CSA Newsletter, Week #8

This week you share includes:

• Garlic, Spanish Roja
• Carrots
• Cilantro
• Dill
• Basil
• Italian (flat leaf) Parsley
• Peas - the last of the season, some of you will get snow (flat) peas and others shell peas
• Swiss Chard - some bags will also contain a few leaves of kale. 
• Zucchini and Summer Squash

What?  No salad again?  Yes, I hear you.  There just hasn't been enough time to get everything harvested in time these past few weeks that we'd like.  Here are some of the reasons:

1)  Some crops have to be harvested or they go to waste, like the last of the peas (this week) and the first crop of French fillet beans (last week).  These crops are time consuming to harvest.  Some crops are bolting from the heat, like the cilantro.

2)  This week we had to get the greens picked because the grasshoppers are coming on so strong and doing a lot of damage.  (By the way, there are more holes in your Swiss Chard this week than I'd normally feel comfortable distributing.  It was that or nothing.)  Luckily the grasshoppers are not getting into the salad, not as much at the caterpillars.

3)  Some new crops are coming on that people are waiting for with child like anticipation, like the carrots (this week).  Do we keep putting these off to get crops you've already been getting?  (That's a rhetorical question people.)

With this in mind, we'll do our best to get salad out to you again next week.

Speaking of GRASSHOPPERS.  They are here now.  In full force. 

Remember how I wrote back in the beginning of the season about our trick of planting basil along side the tomato plants.  I explained how bugs are really attracted to the basil and will choose it over the tomatoes.  Here's a picture of the damage bugs will do.

This is mostly caused from grasshoppers.  Earwigs and ants like basil too.  Who can blame them.

It rained this week in Star Valley.  Someone told me it always rains during fair week.  I'll have to remember that when we schedule next year's garlic harvest. 

We had a lovely rainbow here on the Southern end of Star Valley this past week.  One thing I had never experienced before moving here is seeing a complete rainbow, from one end, up over the arch, and down to the other end.  I've only seen this a handful of times and it is something I really enjoy.  But it's not easy to get on film if you are too close.  This particular rainbow seemed to be right out my front door. 

The garlic harvest is going well, despite the rain.  I am not going to complain about the rain.  However, it is a little crazy how we go for weeks without a speck of moisture from the sky and then when the time comes that we need to dig up the garlic, it rains. 

It rained a lot in the evenings and at night making it less than ideal to harvest in the morning.  The idea is to dig up dry garlic.  Not a garlic bulb covered in mud.  Fortunately, the ground dried up enough during the day that we were able to dig away in the evenings, before it started to rain again.  See those dark skies in the photo above? 

Thank you to those who came to help. 

Hard work is much more fun with many helping hands.  Especially when some hands are stronger than mine.

Hey, I think some people were having a little too much fun.  Get to work you two.

After the harvest is dug, we sort it for size.  The biggest bulbs are saved to plant again.  This is how we are able to have such nice big German Extra Hardy garlic (the kind of garlic you got last week).  We are starting this same process on a few other garlic varieties, which I'll introduce you to in another post.  This week you are getting two bulbs of Spanish Roja.  You'll notice the size is comparatively smaller than the German Extra Hardy.  With selective planting, and 5 or more years of dedication, we hope to develop it into a bigger sized bulb too. 

The zucchini and squash are on.  Shain cooked us up a tasty dish this past week.

First, he sauteed sliced mushrooms and pieces of summer squash in garlic and butter.  To the pan, he added about 1 cup of cream, 1-2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste.  Next, he add about 4 cups chopped greens (spinach, Swiss Chard, Kale or whatever you have on hand).  Then he tossed it with angel hair pasta and topped with Parmesan Cheese and minced fresh basil.

Have a great week and ENJOY the veggies!  Tara