foxlinecityfarm

A HOT! week but a productive week too. We worked early in the morning and sometimes through the heat and then back out after dinner. The watermelon and cantaloupe patches went in. We start the plants in larger containers in the greenhouse-babysit them and transplant out later when the plants are big and strong. Weeding is our top priority these days and we are still on top of it! We made our way down all the potato rows and sweet potatoes too and they look fantastic. We are whispering it may be a “best ever” year for these 2 crops. We don’t want to say it too loud and jinx it.

We see tomatoes starting on the cherry tomato plants and the beans are in full flower. Broccoli is finally heading up and the cucumber plants are vining up the trellises….It feels like summer.

We are excited that peas and zucchini are going to be in the shares next week and we are moving into harvest mode around here.

CSA Summer Share #2

What is in your share-Head lettuce, baby kale mix, garlic scapes, carrots, pac choi and basil plant.

Head Lettuce-We harvest the leafy green crops at first light on these hot days to insure they are crisp and not bitter. We zip them up to the cooler and then triple rinse and then spun dry in Scott’s new invention. He created a leafy green spinner out of a tread mill motor, huge fan guards and red fiberglass left over from a valentine heart project years ago. It works great and what a time saver.

After the lettuce is harvested we try to follow the 24 hour rule. The space is replanted within 24 hours with another rotation….

Baby Kale Mix-Fresh in salads it’s great. I love it sauted with the garlic scapes and eat with scrambled eggs.

Garlic Scapes-Delicious! These are the forming flowers off the top of the garlic plants. We cut them off so the plant puts all it’s energy into forming a big bulb. Tastes just like garlic. Use as you would garlic. Makes a great pesto too.

Carrots!-These crunchy delights were planted in hoop 1 in March. Maeve calls them “real carrots” because of the flavor. We plant the carrots in rows and then between the rows we planted baby head lettuce and in between the lettuce we planted fennel. First the lettuces came out for Spring Share and now the carrots-next week the fennel. We are able to harvest 3 crops out of 1 section of the greenhouse when space is tight in the early season.

Pac Choi-A favorite around here. I roughly chop and saute and then eat a whole one with rice. It is great in fresh salads for a good crunch and charred on the grill is amazing.

Basil Plant-A genovese variety. Cut and enjoy…or transplant to a larger container or your garden to snip all summer long.

Best Guess for next week-peas, head lettuce, fennel, zucchini sun flower shoots and more….