Hey Folks,

Well, I guess it is still very much summer. This week of heat has your farmers on their toes, keeping things watered and as happy as they can be and continuing the daily harvest push.

This week we harvested the big summer crop of carrots and they look great. These couple tons of carrots should get us all through the end of September when the Fall carrots come in. We take our carrot growing seriously here and are proud of growing some great carrots for y'all. The carrots you will see from here on out will be bagged and won't have tops, but not to worry, they are superbly fresh. The lack of tops and the fact that they are in a sealed bag will help them last for weeks in your fridge, but hopefully they only have to be there for a few days.

Another crop coming in for this week, that we spontaneously threw in this Spring, are some August leeks. Please don't feel like you need to make potato leek soup...these young leeks will be well suited to go into a cold salad or be crisped up to top off a burger or pizza from the grill.

This season has been marked by very hot and dry weather, which is to be expected some in Colorado, but days over 90 degrees have certainly increased in frequency over the last decade. This puts stress on the crops and the farmers. Not much likes this heat besides eggplant and hot peppers. Here's to hoping we can all start to cool off some next week.

We will also start having potatoes from our partner farm Strohauer Farms in La Salle, Colorado. A number of years ago we finally read the writing on the wall after struggling unsuccessfully to grow potatoes in our soil type and decided to find another way for you all to get some really great organic potatoes. The Strohauer family has been farming the sandy loam soils near Greeley for over a hundred years. They have perfected the art of growing organic potatoes and have the perfect soil type for it. We hope you enjoy their great potatoes as much as we do. This week we will have mixed fingerlings and Yukon Gold potatoes from them at both the Farm Stand and the Farmers Market.

Stay cool, eat local & be well,

Nic and The Native Hill Farm Crew

This Week's Harvest:

Red Romaine Head Lettuce
Green Summer Crisp Head Lettuce
Leeks
Carrots
Beets (red, gold, and chioggia)
Kale
Zucchini
Yellow Squash and Patty Pan Squash
Heirloom hardneck garlic
Candy Sweet Onions
Cucumbers
Green Beans!
Yellow Wax Beans
Dragon Tongue Roma Beans
Bell Peppers
Herbs at Farm Stand: Parsley, Shiso, Lovage
U pick Basil at the farm stand
Flowers! (Bouquets at Market and Farm Stand)
U Pick Flowers at the Farm Stand
Tomatoes at the Farm Stand (the first trickle of cherry, heirlooms, red slicers, and romas)
Heirloom Tomatoes at Farmers Market
Hot Peppers (jalapeño and serrano)
Asian and Italian Eggplant (limited quantities, just starting)
Shishito Peppers (limited quantities, just starting)
Yukon Potatoes (starting Friday afternoon and Saturday)
Mixed Fingerling Potatoes (starting Friday afternoon and Saturday)
And likely some other surprises

Farmer's Journal

The Weekly Harvest: The Harvest Hustle