Welcome back to week 11 of the 2022 Flat Tack Farm CSA program!
What's Happening?!
Our three week summer break has been a productive one. While on break we were able to get almost the entire farm weeded, all of the spring pruning from the orchard cleaned up, nearly all of the fall/winter crops planted, make garlic scape pesto, lacto-ferment the left over garlic scapes for future yummies, harvest blueberries and cherries from local U Pick Orchards, host a garlic braiding class and even sneak in a few days vacation in the Olympic Peninsula (an incredible Pacific Northwest treasure that we would highly recommend to anyone who has not been).
The main photo is a little before and after shot of some rows we cleared that are now planted in Cauliflower and Broccoli. The top pic is the super overgrown arugula and mizuna rows which we let go to flower for bee forage.
With the ongoing summer heat the farm has experienced an incredible growth spurt. Tomato plants have doubled, or tripled in size and set clusters of lovely fruit. The peppers, eggplant, and corn have also boomed putting forth beautiful deep green foliage. While it can be difficult to keep up with watering and weeding during the hot days of summer, Mother Nature's abundant love can be seen all around us. Her song floats on the breeze while her warm embrace envelopes us all giving the gift of deep knowing and appreciation for the treasure that is life.
Product Highlights and Recipe Ideas
Fruits!!! Our first harvest of apples from the Heirloom Transparent Apple tree in the orchard is ready for all of those delicious pies, crumbles and sauces! While they're not the greatest apple for fresh eating (due to their more soft/mealy texture) they have a great tart green apple like flavor. We also took a trip up to our favorite you pick blueberry farm in La Center. Wilts Organic Blue B Ranch. They are open for you pick until August 10th and the plants are loaded with delicious, sweet berries. We have some available this week to add on to your share if you don't have the time to get up there to pick your own.
The squash and cucumbers are coming in full force with the heat. We have both pickling cucumbers and slicing cucumbers available. While you can eat the pickling cucumbers fresh, the slicers are typically sweeter with a thinner skin. Two easy go to recipes for Summer Squash:
1.) Grilled Squash - Slice the squash in quarters lengthwise and toss in a bit of oil, salt & pepper (or Flat Tack Chili Salt!) and grill for about 15 min or until tender. SOOOOO yummy just like that or cut up on a salad.
2.) Italian Squash - Slice 1/2 an onion and cook in a pan with a little oil/ghee until slightly translucent. Cube 1 to 2 squash and toss pan with onions. Add 1 tsp of Italian Seasoning and salt/pepper to taste. When tender enjoy!
We also have lots of beautiful kohlrabi this week! Kohlrabi is a root veggie in the same family as broccoli and turnips. My favorite way to use this strange looking veggie is to peel off the outer layer and eat it raw dipped in humus or grated on salad. It is similar to Jicama or a potato (except it doesn't have to be cooked) and like a potato you can bake it or fry it and it's a much lower carb option!
Volunteer Opportunity!
We could use a hand or 10 for bringing in our garlic harvest this season. It is nice and dry and ready to be cured. We will have a big volunteer day this Friday starting 10 am until we're done! Please email us if you'd like to join in!
We hope you enjoy this weeks' abundance and see you soon!
Kelly & Patrick
