Share #9 - August 9, 2018

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. 

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We still have extra pole beans for sale if anyone is interested. They're great for making dilly beans, or for freezing. It's quite wonderful to have beans in February!