Don’t worry about us, folks! The farm is surviving the storms! In case you haven’t heard or your micro-climate was not getting the weather the farm was getting, we received about 6 inches of rain between Wednesday and Friday. It was the beginning of a very mucky garlic harvest on Thursday while continuing to pull garlic in the rain on Friday morning and afternoon.
The major damage from the ‘flood’, hail and high winds were the tender onion plants taking a beating and looking pretty roughed up, some broken branches and plants in the Pepper patch and the leaning of the poor sweet corn that keeps getting knocked down, but miraculously stands back up to the fight every time! We also had a few fallen trees in our yard, topsoil loss and branches scattered everywhere in the yard around our home. Quite the winds on our Ridgetop here!
Despite the storms, we were able to begin the garlic harvest on the farm. We were pulling muddy root-balls out of the ground fairly easily, slowly and steadily. The farm smells like garlic for a mile around as we trim the stalks and leaves in the field and through the process of breaking all of those plant cell walls in the slicing and trimming, there is a lot of garlic juice in the air. We fill bins of semi-cleaned garlic stems and stack them in blocks in the greenhouse to allow the garlic to “cure”. Garlic needs a minimum of three weeks to cure in a dry and well-ventilated area in order to dry down properly for storage.
Amidst the garlic push, we are keeping up with our every-other day harvests like cucumbers and summer squash. Cucumber harvest is hitting with a bang we’re harvesting literally truck-loads of beautiful cucumbers. We’re getting a short reprieve from the every-other-day broccoli harvest. Fall Carrots have germinated nicely and we’re even starting to seed some of our fall spinach already. The crew has been keeping up with the transplanting of fall brassicas like fall broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and kohlrabi. Never a dull moment on the farm! 
We’re trellising tomatoes and waiting patiently and anxiously as the plants blossom, set fruit and swell. Some tomato varieties have loads of green tomatoes already hanging all over them. We’re still a few weeks away from the beginning of tomato harvest though-it’s a painful waiting period, I know! Even the poor pepper plants-that much prefer a sunny, hot and dry growing climate have been toughing out all of this wind and rain and have small green peppers and blossoms all over them. Sweet bell peppers might be my personal favorite summer time vegetable!
The farmer’s bodies are tired and weary. We’re getting sleep, and barely enough some nights. I am constantly worried about Adam so that he is eating enough food and drinking enough water. Farmer Adam is shouldering the weight of the strict vegetable farm harvest, planting and cultivating schedule these days. He is the orchestrator of this symphony of food that we are experiencing these days. But don’t worry, I’m taking good care of him! We hope you’re enjoying the bounty!
Green Quickstart Cabbage- Another head of gorgeous green cabbage per member this week. Coleslaw, egg rolls, borscht?
Green Top Beets- We call them “Green-Top” beets because we harvest them with their greens still on them. The greens are deliciously edible and can be used like swiss chard or kale in your cooking. We found these beets to be wonderufuly sweet! Enjoy!
Summer Squash and Zucchini- About 4 squash per member this week. The plants are still producing heavily and steadily, so no fear of summer squashes leaving us just yet;)
Cucumbers- Holy Moley! 9-10 cucumbers per member this week! Wow! The cucumber production is in high gear and we’re loving every moment of it! We’ve been missing this alkalizing, cooling and watery plant for all of those long, cold months of winter. Eat as many cucumbers as you can so you don’t miss them when they’re gone again!
Green Curly Kale- I think my life is a little cherrier because I have kale in it. Have you ever thought about what life would be like without kale? Just not the same! So we’re offering this to kale to keep you cheery and healthy and happy! Kale chips are an easy, fun and simple way to get kale into the bellies of your family members if you struggle with this one.
Celery- Yes, gorgeous, succulent celery that finally puts California celery to shame. This stuff is GREEN folks! And it has flavor! Local celery has a bad rap for being a little tougher, greener, leafier and having a stronger celery flavor. But I’m going to ask you think about this vegetable in a whole new way. We’re not pumping it full of water like they do in California, it is grown locally (and that’s a big one!), and it is grown in nutrient rich soils on a farm you know and love. Also, the greens can be used in soups, stocks, salads or however you can get creative with them. Local celery does have a stronger celery flavor than California celery, but let’s view that as a ‘plus’ for local celery, and not a ‘negative’! We had “Aunts on a Log” for a snack a couple times aleady this week! Have fun!
Red leaf or Green Leaf Lettuce- One tender and beautiful head of lettuce per member this week. Keeping the greens a coming;)
Green Onions- The green onions are coming to an end, so we may start giving regular onions next week.
Flat Leaf Parsley- Parsley for our herb offering this week. Parsley is so versatile, you could sneak a little of it into amost any dish for flavor and a health boost.
Green Garlic- Freshly plucked out of the earth after a nine month slumber, these sleepy garlics are still waking up, or are just being born! Fresh, raw garlic like this has a thick, juicy membrane around each clove of garlic that is surprisingly thick. After garlic has been cured it has a paper-thin layer around each clove, but this garlic is still very fresh and new. We tried to pretty them up a bit for you so they look shiney and white. The plants grow to be a few feet tall, but we cut them down before curing. Enjoy!
Next Week’s Best Guess- Summer Squash and Zucchini, Cucumbers, Pickling Cucumbers, garlic, celery, carrots, green onions or onion, broccoli or cauliflower, lettuce, collards, and maybe a few asian eggplants ready to share, curly parsley.
Recipes-
Cucumber and Celery Salad with Tuna
