This week, we gazed upon the expanding collection of damaged/ugly tomatoes on the porch awaiting consumption and/or canning, and felt the late summer pivot point.
Rather than focusing on maximizing future harvests (planting, weeding, mulching, pruning), much of our energy now goes to dealing with the bounty – harvesting, preserving, canning. The night comes earlier and earlier, the night breezes cooler and cooler, and the calendar turn to September draws neigh.
We’ve been turning cucumbers in relish, apples into herb-infused jelly, tomatoes into sauce. The seeds planted last week are all up and looking healthy on the west side of the field.
The surrounding woods have yielded good quantities of lobster and chicken of the woods mushrooms, contributing to our Saturday farmer’s market being the most profitable of the year so far.
The tomatoes are stunning – this is the week or two of peak production before the inevitable blight comes to the field and withers the plants away.
WWOOFers Jeff & Maddy have returned, and are pleasantly surprised to find that the mosquito massacre of July has subsided almost entirely. While Kristin was busy with the baby, Jeff helped saw down two huge standing dead oaks that I’ve been wanting down for years … we need more firewood curing!
The Week 11 Box
- Brussels sprouts tops – This is the time of year we top the brussel sprout plants so that they put their energy into the sprouts instead of further vertical growth – and those leaves are super tasty! Here’s some info about eating them!
- Heirloom & Cherry Tomatoes
- Cucumbers
- Zucchinis
- Onions
- Peppers (mostly sweet ones, and a few jalapeños)
- Beets – the ones that the voles spared.
vole-damaged beets for us to eat - an Eggplant
- Broccoli
- Okra or Tomatilloes – luck of the draw!
- Sun Jewel Melons – an asian melon that often splits as they ripen (so don’t worry if yours has cracks in the skin. Firmer flesh than musk melons, and great for breakfast!
- Tri-color Beans – a mix of our green, purple, and yellow beans
