Harvest #13 (Week A) should include watermelon, carrots, celery, Italian dandelion, fennel, head lettuce, cilantro, dill, basil, zucchini, cucumbers, eggplant, garlic, tomatoes, sweet peppers, hot peppers, shishito peppers, and scallions. Some items may be a choice. U-pick should include herbs, snap/string/green beans, cherry tomatoes, tomatillos, blackberries, and flowers.

What was supposed to be a week of drying out and catching up on tasks that wet weather had delayed the previous week became another week of dodging thunderstorms, bouncing around jobs, and being constantly soaked with sweat and/or rain. Eventually, by the end of the week, we were able to get most of the important work finished.

We're well on our way to planting and maintaining fall crops and really needed a few dry windows to hoe and transplant. Because of all the moisture in July (over 10 inches in fact) and the large planting of fall brassicas that went in a few weeks ago, we were quite desperate to knock back the weeds with our handheld tool arsenal accompanied by an improvised tractor implement before the weeds reached a critical growth stage when they need to be pulled out instead. Many hours are needed for this type of clean up and many hours of dry weather are needed afterwards to ensure the weeds don't re-root. I believe we got lucky when we scheduled this for Monday, when it didn't rain, and not Tuesday, when it poured again.

Raised-beds were reworked and touched up on Monday for a full day of transplanting lettuce, herbs, kale, rutabaga, chard, beets, celery, and fennel, which I was hoping would be Wednesday, in between harvest days. But with the ever-increasing probability and amount of moisture forecast for Tuesday afternoon I decided to try to knock some of the planting out on Tuesday, after harvesting and preparing for distribution all morning. The rain came, with lightning and thunder, and we were forced to suspend outdoor activities and pivot to indoor tunnel tomato work. Again, we were 'lucky' and 'only' received 8/10 of an inch of rain and resumed transplanting Wednesday afternoon, when the ground was barely okay with us being out there with the tractor and transplanter. We finished the week's transplanting goal on Thursday afternoon and are now caught up with that. We have some mowing to do this coming week that we didn't fit in last week but overall are in good shape.

The weather looks perfect for outdoor work this week. I'm excited to begin preparing ground for cover crops and considering them asleep, off-limits, out-of-sight, out-of-mind, resting until next growing season. Our farm-mind slowly recedes from encompassing all 15 acres as we establish buckwheat and oats to nurture the soil through the late summer and fall months.

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

Hard to believe it is the end of July - I hope this lower humidity and temps stay with us!

Been enjoying the delicious veggies the farm brings us - one of the things I do is make a mental note of what I have and what will stay fresh for the shortest amount of time - right now it is okra and eggplant. So, I plan to cook and use these within a few days of receiving them. Next is probably the scallions and cucumbers. Here are a few ways we enjoyed the harvest this week. Please share how you enjoyed your harvest by emailing me at lindadansbury@comcast.net and please put Anchor Run in subject line.

Zucchini - baked up a delicious loaf of Zucchini and Blueberry Bread - since it is peak blueberry season, this is a good time to make it. I make a lot of variations of zucchini breads during the peak season and freeze them for enjoyment during the rest of the year.

Zucchini, garlic - made a dish called Zucchini Pizza Casserole. It was more like a zucchini lasagna than a pizza, but it was quite good. Basically, grate zucchini and mix it with eggs and parmesan and mozzarella cheeses. Place in casserole and bake for 20 min. While that's baking, brown ground meat with onions - I added garlic and Italian seasoning as well. When meat is browned, add tomato sauce. Spread this on top of the zucchini that has been baked, top with more cheese and bake again for about another 20 min. Simple, tasty and lighter than either pizza or lasagna.

Eggplant, zucchini, okra, peppers - once again, grilled up a lot of veggies and then enjoyed them for a few days. I even had grilled veggie sandwiches for lunch - added feta cheese to the sandwich and then had celery and cucumber on the side.

Green beans, scallions, peppers, basil, parsley, cherry tomatoes - made a salad out of this delicious group of veggies. I like to add chick peas because I like to eat the leftovers for lunch and it adds protein. I typically toss with a red wine vinaigrette and add some garlic and oregano, but this could also be slanted in a Southeast Asian way by using a bit of sesame oil, rice vinegar, lime juice, fish sauce and topped with cilantro.

Tomatoes, peppers, scallion, cilantro and local corn - made a black bean salsa - a fresh, delicious and healthy appetizer!

Some things to look forward to on the farm.

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 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

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)