We’re halfway through the Summer season, and that means that Mark and I basically no longer in charge of the farm. Not to worry. This doesn’t mean that you’ll find us catching up on our rest just yet. We’re actually everything but complacent, because this is the time of year that we give ourselves over to the will and wherewithal of our late-Summer overlords, the fruiting crops. For much of the year, I wake up, and make a list of exactly how much I want us to harvest in a given day (ie: 200 heads of lettuce, 12 bunches of Chard, etc). But many of the crops we enjoy most at this time of year—the Cucumbers, the Zucchini, and as of today, the various Tomatoes and such—they decide how much or how little is ready for harvest and insist that we pick them several times a week. They start out with a modest output (like this week’s first little Tomato harvest, which we will split up amongst the CSA and only have a limited amount of extra for sale) before gaining in output as the weeks go by (which is why we will get around to those bulk sales soon but not just yet). So this week is a literal taste of what is to come.

This week’s newsletter is going to be brief, because we just wrapped up hosting a Farm Walk at Wild Hare today. Mark and I had the pleasure of sharing an in-depth look at our farm and practices with a group of farmers, certifiers, researchers and professionals from our local food system. Luckily, today’s event was recorded in multiple forms of media, and with folks in the form of a virtual tour in the future, which is beyond amazing. Mark and I are truly grateful for days like these, and after four hours of sharing ideas, gadgets, stories, and techniques, I’m having trouble finding the words, let alone string them together into sentences.

It’s going to be a hot week, a physically demanding week, a Mega-Zucchini week, and thankfully, a perfectly ripe Blueberry week at Wild Hare. Blueberries are the ultimate refreshing treat, and that’s exactly what we need when the temps creep up. We’ll have the first cups available for our CSA this week and a few for sale at the farmstand too. Our crop is sizing up big and sweet, and now it is just a race against the heat and the birds. By July, I swear we’re always racing to keep ahead of something—if its not weeds, its bugs. If not bugs, then birds. And if not birds, its probably a mechanical bearing screaming in distress…which it actually was. Shortly after I snapped this photo of the corn irrigation moment above, Mark found himself performing an emergency walk-in-cooler compressor repair. I wish he didn’t have to be such a handy dude, but we’re sure lucky that he is. Mid-July is a less than ideal time to be short on refrigeration. In addition to those blues, we’ll have the tender Oakleaf and Butterleaf Lettuces that you all enjoy, and bunches of Mini Daikon for this week, which you can enjoy tops and all. The Zucchini and Summer Squash are loving this heat, so fire up the grill, or get to grating or spiralizing. We enjoyed a wonderful raw Zucchini Salad prepared by our friends John and Heather from Inch Acres over the weekend, and it delicious. Turn on the oven for zucchini bread if you must, but scroll through the recipes below if you’re like me and want nothing to do with that on a hot week!

Stay Cool,
Katie

PS: The first few pops of color are starting to show in the CSA Flower Garden. We hope to open it up for upick by next week (fingers crossed!).