Do you ever hit a wall in life? I've never run a marathon, but I've heard about the "wall" somewhere close to the finish when your body just doesn't think it can go on. For our farming year (yes we farm all year round with a winter CSA season as well), the wall comes around now. Late July to early August is brutally hot, the weeds grow crazy fast and there are always TONS of tomatoes to pick! This year isn't any different. We're surviving. Trying to start early and take off afternoons or at least do indoor jobs or spray washing when its 100 degrees. But I have to be honest, this is the hardest time for me to stay focussed, stay committed and keep going.
I have to hand it to our amazing team (mostly family and a couple almost like family employees) who push through and keep a positive outlook. We all need each other's encouragement to keep slogging through the tough times when we are tempted to give up. And in life, there can be a lot tougher things to navigate than physical exhaustion and sweat-soaked clothes. The loaner, "pull yourself up by your bootstraps", "never show weakness", "only depend on yourself" attitude may be an American ideal, but I think it's a myth. The truth is, life is too hard to go it alone. I know I couldn't stay the course without my wife's encouragement, my friends, my church, and even my children's support. We were meant to live life in community--to bless and to be blessed by others.
I used to say, I went to school to be an engineer so I could fix machines and not have to deal with people, because machines don't talk back. Sometimes relationships get tricky and people seem messy, but they're worth it. We end up feeling empty inside when we shut others out.
Evolutionary psychologists say this communal instinct is the result of survival instinct. I believe it was a design feature put there by the Creator who wants us to have community with him and his other image-bearers.
If you are going through a tough time, yes, bear up under pressure and keep pressing through, but don't try to do it alone. We're getting through this hard part of the season together and you can too.
Tomato Extravaganza
We are still at peak tomato production probably this week and the following week. Cherry tomatoes have slowed down because of the heat but the big tomatoes had already set fruit and are ripening fast. Everywhere we look there is red! So, this is the time to stock up on tomatoes. The bulk boxes are a great way to get a lot at a discount. (If you do get a bulk box, would you mind brining back the empty cardboard box when you are finished with it? We like to reuse them if we can).
PRO TIP for storing tomatoes: 1) don't put the tomatoes in the fridge, it makes them not taste as good. 2) You can freeze them! Whole tomatoes can be frozen with the skin on. When you want to use them in soups or stews, just plop the frozen whole tomatoes into some warm water for a minute or two and you can pop the skin right off and dice or use whole in any sort of cooking dish. They taste WAY BETTER than canned tomatoes, so we like to fill our freezer with tomatoes rather than canning them. 3) We do can lots of salsa or tomato sauce this time of year. If you haven't tried it, just make sure to follow a legitimate canning recipe.
Peppers are coming strong
Finally, the sweet Italian peppers are starting to produce in good numbers. Barring unforeseen disaster, there should be large quantities available from now on out. We LOVE these yellow and red sweet peppers. They're better than a bell pepper, so we quit growing the bell peppers to focus on growing more of these lovely Italian peppers. Did you know that these peppers have more vitamin C than an orange? Super healthy and super delicious! Enjoy!
Bread and Cheese
Farm to Market Italian Artisan Loaf
Hemme Brothers Rubbed and Smoked Curds
Thanks for being amazing farm supporters!
Dave and Sheri
