Over the many years I have spent cultivating vegetables I have come to believe that everyone of them possess a personality that is their own.
For example, lettuce is your fair weather friend. She is flush and green until the weather needle moves to anthing that might be extreme and then she quickly stresses and bolts. Eggplant, with her velvet purple skin and unique shape posesses a sensually exotic presence with an air of 'je ne sais quoi'. Conversely, there is the faithful potato. Alas, buried deep in the soil, not pretty but a reliable staple. Casting an eye over the field, there is the socially uninhibited zucchini who will freely pollinate with anything it would seem. There is the thristy celery and of course the Ironwoman herself, kale, who will go the entire distance of the season and well past into freeze up. I could go on :-)
One of the perennial faves is the tomato. She is the drama queen of the field for sure and with a very well placed sense of self-esteem it could be added.
"I am so thirsty..oh my god..I am dying here... (three drops of rain) oh, ok, I am doing just fine now thank you. See what I am producing?
Pausing to admire herself.
"It is so beautiful what I do! Everyone just loves me" Her delicate leaves dancing delightfully in the summer sun, "Good luck being meee potato" she taunts.
Also, each season has a different star it seems. When the conditions are just perfect for one vegetable or another and it just flourishes and becomes the standout. Unfortunately, the opposite is also true. Where there is a ying, there is also a yang. Nature's balance. There is always something that becomes infested or diseased or just for some reason or another didn't get what she needed to really become who she was meant to be.
Saddly, this season, our tomatoes in particular have fallen into this category. Too much rain, not enough heat and her fruit remained small and green. It didn't help either that the ravenous hornworm came and decided to roost. The tomato plant is actually, contrary to what she would tell you, is very resiliant. We spent three unplanned days removing the pests and thought we would still have a late...but good harvest. Unfortunately, the bacterial blight had different agenda and after one or two really good rains, moved with the wind through the field effectively harming much of the fruit. We walked the field with our Agrologist who determined it would be best to harvest everything that wasn't yet damaged. So days have been spent picking boxes upon boxes of green, unripened tomatoes. These have been brought into the trailer and they have been lined with apples and bananas that naturally emit ethelyne and tarped.
We know this is dissappointing news. It is a heavy hit for the farm as this is one of our cash crops. So please keep fingers crossed and favorite recipies near at hand as there is still a hope. Everything depends on the temperature now.
This week's share is showcasing a few of the early fall faves. We are taking our first run at potatoes to see what lays under the ground awaiting the light of day. The plants looked great so hoping we get a good catch. There are leeks to go with them and voted most likely to become an alien, kohlrabi is in the mix. There is also the nutty flavoured celeriac or celery root, kaleidoscope coloured chard and redbor kale which is not only very pretty it has a delightfully light crunch to it as well.
This is just week 10 so there is much to choose from as you customize your share.
Enjoy.
~Michael
