We are excited to announce that we will host volunteers every Friday morning starting next week, Friday, August 16th. If you would like to sign up or learn more, click the button below.
Despite temperatures in the triple digits, we are steadily planting and harvesting many vegetables. August is the season of watermelons, long beans, okra, and much more. Listed below are the veggies you can expect to see in your share this month.
Melons & Watermelons- We are just beginning to harvest a fresh round of melons and watermelons. Such a treat in the Texas heat! We are growing over 9 varieties Check out our Melon Season blog to get photos and how to tell peak ripeness for each variety.
Long Beans—Fun fact: Long beans have twice the protein/ volume of a "regular" string bean. Plus, they can be a little sweeter, too. Look out for long beans in your shares for the next couple of weeks. Long beans thrive in the heat! This year, we are growing both green and pink varieties.
My favorite way to eat long beans (and holy basil!) is Pad Kra Pao [Thai Holy Basil Chicken Stirfry] Use this recipe, or improvise your own
Okra—We admittedly planted our okra a little late this summer, so we are just getting our first harvest this week. Okra is another crop that loves the triple digits, so look out for tender red and green okra in your shares over the next few weeks.
Basil & Tulsi- We have to keep these delicate herbs under a cover to protect them from being nibbled on by grasshoppers. We think it is totally worth it! Expect to be delighted by fresh, fragrant bunches of basil and holy basil (tulsi). For those of you who aren't as familiar with holy basil, it can make a wonderful, highly adaptogenic tea and is delicious in stir-fries (like Pad Ka Pao).
Peppers- we have a wide assortment of sweet peppers that will keep producing through August. Peppers tend to get smaller in size as the pepper plants get stressed by the heat, so if you notice the size of your peppers decreasing, you are noticing the seasonality of your peppers :-)
Carrots & Potatoes—We occasionally add some of these storage crops to your shares to add diversity. These items were grown/harvested in June and put in our coolers to supplement our summer shares. Sometimes, the skins can get a little tough, so we recommend peeling storage crops this time of year.
Cucumbers & Zucchini—I always had the hardest time growing cucumbers and zucchini through the summer until we got the bee hives. Ever since then, we have gotten absolutely wonderful yields despite the high temperatures. Their pollination services greatly increase our ability to grow these delightful cucumbers all summer.
Eggplant- if you're an eggplant lover, congratulations! It's going to stay in the boxes for a few more weeks. If you're not thrilled about the idea of more eggplant check out our blog post '10 reasons to not hate eggplant' It is chocked full of amazing eggplant recipies and cooking tips.
Pea Shoots & Sunflower Shoots—We grow these tender little shoots in ebb and flood trays in one of our coolers. We do this for a limited time during the hottest and coldest times of year to give you some fresh greens at a time when tender leaves don't fare so well outside.
Arugula- Arugula is the toughest of all baby greens and will germinate even in 100 degrees. We will get our first "fall" arugula at the end of August. It will admittedly be a little spicy-- but we recommend using it as an herb or garnish in the early fall when it has more of a kick to it. Did you know that arugula and all plans in the brassica get their "spice" from a compound called Allyl Isothiocyanate. For those of you curios to learn about its health benefits and how to neutralize it-- read our 'Why are my radishes Spicy?' post.
A big thank you to each of our CSA members for sticking with us through the heat of summer. We are busy seeding and preparing for a bountiful Fall CSA! Look out for a survey in next week's blog to give us feedback on what content you would like to get more of this fall.
All the Best,
Becky & the VRDNT farm team
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