I’m drawing a bit of a blank tonight regarding what to write about. This heat and humidity really take it out of me. At least the evenings are cooling off a bit.
The individual days kind of blend together into one big mass. Looks like there’s a few more similar days coming our way. So my deja vu may continue.
But these are great conditions for the “tropicals.” The tomatoes and cucumbers are growing into a jungle. And the beans, oh my. The beans continue to produce more with every rain. And the second planting will soon be bearing as well.
Did you know that bean plants need to be harvested every other day to keep them “in shape”? If bean pods become too mature on the plant, they send a signal to shut down flower production. Basically, once seed is produced, the plant’s job is complete and it switches priority to maturing the seed instead of growing more flowers/pods.
So with some diligence, we’ll keep beans on our plates a bit longer.
I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!
Our summer favourites this week
Tomatoes – cherry, saladette and (fingers-crossed) beefsteaks
Cucumbers – assorted shapes and sizes as usual. There are a few surface blemishes on some cucs from the dratted cucumber beetles, but they are easily peeled off.
Garlic (fresh) – The last of the garlic is out of the ground and drying. I counted over 300 bulbs give or take. I’ll include fresh Spanish roja garlic in the shares
Green Beans – More flat green beans this week and a few of the regular beans. Here’s an easy recipe for Lemony Green Beans from Jamie Oliver. And another recipe that will use a number of items in the veggie share this week: Flat Green Beans with Tomatoes and Garlic
French Sorrel – just a few fresh leaves to brighten up your plate. Try replacing the basil in caprese salad with finely sliced sorrel. Or use the leaves to add some zip to a boring sandwich or wrap (I learned that from a local caterer.)
Basil – Tis’ the season. Just inhale that aroma. Basil is such a great partner to tomatoes, especially with garlic.
Mixing it up
Since we’ve had a number of folks on holiday the last few weeks, I’ll be curating your veggies boxes personally so you have a chance to have some of the things you may have missed. Here are a few things we’ll be seeing in the shares in the coming weeks:
Eggplant – Please let me know if you are yeah or nay for eggplant. These will be showing up randomly in your shares as they become available. I planted half as many eggplant plants this year after some feedback about having too many in the shares, so we’ll shuffle them around each week like the broccoli shoots.
Summer squash – Remember last year when there were so many zucchini? Well this year is completely different, and although I’ve started a second planting, the zucchini are thin on the ground. Thankfully, that is one vegetable that’s easy to come by at this time of year. (I have two neighbours selling them on the side of the road in Purple Valley.) I do have a few Costata Romanesco heirloom zucchini I’ll be doling out over the coming weeks.
Greens – Expect either Swiss chard, kale or collards. We’ve had some yummy recipes during previous weeks for these greens.
