D&V Organics Week 9 CSA
It really starts feeling like summer when we start picking our first melons of the season, and by the end of last week, we had a small harvest of some specialty ananas melons and a decent harvest of some small watermelons. Although the Spring was long and cold, somehow the melons are coming out nearly on time...guess it's all the days we've had into the upper 80s and 90s. Our first planting of cantaloupes and specialty melons is very weedy and looks rough due to the cold temperatures it endured in May, but we should be able to get a decent harvest of cantaloupes out of it for the CSA this week. In addition, our earliest watermelon varieties are about to come into big harvest numbers this week, so we should be able to get those into all shares for those that are interested. For melons, we typically focus on growing for flavor. Each year we tend to stick to a few varieties that we are familiar with and have grown previously which have demonstrated both good yield and amazing flavor. When harvesting melons, specifically our specialty cantaloupes, galia, ananas and french charantais we tend to pick nearest to ripe for maximum flavor. The downside to picking ripe melons is a shortened shelf life, so if the melon is particularly aromatic, the melon should be consumed within a day or so. Watermelons don't have a particularly aromatic indicator of ripeness, but we tend to pick them pretty ripe out of the field, so they should be ready to eat. Refrigerating the melons prior to consumption helps to bring out some significant flavor profiles, Vicky and I have disagreed on this in the past, but I came over to her side last year and now prefer a chilled melon for the best flavor. This is a fun time of the year for the crew and us because we sample the melons (insert indulge) and share the joy of eating something so sweet and delicious.
This week's harvest list includes:
- Watermelon, mini red seeded
- Cantaloupe and Ananas melons
- Peppers, Shishito
- Tomato, red cherry and sungold
- Basil, sweet Italian and Thai
- Zucchini
- Cucumbers, Kirby
- Cabbage, red and green
- Kohlrabi
- Carrots, orange and purple
- Potatoes, Satina Gold and Red Gold
- Onions, Long of Tropea and Sweet White
Enjoy,
Derek & Vicky
