CSA Week 7: Cukes! And a question...
Tian Tian Farm Newsletter - July 17, 2024
Logistics
We are exploring the option of moving ALL deliveries to Thursday. It would make more sense for our schedule. However, we would only move forward if all our Wednesday members are able to pick up on Thursdays. If you pick up at Columbia City or Beacon Hill on Wednesdays, please respond to this email with whether you’d be able to pick up your box on Thursdays. We’ll follow-up if we don’t hear back within a week. And we we’ll give at least a week’s notice if we make the change. Thank you!
This Week’s Share
Scallions
A choy
Baby bok choy
Summer squash
Cucumber
Head lettuce
Perilla
Turnips
Our scallions are getting big! Most of you will be receiving fewer, but larger, scallions than you have in the past.
We are working on clearing an area that has become totally infested with bindweed. As a result, we picked our a choy early and bundled them up for you.
Our baby bok choy began to bolt during last week’s heat. I personally love any bolted brassicas. The stems are crisp and sweet.
The summer squash does not slow down. In other cucurbit news, our first cucumber harvest! We grow a type known as unagi, a cross between Persian and Japanese varieties.
Most of our lettuce gets bitter in the heat, but some varieties hold fairly well. Our lettuce harvest expert, Aidan, goes through and tastes tests before deciding on which varieties to harvest.
Perilla has been one of our favorite discoveries since we started farming. We grow a variety known as 38N from Second Generation Seeds. Our favorite use is as an accompaniment to KBBQ lettuce wraps.
We needed to harvest our turnips early because they are being overtaken by neighboring winter squash plants. Therefore: baby turnips!
Heat
Every season of Tian Tian Farm’s existence has come with heat. This season’s so far has been the longest. We’ve been getting to the farm two hours early, and leaving two hours early. Many of of our shade/cool-loving crops have bolted. Tragically, we accidentally turned off irrigation for a section of our farm and didn’t notice until it was too late. The biggest casualty of this self-inflicted drought was our fava beans, which have crinkled and dried beyond repair. Weeds have thrived. If there is a silver lining to the heat, it’s that some like it hot. Our tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplant, and others have gone through growth spurts. We’re already harvesting cherry tomatoes for market. I expect our slicers will ripen a week or two early too.
Recipe:
We enjoyed this smashed cucumber salad as a cool, refreshing treat.
‘Til Next Week,
Steven