This Week’s Harvest
Tomatoes
Sungold Cherry Tomatoes
Cucumber (last of the year!)
Candy Onions
Sweet Peppers
Summer Squash and Zucchini
Potatoes
Golden, Chioggia, and Red Beet Medley
Green Beans
Okra (This crop will make its way to all the pick up sites over the course of the season. This week it is going to Kettering East and Kettering West pick up sites)
Cantaloupe (This crop will make its way to all the pick up sites over the course of the season. This week it is going to Kettering East Pick up site)
Berry Share: Blackberries from Berryhill Farm in Xenia and Peaches from Downing Fruit Farm in New Madison
Crop Report:
Did you know that green bell peppers are just unripened red, yellow or orange peppers? And sweet peppers aren’t just bell peppers–they can be long and skinny or long and fat. We are growing red bell peppers and a yellow and a red variety of a long and fat sweet pepper. We pick the peppers when they start to get color, so you’ll notice they are red and green. These are sweeter then solid green peppers, but not as sweet as solid red peppers.
Some crops do not produce enough for them to be distributed to everyone. Over the course of the season we will try to get okra, cantaloupe, and tomatillos to each pick up site at least once.
This is the last week for cucumbers! While we wish we could grow this crop until frost, the cucumber beetles say otherwise. We just can’t get any production after July from old plantings and new plantings never get established before disease and chew marks take over. We hope you enjoyed them! They were especially sweet this year!
And while this week’s harvest includes the end of some crops, it also includes the start of new crops! Some you may notice a rather different looking tomato in your box–the heirlooms are starting to ripen! The first to come on are the Stripped Germans, a large marbled red and yellow tomato. They start off yellow–wait for the red streaking to become pronounced before eating. There weren’t enough for all the boxes this week, but soon everyone will get to taste this summertime treat.
Field Report:
Planting season continues as we get all of our fall crops in the ground. We have planted brussel sprouts, beets, cabbages, broccoli and cauliflower, swiss chard, kale and much more. At the end of the month we will start seeing greens back in the box starting with kale, bok choi and mustard greens.
This dry weather means Ben has been out weeding on our mechanical cultivator several times already so the beds are nice and weed free. It also means he spending several hours on irrigation! We are ready for more rain!
There is so much to be done this time of year–the to do is endless and it never gets 100% completed. We just do the best we can and get really good at prioritizing. Speaking of which, I don’t have time this week to find recipes! But you can get inspiration from fellow CSA members at Farm Fresh Feasts and our CSA member Facebook page! Some of the yummy things members are creating include a veggie hummus plate, Szechuan eggplant, and gazpacho! Bon appetit!