This past Thursday was officially the 1st day of summer – but it felt like summer all week!

It. Was. Hot.

Both for us and the plants.

Our strategy for handling the heat & humidity is pretty straightforward – drink lots of water, shower & change clothes at lunch as well as the end of the workday, work less hours, and wear these cool little neck fans which actually do a pretty good job of cooling your head!

And at the end of the day, focus on what was accomplished rather than what still needs to be done.

The heat was beneficial for some vegetables and harmful to others.

The summer crops such as tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, zucchini, cucumbers … thrive in the heat. The eggplant especially seemed to double in size last week! However they often drop their blossoms in such extreme heat instead of setting fruit.

Vegetables that prefer cooler temperatures such as all the salad greens, radishes, cabbages … suffered. Many of the Chinese cabbages bolted and went to flower, ruining the heads.

We did as little transplanting as possible last week, leaving the seedlings to grow (& outgrow) in their trays. Those we did set into the ground really struggled and needed a lot of extra water to get established. Some will survive, others will not. Fortunately we usually overplant in case of loss due to bad weather (or insects or disease).

This week is still hot, but nothing like it was. The plants and us are much happier!

What’s in the box?

Zucchini or cucumbers, cabbage, kohlrabi, beets, lettuce mix, green onions, radishes?Extras – garlic scapes.

• Zucchini & cucumbers – another sure sign of summer! Both of these vegetables are just starting and thus not producing enough for everyone. So you will get one or the other in your share this week.
• Early cabbage is tender & delicious – best eaten fresh in salads or slaws. (It is also small. We purposely choose smaller varieties that are perfect for 1 or 2 meals.)
• Kohlrabi is a strange-looking vegetable – sort of like a cross between a little cabbage and a turnip. It is considered a root vegetable, though the edible round globe grows above ground. Kohlrabi is most often eaten raw – just peeled & sliced. The taste & texture resembles fresh, crunchy broccoli stems, with a bit of radish thrown in, and perhaps cabbage. Use on raw vegetable platters and serve with a creamy dip. Grated kohlrabi can be added to slaws. We like to spiralize our kohlrabi and use it instead of pasta. Kohlrabi can also be steamed or boiled – cook until the bulbs are tender, then peel the skin, season with butter, salt, and pepper, a cheese sauce, or just enjoy plain. They are good for mashing with other vegetables – parsnips, carrots or potatoes. Kohlrabi absorbs the flavour of other ingredients making it ideal to add to soup, stew and stir-fries. The bulbs should be stored, unwashed, in a plastic bag in the fridge. Our favourite way to cook kohlrabi is to sautée it in butter with garlic scapes for just a few minutes. Then add just a dash of nutmeg. Delicious!

• Most CSA members were excited for beets last week. Amy seeds beets every other week so they will be a regular vegetable in the box all summer – not every week, but often.
• Lettuce mix, green onions, and probably radishes complete the box this week.
• Garlic scapes are available as an extra for those who want them.

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Around the farm this week …

The nicest cucumber plants we have had in a few years.

On the way to market Saturday morning.

A good market day.

(Rosemary, Flynn & Flynn were not available for pictures this week – they were hiding out in the cooler & shadier spots somewhere on the farm.)

Looking for a snack – bronze fennel is his favourite!