This Week in Your Box …..
Bell Peppers: My green Bell Pepper variety is called California Wonder. I’ve tried many varieties but this is just a reliable producer of large peppers. The first cut is always a bit smaller. If you grow bell peppers, you’ll notice that a single pepper grows upside down in the middle of the plant. Be sure to cut this one out first. It will help the other peppers grow larger. These peppers also get sunburned easily in the late summer sun so some shade cover is needed. This is labor intensive for me so I simply grow it next to something else (basil usually) which shades the peppers and also repels undesired bugs.
Yellow Bulb Onions: The Alisa Craig onions are just about done curing so you can order these by the lb. Some are small and others are large so I’ll just weigh them as I pack them. These are sold by the pound and most average about half a pound each.
Cantaloupes: There are two types of cantaloupes available this week and both are in limited supply. The Hearts of Gold look real nice this week and a new variety called Sweet Granite is really interesting tasting. It definitely tastes like a cantaloupe but it seems to have a slight banana flavor in there too. No one believed me so I passed some around and everyone said, “You’re right! Or That’s Weird”.
Watermelon: I harvested the first melon to make sure they are ripe and was really pleased. It was perfectly ripe and juicy. There are three kinds of watermelons this season so you my get any one of these: Sugar Baby, New Orchid or Arava. These are all personal size melons but are quite big for personal size in my assessment. Bring a helper to carry your box if you are ordering melons and potatoes. Don’t be caught off guard by the New Orchid . . . it has an orange flesh that is described as sherbet like. The Arava looks like a cantaloupe on the outside, has extra sweet green flesh on the inside, but is considered a watermelon. The Sugar baby is a traditional red flesh watermelon.
Red Jasper Cherry Tomatoes: They just keep a comin’!
Tomatoes Heirloom: A variety of heirloom tomatoes are ripening now. Due to a water shortage, I’ve had to cut back on watering so they are smaller than I would like, but they are packed with flavor. I am mixing varieties of Amish Paste, Orange Jazz, Green Zebra, Early Girl and San Marzano.
Note: The Green Zebra heirlooms are ripe when they exhibit some yellow with green striping. Extraordinary zingy taste. My absolute favorite.
Cucumbers: Choose from Lemon, Marketmore (green) and Armenian (burpless). The green marketmore cucumbers are just about done producing and the Armenian cucumbers are just getting started but definitely don’t produce the volume like the Marketmore.
This Armenian is big as a baseball bat.
Basil: Lots and Lots of Basil: Bunches of 6 stems. This is a good time to make some pesto and preserve it either in ice cube trays for single use servings, canned or frozen in larger batches.
New Potatoes: I’m slowly working through the potato harvest. This week we dug up the Yukon Gold Gems. You may coose between the Yukon Golds, Norland Red and Kennebec White. Each is a 2lb bag.
Note: The Norland red’s came out quite knobby shaped this year. Since the soil, fertilizing and watering was the same for all potatoes, I was curious as to why this happened primarily to the red potatoes. Some research revealed that this occurs when there is a varied temperature from day to night which causes the potato to start and stop growing continuously making it knobby shaped. We have had many days that reached 90+ F and then dropped to the 50s at night. I have removed the ones with holes and scars, but if you cut them open and find any rotten spots, PLEASE let me know so I can replace them or provide you a credit. Daily Blessings Farm prides itself on providing exceptional quality produce. Sometimes Mother Nature plays a mean trick, but I don't have any way to know until you cut open your potato.
Jalapeno Peppers: I am admiring just how beautiful these are as I pick them.
Shishito Peppers: This giant producer just keeps coming. The plants are falling over so heavily ladened with fruit. If you’d like a bulk order, please email me at dailyblessingsfarmLLC@gmail.com. They make wonderful pepperoncini peppers.
Broccoli: Just a couple small heads left of the green Belstar. I’m afraid the aphids have moved into the purple sprouting broccoli. The chickens are getting most of this variety unfortunately. I have dusted the plants with wood ashes but then the flowerettes are so yucky with ashes and aphids they aren’t worth all the trouble cleaning them to eat it.
Bunching Onions: Lots of nice bunches are made up of the white and purple green onions.
Summer Squash: The powdery mildew has moved in. It happens every summer despite selecting resistant, organic varieties. As a result, I have to remove and bag up all the plant matter covered in spores to limit the spread throughout the field. This must be done carefully as it only takes a slight bump of the foliage for all the spores to fall onto another plant or be carried down the row by the wind. I have to fold each leaf up and then roll it up before putting it in a big garbage bag. Then in the fall, I will burn these leaves to kill the pathogen. This is really the only way to get rid of the spores. If you put the plant matter in your compost, all those spores will grow and get turned into your soil when you till in your compost. Choose this week from limited supply of zucchini, crookneck, or scallop Y star squash this week.
Red Beets: The beets are really getting big. These are perfect for pickling and canning now. I’m bagging a 2 lb bag this week without tops. You can order tops separately if you’d like the greens too.
Orange Beets: Found some more Touchstone Orange Beets while removing all the cauliflower roots. They were growing under the shade of the massive cauliflower leaves. These beets are generally small and tender.
Beet Tops: Just the tops. GREAT for juicing! SO many nutrients.
Swiss Chard: I’m just picking the best leaves for your boxes this week. Limited supply of chard bunches for those of you looking for nutrient dense greens.
Pears: These Bartlett pears are from our old orchard with is over 50 years old and originated here when my family purchased the property in 1972. They only receive seasonal water so they are snack size but delicious none the less.
Extras:
1. Eggs
2. Garlic Basil Pesto: 8 oz container made with garlic scapes, basil and cashews. I have frozen it so give it a stir when you get it home.
3. Soothing Salve for your skin: I find so much relief from all this hand washing and skin irritation with this homemade salve recipe.
4. Dried Pepper Flakes made from my own mixture of dried Poblano, red and green bell, hot padrone and paprika peppers
5. Flower Bouquets from Pistil Farm: Corinne is back on our menu this week with her seasonal bouquets of flowers from her farm. Enjoy!
6. Strawberries - this week is a special 3 pints for $10.
What’s Happening on the Farm?
Special thanks to those of you who came for the U-Pick weekend special. That really helps the plants keep producing and it makes me feel good knowing it’s not all going to waste when I can’t keep up with the harvesting. As long as I can maintain food safety protocols, avoid plant damage and share the harvest fairly, I hope to offer it again.
I’m happy to report, I’ve had very little waste this year and much of that is due to you and your produce orders. On occasion, I donate to local food bank distribution channels if the produce is still good to eat. One of my business goals is to make fresh, organic produce more accessible to low income families so I only share it if it’s good quality. If you know of a family in need, please let me know. If the produce isn’t nice enough to eat myself, then the deer, wildlife and my chickens get to eat it. The chickens are looking at me lately like, “What ??? more squash? Bring me the lettuce!” and then they walk away to find a shady spot. What I find interesting is that they always eat the seeds first which have more protein than the fruit flesh.
The yellow onions have been hanging up to cure and are ready for you to order this week. I hope you enjoy them. Some varieties have names that don’t describe flavor like this week’s Alisa Craig onion. When you see these kinds of variety names, they are typically named after the breeder who created them. You know onions are ready to harvest when the stems start to fall over and the bulbs rise above the ground.
The ornamental corn is done and I’m harvesting ears, folding back the husks with a rubber band and lay them out to dry. These will be used for fall décor. I like to make door swags with them. Please email me if you’d like to attend a little class on how to do this…. Maybe in October or early November.
I’m also harvesting the dry beans. I planted two kinds: Orca beans, sometimes called Ying Yang, Calypso, or Vaquero beans because they are half white and half black and little black beans. Although Orca beans are grown in the Pacific NW, they are native to the Caribbean. They are a good source of fiber, iron and pack 10g of protein per serving. The plants are pulled from the ground, bean pods removed from the plant and laid out on screens to dry. When I can’t work outside, I will shell these and package them for sale, but they will need to dry awhile before I can do that. Look for these in the fall farm share boxes and next spring season.
I need to make more hand salve. Would anyone be interested in watching a demonstration?
It’s time to think about fall too. Today I ordered fruit trees which won’t produce for a couple years. I try to add a few new trees each year. This winter I will plant Bosc and Comice Pear, Harcot and Chinese Apricots, and Jiro’ Fuyu Persimmon. If you are looking for varieties to order, make sure they are appropriate for Zone 8b (that’s us).
Want to know a secret? The coveted “Riviera Pear” sold at Harry and David’s is a Comice pear.
How do you know when a pear is ripe? “Check the Neck” – gently press the flesh around the stem. When it starts to feel soft, the flesh inside is juicy and ripe. Ready to eat. This doesn’t appy to Bosc or Asian pears however which are crunchy pears.
This week I’ll continue harvesting onions including New York early, Walla Walla, shallots and leeks. Some need to cure, others don’t.
Blessings,
Carrie
