Harvest #11 (Week A) should include carrots, celery, cabbage, beets, Italian dandelion, fennel, head lettuce, cilantro, dill, basil, zucchini, cucumbers, eggplant, fresh bulb garlic, and scallions. Some items may be a choice. U-pick should include herbs, snap/string/green beans, cherry tomatoes, tomatillos, blackberries, and flowers.

It could probably be worse than this. We're lucky our fields reside on relatively high ground on the upper reaches of minor tributaries and aren't part of any riparian flood plains. The diversions and waterways we've established over the years help deflect the worst of the heavy rainfall. Nothing prevents the significant amount of water from falling on the fields except for our tunnels that are currently protecting tomatoes. Since Friday morning we've received 5 inches of rainfall, this is by mid-morning Sunday, with another couple of inches forecast for today. Having farmed here for 15 years now and dealing with all types of weather extremes, I don't panic hopefully as much as I used to, knowing this will pass and damage should be minimal. Still, it does stir up some unpleasant feelings knowing precious soil and nutrients are being washed out to sea. Sorry ocean critters.

What's next? The farm season marches on. We're still seeding each week, now well into our fall crops. We continue to transplant each week as well. Last week we transplanted 7,500 cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprout, lettuce, and herb plants over 5,000 bed feet. We're supposed to transplant fennel, beets, kale, rutabaga, and chard this coming week but that may be delayed. Tomatoes receive their weekly maintenance and are entering what will hopefully be a time of good yields. Thrice-weekly zucchini and cucumber harvests continue to take up a lot of our non-distribution day time. Hoeing and weeding take up a minimal amount of time right now but will soon increase with the amount of late summer and fall crops that are going into bare ground. Aisle maintenance is also peaking with warm season grasses and annual weeds trying to establish a foothold there. At least they do provide protection and prevent soil erosion!

On a good note, we did finish harvesting a record amount of carrots this past week. Yield and quality are probably the best we've had. Incredibly, the total weight harvested by staff and members is approximately 6,500lbs, or 3.25 tons! I didn't do much of the harvesting myself, only wielding the tractor and tool that loosened the beds, but I did get to lift each 60-70lb bin and put it in the cooler. Much better than a gym membership I swear.

Enjoy the rain day/weekend/week!

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

We have A LOT of recipes on this site, all geared to help with enjoying the harvest. Many of the recipes include multiple veggies that are available at the same time. Even though there are already tons of them, I am always seeking out new ways to prepare the veggies. This past week I did 2 new things:

Cucumbers, snap beans, zucchini, carrots - I pickled a pile of veggies Italian style or Giardiniera. It called for making a flavored vinegar and then boiling each veggie separately until bright colored and barely soft. You can eat them at that point or conserve them; i.e. place in mason jars, covered with olive oil and then process the jars. I chose to eat them fresh - when I tasted them, they were a bit too vinegary for my taste, so I drizzled good quality olive oil on them - that did the trick. I still have some experimenting to do, but it was a fun and tasty try!

Zucchini, garlic, basil - I found a recipe for turning zucchini into an actual pasta sauce. It incorporates anchovies and onions that you saute up with the zucchini until all are soft but not brown. Blend or use immersion blender and finish with lemon juice. Toss with pasta and add chopped basil, toasted hazelnuts and parm cheese. We ended up not being home for dinner for a few nights, so I ended up freezing it for enjoyment later - if as good as I think it will be, I will post the recipe.

Snap Beans, cherry tomatoes, mixed herbs, scallions - I make salads with a lot of the veggies we receive - they are great for summer and using a vinaigrette preserves the veggie, and in this case the beans are even better the second day. I often incorporate chick peas and/or feta cheese to make it more of a meal.

Eggplant, garlic, herbs - I was using the grill anyway, so grilled eggplants up until really soft and almost black on the outside. When cool enough to handle I removed the skins, and chopped the flesh up really well - it was soft so it came out like a chunky dip. Added a bit of grated garlic, lots of chopped herbs and a good squeeze of lemon juice. Served it on grilled bread - yum!

How did you enjoy your harvest? Please email me at lindadansbury@comcast.net and I will share with the rest of membership.

This past week Farmer Dana sent me a couple of recipes they are enjoying right now. Dana writes:

"I just made this recipe from Smitten Kitchen and it was a winner (and totally applicable to the current harvests) Fried Rice with Zucchini, Tomatoes and Parmesan. The only change I made was omitting the eggs and replacing them with two chicken breasts that I cubed, seasoned, and cooked separately and then added just before the parm and parsley."

Dana sent a second recipe from Smitten Kitchen which makes good use of our current harvest: Grilled Zucchini Ribbons with Pesto and White Beans

I can't wait to try both of these - thank you Dana! One of the best things with both of these recipes is that they come together in under 30 minutes! All you cooks out there, please share your ideas by emailing me at lindadansbury@comcast.net.

Some things to look forward to on the farm.

Join Amanda Crooke of Locust Light Farm for a medicinal tour of our herb garden. Amanda will walk you through the herbs, demonstrate how to harvest them, describe their medicinal qualities, and give you tips for storing and using them. You'll leave feeling inspired to visit the herb garden at every pickup. Amanda is an engaging speaker, host to an incredible wealth of knowledge of all things herbal. We are fortunate to have her share her wisdom and hope you'll join us for this fun and enriching event!

Members: $10 - sign up here
Non-members: $15 - sign up here

Kiddo-Day at the Farm, Saturday 8/5, 11-1 pm, Hosted by CSA member Melanie Swain

We're having a Kiddo Day Brown Bag Lunch at Anchor Run! Please join us Saturday, August 5, from 11-1 pm.

Bring a brown bag lunch to our Kiddo Day at the Farm. There is plentiful picnic table seating under the pavilion, but feel free to bring a blanket or chairs if you want to spread out around the lawn.

We will provide a kid friendly activity while we all get to socialize and watch our kiddos play around the pavilion and sand box. Don't forget to bring your own drinks, sunscreen, and bug spray.

Hope to see you there!

- Melanie, Maylyn and Travers

Feel free to contact me with questions at: melswain23@gmail.com or call 609-774-3368. If you are a grownup who would like to help with an activity, let me know!

Join us for a relaxed evening on the farm, munching shared dishes and catching the beginning of a firefly light show. Bring a dish to share, your own place settings and beverages. Hope to see you there! (shared dishes do not have to incorporate farm produce)