foxlinecityfarm

A fun “big deal” week in the gardens.  We set the goal of getting ALL the potatoes out of the ground and we did it with the help of Scott’s cousin, cousin’s son, uncle and Maeve.  A hot Saturday but the crop is out with the help of many hands and we are grateful.  1018 pounds of our late potato harvest is in storage.  Phew!

Picking up the fingerling potatoes after the potato digger went through.

Potato harvest done!  Maeve and Scott loading up the potatoes from the field.

We waded into the winter squash patch and started that harvest.  Acorns, several varieties of carnival and delecata, butternut and at the suggestion of a CSA member pie pumpkins are back!  We made a good dent in the harvest and are pleased with the quantity and quality so far….hopefully we finish the job this week and then move on to ornamental pumpkins next.

1st load of winter squash going up to the shed.

And the floral design continues with several beauties going out the door of the “studio”/garage/CSA packing shed this week….I love it.

Finishing up a big floral order for a special event.

And another beauty to mark a special day…(I threw out my favorite shirt after I saw this picture…darn)

SUMMER SHARE #17  3 weeks remain of the summer 2017 season. 501 pounds of delicious late season produce going home with members today.  

WHAT IS IN YOUR SHARE

SNACK PACK

head lettuce, broccoli, fingerling potatoes, garlic, cipollini onions, pint cherry tomatoes, carnival winter squash, beans, sweet peppers mini cabbage head

Head lettuce-We are thrilled with this week’s lettuce.  That tricky butterhead that is difficult to grow.  We did it again!  Perfect, beautiful and delicious.

Butterhead lettuce at harvest.

Broccoli side shoots-A nice sized bag of the amazing broccoli side shoots that never end.

Maeve was the broccoli bagger this week.

Fingerling potatoes-A favorite potato.  We harvested over 250 pounds of blemish free beauties.  Enjoy!

Scott weighing out the fingerlings for this week’s share.

Garlic-A head in every snack pack.

Onions-The 1st of our storage onions.  A fun Cipollini that look like little spaceships….they are higher in residual sugars and are ideal for roasting and caramelizing.  Melt in your mouth sweetness.

Maeve took this picture of our cipollini onion.

Cherry tomatoes-Another pint this week.  This may be the end of our loooooong cherry tomato season.

Washed cherry tomatoes ready for the shares.

Winter Squash-A pretty Carnival Squash.  Sweet flesh similar in flavor to sweet potatoes.

Another Maeve image….Carnival Squash.

Beans!-A great harvest off our last planting of the season.  Green and purple beans in the mix.

Sweet Peppers-A fantastic peppers year for us….we picked a mix of sweets this week and a few in every snack pack share.

Pretty peppers in the sun after harvest.

Mini Cabbage head-They are back!  Our second planting.  Sweet mini heads ideal for salads, slaw or roasting.

Many cabbage heads at harvest in the garden.

FULL SHARE

head lettuce, spinach, fingerling potatoes, garlic, cipollini onions, pint cherry tomatoes, carnival winter squash, beans, sweet peppers, mini sweet peppers, mini cabbage heads

Head lettuce-A gorgeous head of the sweet butterhead.  Light lime green and delicious.

Beautiful butterhead lettuce….

Spinach-A huge! bag of this late season treat.  We pick very early in the morning and triple rinse.  Sweet and delicious.

Spinach at harvest.

Scott triple rinsing the spinach.

And spinning dry.

Fingerling Potatoes-Yum!  Roasted or pan fried…..A bounty.

Fingerlings ready for the shares…..

Garlic-2 heads in every full share.

Onions-Sweet Cipollini Onions.  Thin skinned and much sweeter than the usual winter storage onions.  Ideal caramelized or roasted.  Melt in your mouth sweetness.

Cherry Tomatoes-This may be the final pint of the long cherry tomato season.

Cherry tomatoes are still ripening in the garden.

Winter squash-A pretty carnival winter squash with sweet flesh similar to a sweet potato in flavor.

Rinsing off the squash from the field.

Beans-A great harvest again off our last bean planting of the season.  Green and purple in the shares this week.

Sweet Peppers-A mix picked this week and several sweet beauties in every share.

Mini Sweet Peppers-A HUGE! bag of these pretty gems and they taste like candy.

A bright harvest of mini sweet snacking peppers.

Cabbage-The mini heads are back!  Perfectly sized and sweet.

BEST GUESS FOR NEXT WEEK-honey!, head lettuce, brussels sprouts, winter squash, potatoes, peppers, kale, baby arugula, super cool radishes, ginger!!!, beans and more…..

What a beautiful week.  We loved the weather and love the late season crops that are maturing.  We have started the big potato harvest of the 4 remaining varieties out in the field and are thrilled with the yield and quality.  And we are more than thrilled with the new potato digger.  Hopefully next week the entire potato crop will be out of the ground.

Always fun to find these special potatoes…..

We peeked at the sweet potatoes and they are sizing up nicely.  We planted 3 varieties this season and will start digging after the 1st frost.

Maeve is helping out with the watering in the hoop house with the goal that this will someday be her full responsibility.

Maeve watering the spinach.

More late season radishes were seeded in this week.  Cold loving lettuces started in the greenhouse and we weeded……pear processing continues here with the wonderful abundance from the pear trees this year.  18 quarts of juice so far from the steam extractor and more sauce this weekend.

Steam extractor in action.

Pears ready to cook down….

A few floral orders came in too this week and fun to create beautiful bouquets for special people. We are a bit behind on our clean up goals around the garden but we sure enjoyed our days..next week I am sure things will all be shaped up and perhaps we will even start the winter squash harvest.

SUMMER SHARE #16

We love the share this week….great variety and edamame is here!  A family favorite….525 pounds of garden goodness this week. Enjoy!

SNACK PACK

Superior potatoes, head lettuce, spinach, shishito peppers, sweet peppers, cherry tomatoes, edamame, and purple and green beans

Head lettuce-Beautiful head lettuces this week….again! We are so glad the lettuce has been amazing this season and we are able to provide fresh lettuce every week.

WOW!

Spinach-The 2nd picking from the hoop house of our early season spinach.  It is delicious thanks to the cooler temperatures the past few weeks.  More to come!

Spinach at harvest.

Beautiful Spinach….

Edamame-A favorite here.  Shell and eat raw in salads or lightly steam or blanch in salt water and enjoy as a snack.

edamame ready to pick.

Leeks-Beautiful late summer leeks.  2nd harvest of leeks…

Superior Potatoes-The perfect potato to pair with the leeks for potato leek soup.  Superior is a dry potato perfect for baking, mash, or soup!

Picking up potatoes after the digger went through.

Cherry Tomatoes-A mixed pint in every share.

Sweet Peppers-We picked several sweet varieties and 2 in every snack pack share.

Shishito Sweet Peppers-A few more of these sweet snackers. This is the end of the shishito harvest this season.

Perfect shishitos.

Beans-I am going to call these “Grandma Lang Beans”-My grandma would make a creamy green bean soup with big thick walled green beans and these beans bring back that memory to me.  I think these are the best beans we grew this season and a BIG! change for us.  I usually prefer thinner filet type beans and we tried these for a little something new.  Delicious and LOVE! them.

FULL SHARE

head lettuce, daikon radish, edamame, leeks, potatoes, roma tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, sweet peppers, shishito peppers, green and purple beans

Head lettuce-Perfect lettuce this week,  HUGE! sweet and delicious.

Beautiful late summer lettuce at harvest.

Daikon Radish-2 in each share.  Great diced up in salads to add a snap to fresh salads.  This is the start of our larger outside radish harvests.

Daikon at harvest and up to the wash tubs for scrubbing.

Edamame-Edible soybean. Shell and eat… Fresh is delicious, lightly steamed or blanched and salted is a great snack.

Taste test in the field at harvest.

Leeks-Our second variety of 5.  Perfectly paired with the potato variety this week.

Loading the leek harvest on a pallet in the field.

Superior Potatoes-A dry flaky potato.  Mashed, baked or soup.  Just perfect.

More potato LOVE!

Roma Tomatoes-A few firm beauties.  This may be the end of our larger tomatoes for the season.

Cherry Tomato Mix-A pint in every Full Share.

Sweet Peppers-3 assorted beauties in every share.

This week’s pepper pick…

Shishito Sweet Peppers-The last of the shishitos for the season.

Green and Purple beans-Big thick walled beans, a big bag to enjoy..and a big change for us and we LOVE! them.

Purple beans at harvest.

Broccoli-A big bag of those delicious side shoots that continue to produce.

BEST GUESS FOR NEXT WEEK.-butterhead lettuce, cabbage, beans, squash?, cherry tomatoes, peppers, onions, garlic, carrots? and more…..

We love this time of year as we transition to Autumn.  Favorite late season crops started so long ago in early Spring are reaching harvest, we bundle up in the morning in caps and warm clothes and daylight changes and the colors are so pretty.  It’s energizing.

A symbolic activity around here is the removal of the shade cloth from the hoop house to allow full daylight in for the late season crops.  Autumn has arrived!  We have fully transitioned the hoop house this past week to late season harvest.  ALL the late season spinach and winter over spinach varieties transplanted out, cool loving leafy greens and lettuces all in-AND!  another round of those favorite turnips are germinating.

Scott pulling off the shade cloth from the hoop house.

Late season turnips germinating in the hoop house.

The winter squash patch looks fantastic this year!  Bountiful and many varieties including tons of pie pumpkins that return this year at the suggestion of a CSA member.  We are excited to start the harvest in the next few weeks.  All the storage onions are now out and hanging to cure and our final bean crop just about ready to harvest if it would ever warm up.

We look forward to these last few weeks of the summer share with great crops to finish up a great season for us.

SUMMER SHARE #15

WHAT IS IN YOUR SHARE- We are pretty excited about this share this week….A favorite crop has arrived….brussels sprouts and tons of them. A great share full of tasty treats this week…..633 pounds of delicious produce going home with members today.

Remember to return your totes for reuse….we are running a little low in the rotation.  Thanks!

SNACK PACK

head lettuce, asian greens mix, pears, red and orange carrots, pint cherry tomatoes, slice tomato, brussels sprouts, sweet peppers, mini sweet peppers, sweet onion and zinnia bouquet.

Head lettuce-We harvested 3 varieties this week and 1 or more appear in every share.  Such a great lettuce year for us.

Pretty lettuce ready to harvest.

Asian Greens mix-A juicy mix of mini green.  Enjoy fresh in salads or saute.

Asian greens mix at harvest.

Pears-We started harvesting off the 3rd variety of trees this week.  Big delicious fruit.  Leave on counter to fully ripen.

Our 3rd variety of pears we harvested this year.  Enjoy!

Carrot Mix-Orange and red crunchy carrots this week.

Red carrots at harvest.

Cherry Tomatoes-The Cherry tomatoes are still chugging along in the cool temperatures.  We are thrilled.  Sweet!

Cherry Tomato picking late in the day…..

Slice tomatoes-This may be the end of our Slice tomato season.

Brussels Sprouts!-We planted a HUGE! patch this year of 3 different varieties.  Here they come….a favorite.

150 pounds brussels sprouts in our 1st picking of the season.

Sweet Peppers-A great harvest this week of assorted sweet peppers and a mix in every share.

This week’s Pepper Harvest.

Mini Snack Sweet Peppers-These beauties ripen late in the season and they are so worth the wait.  Perfect for snacking and school lunches.

Mini sweet peppers harvest.

Sweet Onion-The very last of the sweet summer onions…storage onions next week.

Zinnia Bouquets-A pretty late season bouquet from the garden.

The pretty zinnia patch.

Zinnia bouquets ready for the shares.

FULL SHARE

head lettuce, SPINACH!, pears, carrot mix, quart cherry tomatoes, slice tomato, broccoli side shoots, brussels sprouts, sweet peppers, jimmy nardello sweet peppers, sweet onion, kohlrabi, zinnia bouquet

Head lettuce-3 delicious varieties came from the hoop house this week.  2-3 heads are in every full share.

SPINACH!-A true sign of the arrival of Autumn.  Our 1st Spinach harvest.  1/2 pound in every full share.

Maeve doing the “official” taste test before harvest.

Spinach at morning harvest.

Scott triple rinsing the spinach….

Pears-The 3rd variety from our “mini orchard”.

Pear harvest.  The largest and sweet variety.

Carrot mix-red and orange carrots this week.  Enjoy!

Cherry Tomatoes-A quart again for all full shares.  A great harvest this week….big plump clusters….

Slice tomatoes-I think this may be the end of our slice tomato season.

Broccoli-A 1/2 pound of sweet side shoots.

Brussels Sprouts-A HUGE! 3 pound bag in full share this week.  YUM!

Sweet Peppers-We picked a bounty of assorted sweet peppers this week and several appear in each share…

Sweet Jimmy Nardello Peppers- A nice sized bag of these delicious sweet heirloom peppers.  1 of my favorites.

Jimmy Nardello Sweet Peppers ready to harvest.

Sweet Summer Onion-The end of the sweet onions…storage onions in the share next week.

Kohlrabi-2 snappy treats in every full share.

Zinnia Bouquet-A beautiful bouquet from the garden.  Enjoy!

Zinnia Bouquets ready to go home….

BEST GUESS FOR NEXT WEEK-Edamame (for sure), potatoes, leeks, garlic, onions, cherry tomatoes, head lettuce, cabbage? and more…..

The last day of August and we are amazed that the summer has zipped right by.  We had a great week here.   School starts tomorrow and we spent these last few days at a slower pace enjoying our remaining days of summer with Maeve and sleeping late.  A few crops came from the gardens.  A bounty of carrots were pulled from the hoop house and outside beds.  It was a fun 2 days of harvest for us.

Carrots!

The funniest carrot we found below….

Maeve and Scott started the 2nd pear harvest and we plucked the last of the delicious watermelon from the patch.  A fun week.  Next week we tackle some clean up and hook up the new potato digger again and get the next round of potatoes from the field.

SUMMER SHARE #14

Such a great season for us!  Lots of treats this week.  1031 pounds of goodness going home with share members.

WHAT IS IN YOUR SHARE

SNACK PACK

romaine head lettuce, spaghetti squash, sweet peppers, pint cherry tomatoes, 2 slice tomatoes, carrots, turnips, pears, shallots, and watermelon

Romaine Head lettuce-Delicious lettuce again from the hoop house.  Nice big crunchy heads.

Romaine ready to harvest.

Spaghetti Squash-A late season treat. And the start of our late season squash harvest.

Maeve with the spaghetti squash she harvested this week.

Sweet Peppers-We harvested an assortment again and several appear in each share.

This week’s pepper harvest.

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

Cherry tomato harvest after hours of picking.

Carrots!-Delicious….we harvested a bounty in 2 days this week.  4 different varieties.  Enjoy!

Carrots in the hoop house ready to harvest.

Maeve helped harvest all the carrots and did the official taste test too.

Turnips-Surprise!  We thought we would give it a shot and grow a quick crop of early turnips as we love them so much.  It worked thanks to the cool temperatures the last few weeks.

Turnips in the hoop house.

Turnip Surprise!

Shallots-We are thrilled to have shallots this season as honestly we forgot to start them last year.  They have been curing for 3 weeks and are ready to eat.  Enjoy and more to come….

Pears!-These beauties are off the second of 3 varieties of trees we planted 8 years ago.

The pear trees are loaded with fruit.

Watermelon-We pulled the last of the watermelon from the patch.  3 weeks of watermelon this season!  Enjoy the last of this summer treat.

Maeve and Scott pulling the last of the watermelons from the field.

FULL SHARE

Romaine head lettuce, leaf lettuce, spaghetti squash, sweet peppers, shishito sweet peppers, quart cherry tomato, 4 slice tomatoes, carrots, turnips, pears, shallots, yellow beans, watermelon.

Romaine head lettuce-the last romaine from the hoop house this season.

Hoop house romaine at harvest.

Leaf Lettuce-fluffy delicious and sweet….enjoy!

Triple rinsed, chilled and ready to bag leaf lettuce harvest from the hoop house.

Spaghetti squash-Bake and enjoy with a light sauce or even salt and butter.

Maeve helped with the spaghetti squash harvest and felt pretty cool about it all when done….

Sweet peppers-Another bounty from the long pepper row.  We picked and assortment and several are in every share.

Pretty peppers.

Shishito Sweet Peppers-A nice sized bag of these sweet beauties again this week.

Shishito Peppers.

Quart Cherry Tomatoes-Another quart again this week.

Pretty cherry tomatoes after a quick rinse….

Slice tomatoes-Choose 4 beauties this week.  The patch is slowing down with the cool nights and shorter day length. Our slice tomato season is coming to an end…..

Carrots-Tons of carrots came from the garden this week-enjoy! 4 varieties and this is the start.  Nothing better than a garden carrot.

Carrot harvest from the outside trough.

Big carrots from the outdoor carrot trough.

Turnips-We planted a surprise crop of our favorite turnips in the hoop house.  Enjoy!

Maeve picking the turnips…

Harvest complete.

Shallots-The start of our storage shallot/onions.  2 varieties of shallots were planted this year after completely forgetting to start the seeds last year!

Yellow wax beans-We thought the plants were done but they produced enough this week for Full shares.

Pears-The start of a great harvest.  Sweet and delicious.

Watermelon-The last of the watermelons from the patch…a sigh to us as the turn to the season…

Auntie Howdy are the leaves changing by you????

BEST GUESS FOR NEXT WEEK-sweet peppers, cherry tomatoes, potatoes, edamame???, pears, leeks, lettuce, asian greens mix, carrots and more…

A happy week here.  The season is transitioning to Autumn with shorter days, we see the maple trees changing colors and wear long sleeve shirts in the mornings.  Our days start a little later and end a little earlier as daylight fades.  I love this time of year.

We peeked at the winter squash patch and were thrilled at what we saw.  A favorite crop is just around the corner and a true sign that Autumn is near.

Winter Squash coloring up.

And pie pumpkins too.

We were glad the clouds parted briefly for Maeve to get a look at the eclipse and experience this amazing event.

Looking at the sun!

We had another huge harvest of tomatoes from the garden this week. So pleased and relieved as the crop is so much better than the last 2 years even with the cool wet Spring and cool nights now….we are grateful.  More watermelons came from the patch this week too.   An amazing season for us and so happy to share the bounty.

SUMMER SHARE #13  

We jumped over 1000 pounds again this week.  1145 pounds rolling out of here! 

WHAT IS IN YOUR SHARE-It is fun to say yet another great bounty this week!  We held off on the carrot harvest until next week with all the goodness harvested this week.  Carrot bonanza next week!

SNACK PACK

Head lettuce, kale, pint cherry tomatoes, slice tomatoes, sweet summer onions,  mini shishito sweet peppers, sweet peppers, cabbage, beans, watermelon, corn, red norland potatoes

Head lettuce-A new summer favorite variety.  Cherokee head lettuce.  Beautiful and sweet.

Cherokee head lettuce at harvest.

Kale-We have been trying to sneak this in the shares for weeks…this is the week. A favorite of mine.  Fresh in salads slightly wilted, great in soups, and of course kale crisp is a treat!  An assorted bunch in every share.

Kale soaking in the dunk tank.

Cherry Tomatoes-A HUGE! cherry tomato harvest this week and several new varieties ripening up.  A sweet and beautiful on called sunchocola that is a pretty shade of brown.

Sunchocola Cherry tomatoes at harvest.

Slice tomatoes-Delicious and tons to choose from.

This week’s tomato harvest.  Phew!

Sweet summer onions-This is the end of our sweet summer onion harvest.  We will make the transition to storage onions and shallots in the next few weeks.

Last of the sweet summer onions.

Sweet Peppers-We picked an assorted bounty and a few will be in every share.  The peppers are just starting to really ripen.  Looking forward to the delicious Italian fry peppers….

Beautiful!

Shishito sweet peppers-We are thrilled with these little sweet peppers that taste just like thin skinned green bells.

More shishito peppers!  Delicious!

Chinese Cabbage- Mini chinese napa cabbage from the garden…we love this mini variety called Minuet.

Watermelon!  Another bounty from the patch.  Sweet!

Maeve and I doing the watermelon check for this week…

Yellow wax beans-The last of the yellow beans in the field, 2 more rotations of beans are out there yet to finish up the season.

The last harvest of the yellow beans.

Corn-Last Corn pick too….Thank you uncle Jim for this special treat.

Potatoes-AND the last of the red norlands too…..we start harvesting the other 4 varieties next week.

FULL SHARE

Head lettuce, kale, cucumbers, quart of cherry tomatoes, slice tomatoes, sweet summer onions, sweet peppers, mini sweet peppers, cabbage, watermelon, corn, radish, beans, potatoes.

Head lettuce-we are still hitting our goal of lettuce every week this season and this week is another head of pretty Cherokee.  Delicious!

Cherokee Head Lettuce at morning harvest.

Kale-A great mix of beautiful leaves.  Saute, add to soups, fresh in salads or crisps a treat.

Washed and ready to bundle.

Cucumbers-The official end to the cucumber crop.  A variety called olympian from our 2nd planting.

Quart of Cherry Tomatoes-The cherry tomatoes are hitting their peak this week.

Pretty “blueberry” cherry tomatoes at harvest.

Cherry tomatoes ripening on the vine….

The harvest after hours of picking.

Slice tomatoes-A bounty and we are thrilled…such a better crop than the last 2 seasons.

Sweet Summer Onions-The end of the summer onion harvest…next up storage onions and shallots!

Scott onion cleaning.

And packing….

Sweet Peppers-A beautiful harvest and the peppers season is just starting.  Here they come.

Peppers ready for the shares.

Mini Sweet munching peppers-The 1st pick of these beauties.  A favorite.

Portioned out and ready for Full shares this week.

Cabbage-The last of our Caraflex pointy cabbage harvest. Perfect for a meal or 2 or a delicious slaw.

Watermelon-More sweets from the patch.

Maeve doing this week’s taste test.

Corn-The last sweet corn pick for us at Uncle Jim’s.  Thank you Uncle Jim!!!

Radishes-We had a bit of space in the hoop house between crops and snuck a row in for Full Share members as a late summer treat.

Radishes!

Snappy Hoop house radishes at harvest.

Yellow wax beans-The last of the yellow beans. 2 more bean rotations in the garden to finish up the season.

Final yellow bean pick.

Red Norland Potatoes-the last of the red potatoes….4 more varieties in the field.  We start digging next week.

BEST GUESS FOR NEXT WEEK-carrots!!!!, romaine, spaghetti squash, pears?, sweet peppers, turnips, and more……

The huge harvests from the garden are keeping our days full.  The summer bounty is here and it feels great.  We have beautiful tomatoes everywhere after 2 big harvests from the garden that we had to use the tractor with a pallet to bring up the loads.  Our autumn crops are sizing up and we even planted a nice long row of late late broccoli this week that we usually harvest with the 1st snow if all works out.  It’s iffy but Scott and I feel it’s worth the try as it is always such a treat.  More spinach and lettuces was transplanted into the hoop house and we even got a tiny bit of weeding done and seeding in for late season leafy green crops.  A strong week here with a much needed drenching rain.

Tomatoes everywhere!

Hoop house is chugging along…the carrots we are going to be eating next week are off to the left.

Autumn leafy greens and spinach seeding in this week.

SUMMER SHARE #12

The start of Share packing….

WHAT IS IN YOUR SHARE

1244 pounds!!!  WOW!

Yet another great share this week.  Such a great season for us.  We are thrilled that the sweet watermelon is here and more delicious corn from Uncle Jim.  Both perfect for August meals.

SNACK PACK

Romaine head lettuce, watermelon, cone head cabbage, pint cherry tomato, slice tomatoes, sweet peppers, leeks, garlic, zucchini, cucumbers, BIG! kohlrabi and corn

Romaine head lettuce-A great harvest and a great late summer lettuce from the hoophouse.  Thick flavorful leaves and perfect for BLT’s.

Romaine in the hoop house.

Pointy Head Cabbage-Not the shape we are use to seeing but the same flavor as the “normal” round head.  it is a variety called caraflex and we thought it would be fun.

Pint Cherry tomatoes-The usual washed delicious mix.  So pretty and so flavorful.

Washed cherry tomatoes with that neat one that always has a star at the top.

Slice tomatoes-A bounty this week and many to choose from….enjoy!

Beautiful red slicers ready to go home this week.

Sweet Peppers-We picked an assortment again this week and 2 are in every share.  We NEVER put hot peppers in the shares all sweet.  Hot peppers are on the “extra table” for you to take if you like them.

Leeks-A favorite crop of mine.  We grew 4 varieties this season and this is the earliest variety.  A summer leek called King Richard.

Scott leek washing after a great harvest.

Garlic-We set the goal to have garlic in the shares all season long.  More for you this week….

Our cleaned garlic.

Zucchini-The end of the zucchini season for us.  The zucchini patch did great this year and I am ready to eat something else…

Cucumbers-may be the end of the cucumbers too…..the vines are slowing way way down.

Cucumbers ready to be bagged in Snack Pack Shares.

Kohlrabi-This is the BIG! german variety.  Thick skinned and sweet tender flesh.

Corn-More fantastic corn from Uncle Jim….Delicious!

Watermelon-They are here!  Sweet sweet watermelon.  We grew several varieties this season.  Flesh colors are yellow, orange, red, pink, and white!  A surprise when you cut into it.

field test.

field taste.

Hauling up the harvest.

FULL SHARE

Romaine head lettuce, pointy cabbage, quart of cherry tomatoes, slice tomatoes, sweet peppers, leeks, garlic, zucchini, cucumbers, beets, corn and watermelon

Romaine head lettuce-A favorite summer lettuce.  Thick flavorful long leaves.

Romaine at harvest.

Head Cabbage-A cone shaped head with same sweet cabbage flavor.

Quart of cherry tomatoes-Another washed sweet bounty this week.  Enjoy!

Those pretty blue ones just starting to ripen at the top of the cluster.

Cherry tomato picking an every other day job.

Slice tomatoes-A HUGE! bounty to choose from this week.

Sweet peppers-We picked and assortment and they will appear in your share. 6 in all full shares.  The tasty jimmy nardello’s are just starting to color up and a few sweet italian bull horns too.  NO hot peppers those are on the “extra table” for you.

Leeks-the 1st of 4 varieties.  Summer leeks are a treat.

King Richard leeks drying ready to be bundled for the shares.

Garlic-2 heads in every full share this week.  We had high yield from the garlic patch and garlic will appear all season long.

Auntie Howdy-did you get a new sofa yet?

Zucchini-The end of zucchini.  I’m ready.  Enjoy these last little tasty beauties….

Cucumbers-May be the end of this crop too.

Nearing the end of a great cucumber season.

Beets-A favorite of mine-not Scott’s.  We still struggle with growing a bounty of beets but are pleased they are here in the Full share.

Corn-Thank you Uncle Jim again for terrific corn!

Just picked corn from Uncle Jim’s farm.

Watermelon-I look forward to this crop every season.  We grew several varieties….flesh colors-yellow, orange, pink, red and white.  All sweet and a surprise when you cut into them.

The bounty from the watermelon patch.

BEST GUESS FOR NEXT WEEK-head lettuce, leaf lettuce, radishes, carrots, spaghetti squash, kale (we keep trying to add this every week but we decide no as the shares are too big)-next week for sure, sweet peppers, cherry tomatoes, slice tomatoes and more….

Phew!  Another fantastic week out in the gardens heavy with huge harvests.  We spent our days picking “stuff” and our late afternoons washing “stuff”  Long hours crawling down the bean and tomato rows, pulling the beautiful summer onions from the ground, pulling the pretty peppers from the plants, cutting the beautiful sunflowers and harvesting the best broccoli we have ever grown! The volume of produce that comes up each day is amazing.  Our knees are a bit sore but our spirits are high.

Maeve and I did a watermelon check and we are almost there.  A week or so and these sweet summer treats will be in the shares.  A summer favorite.

Maeve cutting the watermelon with a sharp knife!!! for the 1st time.

Taste test……almost ripe.

A bit of fun stepping back to my past profession with a floral event.  I created beautiful floral centerpieces all from product we grew.  It was lots of fun and I enjoyed the time designing.

Hard at work with centerpiece design.

WHAT IS IN YOUR SHARE

August summer bounty is here with a huge share of goodness.  796 pounds went home with the CSA members this week!  We were joking that we should offer cooler to car wagon service to get the goodies out the door.

Jalapeno peppers are here!  We do not put any hot peppers in the shares…IF you are a hot pepper lover they will be on the “extra” table with all the other extra goodies for the remainder of the season.  Take all you want.

SNACK PACK

corn, pears, red norland potatoes, beans, cherry tomatoes, slice tomatoes, lettuce, asian greens mix, shishito sweet peppers, sweet pepper, cucumbers, zucchini, broccoli, sunflower bouquet, purple basil

Sweet Corn-Delicious just picked sweet corn from Uncle Jim.

Potatoes-We are still making our way through the red norland harvest.  Fried, boiled, broiled or grilled.  Fantastic!

Auntie Howdy we made fried potatoes with our potatoes and Maeve said they were almost as good as your hash browns…

Pears-We just started harvesting off the 1st 2 trees of this early variety.

Scott using the tractor to get to the pears way up there!

I used the ladder….

Beans-A mix of pretty yellow wax and green beans.  Picked every other day thin and snappy.

Starting the yellow bean harvest.

Cherry tomatoes-A washed sweet pint in every snack pack share.

The cherry tomato washer hard at work.

Purple cherry tomatoes on the vine.

These change color to a pumpkin orange.

Slice tomatoes-Here they come and hopefully the stick around for a long long time….the plants are loaded in the field.

This week’s tomato harvest.

Lettuce-A sweet and juicy mini head this week from the hoop house.  We love the varieties this season.

Sweet lettuce harvest this week.

Asian mix-A great mix for fresh salads and fantastic sauted.

Asian Mix in the morning sun at harvest.

Shishito Sweet Mini peppers-A tasty mini sweet pepper that we love.  Tastes like a thin walled green bell peppers.

Japanese Shishito sweet peppers.  A new crop for us this year.

Sweet Pepper-We picked an assortment and 1 in every snack pack share.

Cucumbers-We are nearing the end of our cucumber season.  A mix in every share of this snappy summer treat.

Zucchini-The patch is slowing down….and I am not disappointed.  We have had a great zucchini run but I am ready to eat something else from the garden as we transition to late season crops.

Broccoli-We are thrilled….our best!!!!! broccoli we have every grown! A huge harvest and delicious heads. A bounty in every share.

WOW!

All washed and ready for the shares.

Sunflower bouquets-A summer treat that we try to include in the shares every season. A photo below from years past and this year too…..

A flashback photo of sunflower bouquet making in the past

Sunflower bouquet making this season.

Purple Basil-A pretty and fragrant bunch from the greenhouse.

FULL SHARE

corn, pears, potato, beans, cherry tomato, slice tomato, lettuce, asian mix, shishito sweet peppers, sweet peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, broccoli, sunflower bouquet, purple basil

Sweet Corn-More fantastic corn thanks to Uncle Jim.  Enjoy!

Pears-A great pear harvest from the early trees.  More to come.

Pears just picked from the trees.

Potatoes-Red Norland beauties in the share again this week.  Best fry potato in my mind.  A great yield this year.

Beans-A mix of yellow and green in the shares this week.

Cherry Tomatoes-A washed mix quart for all Full shares.

Cherry tomatoes ready to be boxed up for the shares.

Slice tomatoes-Here they come…..we just need some warm nights to bring on the jumbo beauties.

Tomatoes ripening on the vine.

Head Lettuce-A sweet dark green head from the hoop house.

Look at these beauties.

Asian Mix- A leafy green mix from the hoop house.  Fresh or saute it is wonderful.

Shishito Sweet Pepper-A nice big bag of this sweet pepper treat.  Great flavor and the perfect size.

Sweet peppers-We picked a mix and 2 are in each Full share this week.

Cucumbers-A mixed bag of this snappy treat….the vines are slowing down and we are ready…we have had a great run of cucumbers this year.

Zucchini-Same here the vines are slowing in the patch and we are about to move on and end the summer zucchini season.  2 in every share.

Broccoli-A bounty!  And it is great-we are so happy with the harvest.

A huge harvest.

Sunflower bouquet-Beautiful sunflowers from the garden.  Enjoy!

Sunflowers ready to be cut.

Bouquets ready to go home with CSA members.

Purple Basil-Perfect with those amazing tomatoes…..

BEST GUESS FOR NEXT WEEK-corn, leeks, peppers, romaine lettuce, tomatoes, kale and more…….

Feels like a Fall morning out there today.  The season is transitioning.  Another fantastic week for us in the gardens.  Near perfect weather and a huge tomato harvest!  Life is good.  We are rolling along getting the last of the late season crops in the ground.  Fall spinach is going in for early harvests, late radishes, turnips and a little surprise too if all works out…..

The harvest schedule fills our days at this time of year.  Hours of bean picking, cherry tomato picking, pulling the long row of summer onions, harvesting the peppers and walking the zucchini and cucumber rows.  Transitional lettuces need to be transplanted into the hoop house and then we weed!  Scott was able to till all our walking rows over the weekend and things look good.

The pear trees need another week or 2 before harvest with the cooler temps this week and honestly we are relieved as the Share this week is a bounty!

What we get to see everyday at “work”….Beautiful!

A Fall Surprise we planted this week…..

SUMMER SHARE #10

Half way through the season…..

WHAT IS IN YOUR SHARE

It’s an amazing share again this week.  795 pounds of perfect produce going home with members.  Treats!  Enjoy it ALL.

SNACK PACK

head lettuces, beans (green and yellow), sweet peppers, cucumber medley, sweet summer onions, zucchini, pint cherry tomatoes, 3 slice tomatoes, corn!, garlic, basil plant, baby cabbage

Head lettuce-We harvested 3 varieties this week from the hoop house and 2 different heads are in each share….

Beautiful Cherokee Head lettuce at harvest.

Cherokee Lettuce in the morning sun.

Beans-Our 2nd rotation of green beans kicked in this week.  A nice big bag with a few yellow beans too that are just starting to mature…

Green beans at harvest.  1st picking of our 2nd planting.

Sweet Peppers-We picked and assortment this week and 2 in every share.

Cucumber Medley-An assorted bag again this week.  1st patch is slowing down and the 2nd is just starting up.

Sweet Summer onions-A bag of these tasty treats.  We are just starting to harvest our loooooong row of sweet onions.

Harvesting the onions on a HOT! afternoon.

Zucchini-Picked small and tender….several in each share.

This week’s zucchini harvest.

Cherry tomatoes-A pint in all the snack packs-washed and ready to eat.

Picking Cherry Tomatoes…some are so big we are calling them mini slicers….

Washed cherry tomatoes air drying before we box them up.

Slice tomatoes-Here they come!  You choose 3 this week.

This week’s slice tomato harvest.

Corn-4 ears from Scott’s Uncle Jim.  This is conventionally grown corn.  We do not grow our corn.

Garlic-1 head from our bounty harvest.

Basil Plant-We had to include a basil plant to celebrate the kick off to the slice tomato season.  a variety called Dolce Fresca.  Cut and use for a meal OR upgrade to a larger pot and grow for the remainder of the summer.

Mini Cabbage-Our favorite!  Perfectly sized for a meal or 2.  Sweet and crunchy.

FULL SHARE

Head lettuces, green beans, sweet peppers, sunflower bouquet, cucumbers, sweet onions, zucchini, quart cherry tomatoes, 4 slice tomatoes, corn, garlic, basil plant, baby cabbages

Head lettuces-3 varieties came from the hoop house this week-and 2 in every share.  BLT season is here!

Romaine at Harvest.

The romaine ready to be cut.

Green Beans-A Huge harvest of our 2nd rotation and a Huge bag in every full share.

Picking Beans again….

And some serious math to divide up the bounty….

Peppers-We picked an assortment of sweet summer peppers this week and 3 in each share.

Sunflower Bouquet-A pretty summer bouquet of our 1st sunflower harvest of the season

Cucumber Medley-A big snacking bag in the share this week…..the patch is slowing down.

Sweet Onions-A big bag as we start harvesting the long row of summer onions.  Store in the refrigerator.

Zucchini-Picked small and tender.  Several in every share.

Cherry Tomato-A quart of these beauties in every full share.

Just beautiful…

All washed and packed ready for the shares…

Snuck into a Full Share this week…..

Slice Tomatoes-Tomato Season has begun….You choose 4.

Slice tomatoes….hopefully the kick off to a nice long season.

Corn!-It’s here and it is delicious.  Just picked this morning from Scott’s Uncle Jim’s Farm.  Thank you Uncle Jim!

Garlic-2 heads in every full share.

Basil Plant-In celebration for the kick off of the tomato season!  Cut and enjoy for a meal or upgrade to a larger pot and enjoy for the remainder of the summer.

Baby Mini Cabbages-2 of these little gems this week.  Sweet and snappy.

Cute mini cabbages at harvest.

BEST GUESS FOR NEXT WEEK….beets, broccoli, corn, lettuce, zucchini, cucumbers, peppers, chinese cabbage, kohlrabi, kale, pears???, sunflower bouquets and more…..

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!

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…..