Week 13: The cusp of fall
Tian Tian Farm Newsletter - August 29, 2024
Logistics
As far as we know, the all-Thursday drop offs went smoothly. Please let us know if you had any issues.
This Week’s Share:
Slicing tomatoes
Shishito peppers
Scallions
A choy
Shiso
Baby bok choy
Sun gold tomatoes
Yellow potatoes
I believe we’ve passed peak tomato season. So continue to expect to see them in your boxes, but quantities might diminish.
Shiso has been one of our favorite herbs to grow. But this season it we made the mistake of not potting our seedlings letting them grow a little more before transplanting them. We lost a lot of our shiso crop and, with our surviving plants, have been waiting until we finally had enough to pack in your boxes. And that day is here.
Smells
Speaking of shiso, my favorite crops to harvest are herbs. Particularly in the morning, when the morning dew is still present. The water releases the herbaceous oils and our gardens beds just become very pleasant to sniff at.
It’s not just the herbs. Our tomato hoop house is a sanctum for the senses. There’s a saying in Chinese used to compliment someone’s cooking: se shan wei ju quan or full of color, smell, taste. Sometimes I think of that saying when I’m plucking tomatoes from the vine, in our tunnel of greens, reds, oranges, and purples and sweet smells across the spectrum of ripeness.
At times we get a bad whiff on the farm. Something rotten. Or, worse yet, something dead. They no longer bother me as much as they once did. I’m not saying I enjoy the stench of a dead mouse or rotting squash, but I have come to appreciate them as signifiers of areas to clean up.
Oh, and green onions. There’s something about pulling greens onions out of the ground and shaking off the dirt of its roots that just produces the best damn onion smell.
Recipe:
Try a tomato-shiso salad.
‘Til next week,
Steven