CSA Week 10 and Farm Stand Updates

It’s been almost 2 weeks since our last rain, so as you might imagine, irrigation continues to be on our agenda this week! Although the last rain storm on July 31st was intense, that moisture doesn’t stick around for long, especially not when it’s hot and the soil is sandy. Many of our crops do well with 1” of rain per week, but that doesn’t mean that 1” of rain all at once is what we need. Severe downpours can in fact sometimes be more damaging than drought. Heavy and intense rain can wash away soil, cause flooding in the fields, flatten and shred greens, and crack tomatoes. Consistent and moderate rainfall is best - ideally overnight a few days a week so that we can have dry conditions for working and plenty of sunshine for our veggies, if that’s not too much to ask!

In the CSA this week:

• Colored peppers - We grow both sweet bell and sweet Italian peppers in our high tunnel (out in the field it takes longer for peppers to turn from green to colored, and they also seem to be more susceptible to pests as well).

• Potatoes - Peter Wilcox variety (purple skin with yellow flesh). This variety is high in vitamin C and antioxidants!

• Scallions

• Beets - These are grown by our friends Jenny and Bruce at Picadilly Farm in Winchester, NH and are certified organic.

• Watermelon - We are harvesting Juicebox, Mini Love, and Blacktail Mountain varieties. All are red with seeds. These will be available to both Small and Regular memberships this week.

• Tomatoes

• Green Peppers

• Zucchini or summer squash

• Cucumbers

• Garlic - Right now we are distributing smaller heads as uncured garlic and curing the larger heads for later. Some of the cured garlic will be in the CSA and farm store this fall and some of it will be used for planting next year’s crop.

• Lettuce

• Frisée and Endive- These are types of chicory and have similar flavor and texture.

• Mustard Greens

CSA Pick-Your-Own:

• Tomatillos, Dragon tongue beans or Shishito peppers- Tomatillos are an essential ingredient of salsa verde. They should be picked when the fruit fills our the green husk around it. Look low on the plants this week to find them. As the dragon tongue beans get bigger start to turn yellow they can be shelled for cooking. Shishito peppers are generally mild and sweet but 1 in 10 is a.hot pepper.

• Herbs: Members will have a choice of parsley, dill, dill flowers, sage, thyme, mint, cilantro and basil.

• Hot peppers - choose from jalapeno, aji rico, cayenne, Hungarian hot wax and fresno peppers

• Sunflowers

A note about cherry tomatoes: They are closed this week, but if you came on Saturday and were unable to get cherry tomatoes last week, we took down your name and you will be able to pick some this week if you’d like.

In the farm store:

Farm store hours are Tuesday-Friday 11am-6pm and Saturday 9am-3pm. In addition to the items listed in the CSA, we will have:

• Fresh onions

• Carrots

• Flowers - sunflowers, wrapped mixed bouquets and snapdragons.

• Peaches from Westward Orchard (not organic) - Available starting Wednesday

• Sweet corn from Verrill Farm (not organic).

• Mushrooms from Fat Moon Farm - Certified organic

• Double B Honey - From hives on the property! Not certified organic

• Applesauce from Long Run Produce in Boxborough, MA. Certified Organic.

• Baer’s Best Beans: 1 pound bags. Grown in South Berwick, Maine. Certified Organic varieties available include: Cannellini, Black Turtle, Italian Cranberry and Light Red Kidney. Not organic: bumblebee, marfax, and flageolet.

PYO Flower Field

The flower field is open to both PYO Flower CSA members and the general public for picking by the jar. Please check in at the farm stand before picking. Flowers available for picking this week include: zinnias, snapdragons, gomphrena, ageratum, celosia, ammi, rudbeckia, verbena, amaranth, cosmos, decorative grasses, decorative basil and strawflower.

Classic Shopska Salata

adapted from Food52.com

Ingredients

• 1 cucumber

• 1/2 large red onion (or try using a few scallions for a slightly milder punch!)

• 1/2 large green bell pepper

• 2 tomatoes

• 2 tablespoon red wine vinegar (optional)

• 4 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

• Salt and pepper, to taste

• 1/2 cup finely crumbled Bulgarian feta cheese (sirene), or just Greek feta.

Directions

1. Half peel the cucumber by paring every 1/4 inch or so to create a striped pattern and then slice it into 1/2 inch rounds. Toss them into a medium mixing bowl.

2. Chop the onion/scallions, bell pepper and tomatoes and add them to the bowl.

3. Whisk the oil and vinegar together and add it to the mix. Toss the vegetables until they are coated with the dressing. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.

4. Crumble feta on top of the salad and serve.