The big excitement on the farm this week was the round up of the runaway bulls… They came back (with a lot of flies!) tired, slimmer, and stressed out. It was odd to watch them crash (eat, sleep, fight with each other) and then kinda settle in. They are in the confinement quarters usually assigned over winter – with their favorite napping trees.
Note that when they ran away their ribs were NOT showing.
It is worth noting that one of them is already spoken for as beef – so if you want one of the very last shilofarm Red Poll halves speak up. No more cows after this, unless some really strange and undesirable thing happens. If prompted the saga can be related – suffice it to say it is exciting, with hand gestures and special voices.
Meanwhile, the garden continues to mature. Towards the end of last week’s handout it was discovered that there were a few radishes ready, as well as some very nice Japanese Salad Turnips – those small white roots and greens you may of found in your box. There will be more this week, unless you kick up a fuss about having turnips in any way, shape or form.
It is very possible that this picture is a repeat from last week – that said, these are Russet potatoes co-planted with the corn. The theory is that they are good for each other – which does indeed seem to be the case. Generally russets are not harvested as new potatoes – but there are so many and they are so nice that it is possible that one or more of you will have some . Nominally, the Red Norland and Cal White are the new potatoes of choice – that said, there are some volunteers that are being grabbed primarily because there aren’t supposed to be potatoes where they are.
Meanwhile, there is a lot of weeding, bean trellises getting finished, and some irrigation being installed. There are maybe 6 varieties of green beans – the fastest growing is over 6′ of vine already – while the slowest growing has yet to send out a sky-hook. It is worth noting one more time that there are more green beans than you would ever want in your weekly box. However, there will be big pick weeks where you will be able to get a ‘bonus box’ suitable for canning or freezing. The same thing will obviously happen with the winter squash and the tomatoes.
Speaking of tomatoes – they are really just getting going. It looks like the seedlings were kept in too small a pot before they were set out, which delays first picking from the usually prolific end of July. The slicers are setting nice fruit, but that fruit is still smaller than it will be.
And lastly there is a bit of an apology in order about the peaches. Obviously the sample selected before last week was an anomaly for ripeness – so the one given was a token of things ahead. There really won’t be a huge picking of peaches this year, but there will be some. What will be a huge picking will be the figs. Every week they are carefully examined and they are just as clearly Not Ripe Yet. Sigh. Feast or famine.
So here is what you will get, most likely:
| Lettuce | Cegolaine and mystery green – a leaf lettuce. Note that lots of the lettuce is going to seed, which makes the bulls very happy – and means you are likely to get a couple of heads. New seedlings get set out next week. |
| Brassicas | Small leaf Kale, and while not a “real” brassica there are a couple of bok choi that are ready. |
| Roots | There are some small beets, radishes, and Japanese salad turnips – the turnips are still pretty small, but they are supposed to be about the size of a ping pong ball anyhow. New crop is out at least 4 weeks for beets and carrots. |
| Greens | Obviously Arugula, Chard (is Chard a green?) |
| Herbs | Cilantro is done till a new planting, just a bit of Parsley, lots of small Chives, Mint, Oregano, tons of Basil. |
| Misc | Tomatoes are possible, but not a lot and only cherries for now. Pint of new potatoes (red Norland and/or Cal White), possibly some small yellow summer squash. It is going slow for some reason. |
Flower of the week is likely snapdragons, but there are also Statice and Zinnias and Stock and Roses – so, the flower farmer has not informed the author of the in the box email what is going to be there. All of them are great looking.
