What a break with the rain this week. We’ll all enjoy a reprieve from moving hose and drip tape and trying to decide what needs watering the most and which crop’s life will be impacted the most. WHEWWWW! Maybe we can catch up on some more seed planting and transplanting and garlic cleaning (finally) and cover crop seeding.
The sweet corn is awesome and is located at a neighbor’s farm. We we’re “hedging our bets” as the new ground is higher than where we had planted. Let us know if you need extra and we’ll make sure to have it in the cooler when you come.
Finally, some carrots to DIG out. They were there all the time but the ground was too hard to dig. With the rain, the kids can fork out some carrots. It always seems to be a favorite with the smaller set. Beets are not the same challenge as they pop out nicely.
Take some Swiss chard if you wish. There are 2 locations – along the south side of HH2 and G3 row 37. It’s finally come back after severe harvesting by humans and the deer. Take 8-10 leaves. Use your beet leaves to add to your pick for wilting or juicing.
Tomatoes are at their prime, finally. Most are heirlooms. Their colors are gorgeous, flavors are outstanding, but sometimes their appearance is a little rough. Top splits are normal with the heat and rain. If you see one with an open split or a bad spot, we call it a “use-me-first” and make a quick salsa. YUM! Take extras of those if you wish. If unsure about the colors and ripeness, a quick test is to check for a little softness. A hard tomato needs to ripen more. Take a few less ripe to set on the counter for a few days. Many of the dark ones have a “purply” flesh and are delicious, not bad. There are a ton of smalls – purple plums and black trifeles. Use as cherry or salad tomatoes.
Broccoli no longer is producing the nice heads. But it is producing good florets. Keep taking those. If you see some that produced a yellow flower, please pick them and toss on the ground. That will help keep the plant producing a while longer.
Enjoy your harvest! Remember the sink by the Taj for carrot washing, etc. We’re nearly out of honey but plan to extract again sometime soon. And eggs are in the garage refrigerator.
This is the time of the year when so much is available we call it the harvest season or the season of plenty. If you have a friend that would like to pick with you and take home their own share, we charge $20. They can harvest just as you do, whenever you come. If you know someone that would like a one time basket pick up on Wednesday, we charge $35. They need to let us know by Monday that week.
The melons are looking forward to the next round of heat…we’ll make it through, as usual.