- Radishes
- Slicing Tomatoes
- Juliet Tomatoes or Cherry Tomatoes
- Tuscan Kale or Purple Kale
- Eggplant or Beans
- Red Beets
- Garlic Bulbs
- Assorted Sweet Peppers
- Poblano Chile Peppers
- Asian Cabbage (Tokyo Bekana)
- Peaches
- Raspberries
- 'Ozark Gold' Apples
- Seedless Concord Grapes
Field Report
Early Monday morning, still groggy with sleep, I check the forecast for the coming week. I quickly scan the information for Monday and Tuesday, and I'm relieved to see predicted highs in the mid-80s. Great, I think to myself. Those temperatures will certainly help to ripen up some of the green tomatoes out there in the fields. I reach for my coffee and continue on to the forecast for Wednesday and Thursday. All of a sudden I am no longer groggy. In fact I am now wide awake and staring at the computer screen. Thirty seven degrees with patchy frost on Thursday night?! I am definitely not prepared for this news. The prospect of frost puts me into a bit of a tizzy as I imagine row after row of blackened tomato plants, scorched beet greens and shriveled eggplant. It's too darn early for a frost, but I guess nothing should surpise me given the goofy weather we've had this season.
Another cup of coffee and I begin to recover from the shock. I tell myself that thirty seven degrees isn't really so bad. It certainly isn't cold enough to kill any of our plants outright, but there may indeed be some frost damage here and there. I think about all the beautiful cold-hardy crops that are awaiting harvest this fall--carrots, bok choy, lettuce, salad mix, spinach, radishes, turnips and much more. Thirty seven degrees won't do a thing to these crops except make them sweeter. Nevertheless, we will probably spend some time this week preparing for the possibility of frost. We'll harvest tomatoes and peppers on Wednesday for Saturday's farmers market. We may also use a special fabric called row cover to protect other cold-sensitive crops like basil. And finally, we'll remember to count our blessings and be grateful for the good season we've had so far. Somehow things always work out and for this I am indeed thankful.
Have a good week! --Peg
John and the rest of the crew harvest tomatoes for CSA members yesterday.
The girls and I check on the progress of the radishes Thursday afternoon. They are covered in white fabric row cover to protect them from flea beetles and not from the cold. These Crunchy Royale radishes are at the peak of flavor this week.
Ruby couldn't agree more.
Matt gives us a peek at the Asian cabbage under another piece of row cover. (Boy, that stuff really come in handy around here!) Remember that you can use this type of Asian cabbage much as you would use bok choy or Napa cabbage. Both the leaves and the stalks are tender, juicy, and mild--perfect for salads and stir-frys.
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Or you could do like Laurel does and enjoy the leaves straight from the field! (I promise this photo was not staged!) It's incredible to me what my kids will eat while standing in the middle of the field when they often reject the very same vegetables served at the dinner table the same night. Maybe that extra little bit of dirt adds just the right amount of seasoning...
This Week's Recipes
Next Week's Harvest (our best guess)... lettuce, tomatoes, white salad turnips, bok choy, cauliflower, garlic, potatoes, arugula, apples, raspberries, plums and more!
