It's hard to believe that the season will be wrapping up in just a few weeks. It still feels like mid-summer, except most of the crops are dying back. Frankly, we feel like it's a small miracle that we made it this far. The heat and lack of rain was really tough on the plants, and Micah!

In this week's CSA, you can expect to see yummy things like beets, carrots, leeks, cabbage, tomatoes, peppers, celery, or corn. The corn is unbelievable! Just remember it's no-spray corn, so expect some worms. If you're queasy about them, just cut off the tip about an inch or so down. If there are any in there, you'll see them and be able to cut more off. It's definitely worth it and we hope you enjoy it as much as we have.

What a beautiful share this week; at least we think so! The beans have been amazing. And celery!?! This much needed cooler weather is just calling for a summer soup! Or maybe just eat the celery with peanut butter, or cream cheese :-)

In this weeks share there are large tomato varieties called Pink Brandywine OG and Rutgers 250 OG.

Sometimes the tomatoes are not vine ripened when your share is due. If it seems too firm or not quite ready, stick them on a sunny windowsill for a day or two and they will continue to ripen.

Other items in your share may include both sweet and hot peppers, pole beans, two types of eggplant, summer squash, and blackberries. 

Growing on the farm this summer has been a challenge. The heat and humidity began  the 1st week of July and hasn't let up. The plants have required an enormous amount of water, which is a challenge because the farm and the house share a well. We've very lucky it hasn't run dry! We haven't had any luck growing lettuce greens. They struggled to survive the drought, which made them more susceptible to pests.  We do have kale growing and hope to provide more in the upcoming shares. 

If you take a close look at the photo above, you'll see the bottom layer of leaves on the tomatoes look a bit wilted. The high tunnel captures an enormous amount of heat, even with the sides up. The heat in combination with lack of a cool breeze affected the transpiration process of the leaves. The leaves are still alive, but they're curled and very sad looking. However, the tomatoes are large and seem to be ripening, so we've very thankful!

Unfortunately, our garlic this year hasn't liked the drought either. It's all been harvested and is hanging in the barn to dry, but it's on the smaller side this year. We're currently assessing how much will be available for sale. 

Some of the veggies you may see in your share this week include peas, beans, eggplant, squash, cucumbers, and peppers. 

You may have wondered what that long, skinny white thing was? That's another type of eggplant! Perfect for chopping into a stir fry! Or slice it the long way to grill! Delicious!  

On another note, I try to text everyone the day before to remind you about Thursday's CSA. Believe it or not, at least one person still forgets, or gets caught up in their work day. We totally understand!  Please just remember it's a texting group, so if you need to respond, text Tracy or Micah individually, as to not clog inboxes. No biggie, as we've all done it, and we do appreciate the humor! But a few folks prefer to keep it to a minimum.  Thanks for your understanding!