Update from the Gardens: August 12th

Greetings from the Gardens,

Tomatoes are ripening like crazy. Please try a variety and just take a couple big round red ones.  Heirlooms are ripe when they give a little to the touch. Some of our favorites are yellowish outside and green inside.   Some are dark with a green shoulder.  Others are striped or nearly white.  There are some large long Romas with big green shoulders…but red inside.  We have a variety picked in the pack shed if you’re worried you’ll make a bad decision.     Tomatoes like to be stored at about 55 degrees, not in a refrigerator. 

The Magda (oval striped) zucchini is a nice size to stuff as are some peppers.  Take an extra “bread zucchini” from the cooler if you’ll use it… Or grate and freeze in recipe quantities.

Our favorite cucumber recipe is simple.  Slice and add equal parts of vinegar, sugar and milk or cream.  Reuse the brine a second time if you wish.

We’ve enjoyed our few cooler days and look forward to more next week.  The plants like them too. We were able to plant beds of beets, rainbow carrots, spinach, lettuce, more Swiss chard, kale and arugula. More kohlrabi, cukes and squash were transplanted out into G4 under plastic.    The cukes and squash eventually succumb to bugs, mold, and beetles so replanting will allow us to freshen up production.   Broccoli and cabbage transplants are growing and will be planted out in another week when they get a few more true leaves.  Tried to get some peas growing again but they wouldn’t germinate in the heat.  We’ll give it another attempt in a couple weeks. 

One reason we like growing the Mirai sweet corn is that it stays in the field longer than other corn varieties.  Larger kernels are just as good as the smaller ones.  We have another planting of two varieties that will be ready as this picking is finished. We’ll try to keep corn picked and in the cooler. 

Tis the season of squash so I’m sending along recipes that have been sent to me as favorites.  Feel free to try any or all!
From the gardens,
Jill, Bill, and Ben