What’s Growing This Week: Garlic Onions Cherry Tomatoes Figs Santa Rosa Plums Green Beans Tomatoes Summer Squash Cucumbers Sweet Corn

 Pablito....
BETTER LATE THAN NEVER
We don’t do much around here to celebrate July Fourth.  But we do like to have lots of sweet corn in time for the day.  This year we missed by two days.  I ate the first ear in the field on Sunday, but there were none to be found Friday morning when we harvesting for the weekend farmer’s markets.

 It wasn’t for lack of trying.  The first corn I planted didn’t emerge at all, victim of an April rain and wind storm that crusted the soil and rotted the seeds.  The second planting came up, but just barely.   The plants emerged sporadically, and the stand was raggedy and anemic.  Likewise the two plantings that followed it.  Through May and into June, the corn grew slowly and sadly — yellow, stunted, and weak — until the heat a few weeks ago kicked it into gear.  It turned green, shot up, and started making ears.

 Still, the tasselling of the corn, which leads to pollination, was a little too leisurely and unfocused.  That means that the ears are all different sizes — a few long and fat, others short and skinny.  Others seem like they’re two weeks behind the pack.  All this means that the first few plantings of corn will yield fewer ears than we had hoped.  We’ll give you what we’ve got, but it will be another month before the corn comes in the quantity and quality quality that most of you expect from us.

   We grow  only sweet white corn, which should hold in the fridge for 5 days but is always better the sooner you eat it.  Try roasting the ears in the husks under the broiler or on the BBQ.

FIGS & PLUMS
We don’t grow peaches.  We don’t have any trees, and we’re not sure we want any.  Peaches and nectarines are notoriously difficult to grow organically, and I have lots of respect for the people who do it well.  In fact, you can make a pretty good argument that most of the peach and nectarine varieties currently grown were bred assuming extensive chemical use, thus ensuring difficulty in growing them organically.

 Even when we have bought peaches from such people to put in our boxes, they never seem to arrive in a condition that elicits the appropriate response — joy and satisfaction.  Too ripe, not ripe enough.  So for now, we are leaving it up to you to procure your own peaches.  I suggest the nearest farmer’s market.  And if they don’t “give” when you squeeze them gently,don’t bother buying them.

 On to what we do have.  Figs are another hard-to-harvest fruit with a delicate skin and a sublime flavor.  For us, though, there are two main differences between figs and peaches.  First, figs are hardy, drought-tolerant  trees with few pests, which makes them easier to grow  organically.  Second, we just so happen to have 10 or so fig trees scattered around the parcels we farm.  And unlike peaches, these ten trees provide more than enough figs for our CSA.   A single fig tree actually bears two or three separate crops each summer, unlike any other summer fruit.We have both black and green (or white) fig varieties.  The first crop on the Black Missions was very light, due to the cool spring — today’s small portion represents the entire crop.  The green figs had no first crop at all.  However, the second crop on both varieties is already forming, and will provide a much more abundant supply in three weeks or so.  Figs are very perishable and should be eaten within a day or two, and kept in the fridge in the meantime.  Then, later in the week, you can pull out the ….

 Plums, which unlike peaches and figs, can be harvested when firm, left in cold storage, and then pulled out to ripen to their desired stage.   There are many varieties of plums, but most of them can be eaten firm or soft.   The Santa Rosas in your boxes to day are no exception.  When eaten firm, they are crisp, with slightly tart skin but sweet flesh.  If allowed to ripen further, they become oozingly juicy and sugar sweet.  Alas, plum trees produce only one crop each summer, and these plums are all we’ve got.  We will soon be planting more, but until then, enjoy today’s portion.
 

Coming to a Safeway Near You... Not content with having converted 75% of America’s corn and soybean fields into laboratories for it’s genetically engineered seeds, Monsanto recently announced its foray into a smaller market — it will be releasing a genetically engineered lettuce variety this year, followed next year by carrots, onions, spinach, broccoli, and other vegetables.  How will Monsanto be using the new technology to save the world with vegetables?  Will the new varieties contain more vitamins and minerals, drought resistance, or maybe higher protein levels?  No, no, no.  These new vegetables will be bred with the gene that renders them resistant to that popular herbicide, Roundup, also produced by… you guessed it!  Monsanto.  With the new Roundup Ready ™  vegetable varieties, growers will be able to kill weeds between the plants by spraying directly onto the vegetables — and thus eliminating the costly hand-hoeing that must otherwise be done.  Of course, this means that these heads of lettuce and other vegetables will arrive at your local supermarket completely covered in Roundup residue (Roundup is specially designed to be water resistant, so rinsing the vegetables won’t do much).  While the chemical is often called “harmless” to humans, reports by the EPA  and Cal-EPA have documented links to cancer, reproductive disorders, and birth defects.  And the container clearly states on the side that the product should not be consumed internally.  I guess we’ll just have to wait for Monsanto to start genetically engineering human beings with built-in resistance to Roundup…  When is this insanity going to end?

 

Recipes

 Basil Anchoide —
Thanks for Nori Hudson for this recipe from the New Basics cookbook by Rosso and Lukins
Mash 4 cloves garlic with the blade of a large knife.  Combine 3 C. basil leaves, 1/2 C. toasted pinenuts, 1 C. fresh Italian parsley, and two 2 oz. Cans of anchovy filets, drained, in a food processor and puree.  Add the garlic.  With the motor running, add enough olive oil to make the mixture smooth but not runny.
 

Produce 101: preparation & storage  TOMATOES should never be stored in the fridge, unless you plan to make sauce with them.  It will make them mealy.  Keep your ‘maiders in a cool, well-ventilated spot and eat them as they ripen. Our CUCUMBERS are not waxed and must be stored in the refrigerator in a plastic bag, or they will become limp overnight. TFF ONIONS are sweet varieties.  The reds can be eaten raw, and both kinds are great grilled, roasted, or for any other use. SWEET CORN loses sugar every day after it is harvested.  You can cook it all at once and then keep it in the fridge, reheating the ears briefly as you need them.  Otherwise, store in the fridge in a plastic bag to preserve moisture.  Boil water, throw the ears in, and remove as soon as the water returns to a boil.

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