This Week’s Harvest
Sweet Basil
Chard
Yellow Crook Neck Squash
Golden Zucchini
Green Zucchini
Patty Pan Squash
Kestral Beets
Chioggia Beets
Golden Beets
Dry Farmed Early Girl Tomatoes
Cippollini Onions
Italian Flat Leaf Parsley
Cabbage
Also available from our friends at Heirloom Orchards, blue berries and first of the season Apricots. If you’ve eaten store bought apricots before and found them wanting, be prepared for a taste sensation. These are tree ripened fruits. Not those blobs picked green and ripened in a gas chamber.
Upcoming Events
This Sunday, August 9, is our Annual Berry Picking event. We will begin with a potluck picnic under the trees at noon. After we have eaten we will spread out around the farm to pick blackberries.
Last year, we had copious amounts of blackberries. This year’s harvest will not be as bountiful. The hot weather withered many of the berries before they had a chance to ripen. There are certainly enough berries for every one to take home a couple of baskets. But, if you are looking for sufficient quantities to make a big batch of jam you will need to pick elsewhere too.
Please bring a blanket to sit on, a potluck dish to share, and your plates, cups, and utensils for the picnic and containers for your berries. Artisan Organics will provide Iced Tea, Lemonade, and hard boiled eggs from our very own hens. Please RSVP so I know how many eggs to boil.
We will harvest blackberries from several areas of the farm. Some are quite easy to access and are appropriate for the youngest pickers. Others require long pants and an adventurous spirit. You won’t find as many berries along this route but you will get to see the forested area of the land and our lovely little creek and irrigation pond.
Farm Life
The first harvest of the Dry Farmed, Early Girl Tomatoes is in. They are wonderful! As mentioned in a previous blog entry, we are trialing dry farming tomatoes in order to reduce our impact on the Tualatin River Watershed. The early results are very promising. Despite the recent hot weather, the yield is acceptable and the flavor is outstanding.
We’ve also had other “firsts” this week. Our first eggs! The hens have finally begun laying. The eggs are infrequent and tiny. We will hard boil them for the picnic so that you can sample them. As soon as the eggs reach a reasonable size, we will begin offering them to you for purchase.
Our harvest this week reflects what is meant when we talk about sharing the risk of farming with the farmer. Both the Chard and Cabbage are cosmetically affected by insect damage, the result of bugs that like hot, dusty weather.
If we were growing for the wholesale market, even the Organic wholesale market, these crops would be considered unsalable, despite the fact that they are still quit edible. The farmer would have to till them in and absorb the loss. In our case though, you help cushion the loss by using them in recipes that don’t require an attractive presentation.
Believe it our not, we have completed one third of our season already. It seems to me that we just began yesterday. The time is flying by. It is August already and I am immersed in planning for the winter shares. This week, we plant the cabbage that you will find in your share in December. I hope you are happy with your veggies so far.
Veggie of the Week
Some of you have asked why you are getting so much Parsley. The answer is, “Because this is the time of year parsley grows”. Come winter, when you are using the dried parsley to flavor your soups and stews, you will wonder how you ever tired of it.
But… if you are finding that you are receiving the parsley faster than you can dry it, don’t forget that it can be used fresh too. I particularly like to chop up the leaves and sauté them with my chard and beet greens. It really brightens up the flavor of the greens.
And, parsley makes great pesto. If you don’t believe me try this simple recipe for Linguini with Parsley Pesto from Cooks.com
http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,178,155167-239201,00.html


Weekly Harvest
Beets – Chioggia, Golden or Kestral
Broccoli
Cabbage
Fennel
Summer Squash – Yellow Crook Neck, Green and Golden Zucchini
Red Torpedo Bottle Onions
Scallions
Lettuce – Butterking and Red Buttterhead
Parsley
New Potatoes – mixed varieties




















