Abbe Hills Farm CSA

Greetings shareholders,

This week, we'll have Chinese (nappa) cabbage, kale/collards, more cabbages, little bits of broccoli, regular and Italian green beans, dill, cilantro, basil, new potatoes, garlic, and onions. 

Well, I was irrationally exuberant last Monday morning when it appeared it had rained.  Actually, all we had was a lot of wind and the tiniest bit of rain.  Luckily, we got about .4" more on Tuesday.  We needed it badly, and need more now - to make the "fruits" (cukes, zukes, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, beans) you like grow big enough to harvest, to soften the soil so we can plant the fall crops, and to give the late planted summer crops (watermelons, squash, okra) the boost they need to make good yield before it frosts (only 74 days away now). 

I hope you like cabbage.  The 2000 cabbages we planted over 5 weeks in the spring, so that we could harvest them over 5 weeks now, are all ready at the same time - a consequence of the cold and delayed spring.  Similarly, the 3000 broccolis were all ready last week.  They are supposed to make little "broccoliettes" off where we cut the main head, so if we get a little moisture before the plants die, we should have a bit more broccoli. 

We're digging potatoes now every week.  The kinds we have this week and "Red Norland" and "Dark Red Norland".  It appears that the yields should be quite good, so I'll give you lots of them.  When potatoes are first dug and the skins are still soft and tender, they are called "new potatoes".  At the grocery store, they use "new" when what they really mean is "little" (so little that they were rejected from the main potato packing line, rebranded and sold for a higher price!).  The skins on new potatoes are usually quite tasty.  And since we didn't use any pesticides on the potatoes, they are perfectly safe to feed the kids.  As we dig more potatoes than you can use, we will cure them in a dark, dry space.  That will make the skins get a little tougher and resistant to drying out so the potatoes will store longer.  So eat your new potatoes now as fast as you can while they are great.  The potatoes with longer shelf life will come later. 

We're also digging garlic now.  This is the only crop we have where you're not going to get the best thing we've got.  The very best heads have to be saved for seed for next year's crop.  We'll cure the second best heads so we can give them to you up until October.  Right now, you're going to get the third best.  They won't be cured, they might have a ding, and they might not be real big, but the flavor of fresh garlic is fantastic, so use them as fast as you can.  When I have too much, I roast it in a moderate oven, with oil, covered with foil, then store the roasted heads in the frig in oil.  They last a long time and the flavor of roasted garlic is very mild and yummy.

We're still giving you fresh onions because the main crop just won't die.  As soon as they do, we'll pull all the onions (and there are A LOT), cure them, and then parcel them out until October.  Again, don't try to save the ones you are getting now.  Just enjoy them now.  The keeper varieties will come later.

Some of you have noticed that we've had no summer squash or cucumbers yet.  Sorry about that.  I lost crops numbers 1 and 2 to bugs, ground squirrels, and weeds.  Crop number three looks like it's going to survive (although a little rain wouldn't hurt) and we should have those things in two weeks for sure.  We also had problems with chard and beets - I put them in a deer-proof place only to figure out when they came up that it was too weedy for them to make it.  So, as soon as we can get the ground loosened up a little, we'll plants loads of beets and chard.  Hope to have lots of them for fall.

It looks like we'll be harvesting sweet corn, chilies, eggplants, peppers within the next two weeks.  Can't hardly wait.

We're going to quit work at noon every day this week, no matter if we have our work done or not.  It might limit the amount of produce are able to harvest for you this week.  I know you'll understand.  Probably you won't feel like eating too much anyway, if it is as hot as they say it's going to be.  I'm looking forward to having a couple of hours each afternoon to open the mail, pay the bills, answer the email, and sort through all the check-in sheets, lists, checks, and notes that you've given me since mid-June, the last time I really opened my mail!!! 

See you this week,

Laura