Coming in this week:
- Corn
- Eggplant
- Peppers of any color
- Tomatoes
- Cucumbers
- Broccoli or cauliflower?
- Peaches
- Nectarines
- Apples
- Greens
- Pak choi or Chinese cabbage
Thankfully, the tomatoes are coming in for real! We grow several varieties of red tomatoes, mostly chosen for flavor, but we also grow a couple varieties because they are firmer than the traditional, softer tomato. Interestingly enough, consumers (that’s us) have become accustomed to the hard tomatoes at the supermarket. The tomatoes at the supermarket need to be hard because they must withstand picking, massive washing/packing lines, shipping (while they are being gassed with ethylene to “ripen”), being knocked around at the warehouse then supermarket, and then the final handling and squeezing at the point of purchase. Subsequently, tomatoes have been bred to have hard, thick walls and firm centers—even before GMO. So, after years of buying these, we have come to accept, at the very least, the “firm” tomato. So, having said that, we grow mostly traditional varieties for flavor, so please don’t squeeze the tomatoes or the peaches, we picked them ripe, today’s squeeze is tomorrow’s bruise 😉
We will continue to have lots of eggplant and pepper varieties, and by all means, open your box at pickup to see what kind is in your box…no need to get the same type every week, unless you want to. BUT, please don’t rifle through a box and not leave it the way you found it 🙂
I am seeing a variety of other greens, including Chinese Cabbage or Napa (large, columnar head, crinkly leaves) and Pak Choi (smooth, large stems with rounded green leaves starting halfway up); there’s also a red pak choi. In addition to the HUGE bell peppers that have been in the boxes. I have also seen some beautiful broccoli and sweet melons. We harvest the melons ripe and melons harvested ripe are MUCH softer than those you find at the supermarket. If you are not going to eat it right away please store it in the fridge.
The peaches are succulent. I hope you are enjoying the fruit. If you have been a member of another CSA before, you realize how special it is to get fruit every week!
We are pretty psyched about the amazing tomatoes being harvested right now. Again, this is the time to get bulk tomatoes or squash if you need them.
The onions are starting to fall, so we’ll be letting them dry off soon and starting the big harvest. I’ve been eating the first apples and that is always the first reminder that school is right around the corner. I’ll miss my great CSA help on Mondays and Glenn will be missing him on Fridays at Quincy J I cannot really believe Reid will be starting Junior year – and to think he’s been going to CSA with me for 17 years – one way or the other!
We’ve watched your kids grow too and it looks like there is a marvelous crop of new CSA members expected in the coming months! Thanks for growing with us!!!!!
Eat well,
Geneviève Stillman
