CSA WEEK #12: AUGUST 11-13

Crop Notes

Baby Bok Choi: We liked the rapid growth rate and flavor of the baby bok choi we grew for your very first week of the CSA, so we decided to plant another round. The same as before, we have opted not to wash the delicate heads in order to prevent cracking of the ribs and bruising of the leaves. They performed very well in the summer heat, but have lived their entire lives underneath the protection of row covers to keep out flea beetles. We see a noticeable difference in the texture and toughness of plants grown under cover vs. out in the open; plants underneath the cover don’t get as much direct sun or as much contact with the wind…so they tend to be very delicate and need to be handled extra gently in order to avoid damage.

Corn: This week you will receive Sugar Pearl corn. As the name suggests, it has pearly white kernels and tends to perform well in the earlier parts of the corn season. The plants are about 6-7 feet tall and each stalk yields 1-2 ears of corn. Corn is a wind-pollinated plant, meaning that it does not require the assistance of pollinators to reproduce. In addition, corn plants have both male and female parts (the tassels at the top are the male portion that produce the pollen and the corn husks with the silks are the female portion that catch the pollen). Did you know that corn is actually a grass? Other familiar and well-loved edible members of the grass family include rice, wheat, oats, rye, millet, sugar, and barley.

Cucumbers: We stocked up the share with a bounty of cucumbers this week since we can tell that the plants are starting to get tired and are making their final push before they sputter out for the summer. The Silver Slicers are the gift that just keeps on giving!!! We hope you love them as much as we do.

Onion, Ailsa Craig: These massive Spanish type onions are renowned for their large size. They date back to the late 1800’s and are sweet, mild, and juicy- perfect for onion rings or cut into slabs for burgers. Its not uncommon for Ailsa Craig onions to get up to around 2 pounds in size (a more typical size for an onion is between 1/2 – 3/4 pound).

Summer Squash: Just like the cucumbers, the squash plants are getting old and tired. Yields are declining and we are rapidly approaching time to say goodbye to summer squash for 2015…so bake em, fry em, grate em, freeze em, roast em, and make that zucchini bread while you still can! A great trick is to grate and freeze zucchini for later. Simply shred it with a cheese grater or food processor and pack into Ziploc bags for later- just squeeze some of the excess water out when you defrost them- great for winter soups and batches of zucchini bread to warm up on a cold day.

Around the Farm

The onions have come full-circle! They started their lives in the greenhouse this spring, got transplanted out into the fields, were weeded + watered, grew into beautiful onions, and are now being harvested and returned to the greenhouse for curing. At this time of year we stretch tarps over the greenhouse so its nice and shady for the onions to dry down. During this period the roots dry out, the skins dry and tighten, and the necks/stems lose their moisture and essentially seal off the bulb which is what enables them to store for long periods of time. Once all of this has occurred we trim the roots and tops off, sort by size, and pack into 50# bags for use later on.

 This spring onion trimming from March you see Jen (Harvest Manager), Jesse (Restaurant Manager), and Seth (your Farmer of the Week!) trimming the onion starts to prepare them for transplanting.

Speaking of dawn light, we are certainly already noticing the reduction of daylight hours both in terms of plants growth but also in how dark it is on the way to the farm in the morning! Although we are still full-steam ahead with plenty of harvesting, weeding, planting, watering, and the like…we’re at the time of year where we start pushing our start time back 30 minutes- hooray for ‘sleeping in’!!! And what other work commute comes with a sunrise view of three mountains from the Sauvie Island Bridge??? Its pretty glorious…

Meet Your Farmer

Seth Frank

Hometown: Logan, UT

Joined SIO Crew in May 2014. Seth started specializing in irrigation at the end of the 2014 season and has done a good deal of the irrigation so far this season and is now adding tractor operator to his resume.

Favorite fruit/vegetable: ”They’re all too good to pick just one”…but Seth narrowed it down to the nightshade family, which includes tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, and potatoes.

Favorite part of working on the farm: The people- how diverse and awesome my coworkers are on and off the farm.

What he does off the farm: Seth is heading out this very weekend to hop onto the Pacific Crest Trail near Three Fingered Jack to put in a warrior-like 60-90 miles in three days…good luck Seth!