7th CSA Week

Sure was another hot harvest day again today!!  Seems to be the theme this summer.  It was a good harvest day and everything on the list got picked as per the plan so that was nice.  Sometimes I run short on time and some things might not get harvested, or worse, forgotten in a bucket as they were put accidentally under a table!! 

This weeks large share has carrots, beets, cauliflower, lettuce mix, yellow and green beans, fresh garlic, onions, green onions, zucchini, cucumbers and red potatoes.  The grab bin had baby swiss chard, lettuce heads, broccoli, purple cabbage, basil, kale, tomatoes and more of the above mentioned veggies. 

The grab boxes.  Members can essentially customize their boxes based on what they like.  Works awesome!!

It is now officially bean season and it seems I may have over planted but just a little bit.  Beans are a very popular summer crop for our CSA members but my back sure does not feel the same way.  Bending over picking beans for hours at a time sure has a way of making you feel old!!  We have been talking about building a lay down harvest cart for a few years now and it seems Sally's brother has one for sale over in New Brunswick so hopefully that might work out to help take the "pain" out of bean picking. 

Beans early in the morning

The bean section.  We have five plantings in total this year.

Yellow beans, this first planting was just loaded. 

I am spoiled.  I was delivered freshly picked blackberries and a freshly backed zucchini loaf during pick-up tonight.  Thanks to my lovely members for thinking of me!!  Both were amazing!!

The tomatoes are coming along very nicely.  We have been picking them daily and it was so nice to be able to bring so many to the pi
ck-up tonight.  The harvest is still pretty slim but there are more ready every day so hopefully there will be enough for everyone to have some next week.  The peppers are growing like crazy and there are 2-3 nice sized ones on each plant.  I've never seen such early peppers, awesome.  I'm really hoping we can get some red peppers this year!!

Golden cherry tomatoes!!  I did what any good mother of twins would do, I ate them before anyone else saw they were ready!!  And they were awesome!!

Bell peppers coming along nicely

Carmen peppers, my favorite!

Beauties

Zucchini!!!!!!!!!!!!!  My goodness the zucchini.  I totally went a little crazy planting this spring.  We harvested well over 200 zucchini's today, now that is alot of zucchini.  I'm not sure what I"ll do with all of them but hopefully they will all find a home before I pick more for the Thursday deliveries. 

Lovely zucchini

Way too many zucchini!!!

For as long as the eye could see!!!  Zucchini

Zucchini flower

I often get asked what we do with leftover produce.  Because of our grab box system we often have extra produce left over at the end of the week.  I do a few house visits on my way home to friends and family and often I'm able to find a home for most of it but we often end up composting some veggies at the end of the weekend.  So, I made a call last Friday to the Salvation Army in regards to extra produce.  We often have extra stuff left over at the end of the week after the CSA pick-ups are done and I always feel bad putting them in the compost knowing that there are people out there in need of fresh produce.  So, they called back today saying they would love to have any extra produce as they can put it in the weekly boxes they provide their clients or it can be used in the soup kitchen or if its something they can't use right away they will blanch it and put it in the freezer for winter eating.  I am very excited about this and am so glad that they are in need of fresh veggies!!!  What a win win for everyone.

Just some pictures from this past week to show you what we've been up to and how the garden is progressing.  

We started picking this lettuce mix planting this week.  It's at the perfect stage. Yummy!!

Next lettuce mix planting is coming along nicely.  The basket weeder is doing its job, a few weeds escape but not many.

Radiccio

Last planting of broccoli/cauliflower/cabbage on the left, on the right is the second last plantings that really need to get weeded!!

The seed onion and leek section. Some shallots survived the early season root maggot infestation but most were eaten, bummer.

Squash section is doing great. 

Hard to tell but these are carrot rows.  An early morning shot just as the sun was coming up.  My favorite time of the day.

Now those are nice carrots!!

Romaine lettuce

Garlic drying

Sally and I having maybe just a little too much fun washing those carrots!! 

Boys and their toys!!