Harvest #7 (Week A) should include zucchini (green/yellow), cucumbers, fennel, Swiss chard, Italian dandelion, lettuce, scallions, garlic scapes, beets, basil, cilantro, and parsley. Some items will be a choice and may not be available during all pick up days (we try our best to predict the harvest). U-pick should include green snap beans (aka string beans, green beans), flowers, and herbs.

We experienced two much needed rain events last week, conveniently spread out five days apart, after work for was done for the day, just enough to give the crops and soil a heathy dose to absorb without any soil erosion. I was thinking about the acre of potatoes slowing forming under the soil and the 3,000 newly planted sweet potato slips. Also the thousands of feet of lettuces, beets, chard, and the empty ponds, the frogs, toads, and turtles. But the rain came, and we're thankful. We're still going through the motions irrigating certain crops on a weekly basis regardless of the rain since overall it's been a relatively dry spring at the farm and there's not much moisture in the soil. The two rounds of tomatoes in the two tunnels need well water no matter what since they're out of the weather anyway. When I turn on their tubes I also irrigate the 3 plantings of zucchini and cucumbers because two of the plantings are fruiting and they enjoy consistent moisture. Onions are receiving a regular dose because they're starting to bulb up and are relatively shallow rooted and also because the area they're planted in drains very well. But there's less stress, less tension after an ample rain event.

The summer solstice came and went last weekend. It marks an interesting time on the farm. Whether or not there is some deeper celestial meaning, there is a slight shift in the farm's focus, attention, workload around this time (at least from my perspective). Up until the solstice we work like mad to transform the bulk of our acreage into raised beds, spend a lot of time on the tractor plowing and bed shaping, and sow seeds and plant crops on all this space. Around the solstice our weekly planting allotment lessens and our attention begins to turn more towards harvesting and maintenance. It feels like a more enjoyable time, especially when crops are bountiful and healthy. Last week we push mowed way too much row feet of raised bed aisles, but they needed attention and we had to do it. Instead of having bare soil in between beds that requires mechanical cultivation and would be susceptible to erosion we intentionally allow volunteer species (weeds) to grow, sequestering carbon, protecting the soil, increasing organic matter. We transplanted the final round of cucumbers and zucchini; the 4th basil; the 14th lettuce; and the 8th and 9th beans. Field slicer tomatoes were pruned and trellised. Eggplant, okra, leeks, scallions, lettuces, and herbs were weeded. Sweet and hot peppers were staked and supported with twine.

Very soon we'll embark on some big harvests - carrots, garlic, onions, and potatoes. Most of these tasks are accomplished with the beneficial help of workhifts so be on the lookout for an e-mail announcement. Most harvesting jobs are good for kids as well.

On our schedule for this week is the immense planting of 7,000 strawberry plants - our 2021 crop. Weekly tomato pruning and trellising continues, as well as whatever cultivating, weeding, transplanting, and harvesting that needs to be done.

This is a perfect time to contribute some labor at the farm! Summer weather is here and it's great for helping you sweat out the bad stuff. And the weeds are really starting to grow. If you signed up for a share with work discount, please consider joining us soon.Workshifts scheduled for this week:

With the heat coming on, I think we all want to minimize heating up the kitchen - cool salads, grilled meats and fish are what is mostly filling our table these days.

Snow peas, snap peas, cilantro, parsley, garlic scapes, scallions - I am starting to venture into a new cuisine for me to make - Indian food! I made a dish called Spring Pea Chaat with Lemon Raita. It is a fairly complicated recipe - not difficult, but does have 3 different components and a couple of unusual ingredients, so I am not going to post it to this site. All the prep can be done ahead and then mixed together to serve and it keeps for days. If you are interested, search Food and Wine and the title of the recipe and it pops right up. We will be making this all summer, and use it with other veggies, including green beans and squash.

Peas, squash, kohlrabi (the last for the spring - don't forget to rummage through your fridge regularly to see the goodies you had forgotten about) - simply washed and trimmed and use them as a snack with dip. Cool, crunchy, delicious and even healthy!

Escarole, radicchio, garlic scapes, a lot of herbs - chopped and sauteed the greens along with garlic scapes. Added a partial can of white beans and a little chicken stock so it was a bit "saucy". We had it alongside grilled chicken one night and leftovers with fish. It was really good! Making extra and then just reheating made it very simple.

Lettuces, scallions - made a very large salad with a balsamic dressing. We had some leftover grilled steak, so we sliced it thin and topped the salad with the meat. It made for a light and satisfying summer night meal.

The addition of crops is coming almost at the speed of light! This week is green beans and cucumbers. I think most people have their go to recipes for each of these but over the coming weeks, depending on the harvest size, I will likely make suggestions you may not be familiar with - please also check out this site and search the respective crops for some ideas.

I am still learning about all these veggies - I just read a post from The University of Calif, Davis, stating their research shows that cucumbers should NOT be stored in the refrigerator, because they are sensitive to temperatures lower than 50 degrees and cold temps make them prone to injury, water-soaked areas and accelerated decay. If you want them to be cold, store them in fridge for no longer than 3 days and store toward the front where the temperature is a bit warmer. I guess that is a good thing at this time when our fridges are so full of other veggies! The nutritional value of cucumbers is that they are very low in calories and yet still provide decent amounts of potassium, fiber and vitamin C.

To store the green beans, place in a reusable plastic container or bag in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator. Green beans provide the body with fiber, vitamins C, A and K, plus smaller amounts of minerals.