Turkey Hill CSA Blog

Turkey Hill CSA Newsletter - Week 6

From the Farm

The farm is really coming into bloom this week. I'll post some updated photos soon. Everything seems to be coming in (or about to come in) at once. The summer squash are loaded with tiny zucchinis and patty pans (and a healthy crop of viscous squash bugs), the cucumber plants are full of tiny little cucumbers. The broccoli beds, although planted in a succession over a month or more in the spring, all seem to be coming in at the same time. The cabbages are all heading up, it looks like the green cabbages will start being ready in two weeks, with savoy cabbage (crinkly leaf), red cabbage and some napa cabbage coming soon after. Everything else will be coming in over the next month or so.

The second batch of peas managed to elude the rabbits, but they aren't very productive because they don't like the heat of summer. This will be the last week for peas, I hope everyone got them at least once, sorry if I somehow missed you. The beans, on the other hand, LOVE the heat of summer and are producing at an unbelievable rate. Yellow and green beans are in full production, and the purple beans will start next week. These are great steamed, check the website for a recipe sheet. If you get too many beans, blanch some and throw them in the freezer.

Questions and Answers

Q: What is #2 Fruit?
Generally #2 fruit is fruit that is culled during the sorting process. For example, after the ripe cherries are harvested by hand from the trees, the cherries are carefully sorted and packed. any cherries with bird pecks, irregular shapes or other damaged are moved into a seconds box. In a good year, there are very few seconds - and when the quality is good on a crop like peaches, the fruit is often packed directly into the boxes in the field, and no seconds are packed at all. #2 fruit usually sells for half the price of #1 fruit and must be used quickly - typically processed into jam, frozen or some other processing - because of the damage, the fruit won't store well.

Send me your questions! Need a recipe? We have a recipe page on the website. Want to know when a certain vegetable is coming in? confused about something in your box? email me!

This Week's Box

Chard - bunched, green, red, yellow or rainbow bunches
Carrots or Beets, Carrots are just starting to size up, beets continue to come in, we are shifting to our last bed next week.
Head Lettuce - more green romaine & green butters - one more week or so left.
Salad Mix - yum - we may be a little short on salad for the next week, but more is coming.
Scallions - a bumper crop this year, enjoy these delicious fresh onions
Bulb Fennel - just the smell will knock you out, give this unusual vegetable a try as a flavoring in sauce or salad dressing, or in a dish. here are some recipes: http://italianfood.about.com/blind51.htm
Beans - Green & Yellows - delicious steamed, then sauteed lightly with almonds.
Garlic - stores great, take any extra and store in a cool dark place.

Full Share

Extra heads lettuce

Peas

Kale - bunched

Beets - or carrots

Extra Garlic

Fruit

Apricots.

Lambert Cherries - 90 years in the making - these delicious, deep red cherries are from a stand of 90 year old Lambert trees managed organically by the Kropp brothers in Paonia.

Both from First Fruits of Paonia

Coming Soon (1-3 weeks)

Peaches!
Basil - delicious in sauces, summer is a leaf - call to special order for pesto.
Beans - Green, Yellow & Purple - starts next week, a ton of these are nearly ready
Summer Squash - starts soon, they are flowering now
Broccoli - almost ready
Early onions - next week
Cucumbers - flowering now
Olathe Organic Sweet Corn (of we can get it)

3 or more Weeks

Cauliflower

Cabbage - Red, Green & Savoy

Shallots

Potatoes

Winter Squash

Pumpkins

Tomatoes

Peppers

Eggplant