This week’s harvest: salad mix, basil, eggplant, peppers, carrots, beets, squash, broccoli, cabbage, tomatoes, kale, onions, chard, collards

Extra u-pick flowers, herbs, and greens: sunflowers, cosmos, thai basil, basil, purple basil, dill, parsley, kale, chard

It’s time to officially say goodbye to the strawberries! Our June bearers were mowed down this week hopefully to come back twice as productive next year.  The mowing is done to keep the “runners” (baby plants) from over-crowding the plot.

We’ve also maxed out on the first round of kohlrabi for the year, but we’ve seeded another round in the greenhouse for fall. It will be a race against the first frost to see if it bulbs in time so you may have to wait until next summer to partake in this alien looking brassica. Rumor has it that many of you are kohlrabi converts turning it into chips, raw salad shavings, and even merging it with the tart transparent apples

The good news is the 32^nd St. plot is just getting started. Broccoli, cabbage, squash, zucchini, and cauliflowers are coming along nicely, and we’re not far off from harvesting larger amounts of beans and cucumbers. We’re looking at peak tomato season in the tunnel and the outside tomatoes are just beginning to ripen.

Learning what and how much to plant to feed our members and provide a livable wage for us given the farmland and equipment we have access to is a continual process. If you have time to read this recent NYTimes article about small-scale farming, we felt it accurately reflects our experience as farmers over the last 4 years. It is quite moving for us to read, knowing others are farming with us, fighting an uphill battle against a food system and culture that doesn’t support responsible farming practices. Please know that as far as we’re concerned, becoming a CSA member is the single most important way you can support us and this movement. We are grateful for you daily.

Dinners have been beautiful lately. We use a mandolin to finely chop eggplant, squash, carrots, beets, onions, kale, tomatoes and chard into a glass pan, pour over white wine, a little soy, garlic, and sesame oil and bake at 350 until veggies are tender. This works with about anything in your share.

Looking forward to sharing the healthy harvest with you over the remaining 2 months. See you tomorrow from 3-6.

Linley, Peter, Reid