foxlinecityfarm

1 more fantastic share remains in this summer season.

The 1st days of autumn have arrived and we are thrilled the 1st pumpkins harvested from the field! Finally!!

We are holding off 1 more week on our slow-to-mature winter squash. As I mentioned the drought delayed germination in the Spring. The temperatures are going to be warm this week and we decided just a bit more time….

Transition is in the air. We had some great rain this week that slowed up our outdoor garden cleanup but allowed us time to work in the hoop houses and organize the packing areas. I heard a fellow farmer comment that it was the 1st decent rain we have had all summer-and we agree. We are thrilled that all the potatoes are out of the ground (a new record for us!) and we have 2 remaining rows to dig of those fantastic sweet potatoes. A few areas of the garden did get cleared out and a huge thank you to our wonderful helper Al who cleared the tomato patch on Sunday. A sure sign that summer is behind us now.

***for some reason many photos will not load to the site this week-and of course I cannot figure this out! So, a bit light on visual delights in the discriptions.

CSA #17

What is in your share-A pumpkin!, head lettuce, fingerling potatoes, storage onions, big bag of rainbow carrots, peppers, celosia bouquet, purple filet beans (full share only), Sweet potatoes, pac choi (snack pac only), kale and homemade soap from my friend Kathy as a treat!

Pumpkin!- the 1st pumpkin of the season. Members can select a beauty from the driveway.

Head lettuce-Another Beauty from Hoop 1. We are pretty proud (and relieved) that we were able to pull off another season of fresh lettuce in every share all season long. It gets a bit tricky in the heat of the summer as germination is not the best in high heat conditions and growing in those temps challenging too. A heavy shade cloth and circulating fans when needed do wonders to keep the temperatures down. Enjoy this week’s lettuce selection. It’s delicious.

Fingerling Potatoes-Fresh out of the ground. These sure are a late season treat. A firm potato that is wonderful roasted or fried.

Storage onions-These are the onions harvested this summer and dried in our greenhouse. Long storage life and great flavor.

Rainbow carrots-A nice mix of colorful (and flavorful) carrots from hoop 2.

Peppers-This may be the last of those delicious and sweet Italian Fry Peppers. A great pepper season for us.

Celosia Bouquet-We grew this flower many years ago and I wanted to do it again this season as the color and textures are so beautiful. They dry great and look like velvet when dry. We like to add them to a bowl of pinecones in the winter.

Purple filet beans (full only)-We cannot believe we are harvesting beans this late in the season. Enjoy!

Sweet Potatoes-2 rows cam out this past week and 2 to go! A fantastic tomato season.

Pac Choi-Final Pac Choi of the season. (snack only)….Crunch away on this famiy favorite.

Kohlrabi-This is the end of this crunchy snack…..

Homemade Soap-A gift from my very good friend Kathy.

BEST GUESS FOR NEXT WEEK-FINAL SHARE OF THE SEASON. HEAD LETTUCE (BUTTER HEADS RETURN!, BEETS, SWISH CHARD, POTATOES, SWEET POTATOES, PEPPERS?, BRUSSELS SPPROUTS, SHALLOTS AND MORE.

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We LOVE this time of year! Bright colors, huge harvests of crops we have waited allll season long to see. Rich delicious flavors and textures. Caps on our heads and warm shirts on in the morning dew.

Our workdays are shorter with daylight arriving late and leaving early. Scott pulled the shade cloths off the hoop houses-a sure sign of our seasonal transition to Fall.

There are no more seeds to plant or transplant. We are riding the wave to the final days of the growing season. Our focus now is to get those sweet potatoes out of the ground!, the final row of potatoes dug (fingerlings-YUM!) stare at the pumpkin/squash patch and hope that next week is the week those babies are FINALLY ready. Clean-up continues in the garden with spaces opening-up. A happy time of year.

CSA #16 (2 shares remain of this season)

What is in your share- romaine head lettuce, purple filet beans, brussels sprouts, arugula, fry peppers, SPINACH!, golden storage onions, pac choi, sweet potatoes (full only), heirloom potatoes, lunchbox peppers (full only)

Romaine head lettuce-A powerhouse head lettuce from hoop 1 this week. We love the variety-called greentowers.

Purple Filet Beans-Surprise! Final bean rotation of the season and they are delicious. Snappy and fresh.

Pac Choi-Our family favorite-even Bell! Juicy thick stalks that are fantastic in stir fry, grilled or to add a bit of crunch in fresh salads.

Italian Fry Peppers-Maybe 1 more week of these sweet delights! A bounty this season. Maeve loves them raw! They freeze well for winter chili too. The yellows seem to be the best producers this year.

Brussels Sprouts-We snuck some more from the bottom of the stalks. A great brussels sprout patch for us this season.

Golden Onions-Long storage life. We harvested these a few weeks back and dried them in our greenhouse.

Spinach!-It’s back!!!! 1st Fall harvest from hoop 2. Sweet and flavorful.

Garlic-Harvested this summer and dried in our shed. Perfect for warm rich stews and hot dishes. Crazy enough it is almost time to replant!

Arugula-A 2nd harvest from hoop 1. A spicy addition to fresh salads and we love it on our sandwiches.

Sweet potatoes (full only)-We are busy getting the 1st row out of the ground and 5 more rows to go! They look fantastic.

Heirloom potatoes-The creamiest potatoes ever! boiled steamed or roasted they are wonderful.

BEST GUESS FOR NEXT WEEK-BEETS, KALE, POTATOES, SWEET POTATOES, HEAD LETTUCE, CARROTS, STORAGE ONIONS AND MORE….

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A productive and happy week in the gardens…

We received some much-needed rain and a beautiful surprise rainbow when the sprinkles ended….

Leafy greens were directly seeded in the hoop houses and major garden clean up has begun. Feels good to see the spaces open up and the compost pile grow tall.

We may have picked our last tomato this week and dug our 1st sweet potatoes as we transition to Fall crops. We have a bit of a nail-biter going on here…..our squash and pumpkin crop was seeded in a non irrigated field at the normal time this Spring……and then it never rained for a MONTH! The seeds sat there and sat there…well, the crop is behind and we are waiting for all those delicious beauties to ripen. It is a beat the clock with the frost and Halloween with all the cool pumpkins. Tons!!! are in the field we just need to wait and cross our fingers.

CSA #15

What is in your share-Head lettuce, slice/roma/cherry tomatoes (may be the last tomatoes of the season), leeks, potatoes, pears, Italian Fry peppers, red storage onions, sweet potatoes, corn and kohlrabi

Head lettuce-another beauty-fluffy and delicious.

Tomatoes-this has been our longest run ever of tomatoes it had been amazing….this week may be the end….slice tomatoes, cherry tomatoes and a container of sauce tomatoes to finish out the season. Enjoy!

Leeks-Another wonderful harvest. Great mild flavor.

Russet potatoes-another favorite around here….we had them mashed for dinner and the flavor and texture were wonderful.

Pears-I am blown away by the pear trees this year-loaded and absolutely delicious.

Italian fry pepper-Amazing harvest this week….Pepper mania.

Sweet potato-We are very excited to start the sweet potato harvest. Just touching the 1st row of 5! going to be a great sweet potato season.

Corn- this is the final rotation of corn planted by Scott’s cousin John Raupp-corn king. A delicious end-of-season by color.

Kohlrabi-A favorite around here…..snappy and a great crunch to our fresh salads.

Best guess for next week-romaine lettuce, purple filet beans, peppers, sweet potatoes, brussels sprouts, spinach, and more….

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We sailed through the (hopefully) final heat wave of summer on the dry breeze that blew. It was not too bad….and watched for the predicted rainstorms that never came. Beautiful days of autumn harvests ahead and we feel the transition to Fall has arrived. Leafy green mixes and leaf lettuce seeds were transplanted out into hoop 1 and long beds of fall radishes seeded in too. 2 big tomato harvests came from the tomato patch and it seems the plants are finally slowing down. This is the best tomato year we have ever had and the longest they have produced for us too. Just wonderful.

The 1st sweet potatoes will come out of the ground next week and a quick check of the squash too….It’s fun to make the turn to winter storage season.

CSA #14

What is in your share-head lettuce, arugula, beets, Italian fry peppers, edamame, slice tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, san marzano paste tomatoes, pears, sunflower bouquets, zucchini, broccoli side shoots and shallots

Head Lettuce-A beauty from hoop 2. A delicious summer crisp-fluffy and perfect.

Arugula- A snappy treat- a spark in fresh salads or garnish. Bold peppery flavor.

Beets-A fantastic harvest from hoop 2. A bounty we pulled before the heat and they are sweet!

Edamame-We planted a second rotation 2 weeks after the 1st as a bonus. We love it quickly blanched and added to our fresh salads or as a “top dress” to our pasta dishes-hot or cold….

Pears! The trees are loaded with sweet, sweet fruit! 2 varieties of pears were harvested and they are delicious. We are completely NO Spray on these trees so you may see minor imperfections.

Tomatoes-This is the last BIG week of those delicious slice tomatoes. I’m sure we will have a few more weeks of tomatoes to enjoy.

Cherry tomatoes-A pint of this summer candy in all shares.

Italian Fry Peppers-Sweet and colorful and delicious. OUR families favorite pepper.

Sunflower bouquets-A pretty variety started flowering this week…Beautiful.

Broccoli side shoots!-These plants just keep producing….we love adding to a veggie stir fry.

Zucchini-This is the end (for sure of patch #1). We are looking forward to the transition to winter squash!

Shallots-great mild flavor.

BEST GUESS FOR NEXT WEEK-ROMAINE LETTUCE, POTATOES, LEEKS, TOMATOES, SWEET POTATOES?, ONIONS, GARLIC, AND MORE….

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We rocked it this week and the overall theme was TOMATOES! Tomatoes and more tomatoes. 875 pounds were harvested from the rows on Sunday and we just kept going. Crazy good season.

We had fantastic working weather and transplanted several rotations of lettuce out into hoop 1, major beet and carrot harvest out of hoop 2 and started “Fall clean up”. A spot check of the sweet potato crop (amazing) and we grabbed all the watermelon that was ready from the patch at the farm. The final lettuce starts were seeded in which surprised us as to how did the season zip by so quickly…..

CSA #13

What is in your share-head lettuce, heirloom cabbage, Italian fry pepper, slice tomato, cherry tomato, big green beans, rainbow carrots, asian green mix (snack only), broccoli side shoots (full only), zucchini, watermelon, sunflower bouquets

head lettuce-a tasty summer crisp in the shares this week. Sweet and fluffy. We love the variety of lettuce in flavor and texture.

Heirloom tender crisp flat top cabbage. A beauty and sweet and delicious.

Italian Fry Pepper- Our favorite and a bumper crop too! The plants are loaded! Fun to see what we find. The best sweet pepper flavor. Raw or saute it is a treat.

BIG green beans- We have a few members who request BIG green beans…here they are. We wait a day and then harvest. I have to say these are the beans my grandmother loved. She would make “green bean soup”-my memory of it was a white broth (water and flour) and a lot of black pepper and then a dousing of milk and big green beans-oh, and a ton of onions. I loved it and big green beans make me think of Grandma Lang.

Summer squash-Patch #1 is just about done and number 2 slowly kicking in…..

Rainbow carrots-A fun harvest out of hoop 2-fresh carrots have the best flavor.

Watermelon-A great watermelon seaon. Sweet!

Sunflower bouquets-This is what we look forward to alllllll season long. Sunflowers! Food for the soul.

BEST GUESS FOR NEXT WEEK-ROMAINE, BEETS, TOMATOES, CHERRY TOMATOES, EDAMAME, BRUSSELS SPROUTS AND MORE….

Happy Back to school to all the kids in our CSA family. We have a high schooler in the house this year! Looking forward….

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