Finally! There is cooler weather on the way. Although there are some crops that thrive in the heat, there are many that don't! Our tomatoes and eggplants are beginning to produce and our cucumbers are off the hook but our brassicas (collards, kale, broccoli etc.) are looking pretty stressed and tired from weeks of 90 plus degree weather. This weather is definitely affecting our harvest schedule, bringing some crops earlier than anticipated and ending the harvest cycle earlier then we were hoping for others. At this point I'm thrilled to see some cooler weather on the forecast so that our tender leafy greens (and our farm crew) can get a break from all of this heat. We've been up with the sun and calling the day around 3pm when the heat gets so oppressive that the only place to be is the river! With all the helping hands on the farm this year we can actually achieve most of what needs to happen on the farm in a 50-60 hour work week, which any farmer can tell you is a relaxed sort of schedule for farming.

This week we sent our broilers out onto pasture for the first time where they will spend the remainder of their days until they are ready to harvest (we are thinking early August). At that point we will have whole chickens for sale, and they are some of the tastiest birds that I have had the pleasure of eating and growing. We also just received a shipment of another 100 broilers for an early September harvest. We currently process all of our birds on the farm, which some of our apprentices are looking forward to more than others. We are also raising pigs this year and between their grain ration and tasty scraps from the garden they are growing like crazy. We are hoping to butcher in October and will have meat available for purchase from the farm.

Even though summer is in full effect it is already time to start transplanting crops for the fall. We are trying out some new varieties this season and are looking forward to an abundant harvest of cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage and romanesco this season. Our onion crop is also getting close to harvest and I can't wait to be offering these gems to our CSA and our farmer's market customers.

Think of this weeks share as the perfect salad and slaw share. Shaved fennel goes great with cabbage lightly dressed for a summer coleslaw, green onions can be chopped and used as a garnish for a lettuce based salad, leftover grilled summer squash pairs well with basil and balsamic for a twist on chopped salad.

This week's share:

1 bunch green onions
1 bag salad mix
1 head lettuce
1 bunch carrots
1 bunch dandelion
1 bulb fennel
2 summer squash
1 red cabbage
1 bunch basil

'Til next week...