Melon harvest is always a satisfying task. 2 rummage through patch and toss the melons out the two other that gently catch the sugar balls and place them in the pallet bin. We count as we go in order to be sure we pull out enough perfect ones for the membership.
The September equinox is just around the corner here and in an odd turn of events, summer has decided she really wants to strut her stuff in the homestretch. A streak of 30 plus days in mid-September is not the norm around here. The "unique" 2020 theme continues.. what will Oct-Dec bring? Honestly this weather works quite well for us... plants are happy and tomatoes continue to turn. Melons that we were afraid weren't going to finish made a quick sprint to the finish line this year and made their way into boxes. The blasts of heat are short enough that fall Broc and Caulliflower don't seem to be stressing about the warmth. The farm is ok with this! < cue the snow > ha :) On a diversified vegetable farm it's pretty easy to find the advantages in any sort of weather turn. So many plants out there with so many different needs.
Veggie Box #12! Gazpacho or Kick ass Salsa box with an add of Escarole and Honeydew and celery... this box is stacked..
This weeks box has mostly familiar items a couple surprise items and even a disguised item! For starters.. let's talk disguised. That is not a lettuce! Have you already tried it and wondered "WTF?" ) This is an escarole. Escarole is from the Chicory family, same family as radicchio, endive, frisee etc. All of these bitters are very popular in other places on the planet but are just catching on here now. Humans taste sweet, sour, salty, savoury (umami) and bitter. As north Americans we apparently really haven't flexed and explored our bitter sense very much. We invite the membership to try every year with a chicory offering. We also make sure it comes alongside a "stacked" box so you have plenty of sweet to balance it. Please Google Escarole or check out Katherines cookwithwhatyouhave.com website and see what she's offering for advice. It looks like the potatoes and the escarole can work in a soup!? It's new to us too! The peppers in the box:
The long one: Carmen is a green sweet pepper that is sought after for it's thinner skin than a standard bell.
The shorter fatter one: The Poblano is a mild Chili with a slightly smokier or spicier taste than the Carmen. "While poblanos tend to have a mild flavor, occasionally and unpredictably they can have significant heat. Different peppers from the same plant have been reported to vary substantially in heat intensity."
and... a Jalapeno.. a necessary add on to nachos or salsa!
We did a quick video while packing the box to help as well!
Crew intros to some of the vegetables. :)
Nearly time to get all the potatoes out of the ground. We top kill the potatoes with a mower to encourage their skin to set and then we harvest them with the help of this digger.
Tomatoes are still rocking.. Heirlooms, slicers and cherries.
They know frost is just around the corner and need to get it done!
Whoah.. how did this happen?! 8 pound cauliflower! Hard to know what we did right to make this happen. We roasted it , and served it up like a thanksgiving cente rpiece. Main course for about 12 of us.
Laugh a lot .. Always. Take care and talk soon, I gotta get back to work!
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