from top left to right: parsley, slicing cucumbers, safari zucchini, zephyr squash

middle left to right: purple cabbage, carrots

bottom left to right: cherry tomatoes, green tomatoes, beefsteak tomatoes, dried yellow onions

Hi folks, welcome to week 9. This week we have 3 types of tomatoes! Cherry tomatoes that are great for salads, or if you are like me, I pop them like potato chips. Big Beef beefsteak tomatoes, great for sandwiches, salads, etc... and green tomatoes which can be fried or try making a little relish or chutney. If you have an abundance of squash and zucchini you can also make a relish, see recipe below.

We are also excited to have added a beautiful bunch of carrots to your box this week! These are the most beautiful carrots we have ever grown! It has been difficult digging them, but the rain sure has helped soften the ground. Thankful for the rain. The carrots are delicious, but also try the greens! Try them in a pesto, add parsley as well. Or try the recipe below, warm chickpea salad with greens. I also enjoy throwing these herbaceous greens into a smoothie. Some of these carrots grow in peculiar ways, and I had one that decided to sit and stay a while (see picture below). I love it!

We have little watermelons on the vine! I am so excited about this, but know I must wait patiently. It takes almost a month for them to ripen, but will be worth the wait to have this sweet treat on a hot day. Speaking of hot days, it is really starting to heat up on the farm. We have been trying to keep up with the tomatoes, which has grown wild on these hot days. We keep up with them by stringing them. We weave string from post to post to insure, most of the time, they grow upwards and not into our aisles. We are still pulling onions to cure. We probably have about 10,000+ more to pull out of the 30,000 we planted this spring.

We have new comfort color tanks for sale in a nice watermelon and teal/aqua color. These are so awesome! Great for all summer outdoor activities. I am sad they weren't delivered sooner! We hope everyone has been able to beat the heat, get in the kitchen, clank some glasses, and have a great time doing so! Here are the contents of this weeks box:

1. Green Tomatoes- this is a beefsteak tomato. Try as fried, as a relish, chutney, or salsa.

2. Beefsteak Tomatoes- the variety is Big Beef. Delicious, juicy, and vine ripened under the sun.

3. Cherry Tomatoes

4. Carrots- The variety this week are Rainbow and Nelson. Don't discard those greens! Try the salad below, the pesto recipe, or try them in your smoothie.

5. Purple Cabbage

6. Cured Yellow Onions

7. Parsley

8. Zucchini

9. Squash

10. Slicing Cucumbers