Happy August, everyone!
August always marks a turning point for me on the farm. In the early mornings, the sky is still dark, and the air has a coolness to it. The evenings come earlier as well. But in the middle of the day, it's hot and the cicadas are singing in unison. My arms are stinging from zucchini leaves, tomatoes are ripe on branches, and the sky is a cloudless blue. In the middle of the day, it is high summer. But those edges of the day are telling a different story. August is the midway point (of the harvest season, that is - it's more like the end of the second third of the actual growing season). Fall crops have been planted, and harvesting takes up more of our time than field work. We start reflecting on what has worked and what hasn't, and like the hopeful optimistic farmers we are (have to be), putting our thoughts to next year. But sometimes we have to put those thoughts to rest, and sit out under that summer sun and enjoy the juicy refreshing taste of a field cucumber.
An Ode to Misfit Cucumbers
Lets talk cucumbers. Misfit cucumbers. Oddball cucumbers. Crooked and chubby cucumbers. This is what are cucumbers are like this year. We don't really know why. It could be fertility issues, it could be lack of water. It's a puzzle we'd like to figure out but the reality is what is is - our cucumbers are a bit weird this year. This is always the case with one or two (or more) crops throughout the season. We aren't (collectively) used to seeing "weird" vegetables, because the grocery store is the filter through which we usually see vegetables, and over the years the standard for the grocery store has become "perfect, homogenized"... which is not an accurate representation of life. Life is varied, life is diverse, life is weird! Because of the standards set by the wholesaling and grocery industry, we have sacrificed flavour and variety for a shallow sense of visual perfection and sameness. The wonderful thing about local farming, and getting the support of members like yourselves, is that we don't have to throw away vegetables that don't fit one particular set of standards. And you don't have to eat beautiful tomatoes that taste like nothing, or cucumbers that have the flavour of water. So, yes, our cucumbers may be fat and round and tapered at the ends. But I challenge you to find a beautiful straight grocery store cucumber that has the sweetness and juiciness of ours. Embrace the weird, and you might be surprised at what you find.
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What's Coming Up...
Beans! They are so close, we should be swimming in them soon. Finger crossed for next week.
Extras
This week and going forward, you can purchase as extras...
Garlic Braids - hang these in your kitchen, or a dry place with a bit of light, and they will cure for you to last the winter (or until you eat them!). We love to give these as gifts because they are so pretty and unique and rustic!
Fermented Garlic Scapes - Sarah from Green Door Gardens (https://www.facebook.com/heirloomtomatoesandherbs/) has made our remaining garlic scapes into fermented pickled scapes! So yummy.
Thanks everyone for a great 9 weeks so far! Hope you all enjoyed your holiday weekend.
- Farmer Kim
