Week 8 -- still going strong, and... homemade pickles!

Hey everyone! Sorry for the delay, I hope you recognized the pickle(s) for what they were, and got that zip-locked baggie in your fridge as soon as you could yesterday! Here's a picture of the share contents, spread out on our dining room table (where I pack the contents, every week):

(You can click on the image, to blow it up more... go ahead, try it ;)

Here's some notes:

- Everyone got either a big orange beet and a carrot, or a handful of carrots

- Everyone got either one HUUUUUGE pickle, or 2-3 smaller ones. Do slice them according to your preference, and serve them chilled (ice-chilled is doubly nice)

- Slicing tomatoes, as you can see, are falling out of production... I may be able to glean some more slicing-style ones for the final (ie, Week 10) basket, but even that will be a pleasant surprise if it happens

- The frequent rain has made it difficult to gather the golden cherry tomatoes before they develop small cracks... I have tried to pick out all the 'soft' ones, and let you decide about the half-or-so that are split but still perfectly edible. Do rinse them before you eat them, though, as again... I had to pick a few funky ones out of the picking basket

- Everyone got one 'UFO' squash and a combination of other squashes that included at least ONE (sometimes two) green or yellow zucchini

- Lots of peppers... I'm trying not to give ya'll too many, which is why I had some for extra selectin' up in the passenger seat. By all means, take more from that bucket, and make yourself a nice, spicy conserve or something! (or, dice em up and freeze em, and have them ready to go for a recipe a month or more from now =)

- Okra... I pick them all somewhat soft and still flexible, but some get picked early in the week... and they ripen somewhat even after picked... while I try to set aside tougher ones for my family to eat (we don't mind em, really), you may have one that you find too tough in your basket. Leave it on the windowsill, let it finish ripening and drying out, and harvest the dark, pea-like seeds inside to try growing some of your own (either indoors over the winter, or next spring ;)

Thanks for sharing in this bounty. I'm already looking forward to seeing what kind of basket we can grow for you, next week! ;)

Week 7 -- our most diverse, so far! =)

Sorry for the late post and ID / tips... these last four weeks are going to be crazy... putting together the share, keeping the garden from not getting overgrown, picking things on time, AND working at the school as we launch into our 2019-2020 season. Anyhow, here's the fun, that grew out of the sun for us all these past few months:

Clockwise, from top left: carrots (two types), normal lettuce, bell peppers, okra, poblano peppers, zucchini, crookneck squash, pattipan (what we call "UFO") squash, eggplant, bolting lettuce, eggplant, malabar spinach w. vine, canteloupe (two lucky baskets had them stowed away, because we only had two ripe ones), loose malabar spinach leaves, and green beans (eggs and slicing tomatoes in the middle).

We also had two fun grab-bags: One was a handful of dried mushrooms (hen-of-the-woods, honey mushroom, and porcini) -- of your choosing; the other was as many unsorted (ie, some split ones in there) golden cherry tomatoes as you wanted to stuff in a zip-lock bag.

I can't offer many cooking tips I don't think you already know about these things, except this one: the malabar spinach, while nutritious and succulent, needs flavor. It also should be cooked sooner rather than later, as it certainly can wilt. Finally, in case you haven't noticed, the vines should be rinsed just before throwing in the pan (I suggest flash-frying with either soy sauce, or some bacon grease).

We set aside some eggplant, squashes and okra for the party tomorrow AND for the coming week's share, and some other things are either still coming in OK, or are about to start coming in -- so I'm optimistic that next week will have a bounty in it, as well. As always, thanks for letting me be your wannabe farmer :)

Week 6... and b-day bash/garden celebration, in a few weeks!

Hey there,

It was such a joy, putting together the basket for you all this week. Here's whats up:

Some notes:
Immature onions -- you either got three small, or one or two bigger

Tomatoes -- I tried to give one of every type / ripeness, to everyone

Apples -- foraged off an old abandoned homestead out in Robbinsville... delicilous, even with the spots (kids and I have already barefisted several)

Eggplant or okra or green beans (roulette; we didnt have enough for all to get one of each) -- self-explanatory

Lettuce -- its still bolting, but still not too bitter

Staghorn sumac berry juice -- wonderful, locally foraged beverage that has a lovely sourness, about the closest thing to Appalachian lemonade that you can get. Courtesy of me :)

More details on the upcoming party, to come soon!