Hurry Up and Wait

Greetings Folks!

I hope your Independence holiday was full of exactly what you wanted...relaxation, cooking with friends, a family bike ride, or sweatin' to the oldies.  Here on the farm, the 4th is a nice time to come up for air. June is a chaotic month on the farm with a lot of planting and harvesting, weeding and watering.  While July is often when a farmer's grit is tested, it is also a time to hurry up and wait.  With the spring veggies gone and summer fruit still ripening, we are mostly planting for the fall, weeding, watering, and dealing with broken equipment.  We harvested the last of the spring broccoli this week, but many tiny fall plants are heading out of the greenhouse to take their place in just two short weeks. The beans are finally flowering after weathering through yet another hail storm.  The tomatoes are bursting from their tunnels, plumping fruit with promises of a bountiful fall.  The garlic is out and curing, filling the greenhouse with its glorious aroma.  The onions, triggered by the slightly shortening days are getting wider in the waste and will soon be ready to pair with said garlic.

Carrots are back for the foreseeable future....meaning we should have them continuously until next March.  I'm starting to grow suspicious that many fort Collins folks are part rabbit as it seems like we can't ever grow enough carrots to satiate the masses.  I probably don't have to dole out carrot culinary ideas quite yet, but I will say that these young ones are great roasted with the tops on and served with a harissa dipping sauce.  The head lettuce has now been through its 3rd hail storm.  It is holding up ok, but these storms are getting a bit old.  Please continue to excuse some broken leaves while you continue to enjoy your salads.  Our red lettuce is somewhat of a romaine type and can be grilled nicely.  Andrea Beeman tops hers with fried capers, almonds, and a Dijon tahini dressing while I'm more of a honey lemon gal myself. Kohlrabi is still around for a while and can be a very versatile veggie.  Mix some shredded kohlrabi with some shredded potatoes for a quick week night fritter fest.  Serve with a cucumber dill or a cashew cream sauce and you will be licking your plates at the end of the evening.

Flower blooms are starting to shower their beauty over the farm and we hope you will pick some up at the market or farm stand.  Whether you are bringing them to a dinner party or placing them on your own clean table, they will be sure to make any space feel special.

Looking forward to seeing many of you soon!

Katie

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This Week's Harvest

Kale

Collards

Chard

Head Lettuce

Broccoli

Spring Onions

Zucchini

Cucumbers

Beets

Carrots

Basil

Turnips

Kohlrabi

Flower Bouquets