Farm Share Number 14...

Here's what's in the shares....
Sweet corn- We have a lot more sweet corn coming no in the next few weeks, and a lot of it is just starting to ripen.  I'm hoping to get at least 3 ears in all shares this week!  The corn has been great so far but with a slower start it's been hard to keep up with demand...
Tomatoes-  The tomatoes are starting to really hit their stride and produce more ripe fruit every week...this time of year I begin to anxiously watch the weather forecast, as a heavy rain can spread disease quickly.   It looked like we might get rain later this week, but now the forecast seems to be getting drier...
Gypsy peppers-  These are a wonderful, coral colored sweet pepper with a sweet, tart flavor and a great crunchy texture.  They are awesome raw, in a salad, on a sandwich, or with a dip, but also great cooked up with other veggies to add a bit of sweetness.  They start out a yellowish green and ripe to a pinkish color...leave them out at room temperature with the tomatoes to allow them to continue ripening.
Carrots-  No surprise here, the carrots continue to go strong.  Here's a new carrot recipe:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/roasted-carrots-recipe-1940444
Potatoes-  Potatoes are back in the share, they are now beginning to "cure", or transition from being new potatoes to being storage potatoes, so they are bigger, a bit drier, and have slightly thicker skins.  The flavor will be a bit stronger, and they should keep well for quite a long time in a cool, dry spot.
Leeks-  Some nice Fall leeks in the share this week, a great pairing with potatoes.  Leeks are a very old vegetable, eaten at least since the ancient Egyptians!  They are the symbol of Wales, and used in a lot of European cooking;  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leek 
http://www.marthastewart.com/274312/leek-recipes?slide=3402629  (hit the little arrow on the pictures to scroll through these recipes)

In large shares:
Baby braising mix-  Our Fall kale and swiss chard are beginning to grow fast, and looking beautiful. We're also a bit thin on other greens right now, so we thought the first pick of these would be a nice addition to the large shares!
Cauliflower-  The first of our Fall cauliflower beds are beginning to produce, planted among the Brussels sprouts, Fall cabbage, and romanesco plants that are still not close to being ready, I was surprised to find some cauliflower in our new brassica field!
Fennel-  These fennel bulbs are not huge, but a nice size to use in a recipe with other things, and the greens from the tops can be used as a delicious anise-y herb.  Great on pizza or pasta!

Crazy morning today, with ash falling from the sky and the sun blood red.  And it's supposed to be very hot this afternoon!  What a strange, surreal day.
After kind of a stressful July, with the strawberries being mysteriously unproductive among other things, we have made it through and are having a great late Summer on the farm.  I'm being a bit more laissez-faire with the weeds this year, which is great now but I may come to regret in the future if the weed pressure goes way up next year as a result of more weed seeds.  Part of it is that I have been avoiding rototilling, though, as the soil is so dry from a complete lack of rain.  Tilling when it is this dry creates a lot of dust and is just unpleasant, as well as not being great for the health of the soil. With most of the onions out of the field and all of the garlic cut down, we still have to bring in our storage potatoes and winter squash, but we are getting through the Summer projects!

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