Hello everyone,
We had over an inch of rain last night, so my garden is very happy again. Only the bell peppers are doing poorly because they do not like this cool weather. The tomatoes look great, although I have seen some summers when they grow and grow but are very slow to develop ripe tomatoes. It's too early to worry about that for this summer. I'm sure we will have some hot, muggy weather before the end of July. Speaking of hot, muggy weather, We got our hay cut and baled last week, only a month late. We got nearly 400 bales off the 4 acre field. The hay is still sitting in wagons in my barn as Walt, the farmer who baled it, is trying to sell it off the wagons rather than out of the hay mow.
Mary Poppins will be performed by the South Bend School Corporation starting tonight. The summerfly shows are amazing, as talented high school kids from all over the area perform in them. None of my children are in the show this year, for the first time in many years. Only Bernadette is young enough to audition for the show and she chose to go on our church service trip rather than be in the play this year, still I am looking forward to going tomorrow night It starts tonight and runs Thursday-Sunday at Clay High School.
Every week at the beginning of the season there are new vegetables in each box, This week we have carrots and green beans and squash for the first time, but we will have them many times throughout the summer. I want to tell a story about my green beans this year. For a few years I grew Fortex beans. They were very large, often growing 7-10 inches long. I loved them. I could pick a bunch for supper in a couple minutes, or snap them and can 7 quarts in the pressure cooker very quickly. I planted them once in the spring and they produced all summer until frost. I bragged about them as the best beans I have ever grown, or even seen. Then in about January 2014 one of my CSA members asked if I could grow smaller beans. She said, "I can't do anything with these except boil them." Well I didn't know we could do anything with beans except boil them, and I was a bit shocked that somebody did not think the Fortex beans were the greatest beans ever, but I do know that I am not always in the know regarding what is fashionable or in demand. I never listen to "The Splendid Table" or watch any cooking shows. I hardly ever cook in the summer when I am working in the garden. I still have never worn a pair of those short socks that only go the ankle, though they have been around at least 20 years.
I decided that she was probably right and that I should grow smaller green beans. So last year I planted a different variety. I planted them every 2 weeks for 4 plantings and they produced very well, and I was very pleased with them, though they were more work than the Fortex beans. Last year I brought a box of vegetables every week to Navarre Cafe, but the chef there asked me not to give him any more beans, because he couldn't use those "large" beans. Large beans, these were the small beans. So, last winter I searched the seed catalog for small beans and selected a variety called Pike. They are very tender and delicious and I hope you like them. I want to grow the vegetables that you want to eat. Speaking of popular vegetables, I will probably put kale in the boxes all summer because it is so popular.
Bernadette has been updating our web site every week. It has some recipes and some newsletters and many photographs. When you folks send recipes to the group she adds them to the website. The website is www.plowsharescsa.weebly.com. We would love recipes for squash, (zucchini or yellow) green beans, or beets this week. Have a great week everyone. I hope you enjoy this week's boxes. Brett
We had over an inch of rain last night, so my garden is very happy again. Only the bell peppers are doing poorly because they do not like this cool weather. The tomatoes look great, although I have seen some summers when they grow and grow but are very slow to develop ripe tomatoes. It's too early to worry about that for this summer. I'm sure we will have some hot, muggy weather before the end of July. Speaking of hot, muggy weather, We got our hay cut and baled last week, only a month late. We got nearly 400 bales off the 4 acre field. The hay is still sitting in wagons in my barn as Walt, the farmer who baled it, is trying to sell it off the wagons rather than out of the hay mow.
Mary Poppins will be performed by the South Bend School Corporation starting tonight. The summerfly shows are amazing, as talented high school kids from all over the area perform in them. None of my children are in the show this year, for the first time in many years. Only Bernadette is young enough to audition for the show and she chose to go on our church service trip rather than be in the play this year, still I am looking forward to going tomorrow night It starts tonight and runs Thursday-Sunday at Clay High School.
Every week at the beginning of the season there are new vegetables in each box, This week we have carrots and green beans and squash for the first time, but we will have them many times throughout the summer. I want to tell a story about my green beans this year. For a few years I grew Fortex beans. They were very large, often growing 7-10 inches long. I loved them. I could pick a bunch for supper in a couple minutes, or snap them and can 7 quarts in the pressure cooker very quickly. I planted them once in the spring and they produced all summer until frost. I bragged about them as the best beans I have ever grown, or even seen. Then in about January 2014 one of my CSA members asked if I could grow smaller beans. She said, "I can't do anything with these except boil them." Well I didn't know we could do anything with beans except boil them, and I was a bit shocked that somebody did not think the Fortex beans were the greatest beans ever, but I do know that I am not always in the know regarding what is fashionable or in demand. I never listen to "The Splendid Table" or watch any cooking shows. I hardly ever cook in the summer when I am working in the garden. I still have never worn a pair of those short socks that only go the ankle, though they have been around at least 20 years.
I decided that she was probably right and that I should grow smaller green beans. So last year I planted a different variety. I planted them every 2 weeks for 4 plantings and they produced very well, and I was very pleased with them, though they were more work than the Fortex beans. Last year I brought a box of vegetables every week to Navarre Cafe, but the chef there asked me not to give him any more beans, because he couldn't use those "large" beans. Large beans, these were the small beans. So, last winter I searched the seed catalog for small beans and selected a variety called Pike. They are very tender and delicious and I hope you like them. I want to grow the vegetables that you want to eat. Speaking of popular vegetables, I will probably put kale in the boxes all summer because it is so popular.
Bernadette has been updating our web site every week. It has some recipes and some newsletters and many photographs. When you folks send recipes to the group she adds them to the website. The website is www.plowsharescsa.weebly.com. We would love recipes for squash, (zucchini or yellow) green beans, or beets this week. Have a great week everyone. I hope you enjoy this week's boxes. Brett
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