Tomato Time
“Working with living creatures, both plant and animal, is what makes agriculture different from any other production enterprise. Even though a product is produced, in farming the process is anything but industrial. It is biological. We are dealing with a vital, living system rather than an inert manufacturing process. The skills required to manage a biological system are similar to those of the conductor of an orchestra. The musicians are all very good at what they do individually. The role of the conductor is not to play each instrument, but rather to nurture the union of the disparate parts. The conductor coordinates each musician's effort with those of all the others and combines them in a harmonious whole. Agriculture cannot be an industrial process any more than music can be.” - Eliot Coleman
After the hottest week (really though, we drank CVS's entire supply of gatorade I think), we are all ready for some cooler, less humid weather. It's full on Summer in the fields but in our greenhouse it is Fall and Winter. Our greenhouse is packed with all our delicious Fall crops, with more to be seeded every week. We grow greens throughout the Winter (kale, spinach, salad greens, etc) to have at our Winter markets and are expanding our offerings this year. Hopefully we find enough time to get them all planted! All of the delicious Spring crops have been taken out of the fields, we've removed irrigation, turned in the beds, and this week we begin the long process of transplanting all the Fall goodness. Before we know it the nights will be cool and crisp again, the storage carrots will sweeten up and we'll be getting Broccoli once more. We're excited to offer 'one cut' kale during the Summer, starting this week. We've been picking from our Spring kale crop and you've probably noticed the taste and texture change as the weather warmed and the days got longer. We're experimenting with a one cut type of kale for the hot Summer months and it is as tender as the early Spring kale was. I've been packing it into my smoothies and couldn't be happier with how it turned out. Slight break from carrots this week, but they'll be back next week! We're all finally harvesting enough tomatoes to have them for all our members. So thrilled to share them with you all. Our preparation for tomatoes begins in December when we place our seed order. In early February we seed the tomatoes in the greenhouse. They go out into protected tunnels in late April to avoid frost damage. We prune and trellis them like crazy, every week up until they either die from disease or the first frost comes. The tomatoes you will be eating come from plants that are already about 10 feet tall. This week tomato season begins and I know so many of you are pumped for it. We've even got some basil to go along with it for a beautiful caprese salad (just add mozzarella!). Rainy day harvest crew
Hot, sweaty, and tired after a long potato harvest
Dixie is ready for harvest morning
Evening chantarelle foraging
Getting another line of trellis on all the peppers, eggplant, and tomatoes
Share Options This Week Bell Peppers- 1 point/ 2 peppers Italian Eggplant- 1 point/pound Asian Eggplant- 1 point/ 3/4 pound Scallions- 1 point/bunch Spring Onions- 1 point/bunch Kale - 1 point/bunch Chard- 1 point/bunch Red Potatoes- 1 point/ pound Romaine- 1 point/head Kohlrabi- 1 point/ 1.5 pounds Slicing Cucumbers- 1 point/pound Kirby Cucumbers- 2 points/quart Parsley- 1 point/bunch Basil- 1 point/bunch Fresh Garlic- 1 point/ each Celery- 1 point/head Mushrooms- 2 points/pint Beets- 1 point/pint Green Cabbage- 2 points/each Cherry Tomatoes- 2 points/pint Heirloom Tomatoes- 1 point/pound Green Beans- 2 points/quart
