foxlinecityfarm

All is well in the gardens.  We are keeping up with the weeding-just keeping up but keeping up and not overwhelmed.  A HUGE second rotation of broccoli went out this past week, and another seeded in the greenhouse for a final rotation down the road.

2nd pass of weeding out the brussels sprout rows.

Transplanting broccoli right behind Scott pulling out last week’s harvest.  Next week’s broccoli harvest behind me.

Scott is trellising up the tomatoes that are growing tall and we marvel at the big tomatoes developing. A funny story….The neighbor and Scott were chatting by the tomato patch and the neighbor asks….”what’s all that fluffy yellow stuff in your tomatoes…?”  Scott turned around not knowing what on earth he was referring to and looked, paused and said BLOSSOMS! Fingers crossed maybe our best tomato year in a long time…..

Cherry tomato plants loaded with blossoms…

Slice tomatoes developing.

1st Cherry tomatoes ripening.

More carrots seeded in again and harvest is slowly taking over our days.  Hours were spent with the peas and the carrot harvest took the better part of an afternoon by the time we got them out cleaned and weighed for the share.  Summer is here and 4th of July around the corner.

Hauling up the morning pea harvest.

SUMMER SHARE 4

277 pounds of fantastic produce this week in the shares.  Enjoy it all…..

FULL SHARE

 head lettuce x2, pac choi, garlic scapes zucchini, sugar snap peas, shelling peas, green beans! beta mix (baby beet tops and swiss chard greens), carrots.

SNACK PACK

head lettuce x2, pac choi, garlic scapes, zucchini, sugar snap peas, snow peas, carrots

Lettuce-2 rotations of wonderful lettuces were ready to harvest this week from the hoop house.  Beautiful and complimentary textures too.  Both varieties in every share.

Pac Choi-A favorite crop of mine…I love the juicy stalks in salads, and also in stir fry.  It is my go to green in our juicing too.  Delicious.

Pac Choi at harvest.

Pac Choi chilling in it’s 3rd rinse after an early morning harvest.

Pac Choi ready to be bagged for the shares.

Garlic Scapes-2nd and final week of these babies…we switch to fresh garlic next.

Maeve was the garlic scape bundler again this week.

Zucchini-It’s here in all it’s glory.  We planted several varieties and a mix will appear in the shares for many week’s to come.  We pick them small every morning.  4 in Full Share this week, 2 in Snack Pack.

Morning Zucchini harvest.

Sugar Snap Peas-A bounty and a nice big bag in every share….

Morning Sugar snap, snow and shell pea harvest.  We pick every other day…

Snow Pea-Thin flat peas excellent in fresh salads or a light stir fry. Snack Pack only this week.

Shelling Peas-The 1st of the shellers and all in Full Share this week.  More to come.

shelling Peas at harvest.  The vines are loaded.  A great pea year for us.

Beans-Yes beans!  1st pick with more to come….Extra early.  (Full Share only this week)

Beans!  1st pick from the gardens.  Always a treat.

Beta Mix-A delicious combination of baby beet leaves and baby swiss chard.

Beta Mix just triple rinsed and air drying.

carrots!-We planned on harvesting next week but were concerned that with the soil so wet and the heat coming on they may split so we added them to this week.  Sweet!

Pulling carrots from the carrot trough.

Tops cut and ready for washing…

Best guess for next week….collard greens, romaine, broccoli, zucchini, cabbage and more.

Read Full Post »

A steamy wet week here but we powered through with a rain suit and outfit changes…  There is nothing like rain water, a good lightning storm or 2 and heat to make your garden grow.  Plants doubled in size and filled out at an almost unbelievable pace.

We transplanted out more baby cabbage, weeded through the brussels sprouts and still walk the cucumber lines daily to guide those vines up. A second loooooong planting of carrots went in the hoop house and the existing outside carrot patch thinned and weeded.  Believe it or not fall crops are being seeded into cells in the greenhouse.  We are chugging along and it feels great.

SUMMER SHARE #3

253 pounds of garden goodness went home with CSA members today.

FULL SHARE

garlic scapes, butterhead lettuce, leaf lettuce, asian greens mix, broccoli, broccoli side shoots, zucchini, fennel, snow peas, swiss chard, african kale

SNACK PACK

Garlic scapes, butterhead lettuce, leaf lettuce, asian greens mix, broccoli, fennel sugar snap peas and swiss chard

Garlic Scapes-A harvest we always look forward to!  Great garlic flavor.  Use as you would garlic cloves.

Cutting the garlic scapes on a hot morning.

Hauling the harvest from the field.

Cleaned garlic scapes ready to bundle for the shares.

The Garlic Scape bundling factory.

Butterhead Lettuce-A tricky lettuce to grow in heat and we did it.  Sweet juicy and perfect.  Enjoy!

Perfect butterhead lettuce….

Butter head lettuce soaking in the dunk tank.

Leaf Lettuce-This is the end of the leaf lettuce until cooler temperatures return.

Leaf Lettuce harvest at 5:30 a.m. before the heat of the day sets in.

Asian greens mix-A slightly spicy mix.  Enjoy fresh or saute.

Also an early morning harvest before the heat sets in for the day.  

Broccoli!!-We are thrilled with the harvest.  AND blown away that it is so early and abundant after the cold late Spring.

Broccoli Harvest.

Another Day of Broccoli harvest in a light rain.

Perfect early Broccoli-a small beaded variety called Blue Wind.

Broccoli Side Shoots-(Full Share ONLY)-The first time we grew this early variety.  Small heads and abundant side shoots and extra early.

Zucchini-(Full Share ONLY)-1st pick of the season and the patch is ready to go….

1st zucchini harvest of the season.

Fennel-A great harvest of this delicious treat- Shave bulb in fresh salads or use the wispy fronds in your fresh salads this week.  The bulbs are fantastic grilled or roasted.  The fronds make a fun pesto for pasta too.

Fennel ready to harvest.

Cut fennel ready to go to the washing station.

Snow Peas-(Full Share ONLY)-The 1st pick of the season and the plants are loaded.  Looks to be a great pea year for us this year.

Snow Peas for the Full Share.

Sugar Snap Peas-(Snack Pack Share ONLY)-1st pick here too and 4 long rows loaded.

Sugar Snap Peas ready for snack Pack shares.

Swiss Chard-A HUGE! Harvest right after the brief hail storm.  Slight Hail damage to leaves.

Swiss Chard Harvest in the rain.

Beautiful!

Even more beautiful!!

African Kale- (Full Share ONLY) A new crop we grew in the hoop house to see what we thought…delicious and a lighter flavor than “normal” kale.  We like it!  AND I forgot to take a picture…darn.

BEST GUESS FOR NEXT WEEK-PEA!!!! BONANZA FOR SURE…SNOW, SUGAR SNAP AND SHELLING, ROMAINE HEAD LETTUCE, BETA MIX (BABY SWISS CHARD AND BEET TOPS), ZUCCHINI, COLLARD GREENS, GARLIC SCAPES AND MORE…..

Read Full Post »

Another great week in the gardens.  We finished the final big early season job.  Sweet potatoes ALL in and a month earlier than last year.  We are thrilled.  Our organic supplier had production issues last season and shipped late and we were pleasantly surprised when the slips arrived nice and early this year.  We planted 3 varieties again and look forward to a jumbo harvest at the 1st Frost this Fall.

Sweet Potato Slips planted with my favorite stick.

We focused this week on weeding and staying ahead of the curve.  We went down ALL the long rows and weeded our way along.  The cucumber vines are growing long and we spend  mornings pushing them towards the trellis so they grow up and and are well supported.  A 3rd rotation of cucumbers went in over the weekend too so a nice long harvest window is expected.  Scott tied up the tomato plants that look fantastic and we are even seeing a few tomatoes forming.  Exciting!

Tomatoes forming on the vine.

All crops look really strong.  Pea vines are loaded, zucchini forming, cabbage heading up,  blossoms on the eggplant and little itty bitty beans too.  Summer is around the corner.  Our first harvest from the outside gardens was this week.  Early kohlrabi and it was perfect.  We will replant this area with another rotation of cabbage.

SUMMER SHARE #2

WHAT IS IN YOUR SHARE

FULL

2 basil plants of your choice, pea shoots, beets!, arugula, baby kale, romaine head lettuce, mini head lettuce and 5 kohlrabi

Basil plants 2- We started several varieties and you choose 2.  All pesto Italian varieties.

Beautiful Basil.

Pea shoots-great pea flavor!  Place on a bright windowsill and garnish salads, soups or sandwiches.

Pea Shoots ready for the shares.

Beets-A great harvest from the hoop house for full share only this week.  Tops on too!

Beets at Harvest.

Scott washing the beets.

Look at those gems!

Arugula-A spicy green we love.  Great in fresh salads and delicious wilted as a side or a pizza topper.

Arugula at harvest.

Baby Kale-Mini kale mix.  Add to a salad or great wilted hot or cold.

Romaine head lettuce-2 delicious varieties were picked this week and an assortment went in every share.

Green Romaine at harvest.

Mini head lettuce-These little guys are delicious.  I am on a mini head lettuce kick this season.  We love the size.

Mini Head lettuce glowing in the morning sunshine.

Kohlrabi-1st outside harvest.  We love it raw with a bit of salt.

Scott with morning kohlrabi harvest.

SNACK PACK

Basil plant, pea shoots, arugula, baby kale, romaine head lettuce, mini head lettuce,  3 kohlrabi

1 basil plant of your choice-several Italian pesto varieties to choose from.

Basil plants in the greenhouse ready to go home with CSA members.

Pea shoots-Snappy pea flavor.  Place in a bright windowsill and snip as garnish for salads, sandwiches or soups.

Pea Shoots coming up from the greenhouse.

Arugula-A spicy green that adds a kick to fresh salads.  A great topper to pizza, and lightly wilted as a side.  Delicious.

Scott weighing out the arugula.

Baby Kale-We love it slightly wilted in a cold salad with grains.  Great in a mixed fresh salad or wilted as a warm side.

Baby Kale at harvest.

Romaine Head lettuce-We picked 2 varieties this week and an assortment went in every share.

Dark Romaine in it’s 3rd rinse.  Beautiful.  Our first year growing this variety.

Mini head lettuce- A beauty.  Juicy mini heads.

Kohlrabi-1st outside crop harvest from the gardens….3 in every snack pack share.

Kohlrabi chilling in the dunk tank.

BEST GUESS FOR NEXT WEEK-SWISS CHARD, GARLIC SCAPES, BUTTERHEAD LETTUCE, ASIAN GREEN MIX, PEAS?!, LEAF LETTUCE, AND MORE.

Read Full Post »

A happy time around the gardens.  All the big jobs are behind us….Tomatoes went in as a family effort on Memorial day and that was the last of our HUGE jobs that had to be tackled.  Just over 420 plants went in on a HOT! stuffy morning.  The patch looks strong and we are thrilled.  Peas are flowering and we picked our 1st itty bitty pea the other day. Somehow life transformed to Summer in 1 months time after that late April snow.

The jumbo watermelon patch was planted this past week and settling in.

The watermelon patch.

Summer Squash developing.

The second planting of cucumbers went in and a 3rd rotation to follow soon with seedlings waiting in the greenhouse.  The hoop house is strong with seasonal lettuces and leafy greens and FULL to the walls…. We see the garlic scapes forming, broccoli heading up and the mini cabbages growing plump.  Fruit trees are loaded again this year and long rows of sunflowers planted.  We are staying ahead of the weeding duties so far and that always feels good….Schools out and summer has begun.

Looking forward to a great season.

SUMMER #1  

A fantastic 1st Share of the season.  A great harvest and almost unbelievable that 8 weeks ago there was snow on the ground!  All produce is washed and ready to eat.  238 pounds of garden goodness is going home with CSA members today.

FULL SHARE

WHAT IS IN YOUR SHARE

All full shares are packed in orange totes and on the right side in the cooler.

2 lb rhubarb, Tokyo Bekena (asian green-like a fluffy Chinese Cabbage, Head lettuce medley, mini bibb lettuce, radish mix, baby carrots, and pac choi

Rhubarb-A mix of several varieties.  Old fashioned farmyard rhubarb, Canadian red, valentine and a plant that I transplanted from my Grandpa’s garden when he passed away.

Scott with the rhubarb harvest.

Tokyo Bekena-A favorite leafy green around here.  Tastes like fluffy Chinese Cabbage.  Enjoy raw in fresh salads to add a bit of crunch or light saute as a side.

Tokyo Bekena ready to harvest in the hoop house.

Head Lettuce Medley-A great harvest of delicious head lettuces from the hoop house.  A variety in every share….

lettuce at harvest

and a second head lettuce beauty ready to pick.

Mini bicolor bibb lettuce-juicy mini heads in full share only.

Beautiful Baby bibbs in Full Share only.

Radish mix-A nice big bag of 2 varieties.  Long storage life in the crispy drawer of the refrigerator.

Radishes after cutting the tops and washing.  Gumballs!

Carrots!!  Yes, baby carrots…Maeve planted these in crates in the garage in February.  A HUGE! treat-delicious.

Scott and Maeve harvesting the baby carrots.  Maeve conducting a taste test.

Hauling the carrot harvest to the washing station.

Pac choi-A crunchy variety called Joy Choi.  Crunchy ribs and juicy leaves are fantastic raw in a leafy green mix or delicious added to a stir fry.

Morning dew on the pac choi leaves.

SNACK PACK

All snack pack shares are packed in green totes and on the left side in the cooler.

WHAT IS IN YOUR SHARE

1.25 pounds rhubarb, tokyo bekena (asian green-like a fluffy Chinese cabbage), head lettuce medley, radish mix carrots!

Rhubarb-A great mix of several varieties.  Enough for a crisp or bars.

Rhubarb in the dunk tank.

Tokyo Bekena-A crunchy leafy asian green that adds loft to fresh salads and tasty as a steamed or warm saute side.

Tokyo bekena at harvest in the hoop house.

Head lettuce medley-We harvested several varieties and a mix is in every share.  Delicious!

Perfect lettuce at harvest in the hoop house.

Radish Mix-2 varieties.  Long storage life in crisper drawer of refrigerator.

Carrots!-Carrots in the 1st share of the season….started early in the garage way back in February.  ENJOY!

Maeve “model posing” with the carrots….

Carrots ready to be weighed out and into this week’s shares.

BEST GUESS FOR NEXT WEEK

head lettuce, baby kale, arugula, kohlrabi, pea shoots, basil plant, beets (full share only) and more…

Please return your tote with next pick up for reuse…Thanks!

Read Full Post »