(Our camera broke today as I was starting to take some pictures for this newsletter. Sorry, no pictures!)

I was determined not to mention the weather today.

But I have to!

Here are some ways it is affecting what is in our CSA share this week – and what isn’t. And what we will be selling at market – and what we won’t.

1. Raspberries.

It’s raspberry season – those bright red, juicy, sweet berries that just about everybody loves. We were able to pick a few last week, but not enough for our CSA boxes, so we took them to market. This week we hope to have enough for CSA. As we mentioned earlier, the drought last year was hard on our raspberries and we lost most of the patch. The few rows that we kept are not great. This year’s raspberries are produced on the canes that grew last year – and those canes are short & weak. Thus there are few quality berries. Enjoy them because we don’t know if there will be any more.

2. Zucchini.

Zucchini – one day there are none, the next day an abundance of them. This season we have green zucchini, yellow zucchini, long green ones with stripes, yellow with stripes, the round yellow patty pans, and some short, green striped ones. They all taste similar, have similar texture and can be used the same way. They also all got hit with hail last week. It left some of them looking a little rough & beat up, with small gouges in the skin. Fortunately they have healed over nicely. Just cut away the blemish.

3. Hail update.

We were very fortunate to receive minimal damage from last Monday’s hail storm. The zucchini has the most visible damage. Our winter squash were newly transplanted & the leaves were really ripped up but they are growing fast & there are plenty of new, healthy green leaves. Same with the eggplant.

We were most concerned about our tomato plants. Those that were already pruned & tied to the stakes especially had a lot of cuts & wounds on their stems. Wary of blight & other diseases setting in, I sprayed them (and the squash & eggplant) with a protective fungicide. So far they are healing nicely & showing no signs of disease.

What’s in the box?

Raspberries, kale, zucchini, kohlrabi, salad turnips.

– broccoli, radishes?

extras – garlic scapes

• Enjoy a box of raspberries in your share this week (see above). In the unlikely event that any make it all the way home with you, uneaten, keep them refrigerated and use within a day or two.
• Kale – we have included a bunch of kale in your box, either plain or curly. We enjoy kale raw in our salads, but it is good cooked too. Kale tastes great with olive oil and garlic, onions or leeks. Combine it with sweet vegetables like corn or carrots. Unless the kale leaves are very small & tender, remove the tougher stems before using. The easiest way is to grasp the stem with 1 hand and use the other hand to strip the leaf away with a quick motion.Store kale in a plastic bag in the refrigerator crisper for 3-4 days. * The longer it is stored, the stronger the flavour becomes.
• Zucchini (see above).
• The kohlrabi & salad turnips have grown larger since they last appeared in your CSA share. Here is a link to a recipe for kohlrabi fritters that a CSA member shared last year. Some of you have been asking for it again –  http://honestcooking.com/kohlrabi-fritters-vermont-csa/ . Lots of useful kohlrabi information is included.
• Broccoli & radishes have a question mark after them. We won’t know until we pick tomorrow how many there will be. Hopefully there will be enough!
• We still have lots of garlic scapes for those who want some. Garlic scape pesto anyone?

Last week’s CSA share …