Harvest #8 (Week B) should include garlic, fennel, cucumbers, zucchini, kohlrabi, cabbage, celery, swiss chard, lettuce, herbs, eggplant, italian dandelion, tomatoes, and scallions. Some items will be a choice. Tomatoes are just starting to ripen. Cucumber weight may dip slightly until our 3rd planting is ready. Zucchini should be plentiful and eggplant are looking good. U-pick should include a handful of herbs, green/string/snap beans, cherry tomatoes, and flowers.

Around 15,000 garlic bulbs have been harvested, retrieved, bundled, hung, and pruned with the help of 60 farmers and CSA members. We started pulling at 8am Sunday morning and just after noon the final bundles were hung in the barn. This is a monumental undertaking and we're so thankful we can accomplish the task with help from our food community. The garlic looks good, too.

This crop was planted last November from cloves saved from last year's harvest. Garlic cloves have been saved and planted from each harvest over the past 18 farming seasons at Anchor Run. Garlic bulbs/cloves/seed were last purchased in 2003 or 4 and I've heard that it's now safe to say we have unique varieties to our farm (I'm not 100% certain this is true, however, since we're planting parental clones in the form of cloves but apparently there are studies that found that changes can occur when environmental conditions change among other things).

Bundled garlic will hang and cure in the barn for a couple of months. Garlic that was pruned today will be distributed immediately as 'fresh and uncured'. Skin is removed more easily and the taste is more mild. These bulbs can be stored on your counter. This year we're not going to refrigerate the fresh garlic which can cause it to deteriorate more quickly in storage. Enjoy!

This week's workshift schedule

Bring gloves, water, a hat, sturdy shoes, and a pad for kneeling (if necessary for you)!

We meet under the large red maple at the end of the barn by the pick up room.

Workshift Guidelines - Workshift Sign Up Instructions

I have given myself the challenge of incorporating more herbs into my life. I feel like I know how to use the 3 farm standards: basil, dill and cilantro. So I am going to try to include some of the “non-standard” herbs.

My first trial was with Lemon Balm. I have been having problems sleeping for the past week, so I tried some Lemon Balm tea in the evening. I used about ¼ cup (leaves, stems, flowers) Lemon Balm chopped in a tea strainer and let it steep, covered for at least 10 minutes.

Safe for cats: Yes

Safe for dogs: Yes

Caution: Individuals on thyroid medications or sedatives should consult their physician