foxlinecityfarm

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….

A bit of a delay in posting….internet was down on Thursday-CSA day- for some reason and then we had the fun of doing the flowers for a wedding over the weekend.

A HOT! week in the garden but we powered through with early mornings, a break and then back at it in the evenings. Some days it was a 3 outfit change due to heat….we rocked on with a good attitude and it was a great week with bountiful harvests.

The tomatoes continue to be the best ever year for us with huge harvests coming from the patch every other day. Lettuce and spinach were transplanted out in the hoop houses and more spinach direct seeded in for Autumn bounty after we made our way through the monster harvests every day…

CSA #12

What is in your share-romaine lettuce, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, edamame, summer squash, green bean, purple potatoes, leek, corn, watermelon, garlic, Italian fry pepper

Romaine lettuce-a favorite summer lettuce. Early morning harvest and it is wonderful. More to come!

Tomatoes-A bounty this season. 5 in snack and 10 in full.

Cherry tomatoes- it is so fun to see how the colors are becoming more bold as the season rolls along. Sweet garden candy.

Edamame-We love this late season crop. A slight blanching, a shake of salt and a delicious treat or addition to salads or add to your tomato sauce.

Summer squash-the first planting is just about done and the 2nd is kicking in….1 or 2 in each share. Still a Maeve favorite.

Green beans- the 3rd rotation of beans are here!…next week we are going for “big beans” as a few members have requested….

Purple potatoes- I have said it before…..I think this is my favorite potato we grow. Fantastic mashed, fried or baked. And makes a very pretty potato leek soup.

Leeks-a great harvest of these beauties. We love the flavor with fried potatoes or make a wonderful potato leek soup with the purple potatoes. It is lavender in color and delicious.

Corn-We harvested off a new planting at the farm when it was 100 degrees! HOT! and the corn was delicious.

Garlic-cured down in the shed from the harvest a few weeks back-enjoy!

Italian fry pepper-looks to be a good pepper season. The Italian fry peppers are just kicking in. The plants are loaded and we had to harvest a few green beauties to lighten the load. This is our family’s favorite pepper.

BEST GUESS FOR NEXT WEEK-HEAD LETTUCE, TOMATO, CHERRY TOMATO, RAINBOW CARROT, BEETS, BIG GREEN BEANS, SUMMER SQUASH, AND MORE…

It’s tomato Time!

We are making tomato sauce around the clock here and the house smells wonderful. Extra sauce and stewed tomato this year. And hopefully a batch or 2 of salsa for a winter treat!

And look how many more tomatoes are to come….!

We harvested two rotations of carrots from Hoop 2 on a rainy Sunday and quickly transitioned the space for Fall Spinach. 2 rows of spinach were transplanted and direct seeded for end-of-season harvesting. Pac choi was transplanted and lettuce starts transplanted into hoop 1 and we prepped an area for fall radishes. Cooler nights and darker mornings are sure signs of the season changing.

CSA #11

What is in your share-head lettuce, summer squash, carrots, melon, sweet corn, slice tomatoes, Cherry tomatoes, brussels sprouts (for real!), cucumbers, asian leafy mix (full only)

Head Lettuce-What a beauty! We love this variety of mini-head lettuce and so pretty too. Sweet and delicious.

Summer Squash-Patch #1 is slowing down and #2 starting up. We are always surprised by the bounty and beauty on our morning harvest walks. The perfect way to start the day.

Carrots!-A great harvest from Hoop 2. We set the goal of more carrots this season and are happy to say we have 2 more rotations in the gardens to harvest later this season. With the rain on Sunday, we switched up our plans and spent the morning pulling carrots.

Melon-This is the last for the sweet cantaloupes for the season. Enjoy!

Sweet Corn-We are grateful for the delicious corn from Scott’s relative’s farm. Raupp Family Farm.

Slice Tomatoes-It’s a Tomato week! CSA members can choose the perfect ones. 4 for snack, and 8 for full.

Cherry tomatoes-A pint in snack and a quart in full. A washed assortment of 22 varieties. Unique size and taste and texture.

Brussels Sprouts-(for real!)-We planted 3 varieties this year and this is an extra early variety in the shares this week. The funny thing is they grow squatty and short with the sprouts all jammed together. We could not get them off the stalk in the field. So our helper Angel Al had to chop them down and haul to the garage where Scott and Maeve “desprouted” the stalks. Hard work and sore thumbs….but so worth it!

Cucumbers-This is the end of the cucumber run I think. The vines are declining and the cucumbers are oddball shapes.

Asian leafy mix (full only)-A snappy mix of assorted asian greens. Delicious as a fresh salad or try a quick wilt for soy sauce.

BEST GUESS FOR NEXT WEEK-ROMAINE HEAD LETTUCE, EDAMAME, BEETS, CABBAGE, CORN, SUMMER SQUASH, GREEN BEANS, GARLIC AND MORE….

A fun week of huge harvests from the gardens and just like that the week zipped by for us. We still hope for rain and the irrigation runs somewhere in the garden allllll day.

We visit the tomatoes every day now and have pulled over 500 pounds of tomatoes from the patch in the past few days. A good start to the tomato season. Cucumbers have hit their peak and the second planting of zucchini is kicking in. Lettuce was transplanted out into hoop 1 and a nice long row of kohlrabi was transplanted into the garden for a Autumn treat.

We have a new Monday night routine. Potato digging at the farm. A fun quick dig-pulling the second row of purples from the field as we had many helpers ready to go!

Our wonderful friend Angel Al has started the clean up in the garden where crops have been harvested and we start the slow transition to open spaces.

CSA #10

What is in your share-leaf lettuce, melon, corn!, cucumbers, summer squash, broccoli side shoots (snack)/shishito peppers(full), purple potatoes, melon, slice tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, sweet summer onions.

Leaf lettuce-Dainty and sweet leaf lettuce. Delicious! Harvested at first light from Hoop 1.

melon-A sweet harvest from the cantaloupe patch this week. The perfect summer dessert!

CORN! This is what summer is all about!!! It is delicious. Enjoy! A fantastic harvest from Scott’s relative’s farm-Raupp Family Farm in Reedsburg. Cousin John is the “Corn King” and his daughter and Maeve were the Harvest Queens this week. We are grateful for all this family does for us.

Cucumbers-The plants have hit their peak and we had a strong harvest this week.

Summer Squash-Patch 1 is slowing down and Patch two ramping up….

Broccoli side shoots (snack)/Shishito mild peppers (full)-the broccoli plants we planted in Spring are huge and produce abundant side shoots….amazing to us how they keep plugging along. 18 pounds for snack pack this week and perfect for a stir fry. The thin-walled mild shishito peppers are fantastic charred on the grill, blistered in a cast iron fry pan or sliced thin in a fresh salad.

Purple Potatoes-The 2nd row of this family favorite was dug on Monday night with many hands making quick work. A great yield.

Cherry tomatoes-our summer candy. Washed and ready to enjoy.

Slice Tomatoes!-And they are rolling in!

Bell Peppers-A great Bell pepper harvest and our favorite Italian fry peppers are just starting to color!

Sweet Summer Onions-The end of these delicious treats. We will transition to shallots, storage onions and garlic in the shares.

BEST GUESS FOR NEXT WEEK-MINI HEAD LETTUCE, BRUSSELS SPROUTS (YES! FOR REAL), CUCUMBERS, SUMMER SQUASH, SHALLOT, CARROTS, PEPPERS, BEETS?, CORN AND MORE….

We call this the shaggy time of year here….long days of huge harvests and watering. The edges look a little rough and weedy but we are on top of the daily harvests and crop rotations are on schedule.

We had very little damage from the powerful storm that blew. As soon as it passed we ran down to check the hoop houses and tomatoes. All good and we were relieved. A few limbs down and minor power issues were quickly resolved. By Sunday all was normal. And we were happy 2 inches of rain fell.

We transplanted several rotations of lettuce in hoop 1 this past week and spent many days in the cucumber and tomato patch. The watermelon jumped in and said they were ready a bit earlier than we thought but they sure are sweet and delicious.

CSA #9

What is in your share….head lettuce, flat head cabbage, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, watermelon, cucumbers, summer squash, bell pepper, yellow filet beans (snack only), broccoli side shoots (full only)

Head lettuce-The variety is called Cherokee. It is a great summer lettuce and pretty too.

Flat top cabbage-A sweet cabbage with tender leaves. Aptly named Tendersweet. Great for a crunch in salads and makes a fantastic slaw.

Tomatoes-Here they come! Looks to be a great season. The vines are loaded. Several slicers in every share.

Cherry tomatoes-A pint for everyone….The perfect summer treat!

Cucumber bonanza continues….several varieties in each share. English, minis, american pickling, and slicers

yellow filet beans (snack)/broccoli side shoot (full)-this is the last of the yellow filet harvest. next rotation of green beans about 2 weeks out…and a fantastic broccoli side shoot harvest this week.

Summer squash medley-I can tell the plants have peaked….but still big harvests every morning. Our family favorite is the lite lime green variety-an italian variety. Smooth texture.

Bell Pepper-We had a strong pepper harvest this week of bells, shishito, and jalapeno. Bells are in the shares and shishitos and jalapenos on the extra table.

BEST GUESS FOR NEXT WEEK….leaf lettuce, purple potatoes, cucumbers, summer squash, garlic, carrots, tomatoes, melon and more….

We sure had a HOT! week here and a happy week too…

We are thrilled the tomatoes are hitting and the plants are heavy with green tomatoes ready to ripen. Looks to be a strong tomato year for sure.

Harvest duties were heavy this week but we did transplant out a rotation of fennel and also lettuce into hoop 2. Another row of carrots was seeded in and we started the Fall Spinach in cells in the greenhouse. How odd is that to be looking to Fall! And-speaking of Fall- we noticed that the 1st early variety of brussels sprouts is heading up and we snuck some off the bottom just for fun because who has brussels sprouts in July?!

We dug a second row of new baby reds on a cooler evening. A bounty and we had fun picking up the potatoes after the digger went through. Next up is the purple potatoes!

CSA #8

WHAT IS IN YOUR SHARE-head lettuce, cucumbers, English cucumbers, summer leeks, new baby red potatoes, summer squash, cherry tomatoes, lice tomato, broccoli side shoots, bell peppers, white ice radishes (full only).

Head lettuce-A delicious lettuce from hoop 2 this week with a sweet flavor and great crunch! We harvest right at sunrise to ensure a sweet flavor and the best quality.

Cucumbers-Tons! English, Pickling, and fresh slicers are harvested daily.

Leeks-We had to include these with the potato harvest. Best fried potatoes ever with leeks….These are a variety called King Richard and a summer leek-smaller in size than the huge Fall leeks.

Potatoes-We dug the whole row of this variety of new baby red. A new variety for us-Prarie Fire.

Summer Squash-Every morning! Amazing the haul we pull out of the summer squash patch. Enjoy this summer staple.

Cherry tomatoes-And here they come! Washed and ready to snack away. 18 varieties are out there this season. A diverse collection of flavors, shapes and colors.

Slice tomato-These beauties are just starting to show color….

Broccoli Side Shoots-These little gems are the side shoot production on the broccoli plants. They grow after we harvest the main head. Perfect for a stir-fry dish.

Bell Peppers-3 varieties are out in the field including mini bells….

White Ice Radishes-(Full Only) We had a little space open up in hoop 2 a few weeks back and not wanting it to sit vacant we seeded in a small section of radishes for summer salad treats!

BEST GUESS FOR NEXT WEEK-HEAD LETTUCE, CUCUMBERS, FLAT CABBAGE, SUMMER SQUASH, TOMATOES, CHERRY TOMATOES, COLLARD GREENS AND MORE….

We rocked it this week! If there was daylight outside we were harvesting something from the garden….Yellow beans and cucumbers and summer squash-every frickin’ day we crawled down those rows and every day marveled what we were hauling out. We called in reinforcements and our wonderful helpers started harvesting too! Angel Al was on onion/leek duty and in his extra time “beautification” with the weedwhacker.

And Jeannie helped with the hoop house transformation and carrot harvest and bean picking. We are grateful as this is the time of year it is a bit tricky to stay in front of the bounty.

And we were super happy to see this beauty shining bright in the morning sun! Tomato season is around the corner.

Scott quickly replanted Fall carrots when the existing carrot harvest was out and soil prepped. We transplanted out another row of late cabbage and a late “hail Mary” crop of beans-just for fun! We are cutting it close with day length and temps but thought we would give it a shot. A strong week for us and a happy 1 too.

Head Lettuce-This week’s harvest is Cherokee. Delicious!

Mini Cabbage-Perfectly sized for a batch of slaw. And grilled it is amazing.

Carrots! The best! flavor ever. We love fresh carrots.

Cucumbers-This was the bounty of the week….unbelievable. Our best cucumber year ever. Mini snacking cucumbers, european long slicers, pickling and american slicers.

Sweet summer onions-The last of the sweet onions are out of the ground and cleaned. Mild sweet flavor.

Summer Squash-We planted 5 varieties this season and pick every morning as we like them small with a small seed cavity. Sometimes 1 hides beneath a leaf and becomes the jumbo zucchini bread/baking size…these will always be on the extra table.

Yellow beans-Another monster harvest of these deliciously thin filet beans.

BEST GUESS FOR NEXT WEEK-head lettuce, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, leeks, potatoes, garlic, summer squash, collard greens and more.

The BEST news about this week is it rained! 1.5 inches in a nice slow soak. Finally… we are relieved and grateful for the moisture.

We are in full summer bounty mode….HUGE daily harvests continue in the gardens. Hours with the beans and cucumbers and daily picks through the zucchini patch and down the broccoli rows for side shoots. It’s fun and amazing what we pull out of the fields daily.

Scott seeded long rows of Fall sunflowers this past week and tied up the tomatoes, we weeded through the hoop houses, and the new crop of broccoli and watered and watered and watered.

CSA #6

What is in your share-head lettuce, leafy green mix, cucumbers, zucchini, onions, potatoes, yellow beans,

Head lettuce-A beautiful dark headed lettuce with a crisp sweet flavor.

Leafy greens mix-This is a fun mix of asian greens harvested small. It has a bit of a zippy pepper kick and also the sweet cabbage/pac choi flavor. Makes a great fresh salad.

Yellow filet beans-HUGE 1st harvest of these delicious slender beans yesterday. We had to air dry them after the rain!

Cucumbers-There are several different varieties in the mix. Mini’s, pickling, fresh eating and long english varieties. A great kick off to the season.

Dill-We did a special planting inside hoop 1 of baby dill just in time for the cucumber season. Nice tender fronds for cucumber side dishes.

Zucchini-The summer staple. We harvest every morning.

New Baby Reds-This is what I have been waiting for! I love just dug potatoes. The flavor is amazing. We decided to dig the whole row and it was fun!

Sweet Summer Onions-Delicious! A great harvest this season and many more weeks to come.

Cilantro-We have the trays out for those members that LOVE! Cilantro. Cut what you would like.

BEST GUESS FOR NEXT WEEK-HEAD LETTUCE, CABBAGE, CARROTS, ZUCCHINI, ONIONS, CUCUMBERS, BEANS, COLLARD GREENS AND MORE.

It was a great week for us in the gardens. HOT! but great. Super fun when the daily morning bean, cucumber and zucchini harvests start. We are in full harvest mode and easing into the summer rhythm. We weeded the potatoes at the farm. They sure look good. The purples had slow and kinda weak germination so this is where we spent some time. More weeds in these two rows but happy to say they are weed free now. Many of the varieties are flowering and we should be eating potatoes in about 2 weeks. Just for fun we planted another row of green beans….and finished transplanting the fall broccoli. We quickly replanted hoop 1 with leafy greens after this week’s harvest and weeded through hoop 2’s long rows of carrots and beets. Scott prepped the outside garden area for the 2nd rotation zucchini patch and those will go in this weekend. The bounty coming out of the garden is amazing to us! Enjoy!!

I spend much of my time crawling down the rows all hunched over and I stopped to visit with Scott a bit and lay flat. He secretly snapped a photo of my quick break before I continued on…

CSA #5

What is in your share-head lettuce, leaf lettuce, sweet onions, zucchini, kohlrabi, broccoli, broccolini (full only), chinese cabbage and green beans!

Head lettuce-A delicious head this week. Sweet flavor and crunchy texture too!

Leaf Lettuce-A true wonder as it is a little tricky growing leaf lettuce in the blazing heat! We did it! Sweet and not bitter at all. Great texture and is delicious.

Sweet Onions-1st harvest of this summer favorite. Keep in the refrigerator. Sweet flavor not strong at all.

Zucchini-I am blown away when the zucchini hit! We harvest every morning to ensure they are small and tender. 54 this morning from the patch.

Kohlrabi-Last of the early kohlrabi harvest in the shares this week. We love it grated in a cabbage slaw.

Broccoli-This is the last of the fantastic early broccoli harvest. The plants are already making side shoots and we should be nibbling on these within 2 weeks.

Broccolini (full only)-Last of the broccolini harvest. We love it on the grill with a bit of a char. Also delicious chopped up raw and small in tossed salads.

Chinese Cabbage-Another great harvest. Makes a fantastic coleslaw. We love it with apples and a bit of vinegar also great flavor in stirfry

Cucumbers-Snappy and so fresh. In season garden cucumbers are the best!-We pick every morning to ensure a small seed cavity and sweet flavor. We are not going to bag them this year to see if this will help with storage. So cucumbers will be boxed or loose in your share.

Green beans!-1st harvest of the season. A sure sign of the start of summer. We harvest daily and pick small. We are not fans of the larger beans that Maeve once said “it’s like chewing on a pencil”. That said- we will let 1 crop grow a bit bigger as some people like to make dilly beans and some people prefer the larger bean too for various recipes. So, at some point this summer we will have a bag of the big guys just to spice it up a bit.

BEST GUESS FOR NEXT WEEK-head lettuce, collard greens, sweet onions, zucchini, mini head cabbage, cucumbers, green beans and more!

A hot and happy week in the gardens. We had about an inch of rain and grateful. Irrigation still going but the pressure has eased a bit. We seeded in another row of late green beans and more lettuce in hoop 2. We transplanted kohlrabi in the field and spent a lot of time weeding!

When we left the patch we decided to pull a plant and take a peek….We have to wait a few more weeks.

Our days are changing to harvest mode. Early morning walks through the zucchini and then the cabbage and broccoli harvesting what is ready. Green beans are around the corner and cucumbers too. It sure is starting to feel like summer.

Summer CSA #4

What is in your share…..head Lettuce, zucchini, cabbage, broccoli, fennel, onions, kohlrabi

Head lettuce-We are loving the lettuce so far this season. We grow several varieties and each unique in flavor and texture. This weeks variety-Newham has thick leaves and a sweet juicy flavor.

Zucchini-Here we go! A sure sign of summer. Enjoy!

Cabbage-Sweet mini heads that make a wonderful slaw or crunch in a salad. It is delicious cut in half and grilled with a bit of olive oil and salt.

Broccoli-The big deal of the week. A fantastic harvest every morning. Our best broccoli harvest ever! AND it is delicious.

Fennel-Unique flavor. Great addition to cabbage coleslaw. Add the wispy fronds to fresh salads, or grill the bulb as charring brings out the flavor.

Onions-The last of the early mini cocktail onions….Robust flavor.

Kohlrabi-We harvested both green and fancy white heads this week. Sweet flavor. A family favorite.

BEST GUESS NEXT WEEK-Cucumbers?, broccoli, head lettuce, chinese cabbage, zucchini, beans, sweet onions and more.