Good morning! We hope you are safe and well after this weekend's localized flash flooding. Richmond bore the brunt of it this year, getting 4 inches of rain in a short period of time. We are reflecting on the fact that exactly one year ago Chesterfield was seeing multiple road closures and water rescues. We are enormously grateful that here at the farm we only got about 45 minutes of hard rain, sparing the newly planted baby plants from most damage. We've seeded 3,800 row feet of carrots in the past couple of weeks and 4 inches of rain would have been disastrous for that crop, washing away the upper part of the field and burying the seeds planted in the lower part of the field. This is one reason we maximize living roots in the soil -- Living roots hold soil in place! Carrots need to be seeded in bare soil, however, so the early days of germination and growth are a vulnerable time.
Pictured above is Dan transplanting turnips at record speed Saturday afternoon before the skies completely opened up and it was raining so hard that it was hard to see for those of us not wearing a hat to keep the rain out of our eyes! (That was me, Janet! Oops.) He's using a Japanese paperpot transplanter, which is a nifty tool that we use for some crops. (We posted a video of this on Facebook and Insta if you want to see it in action.) The black plastic tarps to the left and right are smothering weeds (instead of using herbicide, which is what 99% of farms in Virginia do to kill weeds before planting a crop!) in advance of the next crop going in.
Also before the rains poured down, Watermelons needed to get harvested. No one took a photo, but I (Janet) harvested all 300 pounds by myself after the regular work day had ended, for which I'm quite proud. But -- we were hoping for a 900 pound harvest, so I'm sad to report that the yield on this last round of Watermelons is so much smaller than we'd hoped. They are listed in your options for today.
SAVE THE DATE: Farm Share Member Social will be Saturday, October 2nd from 3p-5p here at the farm. We'll have food and beverages - and door prizes! You're welcome to bring food to share if you'd like to showcase something you enjoy, but there's no obligation. We (Dan and Janet) will be here to meet you, match faces with names, answer any questions, and give a brief farm tour at 4:00. It's a lovely thing to visit the farm on a fall afternoon and soak in the surroundings! We hope you'll be able to visit where we've grown so much food for you this season!
Back to the Vegetables for this week: We have heads of Lettuce available for you this week, but August is the month with the least amount of salad greens. We encourage you to embrace "deconstructed" salads -- plates of chopped tomatoes, peppers, onions, garlic, and herbs. We love frittata for dinner this time of year, packed with vegetables (first photo, before adding eggs), and Tomato Pie is a huge treat (as it takes a lot longer to prepare! - second photo). The greens in both photos = Basil. The white diced vegetable in the first photo looks like white potato but it's actually Summer Squash.
BULK TOMATOES AND PEPPERS NOW AVAILABLE! - See special pricing for bulk quantities. Now's the time to preserve! (Or simply eat in great abundance!) We are canning crushed tomatoes right now, as well as roasting sweet peppers and preserving them in vinegar. Preserve the summer harvest for the cold months of the winter!
Vegetable Storage Reminder: keep Tomatoes and Eggplants OUT of the fridge. All GREENS and ROOTS need to be refrigerated in an AIR TIGHT bag or container to prevent going limp/wilty. If you're short on fridge space, you can also keep Peppers, Onions, Potatoes, Garlic, and Cucumbers (for a brief time) out of the fridge.
August HERB BOXES from Gathered Threads are amazing! The options are delicious and sumptuous! In the "Extras" section, choose from...
- Herbs for Body & Soul: Rejuvenation Face Serum | Tropical Storm ‘Patchouli’ Solid Perfume | Glowing Goddess Herbal Facial Steam | Basic Balm – Orange | Clary Sage Flower Essence
- Herbs for the Kitchen: Holy Basil & Rose Geranium Caramel Sauce | Creamy Italian Salad Dressing | 10 Herb Soup Seasoning | Yukari – Shiso Sea Salt | Lemongrass
- Herbs for Tea & Wellness: Cold Kicker Tea – Time to kick that cold! | Reali’tea’ – Uplifting & Cognitive Support | Lavender Lemonade Tea – Enjoy as a tea or as a component for your next Lemonade! | Cold Catcher Herbal Extract Kit | Vital Soup Seasoning
The delicious fermented vegetables listed here are also from Katherine at Gathered Threads. We've been making our own fermented/cultured vegetables for years, and hers are the most delicious we've ever tasted! Give them a try. Your taste buds and your gut flora will thank you. This month's options include:
And - There are now consistently EGGS available in the Extras!
Blessings on your meals ~
