If you ask me my favorite vegetable, I'll tell you it's actually a fruit. Tomatoes. Oh how I love tomatoes! Sometimes I wonder if I would be farming at all if it weren't for the promise of ripe summer tomatoes! From the moment I order seeds until the moment I slice into the last edible fruit of the year, I obsess over the colors, shapes and textures of this wonderful fruit. For the CSA and markets, it's all about finding just the right combination of varieties. Of course, we have to grow a majority of reds, but a blind taste test will reveal that some of the sweetest most delicious fruits are somewhere else along the color spectrum. I'm a glutton for orange beefsteaks, as they tend to be meaty, dense and sweet, and quite attractive on a BLT.
Maybe ripe tomatoes aren't your jam, but you have to admit, they still look amazing. And by the way, if you've ever wondered what distinction makes a fruit a fruit (and not a vegetable), it's all about starting out as a flower. From both a botanical and a culinary standpoint, any edible part of a plant that contains seeds started this way and is classified as a fruit.
Any way you slice it, tomato season won't last forever. If you are hoping to put up some salsa or spaghetti sauce, now is a good time to get on the train before these warm nights slip away. We will be offering a limited number of 10 pound boxes of canning tomatoes as extras this week, so check it out if you're interested. Also, on the topic of fruits, we are winding down rapidly on our cucumber supply and are temporarily out of zucchini. Cucumber and zucchini plants only go on giving for so long, so we planted a second round and are waiting for the plants to size up. We hope to be able to offer more cukes and zukes soon, but please expect a pause in the supply of these crops. Our apologies! The good news is that other exciting fruits are coming down the pipe...like cantaloupe! So be sure to customize your share this week if you would like to sample the first ripe melons of the season:-)
Your farmer,
Danielle
