A nostalgic time to be in the garden
A traditional summer garden harvest
It’s a nostalgic time to be in the garden, engaging the senses and prompting memories, reminding many of us of childhood with Grandma or Grandpa: the smell of dewy tomato bushes, the peel and squeak of shucking sweet corn, the snap of a string bean.
For our ninth CSA box of 2021, we’ll be sharing a traditional midwest summer garden haul consisting of the following crops:
Cherry Tomatoes and funky heirloom varieties as they’re ripe and available, Zucchini and Yellow Squash, Green and Purple tender beans, Mild Peppers, Hot Peppers including Jalapeno and Anaheim, Cucumbers, Onions, Herbs, Eggs, and Flowers. We will also be sharing our freshly foraged wild blackberries!
We couldn’t be more impressed with, or surprised by, our sweet corn’s recovery this week. While some patches are still reluctant to rise up, we are back to having an impressive and satisfying stand. Stalks are five to six feet tall and their ears are filling up plump with milky sweet kernels more and more by the day.
Our first summer squashes have arrived. Hundreds of Zucchini and Yellow Squash plants ought to be an adventure to keep up with!
We really prefer tiny, tender summer squashes but as their production becomes inevitably more challenging to pace, it’s more than likely we’ll have big old club zucchinis available too for members to grate and freeze for winter muffins, breads, and pancakes.
Our bean bed is taking off as well. We have three varieties with maturity dates offset by a couple of weeks. This week, we’ll mostly be sharing green and purple beans, with longer, waxier “Dragon Tongue” beans coming on a little later.
Like squash, we prefer to get to the beans when they’re young and tender. Though nothing will go to waste, discovering the occasional overlooked old timer bean pod is a reminder that we are nearing pickling and preservation season.
Speaking of pickles, cucumbers will continue to be included in shares as long as we can keep the vines healthy and the fruits off the ground. They are really enjoying the high temperatures and consistency of our hoop house. We are new to growing under plastic, and it has been fascinating to witness and experience.
We’ve been spending some time scratching up our legs and forearms in the brambles, hoping to gather enough wild blackberries to share with y’all and we think we may actually pull it off! We’ve been grooming our property to make these patches more accessible year after year and it seems to be working out.
Black raspberry season was short and less productive but our blackberry patches are thriving. We love throwing a cup of fresh berries into a mountain pudding. Don’t hesitate to share with us how you’re using your wild berries!
As we’ve shared before, our field tomatoes have had a hard time this year. While these rows aren’t as pretty as we’d hoped, there will be no shortage of cherry tomatoes and our heirloom varieties are slowly showing some color.
We will continue to distribute cherries and will share ripening medium and large fruits as they become available. If you happen to receive an unripe green tomato, consider slicing, breading, and frying it as is, or place it on a windowsill to ripen for a few days.
We are fortunate to be surrounded by this ecosystem of food and beauty. Thanks again shareholders and have a great week!
Erin & David