For the first official week of fall and the first week of the fall share, we're working on digging up the sweet potatoes! Despite a significant amount of vole damage, overall the crop looks good. We grew the standard Beauregard sweets, along with All-purples (as the name suggests, dark purple skin & flesh) and Murasaki, which is a Japanese variety with light purple skin and white flesh. The tubers need to cure in the greenhouse for about two weeks before they'll appear in shares. During the curing process the starches in the potato turn to sugars, which intensifies the flavor. It also allows them to be stored into the winter.
This is the last week for tomatoes! The trellis will come down this week and we'll put the beds to rest for the winter. You'll see the last of them on the list this week. This is the one time of year that we eat green tomatoes! We will pick everything off the vines, which includes the green fruits. Everyone usually thinks of fried green tomatoes (which are delicious!) but there are other things you can do with the once-a-year treats. A fried green tomato eggs benedict if you're feeling adventurous?!
Summer crops can get monotonous - we know! But right now we are in the last couple of weeks of the tender summer crops (basil, eggplant, tomatoes, peppers) so if you're looking to preserve a little more of summer in your freezer or pantry, this is the time. Basil pesto, hot sauce, pickled peppers, salsa......
