Summer crops are starting to mature, and our harvest will reflect that over the coming weeks as we transition from cool-weather-loving tender greens to bulkier fruiting crops like cucumber, summer squash and zucchini. Peppers and tomatoes are usually not available until August, but with our high tunnels in production, we’re starting to see some of those crops in mid or late July!
We always breath slightly easier once we move into July. Field planting slows down and the harvest goes faster, leaving us a little more time to mulch, cultivate, weed and trellis. At the end of last week, we tackled a big but satisfying project: putting down landscape fabric in the pathways between our field tomato, pepper and eggplant. This will help to keep weeds down the entire season, and at the end of the year, we pull it all up and store it in the barn to reuse next year. This week we are looking forward to trellising all of our field tomatoes and our high tunnel peppers, as well as doing another round of pruning and trellising our high tunnel cukes and tomatoes. We’re also hoping to weed onions, beets and kale, hoe our lettuce and greens, put down landscape fabric in the melons, cukes, sweet potatoes and PYO cherry tomatoes, and do field prep to transplant lettuce, chard, golden beets and Brussels sprouts. It’s a big list, especially in such a hot week. We’ll also be doing lots of irrigation to keep plants happy, as well as taking a few popsicle breaks to keep ourselves and the crew happy!
This is not a week for turning on your stove, so recipes this week are all ones that don’t involve heat. Also, try the White Bean Garlic Scape dip recipe from two weeks ago - the carrots and cucumbers this week are perfect for dipping!
In the CSA this week:
CSA pick up hours are Tues/Thurs 11am-6pm and Saturday 9am - 3pm. Face masks are required under the CSA tent during the first hour of each day.
Summer squash and Zucchini - It’s still early in the season, so squash and zucchini will be limited, but pretty soon we should have larger quantities for grilling!
Cucumbers - The high tunnel cucumber plants are really cranking, so they will be unlimited this week!
Purple carrots - These have a dark purple skin with an orange center. Really striking color, but also good flavor.
Beets - The spring beets have struggled this season (we think a combination of pest pressure and the soil quality in the field where we rotated them this year), so the beets are on the smaller side, but are still just as tasty!
Swiss Chard - Also in the same family as beets, the chard has struggled a bit this spring season as well, so it is also on the smaller end. Chard has a sweet earthy flavor and can be eaten sauteed or braised or in quiche.
Scallions - They’re back this week after a short hiatus!
Mini cabbage - Round green and cone shaped “caraflex” varieties.
Garlic scapes - Likely the last week of this spring favorite.
Lettuce
Salanova Lettuce Mix
Mustard greens
Baby bok choi
Mini Daikon Radishes
Salad turnips
CSA PYO:
Handwashing sinks are provided at the entrance to each PYO field. For the sake of food safety, please wash hands before picking. The barn bathroom and wash area sinks in the barn are for employees only.
*Please note that we close down the PYO fields for lightning storms.
Herbs - basil, cilantro, parsley, dill, oregano, thyme and sage.
Coming Soon: In just a week or two there will be green beans and sunflowers available in the pick-your-own fields and by late July we should start to see the first ripe cherry tomatoes!
In the farm store:
In addition to the items listed in the CSA the farm store this week will also have red mini cabbage, more greens varieties, cheriette radishes, and a little later this week we’ll have some of the first blueberries! We also have eggs from Codman Farm, honey from Double B, and we hope to have mushrooms again at the end of the week.
We accept credit card, cash, check and EBT in the farm store. The farm store is open Tuesday - Friday 11am - 6pm and Saturday 9am - 3pm. Masks are required during the first hour of each day and encouraged for the remainder of the day. We are keeping a chalkboard list of items available outside the store and our Shopkeepers would be happy to shop for anyone who is uncomfortable entering the store. We also continue to take online pre-orders for Wednesday, Friday and Saturday pick-up. The link for online orders is https://openfoodnetwork.net/barrett-s-mill-farm/shop#/shop. Online ordering opens at 6pm the day before pick-up.
Marinated Zucchini Salad
by Martha Rose Shulman from NY Times Cooking
Ingredients
1 pound medium or small zucchini, preferably a mix of green and yellow
Salt to taste
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 garlic clove (or try garlic scapes!), crushed
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley, mint, chives, dill or a combination
Preparation
Slice the squash as thinly as you can (try using a vegetable peeler!). Sprinkle with salt, preferably kosher salt, and let sit for 15 to 30 minutes. Rinse and drain on paper towels.
Mix together the lemon juice, garlic and olive oil. Toss with the zucchini. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for four to six hours.
Remove from the refrigerator, and remove the garlic clove. Add the fresh herbs, and toss together. Taste, adjust seasoning and serve.
Garlic Scape Dressing
by Diana Rattray from The Spruce Eats
Ingredients
2 garlic scapes (coarsely chopped)
2 scallions (coarsely chopped)
1 teaspoon honey
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard (or similar brown mustard)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Dash of salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Preparation
In a blender, combine the garlic scapes, onions, honey, mustard, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Blend until smooth.
With the blender on low, slowly add the olive oil until well blended.