August 31st, 2022
What’s in your share?
Yellow Storage Onions
Tomatoes
Magic Molly Potatoes*
Thyme*
Sweet Peppers
* Celery - might seem basic, but it’s one of the trickier crops to grow. We plant the teeny tiny seeds early in the season, eventually potting up to bigger cells, and eventually planting it out in the field after the danger of frost is well past. Since celery cannot withstand a frost, we decided to harvest the first round now, and let the second round get bigger and juicier so that we can harvest it before the first frost (which is closer than it may seem). This gives a few weeks between harvests, so we don’t give y’all too much celery too close together. Celery LOVES water, and we’re learning the balance between giving it enough water to be crunchy and juicy, and the practicality of fussing too much about water. Make sure to keep it in an air tight bag - the fridge will dry out the stalks and they will become floppy. Alternatively, you can keep the stalks in a jar of water in the fridge
* Magic Molly Potatoes - Use as you would any potato! They keep their color even when boiled. We like making scalloped potatoes with them for some color.
*Thyme - we gave you enough thyme to use fresh but also keep some to dry! Try cooking some fresh thyme into a tomato sauce. Hang the whole bundle out of direct sunlight and let it dry.
You may wonder why we decided to take a week off right in the middle of peak harvest season. August is arguable the craziest month on the farm due to the demands of the harvest. In addition to the regular harvest, the bigger storage crops are also maturing and need to be harvested in one swoop. Onions need to be harvested and cured, then cleaned and stored. Same for garlic. Potatoes are coming out of the field every week and also need to be stored. We decided this season, we would build in a little break for us to transition the farm, and our mental states, into the quickly approaching Fall season.
We have a very small space for storing our vegetables long term, and we are constantly shuffling crates around to make room for the next harvest, while trying to store the last harvest. During our week off, we will do a mid-season deep clean of our walk-in cooler, the packshed, and propagation greenhouse, preparing those spaces for their new seasonal roles. We need to make room in the packshed for potatoes, onions, and garlic, all needing to be kept at a relatively regular temperature. We don’t have an ideal long term storage spot yet, so in November, we move everything into the walk-in cooler after its done being for the regular weekly harvests. The hilarity of using a walk-in cooler for the vegetables in the winter, is that we actually need to use a space heater inside the cooler so that it doesn’t freeze. Needless to say, we’re pretty excited to one day have a nice, insulated building with better long term storage space.
Also during the break, we will make sure the the field is ready for fall. We’ve planted everything for the remainder of the season, and will shortly plant everything for the November shares. These crops will need to be weeded and given some extra love with some kelp spray for some added nutrients. We will also need to make sure our greenhouses are prepared for frosts. We have had them open since Spring, and will do a walk through and make sure all the doors are nice and sturdy for the fall winds.
It sounds like we have a lot to do during this break, but another goal is to slow down a bit and take a little time for ourselves so we can finish the season with as much vigor as we started with. Without a harvest and delivery day, we are able to take a little more time for some of the things that don’t get as much attention. We hope that perhaps you can enjoy the break, too! Maybe you need to catch up on some of those peppers ;)