This week we have had a huge cool down with chilly mornings and cold rain. Today was sunny and perfect. Just right for wandering the herb rows picking, gathering flowers, and working in the kitchen. I know the heat will return, but what a treat to have cool weather in July.

CSA WEEK 6: summer crisp lettuce, green beans, strawberries, carrots, cilantro, summer squash, torpedo onions, kale, beets, fresh garlic, cucumbers

U-Pick Herbs and Extras: sage, mint, basil, oregano, thyme, green beans, dill 

And of course the flowers. I grow flowers at home too, but don't get all of the full sun so mine are always later. I love that the CSA we belong to has row after row of flowers to pick from right in front of the barn. THis week I was drawn to the lovely golds and oranges and whites. SO beautiful!

What is in season in your area? 

Our summer schedule revolves around our CSA. We get a lot of produce from our CSA and the day must be open to rinse, package, steam, freeze, make, bake, preserve, and process each week. All meals are planned around the freshness schedule. While I grow a lot in our small urban garden it is to supplement with all of the things we don't find locally (unusual varieties, tea/culinary/medicinal herbs), is expensive locally (currants, raspberries, blackberries, rhubarb), or that we love so much we need MORE of it (celeriac, peas, beets) . Summer is marked by CSA week number. By what is in season. Strawberry time. Tomato season. I love being able to share organic gardening and visiting farms with my boys. They easily identify herbs and vegetables and fruits and wildflowers. They know when things are ripe, need pinching, and which is just the best one out of the bunch. I hope when they grow up these are the memories that stick. Warm sun, fingers that smell of basil, how to pick a borage flower without tearing it, where to cut herbs so the plant keeps growing, how to twist just right to pop that squash right off, the heady aroma of sun warmed raspberries, the sound of buzzing bees, the first gush of water out of the garden rainbarrel after a storm, and driving along country roads to the farm with windows down and music blaring.  (We'll leave swarming mosquitoes out of the nostalgic memory list)

I'm doing a catch up on my CSA's this week after my cinema display monitor decided to spend last week throwing a hissy fit. It is back to behaving after much cajoling and begging.

CSA Week 5 (above)
In our share:  summer crisp lettuce, sugar snap peas, napa cabbage, broccoli, cilantro, summer squash, pearl onions, frisee, beets, garlic scapes, cucumbers strawberries. 
U-Pick: dill, mint, oregano, parsley, thyme, sage, basil
Bought some extra: strawberries

In Our Share: dill, peas, lettuce, mesclun mix, kale, swiss chard, cabbage, romaine, pearl onions, baby bok choi, garlic scapes, cauliflower, cucumbers, squash
U-Pick: parsley, oregano, thyme, basil, dill, sage, mint, flowers

What is in your CSA box or farm share this week? Or, what is in season where you live? 

We are getting into the groove of our weekly CSA again. It feels good to chat with the people in line - the question is always WHAT DO I DO WITH THIS? Give a few ideas, chit chat. G is the boss of the CSA line. He selects each item out of every bin to be sure he has the exact one he wants - I only get to be the bag holder - while A visits the chicken coop. We then grab scissors from the rack and walk out to the herb field. Later in the season we will have veggies to pick too, but this time of year we pick some chives, oregano, sage, thyme, basil, dill, mint. I grow a lot of variety in my garden, but with such a small space that isn't full sun, many of the more mediterranean heat loving herbs don't do so well, so having a CSA which has fields to pick from is wonderful. That saves my pot real estate for unusual varieties that I cannot find anywhere else - like my holy basil or pineapple sage. After filling our bag with what we will use this week, we wander back to the car and the short but beautiful rural drive home. Having a CSA makes us conscious of our time every Wednesday. It will take awhile to process everything - rinse, cut, bag, store. What to make for dinner now, what to put away for the rest of the week. What can go right into the dehydrator. Love it.

in our share this week: summer crisp lettuce, sugar snap peas, kale, broccoli, cilantro, summer squash, scallions, hakurai turnips, salad mix, garlic scapes, spinach. u-pick mint, dill, basil, oregano, thyme, chives, sage.




What is in your farm share this week, or in season locally where you live?