In the box:
Heirloom Tomatoes
Cherry Tomatoes
Melon (Honey gold, cantaloupe, or water)
Green Top Beets
Green Bell Peppers (with signs of turning red)
Mini-bell colored sweet peppers (many more to come!)
Jimmy Nordelo Sweet Frying Peppers (multi-colored long)
Sweet Corn
Fresh Garlic
Japanese and Rosa Bianca Eggplant
Onions
Jalapeño Peppers
Cucumbers (Slicer and Pickling)
Yellow Zucchini, Patty Pan Squash & Zephyr Squash
Green Beans
Green Cabbage or Broccoli
Rainbow Chard, Collard Greens or Dino Kale
Herbs:
Basil
Parsley
Sage
Thai Basil
Thyme
Rosemary
Oregano
Dill
This week each box will receive two melons. Normally we would try and limit it to one each, but we have many ripe melons and many folks sharing boxes, so we are hoping this is okay with you. Barring bad weather we should be looking at 2-3 more weeks of melons.
We have a new batch of sweet corn this week from our later planting. This corn is less affected by the hail storms and is drop dead gorgeous. It is bi-colored and our taste test today revealed it to be oh-so sweet. Please enjoy within a day or two of getting your box as sweet corn quickly loses its sweetness off the stalk.
We continue to have mixed success with our tomatoes. It looks as though there will be 2-3 weeks left of them as well, but the rain has caused a significant amount of die back and some bottom rot. We have re-trellised every plant as they have started falling over from the ground moisture and weight. Occasionally we are finding ourselves needing to pick some before they are fully ripe to avoid bug damage from being close to the ground. All told, 5-6 weeks of yummy heirloom tomatoes and cherry tomatoes isn’t bad.
The bell peppers (mini and regular) are just starting to turn. The mini bell were a member favorite last year as they add lovely color and delicious flavor to whatever you are making. We have loads of pepper plants and cannot wait to share. Our hot peppers are nearly ready. Be sure to read descriptions next week to avoid being surprised by some very spicy peppers.
A check on the winter squash and pumpkin patch show them to be handling the stress of this summer quite well over all. These beauties will hopefully fill out the last weeks of your season with butternut, honey bear, delicate, spaghetti squash, and pie pumpkins. Keep your fingers crossed that they continue to thrive.
Additionally, we have planted late poc choi, napa cabbage, lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, and radishes. These will tentatively be in late boxes, but this will depend largely on the weather. We continue to receive much higher than average rainfall coupled with sometimes down right uncomfortable heat. Some plants dig this, most don’t. Luckily we are blessed with very fertile soil that helps things do well in general. This is our hope.
Other late season produce includes eating and baking apples, lots of carrots, celery, parsnips, and brussel sprouts. These should start appearing in the next couple of weeks.
For the bad news, our potato crop has not held up well to the excessive rain. This really bums us out because just like potatoes are one of our favorite items, we know they are yours as well. We don’t have any fancy equipment to dig them and currently do it all by hand. This is lots of work when you are digging for 15+ families and the wet, heavy soil has made it back breaking. We are looking at a forecast this week of dry, windy weather. If this happens we will be taking our chances and pulling a plow though the rows. Yep, this is bound to damage some taters; but we are hoping it will allow us to have a decent amount to share from next week on. We will keep you posted.
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