Turkey Hill CSA Blog

Turkey Hill CSA Newsletter

Week 6, 2007

From the farm:

August is the peak of heat and growth in the garden. Time seems suspended and the days are long and hot. Farm work starts at 6, and field work usually ends by 10 am when the heat makes picking or weeding unbearable. Evening time in the garden is lovely, and if we are lucky we try to get out to the field between 7 and 9 pm.

Whats coming out of the field?

Head Lettuce - I'm sure everyone must be getting tired of lettuce this week and this is the last of the head lettuce, butters, red crisp & red frill. Combine these for a beautiful salad while we take a week off from salad mix, which will return next week.

Onions - (new) Early Walla Walla and 'Superset' sweet onions - we are starting to pick the big ones a little at a time, and we have these and many more onion varieties to come. Since these don't require refrigeration, they aren't in the cooler or your box - instead look for a box with a bright orange label that says something like 'Onions - take 1'. Red onions are a few weeks off, and later in the fall we will harvest shallots, leeks and storage onions.
Garlic (new) - The garlic crop was spring planted this year and couldn't tolerate the heat - the heads never formed fully, but we are going ahead and harvesting what did grow this week - these garlic heads may look a little funky, but the taste is excellent - peel down to the clove and remove the tough skin to use.

Important Pickup Notes, Questions answered:

Some people were confused by last week's pickup and didn't get everything the were supposed to. When you arrive at the pickup location please read the board or orange labels carefully. A few important notes from recent questions:

• Items outside the box or cooler: Sometimes we can't get everything to fit in your box or into the farm cooler for farm pickups. Look for a stack of separate boxes with labels telling you what to take: Cabbage - take 1, Cucumbers - take 1, Squash - take 1. Look for bags nearby and grab your extra items!
• Fruit share - Do you get the fruit share - look at the pickup sheet to check if you aren't sure. Make sure you get everything on the list - often in separate boxes than the veggies. Only take fruit if you paid for the fruit share.
• Flowers - we are about to begin the flower share, with gladioli starting and bouquets coming soon. If you have a flower share (check the list) choose one bouquet (or stems or bunch in the case of gladioli or sunflowers). When you get home (and every few days) trim the bottoms of the flowers on an angle and place in fresh water.
• Wilted veggies: sometimes your veggies may get wilted - in the box or in your car; most green veggies can be revived by placing in a bag with a small amount of water in the refrigerator, or try soaking in the sink in cold water.
• "I didn't get my carrots, " or missing veggies in my box: last week the carrots just weren't quite ready and I would up substituting Cucumbers at the last minute for some of the shares. This came after i sent the newsletter and some people were confused because they were expecting those carrots. So please use the following list as a guideline and understand that this may vary slightly before the actual harvest and pickup. We do have plenty of carrots, we'll start picking them this week and have them for 4-6 weeks or more. Cucumbers are flowering in the field and coming in in the hoop house. Once the larger field crop begins to produce, you can expect a steady supply of cukes.
  

This week's Box:

Here is what you can expect in the this week's box...

Head Lettuce

Onion - Sweet Yellow (new)
Garlic (new)
Basil - the basil is really coming in this week - call to special order larger quantities - 970-872-4413.
Broccoli - look for broccoli on and off for the rest of the summer and into fall.
Cabbage - red

Carrots, baby (new)
Kale - Kale and chard are so good for you they are worth eating every week, we alternate varieties.

Beets - Full size, mixed colors - this are some of the last beets this year. If you have some left in the fridge, chop of the tops and put them in a bag - they store very well and will last for weeks and weeks.

Mixed herbs, rotation of thyme, oregano, marjoram...

Peas - Snow peas this week, ends soon.
Scallions (new) - great for using fresh as zesty garnish over a cooked dish.

Squash - Watch out - the field squash is coming in and there will be a lot. Fun varieties include yellow pear, yellow straight neck, eight ball, sunburst, crooked next and more. look for squash in a separate box - take what the label says - squash don't like being stored in the same temperature cooler as the rest of the veggies.

Fruit - Peaches! Palisaide Peach Company - Yum... Paonia peaches next week. #2 peaches by the box available, call to order - 970-872-4413.

Coming soon (in the next 1-3 weeks):

Cucumbers

Pearl Onions

More herbs

Beans - Green, Yellow Purple - lot of these coming in next week.

Cauliflower - just about to come in - look for white, purple and delicious orange 'cheddar' cauliflower.

Flowers!

Fruit - Peaches from First Fruits, Paonia