Coming out of a 5 inch rain deficit this spring, we have swung to a flood stage, with over 12 inches of excess precipitation in the past 2 weeks. While we can, and we have, invested in ways to mitigate as many of these climatic swings as best we can, ultimately we can't turn off the rain and are forced to deal with the ramifications eventually. We choose crops and plant varieties that are as resilient as possible, but there are some diseases that are not easily managed through organic methods. After being inundated for a week with rain and standing water, many (but not all!) of the pepper and squash plants have succumbed to Phytophthora diseases, which are spread quickly in such conditions and can quickly kill the plants from the roots up.
We will continue to harvest as much as we can from these crops but we expect them to have a shortened life span for the season, and it is far too late to attempt replanting, as these crops were started as seeds in the greenhouse back in March and April. Summer squash seeds are still being replanted though and have a good chance of bringing in later crops this season, as long as the weather remains cooperative between now and then.
It's not all bad news though, as we have a great crop of carrots coming in this week; the earliest we have ever been able to produce carrots on our farm! Summer carrots aren't always as sweet as those produced in the fall, but they are still quite delicious!
And we have plenty of cabbages coming in that may need the outer leaves peeled, but are juicy and tender through the heads. There's still a few greens out there and we expect to have lettuce back on the list soon. While lettuce does not generally thrive in the heat of midsummer, we have cultivated some heat-tolerant varieties that are getting closer to harvest time. We are drying and sorting the garlic crop now and may have heads available this week. The eggplant continue to produce nicely and the tomatoes are getting so much closer to ripening! We plan to harvest some green ones this week that you can experiment with ripening at home or just enjoy in a tasty green tomato recipe. 
Some of the produce you receive today has been rinsed from the field, but like all fresh produce, should be thoroughly washed and often, refrigerated by you at home.
The weekly Pinterest page for the farm has plenty of recipes too.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS SUMMER, AS YOU ARE PACKING YOUR OWN CUSTOMIZED SHARES, WE WELCOME YOU TO BRING YOUR OWN BAGS AND BOXES!
