CSA Harvest - Week # 12

Hello there, 

I have sleepy eyes... am writing down today's harvest list and drinking coffee. Mmmm coffee. 

Can we talk about the fact that this is the last week of August and come Tuesday it will be September? Summer, I request you slow down and hang around for a while, ok? The days already feel so much shorter... Eeek! 

The garden is overflowing with color! Flowers, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, beans, etc... and the harvests are pretty constant at the moment which has us very busy and trying to keep up.


This week we started pulling storage crops. A few onion varieties (Cabernet, Walla Walla and Mill Creek Red) have started to fall and are ready for curing. The Walla Walls are HUGE, I've never grown softball size onions and am pretty pumped. We also harvested the potatoes and are making room for the last seeding of spinach and salad, which we plan to place a small moveable caterpillar tunnel over in October to keep some greens rocking through the cold snowy months to come. Whoop! 

Details on what you'll find in this week's CSA Share:

Salad Greens

Kale

Tomatoes

Green Beans

Zucchini

Radishes

Pepper or Eggplant

Turnips and Cabbage (Thank Mike Nolan/Mountain Roots Produce!)

Scallions
Herbs

Sourdough Flavor of the Week: Seeded (Quinoa, Sunflower, Sesame and Oats)

Have a lovely day! 

CSA Harvest - Week 11

Good morning! 

It feels pretty brisk outside this morning and the thermometer reads 43 degrees. Brr! So I am drinking a little extra coffee and waiting to harvest until the sun comes up. Fabulous week here. Sunshine, heat, harvesting like mad, seeding green beds, and eating the most amazing meals, and a gazillion snacks. I always forget how wonderful this time of the year is... so beautiful and flavorful. Ha, last night I was starving and could not decide what to make for dinner... too many options. What a wonderful problem!

We discovered quite a few tomato horn worms in the greenhouses over the weekend. Aaaaahhh! I knew it was only a matter of time. The little buggers were chomping on tomato and eggplant leaves.

I have exciting news, the beans have started and will be in the shares this week!! We are growing a few varieties this year: Provider, Rattlesnakes and Gold of Bacau, pictured here. Yum! I snack on them raw all day everyday, but I imagine there are great things you can do with them in the kitchen... ?


The tomatoes are rocking and I think my hands are officially stained green for the rest of the season. Whoop! And the peppers and eggplant are starting.

CSA Harvest - Week # 11:

Salad Greens
Kale
Heirloom Tomatoes
Cherry Tomatoes
Carrots
Beets (Thank you Mike Nolan/Mountain Roots Produce!)
Scallions
Beans
Zucchini
Basil
Pepper or Eggplant

Sourdough Flavor of the Week: Plain

Recipe! Oh yea. I've been talking about sharing recipe ideas for... 4 years now. Here goes!

Roasted Beet Spread:

Blend together roasted beets, garlic, olive oil, red wine vinegar and salt until smooth and spread on EVERYTHING. So beautiful (about the same color as this zinnia!) and so delicious. We enjoyed it on veggie sandwiches yesterday. 

Have a lovely day folks! 

CSA Harvest - Week #10

Hi there. I hope everybody had an amazing week. Things got a little crazy here on Wednesday after I updated the blog... I had to say goodbye to my puppy dog. He was very sweet, hilarious and spent so many days helping me in the garden. He would charge out the front door with me in the early morning hours and head down to the garden super excited. I'd open the gate and head off to my morning task and he would walk the perimeter of the garden, checking this and that and then lay down near the gate and wait for me to need a break or a snack. When he was a young pup he would steal my shoes and sandals, but he'd only take one and stash it with his toys under a tree in front of the house. Deegs, thank you for hanging out during late harvest evenings, sounding the alarm when bears were in the yard and always being there. You're going to be missed. 

Whew. Ok... 

The garden is looking amazing. We received a couple big storms yesterday that soaked the garden, the forest, me, everything with rain. I think it was the first real Colorado storm I have felt this Summer. The kind that appear out of no where, dump rain, move quickly and then all of sudden the sun is shining again. LOVED IT.  So, it should be a glorious muddy harvest morning.  

Tomatoes are on and they look stunning. Yesterday morning I woke up in a panic... the actual low temperature in Ridgway for the night was supposed to be 55, and in my dream the temperature dropped to 15 degrees. I had a little freak out and was relieved to wake up to a warm August morning and ripe tomatoes to harvest. 

CSA Harvest - Week #10:


Salad Greens or Arugula
Cherry Tomatoes
Heirloom Tomatoes
Basil
Scallions
Carrots
Zucchini
Kale or Chard
Turnip or Radish

Have a beautiful day!

CSA Harvest - Week #9

Good morning. It's Wednesday already... and we're gearing up for harvest, drinking too much coffee and baking sourdough. The weather this week has been lovely so far, cool and rainy on Sunday and the last few days have been warm with off and on clouds. Perfect for planting fall greens. We seeded more arugula yesterday and transplanted kale, bok coy and napa cabbage. Yum. Spinach and head lettuce were on the list but will have to wait until later in the week. 

Flowers are blooming, Pink Beauty radishes are pushing themselves out of the ground and the pole beans are twirling up the fence and starting to set beans. woohoo!

I spotted a katydid hanging out on the calendula last night. We don't see them very often but this one looked big to me. They're funny and move so slowly. As I zoomed in to snap a photo he just slowly sidestepped to the edge of the flower. 

Harvest Details for Week #9:
Salad Greens
Kale or Chard
Squash or Napa Cabbage
Cherry Tomatoes!
Carrots
Turnip or Radish
Basil
Scallions
Herbs (Mint, Oregano or Parsley)

Sourdough Flavor of the Week: Plain

CSA Harvest - Week #8

Good morning! 

Its lovely and crisp outside this morning and the mountains are just starting to light up. Mmm should be a gorgeous day. Sorry we missed the last couple weeks on the blog... things have been a little busy and I have been sleeping in, oops! I probably need the extra sleep but it makes me wake up in a panic  :). 

The days have been silly and playful lately... hiking, laughing, seeding, harvesting, digging, pruning, and everything else. 

We harvested the garlic last week and it's now hanging in the barn for a month or so to cure. Smells AMAZING.

Yesterday we smushed squash bugs and their ugly eggs on the cucurbit block in Montrose. The winter squash are rocking and the melons are shortly behind, flowering and about to set some fruit. Fingers crossed the we have a looong warm season so the melons have lots of time. 

The greens in the garden loved the early July rain and produced much faster than I had anticipated, hence the heavy green shares over the last couple weeks. They may slow down a bit before the next round is ready... but the hot crops are just about to start so the timing should work out well. 

Tomatoes are beginning to blush in the greenhouses and we've started harvesting cherry tomatoes... just a few but it has begun! The summer squash and zucchini are producing as well and the eggplant and peppers are coming along. The beans and cucumbers are flowering and the tomatillos look amazing. Woo hoo! It's happening. We're a couple weeks behind last season, but I think that's to be expected with the wild weather we've experienced this season. 

Now, if somebody would please tell the squirrels and chipmunks to stop nibbling on carrots and tomatoes! Seriously critters, you're making me crazy. Grrr. 

So... the share this week should look something like this:

Salad Greens or Spinach
Kale or Chard
Carrots
Turnips
Basil
Scallions
Mint
Edible Flowers
Zucchini, Cherry Tomatoes, Padrons or Beaver Dams! (Just a teaser, but there are many more of these to come)

Sourdough Flavor of the Week: Seeded (Sunflower, Oats, Flax, Millet)

CSA Members, please note that next week we are harvesting everybody's share on Wednesday, August 5th, as there will not be a Friday Farmer's Market. Ridgway CSA Shares will be available on Wednesday, August 5th from 2-3 pm in town (location tbd). 

Have a great day!! 

CSA Harvest - Week #5

Good morning. Feeling a little groggy here... I fell asleep last night to the sweet sound of raindrops falling and slept so wonderfully. The ground outside feels soaked and we're gearing up for a beautiful harvest morning!  

My dreams for rain came true on Friday afternoon. We were at the Ridgway Farmer's Market selling veggies and arrived home late in the day to find the garden watered and green as could be. Yes!!! I feel like the plants were all letting out a big 'aaaahhhhh' sigh of relief from the intense sun and heat. The Brussels Sprouts, pictured above, have been looking exceptionally happy with the cooler wet weather. Keep it coming :)


A couple years ago we accidentally did an experiment. We mulched a bed of leeks with leaves... but ran out half way through. Come Fall, the leeks that were mulched were twice as big as those that hadn't been. So... we mulched the leeks recently and it feels good to see them protected with a lovely leaf blanket and hopefully ready to fatten up over the next couple months. And we seeded the next round of salad, spinach, arugula and turnips yesterday. A few more things need to go in before I will feel temporarily caught up.

Exciting news!!! A couple Sungolds are starting to blush and should be ready for snacking in the coming days. Which has me dancing around and it means many many more should start to follow. We're hoping tomato harvests start in the next few weeks! So pumped. 

CSA Harvest - Week #5
Salad Greens
Head Lettuce
Kale of Chard
Arugula or Spinach
Radish or Turnip
Garlic Scapes
Herbs
Rhubarb
Green Coriander?

Sourdough Flavor of the Week: Seeded (Oats, Millet, Sesame and Pumpkin Seed)

Have a great day!! 

July!!!!!

Good morning!

We woke up to gusty wind, dancing trees and a little sprinkling rain this morning. And now the sun is rising over the mountains and lighting up the sky with so many shades of pink, purple and blue. Mmmmm I think it's going to be a good day. 

This week flew by fast! It has been hootttt and this girl is ready for some afternoon clouds and rain to cool things off a bit! Yep. I'm anxious for those heavy Colorado downpours. Come on!

So... we've been sweating, weeding, harvesting, seeding, etc... and one of my best friends, Kelsey Bennett, whom I grew up with in beautiful Ridgway is in town for several weeks. She's amazing and is helping out in the garden a couple days a week! We cranked out some projects on Tuesday... flipped beds, seeded trays of fall greens and did some weeding. It's amazing how much faster projects go with help and good conversation! Thank you Kelsey!! 

Exciting garden bits. The bread poppies just started to bloom and are gorgeous! I got lost in these yesterday when I was supposed to be harvesting. The basil tripled in size this week, zucchini are growing fast, and the tomatoes are all racing to see who can reach the top of the hoophouse first. I cheer them on and like to think they're competing with each other... who's going to win!? Right now Soldacki is in the lead... and blooming like mad to boot.  Mmm Hmm. 

Ok. I should get moving. Details for CSA Harvest - Week # 4 are as follows:

Salad Greens

Arugula

Kale or Chard

Mustard Greens

Bok Choy or Napa Cabbage

Garlic Scapes

Basil! 

Herbs (Oregano, Lemon Balm or Mint)

Have a lovely day!

Summer!

It feels like Summer arrived with a bang this weekend. Sunshine, heat and glorious starry skies. Mmmm, yes! It's on. 

The garden is rocking... so much to do!! We have been pruning and trellising maters in the early morning hours before the heat arrives. They're flowering like crazy and starting to set a lot of fruit.  And we are seeding, transplanting and trying to figure out where to sneak in herbs and the many flowers we started! Hmm, I'm feeling a little bit behind... but when am I not?! 

A few more melons and a bed of dry beans went in the ground yesterday... and we're thinking about seeding the next succession of greens over the weekend. Oh yes! 

Keep an eye out for sassy garlic scapes this week! They're grrrreat for making pesto. And a friend shared her clever way to use radishes... try grilling them and serve with a mint vinaigrette. I would love to hear how you're using the produce, and if you have a favorite recipe please share.

CSA Harvest Week #3 should look like this:
Salad Greens
Head Lettuce
Bok Choy
Braising Mix
Kale, Chard or Mustard Greens
Garlic Scapes
Herbs (Mint, Lemon Balm or...)
Radishes or Turnips

Sourdough Flavor of the Week: Plain

Yay! Hope everyone has a beautiful day! I better get harvesting...

CSA Harvest - Week 2

Good morning! 

Summer Solstice is only a few days away... mmmmm! The days are long, warm and beautiful as ever. Everything in the garden is growing like wild now that the soil is warm and the sun is shining. 

We finished planting out the winter squash at Blue Grama Farm yesterday. We spent the day laughing, experimenting, doing tractor work, prepping beds and finally transplanting as the heat of the day had passed. The melons are going in tomorrow! 

Our tomatoes are suddenly ready to be pruned and trellised. They/re setting fruit and look amazing. I'm always a little paranoid about the tomatoes... worried that they could get funky (aka diseased). They're looking great minus a few leaves that flea beetles are chomping on. We loaded the greenhouses with basil over the weekend! Mmmm, pesto dreams. 

Flowers, cucumbers and the next succession of greens are all ready and need to be planted this week. Beans and zucchini are germinating, ground cherries and tomatillos are ready to go in the ground. And and and...

But, today we're harvesting! Focus. This week's share will be green heavy and look something like this:



Salad Greens
Mustard Greens
Head Lettuce
Bok Choy
Braising Greens
Green Garlic
Radishes or Broccoli
Herbs
Edible Flowers

Sourdough Flavor of the Week: Plain

Have a  beautiful Day!! 

May Showers bring...

Wowza. We asked and danced for moisture all Winter and throughout the first few weeks of Spring. And it finally arrived a few weeks ago and has not stopped. Dark clouds.  howling winds, fatty snowflakes, light rains, pounding hail, rumbling thunder. Rain. Rain. Rain. Rain... MUD. Puddles. Oh yes. 

So, it's the end of May and it has been very cool and wet, and surprisingly humid. We've been sloshing around in mud boots for weeks and I must say, I'm so excited to head outside today and work in the sunshine! It looks like a warm up is coming and I'm pumped. Things have been growing, but so so slooooowly. Hopefully everything will pop with a little heat. 

Harvests are scheduled to start next week... stay tuned for details early next week.  

We're waiting for the soil to dry up a bit so we can seed and plant... EVERYTHING. Hopefully all the dark and stormy weather made us rest enough that we're ready for the planting push that's going to happen over the next few weeks.  

We're building a small caterpillar tunnel, wash station and... what would May be without a couple building projects? Hoping to get this house wrapped up and covered with plastic tomorrow! Then filled with more tomatoes, peppers and eggplant over the weekend. Whoop! 

The first of many winter squash are hardening off and will be going into the ground soon. We knocked down a few beds of beautiful cover crop growing at Blue Grama Farm on Wednesday and will be transplanting in the coming days!


Have a lovely day!!