foxlinecityfarm

Sure is nice to see the sun!

A  wet, dark and chilly week here all week long.  A little over an inch and a half of rain fell but it seemed like it was raining or misting all the time! Toss in 2 light frosts overnight and it put us in a holding pattern.  The outside gardens are soggy and we held off transplanting a few early crops and preparing beds in the muck.  We spent our time with hoop house transplanting, seed starting and deer and woodchuck!!! fencing.

Crops look great in the hoophouse-about 2.5 weeks behind last year’s progress due to cooler temps and cloudy days….but strong and bountiful.  The carrots Scott and Maeve just planted outside have all germinated and our early outside spinach, peas, radishes, chard and beets are chugging along too through the cold.

The greenhouse is FULL!!!!  This week major transplanting in the fields and the tomatoes are ready for some wiggle room too.

WHAT IS IN YOUR SHARE

Spinach-Another big bag of the delicious hoop house spinach.  Great in fresh salads and fantastic wilted down as a side.  Creamed Spinach is a treat!

Spinach transplanted in February in the hoop house.

A jumbo juicy Spinach leaf!! at harvest….

Spinach after it’s 3rd and final rinse. Ready to be bagged up.

The spinach weigher and bagger hard at work.

Leaf Lettuce- A bag of a colorful leaf lettuce blend.  Beautiful and delicious.

Leaf lettuce at harvest…..

…and in the wash tank.

Spring Onions-We planted these in the hoop house last August. A big bunch of these beauties to enjoy all week long.

Onions at harvest…with Spring turnips nestled between the rows.

Cleaning the onions.

Head lettuce-2 complimentary varieties in the share this week.  A fluffy bicolored head and my favorite mini deep green juicy head named Nancy…both unique in flavor and appearance.

Magenta lettuce.

Pretty Nancy!

Asian Greens Medley- A mix of assorted mixed asian greens perfect fresh in salads or in stir fry.  Vivid Choi, Tokyo Bekana, and Vitamin Green in the mix.

My favorite Asian green….Tokyo Bekana. Tastes like a lite fluffy chinese cabbage.

Scott bagging up the Asian greens mix.  Yes, it is late at night….

Pac choi-2 varieties here too and each with a little different flavor and texture.  We love it fresh in salads to add some crunch.  Maeve loves the ribs raw….but also a great addition to a saute.

Pac Choi harvest last year. I had this harvest cut washed and bagged and then remembered I forgot to take pictures!

Pea Shoots!-A springtime favorite.  Place container on a bright windowsill on a plate.  Water as needed.  Snip and add to sandwiches, salads, and garnish soups and stews.  Delicious fresh pea flavor.

Pea shoots in the greenhouse….

Best Guess For Next Week-Head lettuce, Saute mix(s), radishes, rhubarb, beta mix (baby beet and swiss chard-YUM!), mini pac choi and more……

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The final share of a wonderful summer. We are so happy with the season.  Thank you to all members for sharing our gardens with us.  We are very grateful for the life we are able to live…..

A light frost visited and settled in a few areas around the garden.  It’s time for clean-up and garlic planting. The bulk of our harvests are complete.  Most root crops are out of the ground.  A few more sweet potatoes to dig,  a few rotations of radishes, leeks for a late season harvest and experiments with late autumn Broccoli and cauliflower remain outside. The hoop house is full of delicious cold loving produce for Winter Share.  Still a bit of gardening to do but our life changes with this final pick up of Summer Share.

Thanks to all members that returned the end of season surveys.  We appreciate the feedback and thoughtful ideas for our CSA.

Wreath workshop dates this year are Friday November 25th, Saturday November 26th, Sunday November 27th and Saturday December 3rd.  I can’t wait!

Custom evergreen wreaths available again this year and I am looking forward to making fresh floral thanksgiving bouquets again too.  My favorite bouquets to make all year.  Place your orders early.

SUMMER SHARE #20 FINAL SHARE OF THE REGULAR SEASON

A fantastic final share of the season.  The gardens powered on all season long with some amazing produce going home this week.

559 pounds this week went home and we did not weigh the pumpkins!

Fun end of season facts….

11,588 pounds of food went home with CSA members in their totes.

Full Share Members took home 252 pounds

Snack Pack Members took home 143 pounds

The “extra” table was will stocked all season long with over 800 pounds of goodies to enjoy.

SNACK PACK

Sweet Potato Fingerling Trio-A tri-color mix of the 3 different varieties we grew this year.

Radishes-A mixed bag of 2 crunchy beauties we planted this Fall.

Radishes just rinsed.  Beautiful!

Kale-A mixed bunch of pretty assorted kale.  Great added to hearty soups or added to a fresh salad.

Brussels Sprouts-A great brussels sprout year for us.  A nice big bag for several meals.

Bagged Brussels all weighed out.

Squash-Acorn is this Squash of the week.  A favorite for roasting.

Garlic-2 big heads in every snack pack share.

Turnips-A treat from the hoop house.  We look forward to these beauties returning with cool temperatures.

Just picked turnips in the hoop house.

And a quick rinse in the wash tank.

Storage Onions-A couple in each share.  Stronger in flavor than the sweet summer onions.

Parsley-A big bunch.  A great addition to soup stock.

Broccoli-Finally after a long wait.

Carving Pumpkin-A treat from Cousin John. He shared the bounty with us and a fun addition to the final share.  Happy Autumn!

FULL SHARE

Sweet Potato Fingerling Trio-A big bag of the 3 we grew.  Perfect for a hash or added to stir fry.  I love this size.

Baby Fingerling Potatoes-A huge bag of these beauties.  Slice and add a bit of olive oil and garlic and roast in the oven.

Radishes-A big bag of this snappy treat.

Kale-A mixed bunch of assorted varieties.  Great addition to soups and stew or a flavorful addition to fresh salads.

Brussels Sprouts-A bounty this week from a great brussels sprout year.

Brussels Sprouts on the stalk.

Squash-A tasty acorn is this week’s variety.

Garlic-3 big heads in each Full Share.

Lettuce-A crunchy head of a late summer crunch.

Just rinsed lettuce ready to be bagged.

Turnips-A hoop house Fall treat.  Greens are delicious sauteed.

Scott washing the turnips in the rain.

Rinsed and ready to be bundled.

Cauliflower-A late harvest that sure took it’s time.

Storage onions-A few in each share.

Parsley-A HUGE! bunch.  Great flavor in soup stock.

Carving Pumpkin-An Autumn treat from Cousin John.   Happy Halloween!

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A week of clean up and big harvests from the gardens.  We are still working between the raindrops and crawling in the mud but our days start a bit later and end a bit earlier due to decreasing sunlight.  We pulled out the long johns for chilly mornings and wear our caps until lunchtime. Scott wants to start a fire in the woodstove in the evenings.  Autumn is here and honestly it is my favorite time of year.  I love the produce that comes from the gardens and  love the smell and colors that surround us when we are working.  Such a good life.

We picked the last for the beans for the season…..always a signal to me that “summer” is over.  This final small harvest will  be on the “extra” table today for anyone that needs one last taste of summer….

Scott harvesting the final beans of the season.

The last little guys of summer.

SUMMER SHARE #18

498 pounds this week from the gardens.  All delicious!  Enjoy.

2 shares to go.  Thursday October 13th is the last share pick up.  We are sending the season surveys home this week with your share.  We would love it if you took a few minutes to fill it out and let us know how you felt about the season.  Your thoughts and opinions help us plan out the future of our CSA.  Thank you!

SNACK PACK

Lettuce-Either a juicy head of a variety named “Nancy” or a bag of colorful leaf lettuce.

Leaf lettuce double rinsed and ready for the shares…..

Ginger-Yes!  Ginger.  This was our fun experiment this season.  We are thrilled and plan to plant even more next year.  This is just dug fresh ginger root.  No need to even peel.  Great for a hot tea or added to stir fry.  I made a pot of chicken soup and added some for flavor and it was delicious. Store in a sealed plastic bag in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator for up to 2 months.

Ginger at harvest. We planted our root stock in February-8 months ago!

just dug ginger root.

Brussels Sprouts-Another crop that we wait a long time to harvest.  Brussels Sprouts are one of the first seed crops we start in the greenhouse in early Spring.  Well worth the wait and a favorite Autumn treat.   This is a first picking of sneaking a few of the bigger ones off the bottom.

Brussels Sprout Harvest.

Squash-Here they come.  The true sign that Autumn has arrived..  This week’s choice it sweet dumpling.  Great oven roasted or as a base for a creamy soup.

Sweet Potato-We are still making our way down the sweet potato rows.  A white skinned/white fleshed variety this week called Boniato.  Not as sweet as the “traditional” orange fleshed sweet potato.    A great harvest!  Enjoy.

Pac Choi-Fantastic added to fresh salads for a bit of crunch and snappy texture, great grilled and delicious in stir fry.

Dew on the Pac Choi in the morning.

Peppers-The crop is still chugging along and we are amazed.  A few beauties in every share.

Mini Sweet Peppers-A nice sized assortment of these sweet little gems.

Sunflower Shoots-We had to add them with the first squash of the season. Their nutty flavor compliments the sweetness of winter squash so well.  Cut and add a few to the top of roasted squash or a creamy squash soup.   Keep in a sunny window and snip as needed.

Radishes-We harvested 2 varieties this week and provided a nice mix of this cool season treat.

Just pulled white icicle radishes.

FULL SHARE

Lettuce-A juicy head lettuce named “Nancy”.

A close up of the pretty head lettuce named “Nancy”.

Ginger-Our experiment this season.  We purchased the root stock from what we believe to be the only organic ginger root source in the U.S.  It shipped from Hawaii in February.  We are thrilled with the yield and the flavor. Store in a sealed plastic bag in the crisper drawer or your refrigerator.  Makes a spicy flavorful hot tea, great added to soups and stews and of course a zippy addition to stir fry.

Cleaning the ginger after harvest.

Brussels Sprouts-A first harvest of this Autumn treat.

Just picked Brussels Sprouts.

Squash-A tasty sweet dumpling to kick off the season.

Sweet Potato-A delicious white variety named Boniato.  Not as sweet as the orange fleshed variety of last week….fluffery too.  Great baked.

Pac Choi-A cool season crop that we enjoy.  Add to salads for a crunch, great grilled or stems and greens are perfect in stir fry.  Long storage life too in a sealed bag in the fridge.

Pac choi and lettuces in the hoop house ready to be harvested.

Bagging up the pac choi.

Sweet Peppers-A few still  in each share.  The best peppers season we have every had.

Mini Sweet Peppers-A nice sized bag of this sweet assortment too.

Jimmy Nardello-Yet another sweet pepper treat.

Radishes-We harvested two varieties this week and a nice mix is in each share.

French breakfast radishes. Looks like christmas peppermint candy!

Sunflower Shoots-We planted these to pair with the 1st squash of the season.  The nutty flavor is fantastic with the sweet flavor of roasted squash or wonderful as a garnish on a creamy soup.  Keep in a sunny windowsill and snap as needed.

Cucumbers-A late season treat.  A few in each share.  The vines are loaded with blossoms-we need some sun!

A late season cucumber from our last planting in the rotation.

Zucchini-Another treat from the last planting in the rotation.

BEST GUESS FOR NEXT WEEK-HONEY, KALE, SWISS CHARD, SWEET POTATOES, BROCCOLI (FINGERS CROSSED-IT IS TAKING IT’S TIME WITH THESE WET, COLD CLOUDY DAYS) AND MORE…..

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Big, heavy sheets of raindrops fell-almost 7 inches in 24 hours here and we are soggy.  All is well just really wet!

Working through the rain……

A week that flew by.  Small duties around the garden and a big pear harvest.  We made our way down the long Fall brassica crop rows for a final weeding between the plants, tasty late season turnips were direct seeded in the hoop house along with several rows of late season leafy greens.  Scott spent a few days fortifying our perimeter fence as deer believed we planted the edamame crop just for their midnight snack.  We figured out where they were sneaking in and stopped the late night visits.

It’s the time of year to preserve the garden bounty for winter treats. All the sweet cantaloupes that we consider 2nds were cubed and frozen and tons of eggplant was roasted and froze too.  An afternoon was spent with a friend making our very first batch of kimchi. A fun afternoon of experimenting and laughter.

Kimchi!

SUMMER SHARE #15 

SNACK PACK

lettuce, beets, beans, peppers, baby arugula, pears

Head lettuce-A delicious head of summer crisp.  This variety is called Tropicana and it is perfect!

Tropicana Lettuce soaking in the wash tub.

Beets!-A beautiful bunch from the hoop house.  Tops too.  Remember you can eat the greens raw added to salads and delicious sauteed.

beets ready to harvest.

Beans-A huge harvest this week of 3 varieties. 84+ pounds! A tricolored blend in your share.

Scott and Maeve finishing up the snack pack beans….

Sweet Peppers-An assortment of sweet peppers were harvested this week and tucked into the shares.

Baby Arugula-A peppery treat from the hoop house.  A nice salad addition, make a pesto for pasta, or a fantastic pizza or quiche topping.

Arugula harvest.

Pears!-We had a bountiful harvest from the pear trees.  We were concerned after that late Spring frost nipped the blossoms.

Maeve and Scott picked all the pears this year.

And Maeve drove the harvest up from the field.

FULL SHARE

lettuce, beets, beans, peppers, arugula, pears, cherry tomatoes

Head Lettuce-Tropicana is the variety this week.  A sweet summer crunch.

Beets-A perfect harvest from the hoop house tops and all to enjoy.

Beet crop at harvest.

Beet crop harvested….

Washed beets ready for the shares.

Beans-A huge bag! Tricolored bean mix!

Yellow beans at harvest.

Pretty just picked beans.

Sweet Peppers-We picked an assortment of sweet peppers and a few in each share.

Baby Arugula-A snappy bag of this peppery treat from the hoop house.  Fantastic fresh added to salads, makes a great pesto, delicious as a pizza topping or with eggs.

Arugula ready to be cut.

Pears!-A late summer treat from trees we planted 8 years ago.  A bountiful harvest after we worried from that late Spring frost that nipped the blossoms.

A perfect pear.

Cherry Tomatoes-This may be the end of them for us this season.  Enjoy!

BEST GUESS FOR NEXT WEEK-PURPLE POTATOES, GARLIC, BEANS, EDAMAME, LETTUCE, SWEET MINI PEPPERS AND MORE….

A visitor between the rainstorms.

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It was a week of transition in the gardens.  Long rows of late season mini cabbages were transplanted, autumn spinach seeded in, and Scott pulled down the cucumber vines after a final harvest.  A new crop was quickly transplanted in it’s place for a late season treat.

Cucumber trellis after the last harvest.

Cucumber trellis with new transplants a few hours later.

The zucchini patch was also cleared and we will wait a few weeks for the 2nd planting to produce.  We had huge harvests from the peppers this week and a bounty from the tomato patch.  It is a strong season for us and we are so happy to be able to say this.  Abundant shares, delicious produce to donate to the Baraboo Food pantry, farmers market and restaurant sales too.  A great summer.

Scott was able to get some heavy weeding done and space cleared in the fields while I harvested my days away and seeded in crops in the greenhouse and hoop house.  A bit of a hustle with the late season plantings as we are running out of time if we want them to produce before the 1st frost.

Scott prepping the hoop house for replanting.  Making way for Fall Crops.

We picked our 2nd “almost ripe” watermelon this week and did a walk about through the whole melon patch and we are almost there.  Tons! and TONS!!!! of melons are out there under the vines.  It was exciting to peek and we look forward to starting the harvest next week.

Anticipation….

Darn! Almost ripe.

Maeve’s favorite summer drink.

SUMMER SHARE #11

It’s a pepper/tomato bonanza week and oh so beautiful.  Another HUGE! eggplant harvest again this week.  The bounty will appear on the “extras” table as it has in past weeks for any member to take and enjoy.  AND! our experimental tomatillo crop is doing well 4 varieties are also in the “extra” area this week to enjoy along with many other “extra” goodies to choose from.

825 pounds of great produce is going out the door today!  Enjoy…..

Tomatillo harvesting in our test plot.

SNACK PACK

Romaine head lettuce, sweet corn, Slice tomatoes, pint cherry tomatoes, cabbage, kohlrabi, sweet peppers, HOT! jalapeno peppers, sweet summer onions, cucumber medley, zucchini

Head Lettuce-We had a huge romaine harvest this week.  Beautiful sweet heads and a true wonder in this heat. We are grateful.

Romaine at early morning harvest.

Corn-Small very sweet corn from Uncle Jim.  Delicious.

Slice Tomatoes-A HUGE! harvest from the patch and many to choose from.

Cherry Tomatoes-A mixed pint for all snack pack shares.

Your cherry tomato washer and “quality control” inspector.

Cabbage -A medium sized snappy head perfect for slaw, stir fry or fresh eating.

Beautiful! And ready for the shares….

Kohlrabi-2 in each share. Peel thick outer skin and eat the crunchy interior.

Sweet Peppers-Beautiful Sweet peppers were harvest this week.

The 1st pass down the pepper rows. A bounty!

Jalapeno HOT! peppers-2 in each share.

Sweet Summer Onion-Must be stored in refrigerator.

Cucumber Medley-This is the end of the cucumbers for a few weeks.

Zucchini-Also, the end of this crop for a few weeks.

FULL SHARE

Romaine head lettuce, sweet corn, slice tomatoes, quart cherry tomatoes, cabbage, kohlrabi, Sweet peppers, jimmy nardello peppers, HOT! jalapeno peppers, sweet summer onions, cucumber medley, beets, garlic, zucchini

Head Lettuce-A delicious Summer romaine from the hoop house.

Romaine ready to harvest.

Corn-Another great harvest from Uncle Jim!  Small SWEET ears.

Slice Tomatoes-Tons! to choose from….pick your favorite.

Cherry Tomatoes-Another quart of these beauties for all Full Shares this week.

Tomato Cleaning before they are put in containers.

Beautiful Cherry Tomatoes.

Cabbage-Perfect size for fresh eating or added to stir Fry.  Grilled is delicious too.

Kohlrabi-4 in each share.  Peel the tough outer light green skin and enjoy the crunchy interior.

Sweet Peppers-It is a great pepper week.  An assortment of sweet bells and bull horn in Full Share.  Beautiful!

Carmen Peppers in the hot summer haze.

More Carmen up close. The plants are loaded!

So Pretty.

Jimmy Nardello SWEET Pepper-A fantastic sweet pepper with great flavor.

Jimmy was of the first Nardello generation born in America. The fourth of 11 kids, he was the only one to inherit his mother’s love of peppers.  In Naugatuck, he built terraces like they did in the hillsides of Southern Italy.  He nourished his peppers and dried them so they could be enjoyed in winter.

Before Jimmy died in 1983, he donated his pepper seeds to Seed Savers Exchange, where they’ve been stewards of the pepper for nearly thirty years.  The Jimmy Nardello Sweet Italian Frying Pepper, now its official name, is listed in the US Ark of Taste at Slow Food, the vegetable version of the endangered species list.

Jalapeno-HOT! 4 in each share.

Sweet Summer Onions-Must be stored in the refrigerator.

Cucumber Medley-A final mix from our early plantings.

Zucchini-The last harvest from the 1st patch.

Beets-A nice big bag of one of our favorite crops….more to come.

Garlic-2 heads in each Full Share this week.

BEST GUESS FOR NEXT WEEK-watermelon, peppers, tomatoes, lettuce, potatoes, carrots!, garlic, celery and more…..

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Another HOT! week behind us and we are planting Fall crops.  An odd feeling to be transitioning to Autumn in sweltering heat.  Long rows of broccoli were transplanted out into the garden and more seeds planted in the greenhouse for late season crops.  Several lettuce rotations were added to the hoop house and we are thrilled our final rotation of late carrots germinated well in the heat.  Always a bit tricky at this time of year.

Weekly lettuce transplanting in the hoop house. Next week’s harvest behind me….

Scott’s grandson Keith helped harvest and process our entire onion crop this week and we are grateful.  All the sweet summer onions are out of the garden and cleaned in the cooler and the storage onions are curing on an empty bench in the greenhouse. When that job was done Scott and Keith moved on to potato digging and had fun together.  We enjoyed our time with Keith and grateful for the help with some big jobs that had to get done.

Our crops are thriving in this near perfect summer and huge harvests are coming from the gardens. 1st rotations of summer squash and cucumbers are still producing and we must pick daily to stay on top of the harvest.   An amazing pepper crop is just starting to mature and high yield came from the tomato patch this week.  2 bean rotations are producing at the same time even though they were planted 2 weeks apart.  Long days of harvesting but we are happy.  We peeked at the melon patch and found an “almost” ripe one that we ate at supper.  Next week more to come.

1st melon from the patch….

Our days are full with late season transplanting and harvesting and we fret that the weeds  are loving this weather and thriving in our walkways and around the edges.  It looks a bit shaggy out there but we feel good the crops are well tended.  Hopefully next week there will be time for maintenance to be top priority.  Hopefully…….

SUMMER SHARE #10

Another HUGE! share this week.  Crazy!  Chuckle along with us….share with your neighbors, friends and family.   It is an amazing summer for us and we are rolling in goodness.  It may not last but while it’s here we are going to love every minute of it.  Enjoy it all….All 855 pounds of it.

Scott double checking the list before we start the packing…..

SNACK PACK

head lettuce, sweet corn, leeks, carola potatoes, sweet summer onions, cucumber medley, summer squash, beans,  sweet peppers, cherry tomatoes and slice tomatoes

Head Lettuce-We are still harvesting fantastic lettuce from the hoop house even in this extreme heat and humidity.  The variety is called 2 Star.  Sweet, delicious and perfect.

Lettuce ready to harvest in the early morning.

Sweet Corn-Another harvest from Uncle Jim.  A BIG! thank you to Uncle Jim.

Summer Leeks-We love leeks.  We plant 3 different varieties and this is the 1st harvest.  Keith helped with this huge harvest too!

1st Leek harvest of seeds started in February.

Potatoes-1st harvest from the carola row.  We had to include them with the leeks.  Carola is Scott’s favorite potato.  Great all around potato.  Mashed, fried, baked or steamed.

Sweet Onions-A great harvest after last year’s “so-so” crop. Enjoy.

Beans-A huge bag!  2 rotations of beans ready to harvest at the same time.  A bounty.

Cucumber Medley-Another great assortment.  We were going to pull the vines last week as we thought they were about done.  I am glad we held off.  A great harvest this week.

A full tub of beauties from 1 side of the trellis.

Summer Squash-The patch keeps chugging away.  We were going to clear this crop last week too but CSA members said to keep it around a bit longer.

Sweet Peppers-2 jewels in every share.  An assorted harvest of beautiful bells and long italian bull horn styles.

Gorgeous peppers!

Cherry Tomatoes-A huge harvest this week! Maeve helped wash and process this crop.

Washing and sorting the cherry tomatoes. 

Maeve noticed that the Indigo variety of cherry tomatoes have a perfect star on top.

Every single one….

Slice Tomatoes-A jumbo harvest this week.  Choose your favorites!

Beautiful Slice tomatoes.

FULL SHARE

head lettuce , sweet corn, leeks, potatoes, sweet onions, beans, cucumbers, english cucumber, summer squash, sweet peppers, mini sweet peppers assorted, jalapenos, cherry tomatoes, slice tomatoes

Head lettuce-A small miracle to be harvesting delicious and perfect lettuce from the hoop house in this prolonged muggy weather.  Enjoy a great head of 2 star.

Sweet Corn-Another pick from Uncle Jim.  “Thank you” Uncle Jim for this tasty summer treat.

Leeks-A huge harvest of early leeks.

Washed and ready to be bundled in this week’s shares.

Potatoes-Scott’s favorite carola is this week’s dig.  Steamed, mashed, fried or baked,  Delicious.

Always fun to find this sweet surprise.

Sweet Summer Onions-A few in every share. Store in the refrigerator.

Beans-A huge bag from a huge harvest this week.

Scott weighing out the beans.

Cucumber Medley-A big bag of a delicious assortment.

Cucumbers on the vine.

Sorting out this week’s harvest of cucumbers for the shares.

Summer Squash-Another great harvest even though I thought we were going to pull the plants last week as the plants are trailing all over the place.

Sweet Peppers-A beautiful harvest of assorted sweet peppers.

Sweet Carmen ready to be picked.

Mini Sweet Peppers-We love these beauties.  Enjoy!

Mini sweet peppers sorted and ready to be bagged for Full share.

Jalapeno-A few again this week to spice things up.

Cherry Tomatoes-A HUGE! container this week.

Cherry tomatoes all washed and ready to package.

Slice Tomatoes-Here they come….choose a few of your favorites.

Pretty Heirlooms.

BEST GUESS FOR NEXT WEEK-kohlrabi, watermelon, lettuce, peppers, tomatoes, celery, summer squash, cabbage, purple potatoes and more…..

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Another fun power house week!  And….. we are starting to get that really good feeling that we are just about caught up.  We planted 900ish sweet potato slips on a very windy Monday with the help of Scott’s daughter Amy.  We blasted down the rows and got the job done in no time.  3 different varieties went in this year and we increased our quantity so it will be a Fall bounty at the end of the season.  Another bean rotation went in, more cabbage transplants, tons of little romaine lettuce transplants settled into the hoop house, we found space for another rotation of fennel, and a long, long row of spaghetti squash went out in the field.  We direct seeded in a second rotation of cucumbers at the trellis to extend our harvest season, and we transplanted out tomatillos for the first time ever at the suggestion of a CSA member last year.  Something new for this season.   Any free time we weeded and weeded.  Scott tilled our “living walkways” and we found our beet beds again.  Turnips were weeded and thinned.  The melon patch is the last area to be transplanted out and that will happen early next week.  All the crops look great and the garden has that feeling of “here we go!” as we are on the cusp of some exciting early harvests right around the corner.  Best ever…..PEAS! We have snacked on a few already and the vines are loaded.  Next week here they come….

A few more neat pictures from the garden….

Garlic Scapes….maybe for next week’s shares.

Look at that!

SUMMER SHARE #2

WHAT IS IN YOUR SHARE

289 pounds of leafy greens delight is going out the door today.   Beautiful harvests from our hoop house.  Enjoy!

Remember to return your tote the following week for reuse.  Any members that have a stack at home from last season please bring them in….we are running low on our count.

SNACK PACK

Thai Basil, Spinach, Pea shoots, Green Onions, Asian Greens Mix #1 Lime green head lettuce, Elegance Greens mix

Lime Green Head Lettuce-A butterhead variety that only grows in cooler temperatures. Loose, sweet heads that are difficult to grow but the flavor is worth it.  The word that kept coming to my mind at harvest is luxurious.

Harvesting this week’s head lettuce crop from the hoop house.

We try to replant in the hoop house within 24 hours….so after the early morning harvest and washing….

Scott tills and adds organic nutrients and compost if needed.

New crop planted! 3 hours later. Magic!

Asian Greens Mix #1-A delicious mix cut small.  Can be eaten fresh or sautéed.  Baby choi, mazunas and assorted baby asian greens.

Elegance Greens Mix-Another leafy greens mix with a bit more spiciness added in with the addition of mild mustards. Enjoy fresh or sautéed.

Spinach-The last harvest of our early outdoor  Spinach.  We have pulled the rows as they do not like the heat.  Spinach will reappear in the shares this Fall after a late season planting.

Green Onions-Early green onions started in the hoop house.  Eat the tops and all!

Green onions in the hoop house.

Pea Shoots-Always a fun treat before the peas harvest begins.  Place container on a sunny window sill on a plate.  Water as needed.  Snip shoots to add to salads, garnish soups or pasta dishes or in sandwiches.  Great fresh pea flavor.

Pea Shoots just planted.

1 week of growth.

Ready to go in the shares.

Sweet Thai Basil Plant- We love the flavor of this basil.  Thai basil is sturdy and compact, and has shiny green, slightly serrated, narrow leaves with a sweet, anise-like scent and hints of licorice, along with a slight spiciness lacking in sweet basil. Thai basil has a purple stem, and like other plants in the mint family, the stem is square.  Thai basil is widely used in the cuisines of Southeast Asia, including Thai, Vietnamese, Lao, and Cambodian cuisines. Thai basil leaves are a frequent ingredient in Thai green and red curries.

Sweet Thai Basil for the Shares.

FULL SHARE

Pea Shoots, Elegance greens mix, broccoli Sweet Thai Basil, Lime green head lettuce, Green onions, Asian Green mix #1

Lime Green Head Lettuce-Her name is Nancy and she is so pretty.  Only grows well in Spring and with a bit of difficulty. Very fussy about watering and heat.  It is worth it as the texture and flavor is delicious.

Pretty “Nancy” at harvest.

Asian Greens Mix #1-A delicious mix cut small.  Can be eaten fresh or sautéed.  Combination of mini choi, and leafy asian greens.

Asian green mix after harvest. We will weed and get a 2nd cutting off these rows.

Elegance Greens Mix-Another leafy greens mix with a bit more spiciness added in with the addition of mild mustards. Enjoy fresh or sautéed.

Green Onions-Planted in the hoop house for an early season treat.

Scott bringing up the green onions to the washing station after harvest.

Broccoli-YES! Broccoli….We are a bit blown away by this too!  A early Spring Broccoli that decided to do it’s thing well before all the other broccoli plantings in the field.  Delicious….enjoy this surprising treat with more to come.

Early Broccoli at harvest.

The long row of the early bird broccoli.

Pea Shoots-Always a fun tasty treat before the true pea harvest begins.  Place container on a sunny window sill on a plate.  Water as needed.  Snip shoots to add to salads, garnish a soup or pasta dish or in sandwiches.  Great fresh pea flavor.

Pea Shoots in the greenhouse.

Sweet Thai Basil Plant- We love the flavor of this basil.  Thai basil is sturdy and compact, and has shiny green, slightly serrated, narrow leaves with a sweet, anise-like scent and hints of licorice, along with a slight spiciness lacking in sweet basil. Thai basil has a purple stem, and like other plants in the mint family, the stem is square.  Thai basil is widely used in the cuisines of Southeast Asia, including Thai, Vietnamese, Lao, and Cambodian cuisines. Thai basil leaves are a frequent ingredient in Thai green and red curries.

Pretty Sweet Thai Basil.

BEST GUESS FOR NEXT WEEK-PEAS!, TURNIPS, SWISS CHARD, BABY KALE, PARSLEY AND MORE….

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LET THE SEASON BEGIN…..

Exciting life around here.  It’s hustle time…..our days are full with seed starting, garden prepping, transplanting and harvesting from the hoop house and even doing a bit of direct seeding of early crops into the garden.  Peas are up!  Outside spinach transplanted, a big long row of early transplanted cabbage went in the field on a balmy day this week.  Scott created a long LONG! carrot trough for us this year and close to 5000 carrots were seeded in. We are adding 2 rows to our tomato patch this season and tomato plants are upgraded (“thank you” Amy for the hours of help-and perfect penmanship) to larger pot size and growing strong in the greenhouse.  Scott put an emergency addition onto the greenhouse to keep all the tomatoes, peppers and eggplant warm and cozy until we can put them out.  Fun days and we are loving every minute of it.

A quick tour around to take a look at all the activity in the gardens…..

Scott laying plastic mulch in the garden. Such a hopeful image of the summer ahead.

Holy Cow!  That’s a lot of tomatoes!!

Same tomato plants 1 week after upgrade transplanting.

The new carrot trough all seeded in.

Garlic is up!

The new emergency pepper/eggplant/basil greenhouse lean to….

Peas are up too!

ALL Beets watered in right before that wind hit-notice this drip lines starting to “float”.

Transplanted Cabbage. A bit risky this early in the season but we can protect with row cover if it gets too chilly.

First Spring Share!

A fantastic first share of the season.  Just over 3 pounds of tasty greens from the hoop house.  All is washed and ready to eat.  Each share is packaged in our reusable FoxLine totes and chilling in the walk in cooler until pick up.  Please return your tote at next pick up for use with future shares.

Thank you for sharing our gardens with us this season.  We are looking forward to a great summer.

Here’s dinner this week.

Pac Choi-A juicy mini head called Shiro.  Can be added to fresh salads or delicious lightly sauteed.

Pac Choi at harvest.

Spinach-Big juicy leaves that are super flavorful and sweet.  A “thank you” to Gwen for the help with this week’s harvest.

This week’s Spinach at harvest with baby Beta Mix seeded in just sprouting.

Radish blend-The first radishes of the season with more to come.

French Breakfast Radishes in the hoop house.

Red Leaf lettuce-Sweet and pretty too. A delicate leaf lettuce.

Leaf lettuce at harvest with mini asian green seeded in between.

Red Pac Choi-A leafy asian green with red ribs.  Fantastic sauteed in olive oil and garlic or enjoyed fresh in salads to add a bit of crunch.

Asian Green-Tokyo Bekana-A fluffy lime green asian green that tastes a bit like chinese cabbage.  Adds nice loft to fresh salads.

Both Asian Greens are bagged together in your share this week.

Tokyo Bekana in the hoop house ready for harvest.

Chives-A nice big bunch from our outdoor perennial gardens….

Weeding out the hoop after this week’s harvest. Getting it all set to replant.

BEST GUESS FOR NEXT WEEK

turnip bonanza! 2 varieties-we can’t wait….., spinach, head lettuce 2 varieties, more radishes, mini asian greens mix, cilantro and maybe even more!

1 variety of next week’s turnip harvest. Sweet!

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The last share of the 2015 season!  Our best season  in so many ways.  Fantastic growing weather all season long, abundant harvests, a workload that we managed on our own, and great CSA members.  We could not be happier on this last pick up day of the season.

This odd warm weather has allowed us to put the garden to bed in a calm and comfortable way. No chilly fingers and bulky overcoats as we try to clean up.   Everyday we are able to tidy up a bit more and even get the tools and irrigation put away and green house organized for Spring.  It feels good.  Potato order is in and we increased the seed potato order from last year.  More fingerlings and early reds in the shares next year!  We are writing up our seed orders too with hopes of having all placed by Christmas.  We enjoy looking over the catalogs in the evenings and imaging the gardens next season.  So hard not to get carried away.  I always want to grow tons of odd ball varieties of cantaloupe and when I mark the pages Scott just looks at me in disbelief.  BUT  2 more loooooooong rows of tomatoes are going in next season and that sure is exciting planning.

Lots of fun around here the last few weeks as our focus changes with the season.  Many Thanksgiving fresh floral centerpiece orders went home with customers for the holiday feast.   My favorite bouquets to make of the year.  I love the rich bold colors.

Maeve making a few fresh floral bouquets for Thanksgiving.

We are busy making evergreen wreaths too (another favorite activity of mine) for customers and friends. And had a blast with the wreath workshops again this year.  The classes are so much fun and everyone made gorgeous wreaths to take home.  A few hours of holiday music,  laughter, creative hard work and sticky fingers.  A highlight of the season for me.

Making holiday evergreen wreaths.

Maeve and Scott even made a wreath this year at 1 of the workshops and it hangs on our garage door to greet friends.

We’re having fun and looking forward to a shift in daily life for a few months before the seeds get started again at the end of February.

#2 Winter Storage Share

A great share to end the season.  The leafy greens from the hoop a nice treat.  798 pounds were packed in the shares.  ENJOY!!  And thanks to all who support our gardens.

Lettuce!-This is a  fresh treat at this time of year.  Several sweet juicy heads for every share from the hoop house.  Scott made sure that it was covered on the chilly nights with row cover to keep it protected.

Lettuce ready to be harvested in the hoop house.

Cabbages-An assortment of great storage cabbages.  2 heads of the smaller “soloist” variety of chinese cabbage, a pretty savoy and either a cool flat top or pointy guy.  All super sweet and crunchy to add to fresh salads, soups or stir fry.

The last cabbage harvest from the garden. AND no snow!

Radishes-A big bag of long term storage red meat/watermelon and green meat beauties.  Mild and so pretty when you cut into them.

Spinach!-Over a pound in every share.  Enjoy this sweet treat.

Spinach harvest in the hoop on December 6th. Look at all that green!  And no coat on….

Picking spinach leaf by leaf…..

Scott bagging up the pounder+ spinach bags for the shares after a triple rinse.

Spaghetti Squash-Another treat in the share!  We held these back in the root cellar from the last harvest of the season to cure and tuck in these shares as a surprise.

Spaghetti Squash at harvest.

Seems so long ago that we harvested the spaghetti squash….to save for a winter treat.

Winter Squash-A medley of acorn, carnival and butternuts.  Soups, roasted or I add the puree to biscuits and pancakes in the morning.

Sweet potatoes-A bounty as we had our “best ever” harvest this fall thanks to Uncle Jim.  Big orange skinned beauties and those cool purple skinned wonders too.  You have a ton to get you through the winter…. an assortment of larger bakers and tons of fingerlings for roasting or hash.

Cipollini Onions-3 varieties of those UFO looking onions that are great roasted or added to winter hearty dishes.

Shallots-A big bag-3 varieties here too.  Long storage life and great flavor.

Large yellow storage onions-2 in each share.  Great for slicing.

Potatoes-10+ pounds for everyone.  Carola (Scott’s favorite).  A great multi purpose potato with great flavor. Peter Wilcox (that pretty purplish/violet skinned beauty with white flesh) that fries up so nicely and fantastic mashed.

Sun chokes-The what the heck is that????? in the shares.  Knobby looking roots that taste and smell like sunflower seeds.  Adds a neat texture to soups and stews like a water chestnut.  Taste great peeled and roasted in the oven with olive oil and salt, and we love them mixed with potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions and garlic for a hash.  VERY long storage life in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator.

Sun chokes at harvest.

A big crate of sun chokes ready to be washed.

Garlic-Several hard neck heads in every share.

Honey-A sweet 1/2 pint of our autumn harvest to enjoy.

Spinning honey.

Fox Line City Farm Soap-An end of season surprise.  A very special friend makes a batch of this for my Birthday every year and makes extra to share with the CSA.  Enjoy the birthday treat.

Thank you to everyone who shared our gardens in 2015.  We are already planning the 2016 season and early bird sign up will open by the 1st of the year.

Now on to the holiday baking…..

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