperatures and ALL the rain that we would need to delay the start for 1 week but the garden and the hoophouse put out a bounty despite the weather challenges and we are excited to kick off the 2017 Summer Season.

WHAT IS IN YOUR SHARE

171 pounds of garden goodness going home with share members today.

All weekly shares are packed with washed produce in reusable cloth totes and ready for pick up in the walk in cooler.  Please return your cloth tote for reuse the following week.

SNACK PACK

All snack pack shares are packed in green totes.

radish medley, carrots!!!!, spinach, head lettuce assortment, pac choi

Radishes-we planted 3 different varieties this Spring and an assortment is included in each share.

Red radishes at Harvest.

Carrots!-A great Spring Treat-3 varieties were started early for a fun surprise.  SWEET and delicious.

Spring Carrots harvested by the handful.

What a bounty!

Spinach-Our 1st harvest from the outside Spinach bed.  A great harvest and thick, juicy flavorful leaves.

Spinach in it’s second rinse tank.

Head Lettuce-An assortment of several varieties harvested from the hoop house this week.

Lettuce at harvest.

Pac Choi-Another hoop house harvest.  A Crunchy slender variety.  Enjoy fresh or stir fry.

FULL SHARE

All Full Shares are packed in orange totes.

radish medley, carrots!, spinach, head lettuce assortment, dark mini romaine lettuce, pac choi x2

Radishes-An assortment of 3 varieties in each share.

Washing radishes in an old wringer washer.

Carrots!-A Springtime treat for the 1st share.  Sweet, crunchy and delicious.  Enjoy.

Magic!

Carrots washed and air drying before we package in the shares.

Spinach-1st harvest from the outside garden.  Thick, juicy flavorful leaves.

Scott Spinning the 3rd and final rinse of the spinach.

Head Lettuce-several varieties harvested from the hoop house this week and a nice big bag in each share.

Another lettuce variety in the mix this week.

Mini red romaine head lettuce-Several mini heads in each Full Share.  Dark/colored lettuces were suggested by a CSA member last year and we have included several varieties in our rotations this season.

Mini Baby Romaine at Harvest.

Pac Choi-A petite slender variety that we love,  Crunchy addition to fresh salads and great in stir fries and soup.

Mini Pac choi-Cute little juicy guys.  Perfect for a little snap in a main dish or fresh salad.

BEST GUESS FOR NEXT WEEK

lettuce, baby kale, swiss chard, radishes, carrots, spinach and more……….

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