In your share this week:
- Squash - very small and now they are finally done, last of the season
- Golden Beets
- Carrots
- Fillet Beans - last of the season
- Leeks
- Cucumbers
- Tomatoes - just staring, going to some CSA members this week, gradually to everyone
- Yukon Gold Potatoes
- Mint - a new crop for us, plants are still very small so this could be out only cutting of the season
- Collard Greens
- Swiss Card
- Dill - it was starting to bolt, filled a large bag for everyone, last of the season
- "Dove" Melon *
*Dove Melons - Shain has ALWAYS wanted to grow melons! He's tried several times but they don't usually work out with our short seasons. He saw this specialty variety in a seed catalog last winter and wanted to give them a try. And they grew. And they RIPENED, despite some VERY cold nights lately (I had 2 row covers on them!). And the miracle is that there were enough that ripened all at once that we could pick one for every CSA share! A few were picked just shy of being fully ripe, so here's the test I would follow before cutting your melon open - it is slightly unripe when the skin beneath the textured 'web' is green, ripe when golden. A fully ripe melon should have a slightly softened blossom end that smells fragrantly of a ripe melon. If your melon doesn't meet all of this criteria, set in on your counter top for a few days (near a bunch of bananas) and it will finish ripening quite quickly. These Hope melons are similar to a cantaloupe in appearance, smell and flavor. In my opinion, the flavor is a slightly more mild and tastes a little like a very ripe pear.
Tomatoes are just starting to turn red. There were only about 9 pounds worth today, enough for the smallest pick up sites to get a 1 pound bag per share. There will be more! You know my routine by now, I'll rotate them to everyone each week and I'll be as fair as possible.
I apologize for the dirty potatoes. They were dug in the mud! We did spend quite a bit of time getting them as cleaned up as they are, but that's all time allows. Everyone gets to do a little washing at home. Two rows of potatoes were dug last weekend and we hope to dig the rest this weekend. And, the ground is still muddy. That's just the way it goes this year.
Last of the dill. It's probably a lot of dill to get at once, but it was bolting so we took it all. Time to do some dehydrating. Even if you just spread it out on a cookie sheet to dry, that will work and you'll be happy to have some dried dill this winter.
What a week! A few inches of snow on Monday. A hard freeze on Tuesday. And pulling it all together to make something AMAZING on Wednesday. A short newsletter usually means I spent my writing time outside harvesting. And that's the case this week for sure.
Have a great week and ENJOY your veggies!
Tara