This past week we watched an abrupt shift happen, as a few cool nights brought light frosts and some of our outdoor summer plants took a hit. Though we're in a warmer spot of the area, we seem to get frosts as early as the rest, even though it doesn't get as cold because frost settles into our little valley. It only hit 37 degrees, most plants didn't even notice (although we did as we had to wait for them to thaw to harvest them), but squash are a bit moody when it gets chilly. Luckily we had a great winter squash growing season, for once, and many fruits are set and we don't mind the plants dying back, that means we get to harvest them all the sooner!
What we really noticed was a drastic slowing of ripening zucchini and tomatoes, meaning we're going to have smaller quantities of these crops now, until we ultimately remove them to replant for winter. You'll see boxes shifting to fewer fruits over the next few weeks (though peppers are still pumping!) and we return to more greens and roots-- just in time for comfort food season.
This week we're excited to offer you gorgeous early fall Arugula and Spinach, as well as the first of our shallots. Greens get all the more delicious this time of year, and we hope you'll sense the beginning of the fall sweetness that increases as temps drop. Fall Fennel is making glorious reappearance, a great oven-roasting add-in! We've also still got plenty of Strawberries to share, as they don't mind a little cooling down either!
Bulk Bags of Basil for Pesto making are also available to add on!
We hope you're enjoying the seasonal shift, be it the weather or back to school time, and hope that you'll enjoy some earlier evenings in the kitchen preparing and enjoying good, local, homemade food!
Your Farmers,
Ashley, Caleb and the Sungrounded Crew
