So, if I'm counting right, this is week 13 of the CSA. That's half the 26 week season! In summer super busy, hot time, we don't have much time to look up and see where we stand, but It's good to take stock of the situation. So how's the season been for you? I hope you aren't burned out on veggies as we've got a whole lot more to come! We're already planting for fall now. Fall round one of Napa cabbage heads and broccolini are in the ground. We're being vigilant with the shade and irrigation for these guys in the heat. It might be touch and go for this early planting because of the heat, disease pressure and bug pressure this time of year. Keep your fingers crossed so we can have an extra early dose of these cool season crops. Otherwise, we'll have to wait until the second wave several weeks behind them. I sure hope they make it because: 1) they're mighty tasty and 2) I hate to have all that work go down the tubes.
More tomatoes this week as our main outdoor planting is starting to ripen, however ever since that 8" rainfall a while back, the plants have been succumbing to disease. One of the biggest reasons why we love our high tunnels (greenhouses) is we can regulate water and prevent a lot of foliar diseases caused by wet weather. It's sad to say that many of these plants are not doing well and won't be yielding anything like they should. I hate that because I know how much everyone loves those 'maters! We do have a second round of plants that went in after that storm and look really good but they're at least a month out.
Anyway, the greenhouse tomatoes will keep producing all summer so we'll have those but we just don't have the greenhouse space to provide ample tomatoes from there alone. Obviously, we need to build another greenhouse to remedy that situation!
I tell you what are really liking this heat are the spicy peppers and the pole beans! You can see where the idea for Jack and the Beanstalk came from! Those vines grow a foot a day I bet! I can't build a trellis tall enough to reach the giant but hopefully it'll be strong enough to hold the beans! The first yellow beans will be coming this week but only a small portion as most of the rows aren't yielding yet.
This week we are debuting a product from our dairy farmer friend David Hemme. You've been enjoying his cheeses for several weeks now. Vegans can ignore this but he's been raising heritage hogs this year and he's been milking them to produce an amazing new pig-cheese...OK just kidding about milking them, but he's been feeding the pigs with the whey (the leftover milk stuff after making cheese) from his own cows and cheesemaking processes. Whey an amazing complete protein rather than the typical grain that is an incomplete protein. Does it carry over into the flavor? I don't know, but they are delicious! What we love about it is that he's using a waste product to produce wonderful food. He's turned these into bratwurst that you'll find available in the extras if you are interested. We cooked up a batch and they are amazing. So if you are planning on doing some grilling, consider these.
Thanks for supporting your local farmers! We definitely appreciate you! 2020 has been a crazy year so far (can you believe we're only halfway through?), but we can take comfort in the little things. We hope you've been able to incorporate a bit of our farm into the new routines that make up daily life; with all the uncertainty out there, we hope it's nice to know where your food is coming from. We certainly appreciate knowing where each and every cucumber and cherry tomato will be going each week! Thanks for making us part of our life!
Dave and Sheri
