We are excited to see the cantaloupe and watermelon growing.
The CSA brings science to life every day for us in a very hands on way. We walk our garden daily scouting for any issues that may need to be addressed: weeds, insects, fungus etc. We have been dry and were very thankful for the 2/10″ of rain we received on Monday.
Below you will see that we have seen an increased activity of squash bugs and the potato bugs. They are busy reproducing again. We continue to spend a lot of time taking care of the over population of these nemesis insects, researching management and control options and looking for ways to generate beneficial insects to help manage them. While these are challenging issues they are great learning opportunities for all of us.
In addition, we have some interesting things growing on the trellis’ check out this Butternut squash, defying gravity and growing up instead of down.
Every day there is something new to observe, something new to learn and understand. The definition of science is: the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment.
This is a good definition of agriculture every day which provides hands on opportunities for all of us to learn from.
We found this Butternut Squash is defying gravity and growing on the trellis’ upside down.
Garden Science
We inspected the vines to see what was causing the to die. We cut open the stems to see if there were any insects in the stem.
We found the brown eggs and spider-like small insects.
We took the leaves in and placed the leaf and eggs under the microscope.
We also used the magnifying glass to get a closer look at the Squash Bug eggs and newly hatched Squash Bugs.
This is how Sam feels about the Squash Bugs attacking the pumpkin plants.
Sam inspecting the potatoes for potato bugs.
We measured the Big Moon pumpkins and discovered they had grown between 2-3 inches this past week.
Boxes of Produce
This list is prepared before we harvest your share. Some guesswork is involved! We do our best to predict which crops will be ready to harvest, but sometimes crops are on the list that are not in the share. Sometimes crops will be in the share even though they’re not on the list.
Remember food safety in your kitchen when preparing, always wash your hands before working with your produce and always wash your produce before eating.
Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce – Wash your vegetables before eating – I love to use my salad spinner after washing the lettuces.
Prizeleaf Lettuce – A beautiful colored lettuce to add to the salads. Try adding some fresh berries or dried fruit to your salads.
Red Oak Leaf Lettuce – Wonderful color to your salads.
Beets – One of my very favorite vegetables. The whole plant is edible.
Green Beans – Try freezing or canning some of your extras or simply eat them raw. A few more green bean recipes for you.
Broccoli
Broccoli – Great to enjoy in your salads or cooked with some cheese sprinkled over it.
Cucumbers – If you would like to can any pickles let us know. We also have dill for you to use as part of your share.
Peppers
Tomatoes – Baby Boomer cherry tomatoes, Big mamma, Sunny Boy (yellow), Honey Delight (small yellow) and Fourth of July (medium red) – If you are like me, I am super excited for some BLTs. Enjoy, a lot more to come! Learn more how tomatoes are grown.
Summer Squash
Summer Squash/Zucchini – Some ideas from America’s Heartland on how to use this vegetable.
Onions – Walla Walla, Snow White, yellow Candy and Giant Red Hamburger (purple)
Potatoes – Red Pontiacs – Learn a little potato history.
Cilantro – Here is a fresh salsa recipe for you to try.
Fresh Arrangement – Zinnia or Sunflowers – Here are a few tips to try to keep your fresh-cut flowers fresh longer. I have tried the bleach trick, and it has worked for me.
Recipe of the Week
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup water
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 large onion, very thinly sliced
Oil for deep-fat frying
In a shallow bowl, whisk the first five ingredients. Separate onion slices into rings. Dip rings into batter. In a deep-fat fryer, heat 1 in. of oil to 375°. Fry onion rings in batches for 1 to 1-1/2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Serve immediately.
Source: Taste of Home
First to make the onion rings: wash and peel off outside skin of onion, slice the onion and separate the rings.
Mix together: 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup water, 1 egg,, lightly beaten, 1 teaspoon seasoned salt, and 1/2 teaspoon baking powder. Place rings into batter.
Place a few into the deep fat fryer at a time, flipping once to cook on both sides.
Onion rings to enjoy.
