foxlinecityfarm

Another fabulous week in the gardens! We worried-and worried a lot when all the rain came on Friday that it would be the turning point of just too much….2.5 inches came down hard and the good news is we are just fine.  A few kohlrabi transplants failed and that’s it.  Relief again and hopefully we are on the other side.

A big week of transplanting out more Fall cauliflower and getting ALL the garlic out.  We were not able to use the new potato digger as planned due to the moist ground and we felt we needed to get them out quick.  So, Scott hand dug them all and the crop looks wonderful.  We are in the process of cleaning them up and curing them for future shares.

The gardens are thriving with all this moisture.  Fall crops are sizing up and the tomato patch is starting to kick in too.  The plants are loaded with beautiful fruit and the cherry tomatoes are HUGE!

ALL Brussels Sprouts! What were we thinking?!

Early Brussels Sprouts sizing up.

The lush winter squash patch.

Pretty Cherry Tomatoes.

The peach tree finally told us she was ready and we are thrilled with this 1st harvest.  We planted the tree the year Maeve was born and this is the very 1st harvest and what a bounty.  Peaches in every share this week.

Peach tree ready to harvest.

WOW!

After the morning harvest.

We had some spare time and made a big batch of basil pesto to freeze for the winter.  A fun afternoon and Maeve did all the measuring.

Sorting the basil for Pesto.

SUMMER SHARE #9

WHAT IS IN YOUR SHARE

Another great share this week.  550 pounds of garden delights going home with members today.  We are thrilled with the variety and bounty that we are able to harvest week to week this season. Enjoy it all!

The eggplant bounty continues and ALL the eggplant is on the extra table this week.  Take what you want.  Also, great lettuces came from the hoop house this week.  HUGE sweet heads in all shares and more on the extra table too.

SNACK PACK

head lettuce, asian greens mix, dill, cucumbers, zucchini, peppers, cherry tomatoes, red norland potatoes, garlic, sweet onion, peaches…..

Head lettuce-perfect heads again this week from the hoop house.  Big fluffy heads.

A huge head of summer crisp.

Asian Greens mix-A snappy mix of asian greens-fresh in salads or fantastic braised.

Asian Greens ready to harvest.

Dill-We had to add nice big bunches with the cucumbers this week.  Also, great with fish.

Dill in the morning sun at harvest.

Cucumbers-A big mixed bag of delicious snackers.

Portioning out the cucumbers for the snack pack share.

Zucchini-A variety of 3 in every share.

Peppers-The pepper season has begun!-We started harvesting 3 varieties of sweet peppers this week and 2 peppers are in each share.

The start of the pepper harvest.

Cherry Tomatoes-A mixed pint in every snack pack share.

Cherry tomatoes all rinsed and ready to eat.

Potatoes-Red Norlands.  With all the moisture they grew huge….

Red norland potatoes rinsed and ready for the shares.

Garlic-A head in each share.

Sweet Summer Onion-We just started harvesting the summer onions.  Sweet and must be stored in the refrigerator.

Peaches- A pint box.  Picked slightly under-ripe. Store on the kitchen counter until ready.

The peach harvest.

FULL SHARE

head lettuce, asian greens mix, dill, cucumbers, zucchini, peppers, japanese shishito sweet peppers, cherry tomatoes, slice tomatoes, red norland potatoes, garlic onions, peaches

Head Lettuce-BIG! fluffy delicious heads.  Summer crisp is the variety this week.

Summer Crisp ready to harvest.

Triple rinsed and ready to bag for the shares.

Asian Greens Mix-fresh or braised a great addition to a meal.

Asian Greens in it’s 2nd of 3 rinses.

Dill-Of Course!  For the fantastic cucumbers this week.

Dill in the garden.

Cucumbers-A big bag of assorted snackers. Picked daily so snappy and crisp.

Zucchini-5 assorted beauties in every Full Share.  Also, picked daily to harvest small.

Peppers-3 sweet peppers in every Full Share.  We picked a variety this week.

Sweet peppers ready to pick.

Shishito Japanese Sweet Peppers-A new crop for us this year.  We had these in a restaurant this past winter and loved them.  We found the seed and had to give them a try.  The plants are loaded!  Tastes like a thin skinned bell pepper.  Great grilled, roasted, raw or with a light tempura.

Shishito Peppers at harvest.

Slice Tomatoes-2 beauties in each Full Share.

The slice tomato assortment this week.

Cherry Tomatoes-A quart of the colorful mix.

Auntie Howdy I hope we get to see you once before the summer ends…..

Red Norland Potatoes-Great yield this year.  We will work on getting the remaining crop out this week.

Garlic-2 heads in every share.

Sweet Summer Onions-A bag of these sweet beauties.  Store in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator.

Sweet Summer Onions sizing up in the field.

Peaches-Maeve’s Peaches to share with all.  8 years of waiting but so worth it!  Picked slightly under ripe.  Store on kitchen counter until ready to eat.

Peaches ready to harvest.

BEST GUESS FOR NEXT WEEK-Corn!!!!, chinese cabbage, lettuce, beets?, green beans, cucumbers, zucchini, peppers, kohlrabi, kale, tomatoes and maybe…..

PEARS!

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Well, it rained again last night….1 5/8th of an inch and all is well.  Crops are thriving and we are continually relieved we have avoided the extreme weather conditions that circle around us.  A few zucchini plants snapped in the wind and a few bean plants blew over (but stood right back up the next-we were grateful they did not crack off) and we march along in the wet heat.

We were weeding maniacs this past week and the garden has never looked better.  Our walkways are clear and the beds clean.  We are concerned with airflow with all this rain and want to make sure that we keep disease at bay.  It feels good to see the wide open spaces.

The hoop house is packed full of leafy green rotations and a few carrots too.

We are making the transition to our Fall plantings.  Hard to believe….spinach was seeded in this week, the late season radish beds planted, tons of kohlrabi transplanted out, the late season broccoli that we harvest in the snow was started, and a brand new carrot trough started too for a late September harvest.

Green and purple kohlrabi transplanting.

Summer crops are almost here…we are seeing baby watermelons, winter squash, and baby brussels sprouts forming.  Next week we start harvesting the onions and peppers and bet the tomatoes will be in full swing….  What a great summer!

A new cherry tomato we are growing.  It is called blueberry.  Starts out blue/purple and transitions to a deep orange.

Watermelon!

Tons!!! of Spaghetti Squash on the vines…

SUMMER SHARE #8

WHAT IS IN YOUR SHARE

307 delicious pounds of garden goodness going home with members this week.  AND lots of goodies on the extra table too.  We harvested a bounty of eggplant-again and they will be on the extra table for all who want some.  (We did not put them in the shares this week as we they were packed the last 2 weeks and we did not want to go into eggplant overload!)  We also clear cut ALL the swiss chard to allow for new growth in the Fall.  It is washed and ready to go home too for all those members that LOVE! it.  Extra zucchini, and cucumbers available as well.  A bounty this week that we are happy to share.

WE ARE RUNNING LOW ON THE SHARE BAGS-GREEN AND ORANGE…IF YOU HAVE A PILE STACKING UP PLEASE BRING THEM BACK IN THE NEXT WEEK OR 2-THANKS!

SNACK PACK

head lettuce, leaf lettuce, arugula, tokyo bekana (fluffy asian green), carrots, zucchini, bag of assorted cucumbers, 1 long skinny European slicing cucumber, green onions, beans

Head Lettuce-A beauty this week again!  A great hoop house lettuce season for us.  Triple rinsed, sweet and perfect.

A beauty!

Leaf Lettuce-Sweet and crunchy.  A nice sized bag for everyone.

Early morning leaf lettuce harvest on it’s way to the wash tubs.

Arugula- A flat leaf variety this time.  Adds some zip to salads or we love it sauted.

Arugula ready to harvest in the hoop house.

Tokyo Bekana-1 of my favorite Asian Greens….tastes like a fluffy chinese cabbage.  Raw or in a stir fry it is delicious.

Tokyo Bekana ready to harvest.

Carrots-The final harvest off our 1st carrot trough-5 rotations are still out there to harvest.

Aunty Howdy did you get your peony bed planted?…..

Zucchini-3 in every share.  We pick daily and harvested almost 300 this week.

Cucumbers-Another daily pick for us.  9 snacking varieties are being harvested right now….enjoy!

A morning cucumber pick.

European slicing cucumber-1 long skinny guy in every share except some lucky member is going to find this treat!

Surprise!

Green Bunching Onions-Maeve and I started these from seed late February.

Green Bunching Onions at harvest.

Beans-The last of this rotations….more to come in about 2 weeks…

FULL SHARE

Head lettuce-Lovelock again this week even though it was planted out 2 weeks after last week’s harvest. It caught up in the heat.

This week’s lettuce at harvest.

After harvest….

and triple rinsed ready to be bagged for the shares.

Leaf lettuce-A nice sized bag for all.  Sweet and crunchy.

Fennel-A baby fennel grown in the outside gardens.

Arugula-A broad leafed variety this week.  Cut small and zippy.

Arugula in it’s 2nd of 3 rinses.

Baby Asian Greens mix-Fresh or sauted it is fantastic!  A slightly spicy mix of choi, kales, mustards, and tatsoi.

Baby Asian Greens mix at harvest.

Tokyo Bekana-A lime green asian green that tastes like a fluffy chinese cabbage.  Adds loft to fresh salads, and great added to stir fry.

Carrots-The final harvest from the 1st trough and more to come this summer.

Zucchini-5 assorted beauties in every share.

Cucumber Mix-A big bag again of crunchy snackers.

White cucumbers at harvest.

European Slice Cucumber-2 of these thin skinned beauties in every Full share.

Green Bunching Onion-the start of our “onion season”.

Green onions ready to wash and bunch for the shares.

Beans-The last of the 1st rotation in the garden.  More to come in about 2 weeks.

Cherry Tomatoes-Here they come!  Enjoy the 1st harvest of the season.

TADA!!!! 1st cherry tomatoes of the season.

Slice tomato-1 red beauty for every full share.

BEST GUESS FOR NEXT WEEK-peppers!!!, potatoes, garlic, chinese cabbage, lettuce, cucumbers, zucchini, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, kale and more…..

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Another powerhouse week in the gardens.  We plugged along between the rainstorms and ignored the heat.  More broccoli was transplanted out and more fall cauliflower too.  It seemed like we were always picking beans.  The pea trellises all came down, cleaned up and hopefully tilled (if it ever dries out). We plan to replant this area this weekend with Autumn delights.

Our primary duties are harvesting and weed control.  With all this rain the crops and weeds are both thriving but we are on top of it all and this feels good.  We are relieved that severe weather has missed us and have not had any issue yet with excessive rain. The garden is lush, green and beautiful.  Life is good.

Summer Squash bloom in the morning.

Winter Squash plants are loaded with blooms too.  The bees are busy.

Looks to be a bounty this year from our mini orchard.  The peach and pear trees are heavy with fruit.  We are looking forward to the harvest.

The peach tree we planted the year Maeve was born.  This year will be the 1st  harvest.

And look at that!  Tomatoes around the corner.  The tomato patch looks wonderful.

The tomatoes have hit the top of the trellis and full of developing fruit!  Cherry tomatoes in the share next week…

A Hot, hazy picture of peppers right around the corner too.

WHAT IS IN YOUR SHARE

An amazing share this week and what is even more amazing we were able to harvest, wash and pack all that bounty and still get our garden chores done.  Enjoy the wonderfulness of it all.

We climbed over the 500 pound mark….537 pounds of garden delights this week.

SNACK PACK

head lettuce, baby cabbage, eggplant, zucchini, long skinny european slice cucumbers, mini muncher cucumbers, early red norland potatoes, parsley, green beans, snow peas, garlic

Head Lettuce-perfect lettuce from our hoop house.  Either romaine or a summer crisp called Lovelock.

Lovelock at harvest.

Baby Cabbage Head-The perfect size for a fresh slaw, added to fresh salads or grilled is wonderful too.

Eggplant-Looks to be another bumper crop again this year.  Plants are loaded.

Morning Eggplant harvest.

Zucchini-Here they come….several varieties planted and an assortment in every share.

Zucchini Harvest.

European slice Cucumbers-2 in every snack pack share.  Thin and delicious.  We pick cucumbers everyday.

Making my way down the cucumber trellis in my outfit of choice this past week.

Mini munch cucumbers-This mini thin skinned cucumbers that have appeared in the grocery stores….our 3rd year growing them and we love them.

Red Norland Potatoes!-Nothing beats the flavor of a just dug potato….enjoy!

1st peek at the potatoes.

Parsley-Large flat leafed Italian.  We had to include it in the mix this week.  Parsley and buttered new baby red potatoes-Heaven!

Parsley at harvest.

Green Beans-A bounty!  Picked in and after the rains. We rinsed them off but do rinse again before preparing as there may be some grit remaining.

Scott bagging the beans.

Snow Peas-The end of the pea season for us.  Scott pulled the trellis right behind my picking.

Garlic-A summer staple around here.  We dug a few more early birds to enjoy with the potatoes.

FULL SHARE

head lettuce x2, baby cabbage x2, eggplant, zucchini, BIG! bag mixed cucumbers, early red norlands, large leaf flat italian parsley, green beans, sugar snap peas, garlic x2

Head lettuce-romaine and lovelock summer crisp lettuce in every full share.

Romaine at Harvest.

Lovelock Summer Crisp at harvest.

Baby cabbages-As I mentioned before we love this size of these little guys.  Tender, sweet and wonderful raw in salads or slaw, or fantastic in stir fry dishes or grilled.

We clear cut the mini cabbage crop and another one started a few weeks back for a late season harvest.  

Eggplant-Here we go…we sure can grow eggplant for some reason….enjoy!

Zucchini-We harvest daily and pick them small.  Tender sweet and a nice mix of varieties.

A great zucchini harvest this week.

BIG! bag of cucumbers-An assortment in every Full Share. These too are picked every day.

Morning cucumber harvest from 1 side of the trellis.

Our favorite white cucumbers are just starting to produce.

Red Norland Potatoes-A bumper crop this year and we are just starting to dig the LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG row.

Delicious.  We had a meal of just potatoes the night we dug.

Parsley-Large flat leaf Italian-A must for the share this week to go with the potatoes.

Parsley drying after it’s rinse.

Auntie Howdy…if you ever need to take a quick day road trip come on down and visit-we would love to see you.

Green Beans-A HUGE! harvest this week and a HUGE! bag.

BIG! bags of beans…2 pounds in every Full share.

Sugar snap peas-this marks the end of our “pea season”.

Garlic-2 more heads in the Full Share this week.  Fresh garlic is fantastic.

BEST GUESS FOR NEXT WEEK-carrots, mixed leafy greens, head lettuce, cucumbers, eggplant, zucchini, green onions, cherry tomatoes, beans and more……

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A fast week of weeding and transplanting in the garden but with some Holiday fun tossed in too…  Fall broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower all transplanted out and then a nice soaking rain.  The last of the peas have been picked and that area getting cleaned up to make way for new seeding in of shart season fall crops.  Scott cultivated the walkways and we made our way down the pepper row.  Our duties are shifting to “harvest mode” with daily visits to the summer squash and cucumber areas and other crops that must be checked every other day for harvesting.  Maeve and I upgraded the ginger and turmeric that we planted in shallow trays in February to larger crates and upgraded another round of basil to new pots.  We attended the Baraboo Sunday Market with our garden produce and Maeve sold cards in the children’s market area….a fun event for all of us on a beautiful day.  A water balloon fight on an evening when our work was done and the fireworks in the Dells on the 4th.  A great week!

Sunday Market in downtown Baraboo.

Ginger and Turmeric Planting….

And our work is done….Maeve filling balloons for the water balloon fight. 

Happy 4th of July!

A few cherry tomatoes are ripening and peppers developing too.  Both a few weeks behind last year but coming on strong. Our fruit trees are loaded this year after a disappointing harvest last season due to that late frost.  We are going to start pulling the garlic and peek at the potatoes next week.  A fantastic season so far and we are grateful.

Color on the Cherry Tomatoes….

Slicers not too far behind!

I’ll be teaching a wreath workshop this coming Saturday  July 8th at New Life Lavender and Cherry Farm for the Sauk County Lavender Festival.  I’m looking forward to creating wreaths with their beautiful lavender grown at their farm.  A fun workshop.

SUMMER SHARE #6

The best yet!….Such a great season so far.  And a few early bird surprises this week. The cucumber vines are just starting to produce, the summer squash too and the first rotation of beans!  Enjoy the bounty.

282 pounds this week from the garden.

We harvested a beautiful rotation of PERFECT! butterhead lettuce also this week.  It jumped ahead in it’s rotation.  We made the choice to include the pretty and tasty Cherokee in the shares as planned and this delicious butter head is in the “extra” area for members to take if they choose…..we did not want people to be overwhelmed with leafy greens in the shares….

Perfect Butterhead lettuce ready to harvest.

Tons of it….

Sweet, juicy leaves……all extra of you want it….

WHAT IS IN YOUR SHARE

SNACK PACK

head lettuce, pac choi, chinese cabbage, zucchini, cucumbers, broccoli and beans

Head lettuce-A great summer lettuce-Cherokee.  Beautiful and delicious.

This week’s head lettuce at harvest.

Beautiful Cherokee

Pac Choi-2 varieties ready this week and the last (I promise) of the pac choi until Fall.  We love it fresh in salads but fantastic in soups or stir fry.

Pac Choi ready to be picked.

Chinese Cabbage-We grow the little guys-a variety called minuet.  We like the smaller size as not so overwhelming to eat our way through.  A light saute with garlic and olive makes the perfect side for dinner.

Chinese Cabbage at harvest.

Zucchini-Several in every share this week!  We pick them daily small and tender.  We planted a huge patch this season of 6 different varieties.

Cucumbers!-Here they come!  A mixed bag in all the snack pack this week of perfect snackers.

The 1st cucumbers of the season!

1st white cucumbers of the season too…..

Broccoli-AGAIN!  We can’t believe it!!!  This is the 3rd early season variety we planted and it headed up quickly.  A lighter more compact head than last week’s variety.  Sweet flavor and absolutely delicious.

Broccoli at harvest.

Beans-Here they come and somehow right on time even though we had a cool Spring.

1st green beans of the season.

FULL SHARE

head lettuce, leaf lettuce, pac choi, chinese cabbage, zucchini, long european slicing cucumbers, snow peas, eggplant, broccoli and beans

Head Lettuce-A beautiful heat loving red lettuce-cherokee.  Perfect heads.

Head lettuce soaking in the wash tanks.

Leaf Lettuce-A sweet bag of mixed leaf lettuce.

Leaf Lettuce at harvest in the hoop house.

This week’s leaf lettuce washer (and snacker).

Pac Choi-2 varieties and the last of the pac choi until Fall-I promise….

Last early season Pac choi rotation in the hoop house ready to be cut.

Pac choi ready to be bagged for the shares.  The pac choi bonanza is OVER until Fall.

Chinese Cabbage-The 1st chinese cabbage harvest from the outdoor gardens.  We plant a small variety called Minuet Makes a great slaw, can be sauted, and also enjoyed fresh in mixed salads.

Zucchini-Several in every full share.  A summer staple all season long.  A second summer squash patch is going in this week to extend our season.

Hi Auntie Howdy…..your old barbie bureau that you gave to Maeve saw some action again this weekend….a barbie fashion show!

Counting out the zucchini harvest.

European Slicing Cucumbers-To of these delicious slender beauties in every Full Share.

The cucumber trellis.

Snow Peas-A nice big bag!  A treat!  fresh or saute in stir fry.

Snow Peas on the vine…..

…and after harvest.

Eggplant-Again-I know!  Just crazy! A mini variety that we love and an early producer.

Morning eggplant pick.

Broccoli-AGAIN too!!!!  Isn’t it great!  All 3 early rotations we planted are now out and we are thrilled with the harvest.  This variety Belstar is a lighter head variety than last week’s variety.

Beans-1st rotation of green beans. 3 rotations planted in the garden now…. Enjoy!

1st green bean harvest of the season.

Scott weighing and bagging the bean bounty.

BEST GUESS FOR NEXT WEEK-new baby red potatoes, fresh garlic, flat italian parsley, head lettuce, carrots!, zucchini, beans, cucumber and more!

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