In this week’s Installment of Rain News, it rained a couple of times earlier in the week, and then rained again a whole lot yesterday and we don’t even know what to think anymore about anything. It seems like it must be a good thing though, so we are not lodging any protests. Have I mentioned we find ourselves grateful for our sandy soil this moisture-laden season? We do.

A woodchuck has been taking nibbles and leaves from the high tunnel and is marked for capture or worse. An unknown beast devoured an entire pile of chicken eggs being sat upon in the woods, as well as the hen who sat upon them; a bear or fox or coyote has a plump belly and a sanguine expression, unwitnessed by us humans. The wasping continued; Kristin was stung twice, I was stung once, several wasp and hornet nests were taken down in defensive retaliation. Hopefully with the cooler temperatures, cooler heads will prevail and we can resume our truce with the stingy stripeys.

Jasper, trying to help with the fieldwork, climbed up on the tiller after it had just shut off, and burned himself on the exhaust – it seems that most of us have a story of the time we burned ourselves on a hot exhaust, and now he’s joined our club. I’d rather he had hadn’t but he did and so now he is learning about the joys of having bandages changed and keeping them clean and all the rigamarole that comes with burns, and we are learning about the joys of being the ones in charge of it all. He’s doing good though, complaining only when we do mandatory maintenance.

It was chilly this morning. I am rolling over in bed, pulling up the covers, and avoiding eye contact with thoughts about winter. But I know they’re out there now.

And, it was my birthday again this week, which seems to happen with increasing rapidity as the numbers get larger.

The brakes on this ride don’t seem to work, but the views are beautiful.

I’m into it.

inside box 9

• Bell Peppers – purple Islanders and green
• Eggplant – eggplants don’t really change color as they ripen; they stay the color they are, whether green, purple, variegated, or white (the O.G. eggplant color, which makes sense of their name).
  The secret to eggplant is not being stingy with oil when cooking. They like oil and you will like them better when they’re happy.

• Tomatoes – damn I love tomato season. They love the high tunnel and they are making that abundantly clear. Most of them are ready to eat now, or after they sit on the counter for a bit. Let us know if you find a type you especially enjoy!
• Cherry Tomatoes
• Zucchini – we don’t give out giant war clubs anymore.
• Onions
• Broccoli – side shoots from the early-season plants. They heat earlier this week made them a little different,
• Purple Opal Basil – we grow our basil amidst our tomatoes in the high tunnel; they do great together as plants and as flavors. These could be used like Thai basil or Italian basil in a dish. Might look weird as pesto?
• Thai Basil – spicier/different from the Italian basil you got last week; best used in Asian dishes
• Italian Basil Microgreens – caprese skewers, tomato salads … Shareholder Melissa has plans for basil I hear.
• Maybe Melon (Sun Jewel or Green Muskmelon)– this week, the folks in Saint Paul and near the Farm are getting a melon, If the fates feel cooperative, Minneapolis and Vadnais will get one next week.

It didn’t rain, and continued to not do so, until suddenly it did. It was very exciting, I must admit, watching the radar and rooting for rain … and then winning! One and a third inch, almost doubling our July total.

Before the rain crashed the drought though, we finally ran the field irrigation for the first time this year. And so of course we also had our annual well-trouble-anxiety. Pretty sure the problem isn’t urgent and can be fixed without much ado or adollars, In the meantime, it works fine for our purposes.

We had a waspy week. Kristin got stung a couple of times inside the little greenhouse, where she must water the microgreen trays and where they build nests and are generally peaceful until some angry defensive phase of their nest building kicks them into asshole little monster modes. So then I went to knock down their nests, and stumbled backwards in my non-OSHA-approved flipflops as I retreated from the ensuing buzzswarm and thusly deeply sliced into my big toe with a switchblade of a hose clamp. And then yesterday Otis, doing Otis things back behind the outhouse somehow drew the pointy ire of a solitary wasp that nailed his hand, causing it to swell up exactly like the hand of a hammer-smashed cartoon hand.

Living with nature is like that sometimes. We’ll take it.

Before the rain the weather was ridiculously beautiful, and after the rain it’s been pretty much more of the same except hotter. It’s not bad. Like winter, you adapt habits and coping mechanisms to suit the changes. It’s pleasant not paying an air conditioning electric bill.

Otis has been working on Scooby Doo style traps in his quest to capture and hold the free-ranging chicks. Jasper stayed busy doing Jasper things.

inside the box

• a Red Cabbage – Have you tried snacking on cabbage leaves with peanut butter? It’s a thing and it turns out it’s quite tasty. We were skeptical too, but they were right … “you’ve eaten peanut butter on celery, right?” But Grandma Deb makes a delicious recipe = a cabbage slaw with raisins and pecans.
• Beans Beans Beans – Dragon Tongue, Purple, Yellow, Green
• Radish Micro Greens – popular at the farmer’s market due to their transformative potential. They make good stuff better.
• Cherry Tomatoes – these have been taking their time.
• Tomato Tomatoes
• Zucchini – I bet you’re familiar, and hope you’re a fan.
• Onions:

• Broccoli Side Shoots – choice edible flower buds
• Basil (Lettuce Leaf” variety) – That salad thing with tomatoes and basil and maybe mozaerella cheese? Pesto. BLT lettuce substitute? Or, do like most folks do and wear it in a fabric bag around your neck or waist.
• Dill – Time to make fridge pickles? Or …. just sell or gift it to the pickle hungry ghosts that haunt your local Marketplace and Buy Nothing pages, or make an offering to the compost gods.
• Cucumbers (pickling & slicers) – crunchy hydration snack packs

Life’s events seemed to accelerate a bit this week, with more things happening more quickly … but gradually, and after giving us time to build up our stride and keep pace without losing our breaths. The garden is hitting its stride, too, with the first of summer’s bounty coming into ripeness.

The walking spaces between the rows have narrowed in the field and in the greenhouse; where it once seemed like vast open spaces where the only concern was accidentally stepping upon a tiny seedling, we now have to turn sideways and do the midwestern “ope!” as we pass through the sprawling leaves and vines, lest we anger one of these feisty beasts and get consumed ala Little Shop of Horrors.

What else … there was a bear at the bird feeders that required swearing at, a chilly morning that demanded blankets, a hen who decided that 3 chicks were not enough so she hatched out 12 more (we had been wondering why she kicked out her babies so quickly!). The hens in general are taking advantage of the lush undergrowth and hiding eggs everywhere, making every day an easter hunt. We could keep them penned up, sort of, but we so enjoy having the goons running around everywhere.

We almost finished the deer fence this week, and have been pleasantly surprised by the difference it makes in how the field feels to be in. I’d feared that it would look like a dog kennel, or feel constraining, but it’s actually … quite nice. Somehow it makes the same patch of rows feel so neatly contained – defined in a way that strengthens and concentrates it.

The rain held off for the most part, missing us on both sides other than a few mists.

Inside Box 7

Zero Peas – none! It’s over!

Red New Potatoes – tender skins

Tomatoes & Cherry Tomatoes – SO IT BEGINS. Kristin avoided the early season blossom end rot by feeding them calcium this year, and they look just lovely. I hope you like tomatoes, because here they come, it seems … just a handful today though.

Cucumbers (slicers and picklers)

Zucchini & Summer Squash – is it just me or are they extra pretty this year? I think they might be in a row with some richer soil perhaps.

Bean Medley (Green, Dragon Tongue, Purple, & Yellow)

Sunflower Shoots – want some ideas? I found this recipe page for you.

Curly Blue Kale

Cauliflower or Broccoli – we’ve never had such a successful cauliflower early season! Thanks, spring rains!

The first fall season transplants went out into the field this week. With rabbits galore and entitled chickens, the farmer cannot relax with such fragile babies under threat of predation. A motion sensor wirelessly sounding an obnoxiously strident doorbell makes for a watchful eye and sounder sleep.

Which is to say, we’re into the heart of summertime now.

And as such we had a few days of a heat wave, with a smattering of rain as the laden, bountiful rain clouds this skated just past us. Fortunately we had a pretty decent soil moisture going in, and so we still hadn’t run the irrigation until we watered the new transplants in.

One hot day we got a huge chunk of the new deer fence built, with a crew of the Grandparents, Marty, and WWOOFers Taylor ‘n Chloe, covering the Southwestern corner where the soybean scarfing deer had been hopping in.

Next up: the northwestern front, oft-invaded by the freerangers and the wild wabbits.

Today I saw the very first ripening tomatoes …  

inside Box 6

Today we had help from Amy, Marcia. & Marty with the veggies, while Grandpa Jim did mechanical repairs and Grandma Deb wrangled kids and prepared lunch for us all! Many hands make light work, many friends make light hearts. Also, many dead bugs; we did some potato beetle slaying when we finished the harvest pretty quickly!

 

• Peas – another pound of the champion crop of 2024! It’s finally flopping over under it’s own weight, and the heat wave this week put a hurting on the plants as well. Tired of the usual? Search out a new recipe, give them to your friends and neighbors, or preserve them for later enjoyment via blanching & freezing.
• Cucumbers (slicers & picklers)
• Zucchini & Summer Squash
• Bean Medley (green, yellow, & dragon tongue)
• Green Cabbage – refer to recipe idea links from last week, or maybe roast in slabs. Pairs great with bacon, sausage, or parmesean cheese. Make kraut. It’ll last for a good long while in your fridge if you don’t want it right away, too.
• Broccoli Side Shoots or Cauliflower – one or the other!
• Blueberries – our friends & former long time CSA members at The Munch Bunch are out of town all season this year, but there was a silver lining – they are not home to enjoy and use their abundant blueberry crop! Kristin and our friend Amy went over yesterday and harvested bucketloads for y’all.
• Arugula Microgreens