We had a very tricky harvest day this Monday. It rained 3 inches in the morning while the harvest crew was harvesting fennel, celery, tomatoes and sweet corn. We were getting to a point where rain was starting to feel needed on the farm, so at first we were celebrating the rain. But a Monday harvest morning is probably the worst possible timing for 3 inches of rain.
On Mondays we have our biggest crew of the week. We bring in as many hands as we can get here, usually around 10 or 11 people including Adam and I. With so many people here to help get the harvest done, it’s our best opportunity to bring it in for the week and get the most done in a small amount of time. Many items are harvested as close to the delivery date as possible so we have the freshest produce for our CSA boxes. So when it rains three inches on a harvest morning, it makes it a little extra difficult to get our job done!
While we are harvesting into bins they get heavier and heavier. The crew is slipping in the mud trying to get their footing while carrying their bins down the row. It’s difficult to keep the moral high amongst the crew as well in conditions like these. We all have our slickers and rain coats on with our hoods up. At one point it started to thunder and lightning as we were finishing up the celery harvest and we thought we were going to have to leave the field to get to safety, but then the thunder and lightning passed and the storm softened. I keep telling everyone they’re doing a great job! Mostly everyone is still smiling and doing their best. Only my 13-year-old is giving me grumpy looks. But what 13-year-old wouldn’t give her mom a grumpy look while working in the rain and muck? I’m telling you guys, it was a tricky morning!
On top of it all, Adam had higher exceptions for the crew than what we were able to physically accomplish on Monday. Some of the sweet corn and cucumbers went un-harvested on our Monday schedule which pushed the work load into Tuesday. The mud created extra work for us as well in that we had to wash the melons this week because of the mud which we usually don’t have to do. Every harvest bin that was used this week is also not only coated, but caked in mud which all takes time and human-power to wash off. We actually asked the crew to all stay 20 minutes late at the end of the day to finish spraying the celery, washing the melons and bagging the beans. We almost never ask the crew to work late on Mondays!
I hope it doesn’t sound like I’m complaining. I’m really not! I just thought it would be fun for you to get a glimpse into the lives of a CSA farm on a rainy Monday morning and get a sense for what it can be like for us. Generally, if it’s raining any other day of the week, there is packing shed or greenhouse work that the crew can do on a rainy day so we don’t have to take the crew out into the rain. It’s unique that on Monday mornings we really do need to be out there.
The very best part about doing hard things is the character building that comes from it. When we survive an experience that stretches our comfort zone, we get to decide if we’ll ever get back into the arena again. I believe that when we’re in the arena, the most personal growth happens. But don’t get me wrong, I much prefer 70 degrees and Sunny!
What’s in the Box?
Melon x 2- You may have received either a cantaloupe/watermelon or cantaloupe/canary or a double cantaloupe. The Canary Melons are bright yellow on the outside (not to be confused with a spaghetti squash!). There is not squash in the box this week. A note about Canary Melons, they have a hard yellow rind on the outside with a flesh that is usually crispy like a cucumber. Their flesh can either be crispy or soft and juicy depending on how ripe it was when it was picked. They will ripen off the vine a little, but not too much.
Cucumbers– 2-3 cucumbers per member this week. Cucumber production is slowing down quite a bit now. We might have another week or so if we’re lucky. Enjoy them while they last.
Zucchinis and Summer Squash– 2-3 The squash are also slowing down quite a bit. Maybe another week or two.
Green Beans– 1.72 lb bag of beans per member this week. A huge bag of beans this week! Some people may have had some ‘dragon tongue’ beans mixed in this week. The dragon tongues have purple streaking on a yellow bean. The purple streaking disappears like magic when they’re cooked. Another week of green beans for sure!
Fennel- Fennel is lovely sauteed like an onion if you’re not into eating it raw! But if you want the full licorice experience, use a mandolin and slice it very thinly into a salad.
Garlic- Chesnook Red is the variety name. They’re not fully cured yet, so we’re still giving them on them stems.
Sweet Corn– 6-7 Ears per member. We will have one more week of sweet corn this year. Next week’s giving will be larger. Remember that corn is sweetest the soonest after it has been picked. The sugars begin to turn to starches if you wait too long to eat it. We recommend keeping it as cold as possible in the fridge until you get a chance to eat it up.
Celery- One head of celery per member this week. This may be the final giving of celery. We had a nice run of it. The tops of the celery plant can be eaten like an herb and eaten sparingly because they have a strong celery flavor. They tops can also be dried to make a celery seasoning if you wanted to preserve them. Powder the dried greens and dry with salt for a celery salt.
Tomatoes– 3.5 lbs per member. We grow a wide variety of tomatoes on the farm. Some are your standard red slicers, some are yellow slicers, a mix of roma tomatoes and also a variety of heirloom tomatoes. The heirlooms are all different shapes, sizes and colors. Heirlooms have a lot of ‘character’. They can be bumpy, have healed cracks, striping, and color variations. We pick tomatoes with any kind of a ‘blush’. Once a tomato has a blush they will ripen just fine if allowed to sit out on the countertop at room temperature. Do not refrigerate tomatoes unless they are getting over-ripe and you need to buy yourself time to use them up. We need to pick them slightly under-ripe so they can handle the shipment to you.
Cherry Tomatoes- .4 lbs per member. The cherry tomatoes are just picking up now. We should be able to give larger and larger quantities as the tomato season progresses. We are giving them in small paper bags to reduce our plastic usage. The plastic clam-shells are also expensive. There may be weeks when we need to use the clamshells though.
Peppers- 1-2 Sweet peppers per member. We try to only pick peppers with color. Many of them are either red, yellow or purple this week. We are growing this new variety of purple peppers this year! Tell us what you think of them!
Next Week’s Best Guess: cucumbers, zucchini and summer squash, sweet corn, melons, napa cabbage?, tomatoes, pepper, onion, garlic, green beans.
Recipes-
Salmon with Fennel, Bell Peppers and Olives
