After spending the morning harvesting summer squash, eggplant, peppers, and tomatoes we took a break to check out the solar eclipse! The mid-day eclipse came at a good time in the farm season, as weeding and planting duties are beginning to subside and and we were able to check out the eclipse without our usual Monday stress!
This past week we seeded our first cover crop of triticale (a type of wheat) and Austrian Winter peas in areas where we are no longer planting or harvesting this season. We also spent time protecting fall crops by putting up an additional fence to keep the turkeys out of our fall cabbage and kale plantings, covering radishes and greens to keep out beetles, and set up irrigation on newly planted spinach to ensure that it makes it through the hot weather. In addition, we began the infamous fall project of pulling up landscape fabric and black plastic mulch from areas where it is no longer needed. It is a messy project involving weeds, old plant debris and the occasional rotted vegetable!
Next on the list is our winter squash and onion harvest, weeding perennial crops for next season, and setting up any irrigation needed to keep our fall crops healthy. We will also plant a few more crops for fall including scallions, golden beets, and lettuce. Of course, with tomatoes in their prime and the sweet peppers starting to come in our main project will be bringing in the summer bounty!
Store hours:
*Tuesday and Thursday 11am - 6pm*
Wednesday and Friday 2pm - 6pm
*Saturday 10am - 3pm*
*Hours with an asterisk are also CSA pick-up hours
In the CSA:
- Red, yellow and orange peppers- We have a variety of sweet peppers starting to ripen including the varieties Carmen (red bullshorn), Oranos (orange bullshorn), Flavorburst (orange/yellow bell), and Milena (orange bell)
- Eggplant
- Beets
- Leeks
- Tomatoes- heirloom and slicing
- Arugula
- Yukina Savoy
- Green and purple peppers
- Cucumbers
- Summer Squash
- Zucchini
- Carrots
- Lettuce
- Curly Kale - This is the first of our fall kale. It will be labeled "transitional" because like some of our fall beets, it is grown in our new field across the street using organic methods but on land that is not yet certified organic.
CSA PYO:
- Cherry Tomatoes and cocktail tomatoes - Sungold, jasper, black cherry, yellow mini, cherry bomb, red grape, Juane Flamme, pink boar and bumblebee, Wapsipinicon peach!
- Hot peppers - serrano, jalapeño and ancho.
- Purple tomatillos - pick when husks are filled out.
- Husk cherries- Pick dry husks that have fallen on the ground under the plants. To eat, remove the husk and eat the yellow fruit inside.
- Sunflowers
- Dragon's tongue beans - these beans are yellow with purple spots.
- Herbs: Basil, cilantro, dill flowers, sage, thyme, mint, oregano
In the store:
Most everything we have in the CSA will also be available in the store. We will also have golden beets and watermelon in the store along with Verrill Farm sweet corn and Pete and Jen's eggs.
PYO Flower CSA:
Flowers ready this week include bachelors button, celosia, calendula, scabiosa, zinnias, verbena, amaranth, cosmos, orlaya, strawflower, snapdragons, gomphrena, calendula, tithonia, sunflowers and more.
Tomato and Zucchini Casserole With Crisp Cheddar Topping
By Melissa Clark, NY Times Cooking
- 5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
- 1 ½ cups whole milk ricotta
- ½ cup fresh basil or mint leaves
- 2 garlic cloves, finely grated or minced
- 2 ½ pounds tomatoes, cut into 1 ½ inch wedges
- 1 pound slim zucchini, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt, more as needed
- ½ cup pitted black olives, roughly chopped
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup rolled oats
- ½ cup shredded Cheddar cheese
- 1 ½ teaspoons fresh chopped oregano
- ¾ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
- Pinch cayenne pepper
- Extra-virgin olive oil, as needed
Heat oven to 400 degrees and grease a 9- by 13-inch casserole dish or 2-quart gratin dish. In a food processor or blender, purée the ricotta, basil and garlic. Toss tomatoes, zucchini and 1 teaspoon salt in casserole to combine, then spread into an even layer. Dollop with ricotta mixture and scatter olives evenly across the top. In a medium bowl, combine flour, oats, cheese, oregano or marjoram, lemon zest, cayenne and a large pinch of salt. Use your fingertips to work in the 5 tablespoons butter; you should end up with small clumps. Scatter clumps over vegetables, then drizzle liberally with olive oil. Bake until golden and bubbly, 35 to 45 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
