THIS WEEK’S HARVEST
Arugula, Mustard Mix, Red Romaine Lettuce, Rosaine Little Gem Lettuce, Red Russian Kale, Fennel, Green Magic Broccoli, Loose Multicolored Beets, Assorted Zucchini, Patty Pan & Crookneck Squash, Pickling Cucumbers, Lemon Cucumbers, Persian Cucumbers, Fresh Torpedo Onions, Carrots, Galia Melons
U-PICK
Check the u-pick board in the barn for weekly u-pick limits.
Albion Strawberries | 2 pints per share
🌟 Cherry Tomatoes | 1 pint per share | check out harvest note below on this year’s varieties!
Amethyst Beans | No Limit - Take what you’ll eat or preserve this week!
Purple Sugar Snap Peas | 1 pint per share
Frying Peppers:
Shishitos | No Limit - Take what you’ll eat or preserve this week!
Padrón | No Limit - Take what you’ll eat or preserve this week!
Herbs & Edible Flowers: Husk Cherries, Italian Basil, Purple Basil, Lemon Basil, Purple Basil, Dill, Tulsi, Parsley, Cilantro, Chamomile, Calendula, Borage, Nasturtium, Pansies/Viola, Stridolo, Lemon Bergamot Bee Balm, Onion Chives, Garlic Chives, Tarragon, Thyme, Oregano, Marjoram, Culinary Sage, Lemon Balm, Lemon Verbena, Vietnamese Coriander, Shiso/Perilla, Catnip, Pineapple Sage, Sorrel, Assorted Mints
Flowers! Too many to list! Feel free to pick the sunflowers along the edge of the parking area in addition to everything in the garden.
This year’s cherry tomato line-up! Top row: Supersweet 100 & Sungold. Bottom row: Pink Princess & Blush.
HARVEST NOTES
Cherry Tomatoes: We are so excited to be welcoming the first tomatoes of this very cool season! As always, the earliest tomatoes to ripen will be the ones at the very bottom of the plant. This week, expect to find them about 6” off the ground. Picking will get easier as the season goes on and the fruits further up the plant start to ripen.
Unlimited Amethyst Beans: This is a great week for eating and preserving beans! You can find a classic, canned dilly bean recipe here, or for a quick and easy fridge pickle, check out the recipe below.
Fresh Torpedo Onions: A favorite in Italy and France, these beautiful, pink, elongated onions are mild, delicate, and delicious raw. We recommend incorporating them into fresh salads, pizza or sandwiches.
Galia Melons: Galia melons are a cross between Cantaloupe and Honeydew, with green flesh and a tropical flavor all their own.
3 SUMMER RECIPES
This week we’re bringing you a 3-part recipe that comes together in a delicious, main course salad, or can be eaten as its individual parts.
quick-pickled string beans
From Six Seasons by Joshua McFadden
The brine will keep nicely in the fridge, so make a triple batch and be ready for sudden pickling urges. Makes enough for about 3 pints of pickles (depending on their size and shape and the amount you stuff into the jar).
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 1/2 cups hot water
5 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Optional: 5 smashed garlic cloves, 2 dried chiles, 2 rosemary sprigs
Put everything in a pot or bit pitcher and stir until the sugar and salt have dissolved. Using clean canning jars, fill with your vegetable in a way that shows off the beauty of it, pour over the brine until the vegetables are completely covered and the jar is full, and screw on the cap. Refrigerate for up to 2 months. Start tasting after the first day to see how the floor and texture are developing. They are ready to eat as soon as you think they are.
TONNATO
From Six Seasons by Joshua McFadden
Tonnato sauce is trulyItalian, but you’ll recognize the flavors from the tuna sandwiches of your youth. The sauce works so well with so many vegetables, from raw to grilled to pickled.
Makes about 1 1/2 cups
Two 5-ounce cans oil-packed tuna, drained
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
About 1/3 cup good-quality mayonnaise
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
About 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Put the tuna and salt in a food processor and pulse until it’s blended. Add mayonnaise and pulse until the ingredients are getting creamy. With the processor running, drizzle in the olive oil and lemon juice and process until the tonnato is very smooth and creamy. Taste and add more mayonnaise, olive oil, lemon juice, or salt. Store in the fridge for up to a week.
STRING BEANS, PICKLED BEANS, TOMATOES, CUCUMBERS, AND OLIVES ON TONNATO
From Six Seasons by Joshua McFadden
This salad evolved from the classic salad nicoise: The potatoes and eggs are gone, but the fresh vegetables are still there, and the tuna is transformed from chunks to a creamy tonnato dip. I throw in some arugula to have some greens, and top it all with crunchy torn croutons — the result is a main-dish salad that captures the vibrancy of the season.
Serves 4
1 medium cucumber
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound string beans, trimmed
1/2 pound cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup pitted mixed olives
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon dried chile-flakes
extra-virgin olive oil
8 ounces pickled string beans
1 big handful arugula
1 small handful basil leaves
2 cups torn croutons
Tonnato dressing
Trim the ends of the cucumber, halve lengthwise, scoop out the seeds, and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Toss the cucumber with 1 teaspoon salt and put in a colander so the salt can draw out excess moisture. Let it sit for 15 to 20 minutes. Blot the cucumber on paper towels to remove the moisture and excess salt. Pile into a medium bowl.
Meanwhile, bring a small amount of water to a boil in a skillet, add 1 teaspoon salt and the fresh beans, cover, and steam until the beans are tender but not soft, 5 to 6 minutes. Drain and cool the beans.
Add the tomatoes, onion and olives to the cucumber. Add the vinegar and Chile flakes and season well with salt and black pepper and toss. Taste and adjust with more of the seasonings. Finish by tossing with 1/4 cup olive oil.
Spread the tonnato in a thick layer over a serving platter. Pile the steamed beans and the pickled beans on top, and tumble the tomato-cucumber salad on top of the beans. Drop the arugula and basil over the surface and top with the croutons. Give the whole platter a nice drizzle of olive oil to finish and serve right away.
FARMER’S LOG
a Cool Summer (So Far)
What was the Mark Twain quote? “The coldest winter I ever spent…”
This week we welcomed what felt like the first warmth of the summer here to our valley by the Laguna — with temperatures surpassing 80 for multiple days!
Us farmers were a little bummed — it has been amazing working in the cool weather — but you could see our heat loving summer crops let their hair down. The tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, and corn all seemed to liven up in color and let their leaves relax. Our corn varieties seemed to explode in growth.
This summer has been quite a different animal than last year. It has been the coldest summer in San Francisco since 1982. By this time last year we had had two significant heat waves with multiple days over 100. NOAA says that our July days, on average, have been 4 degrees cooler than last year with temperatures looking more similar to May averages. If you permit me a little back-of-the-napkin math (4 degrees x 45 days = 180 degrees!) That’s a lot of degrees! And that’s what this summer has felt like, 180 from last year.
A fall crops like this celery root and leeks are definitely loving the cool
And we are definitely seeing the differences in our fields and in our harvests now. Last year by this time we were starting to eat the first fat heirloom tomatoes and eggplant. Similarly, we opened our cherry tomatoes for u-picking two weeks ago in 2024. Most of our heat loving crops look at least 2 weeks behind last year.
But there could be benefits down the road from this cooler weather. A lot of our heat loving crops don’t look as stressed or beat down as they did at this point last year. Last year our frying peppers were already to starting to yellow, abandoning their vegetative stage, to focus on their fruits. This year they are still growing. While last year’s blistering heat brought things on earlier, I think it also shortened their seasons. And other crops like onions, winter squash, potatoes don’t look as stressed either.
This year we are slow roasting rather than broiling.
Hopefully this cold start means a longer, more languishing harvest of our cornerstone summer fruits. But no one knows what the future holds.
As someone who spends most days outside, I never thought I’d say this but… bring on the heat!
See you in the fields,
David
CSA BASICS
What time is harvest pick-up?:
Saturday harvest pick-ups run from 9:00 am - 2:00 pm
Tuesday harvest pick-ups will run from 1:00 pm - 6:00 pm
U-pick hours: Oriented members can come to the farm any time, 7 days a week, sunrise to sunset, to u-pick and enjoy the farm.
2025 CSA program dates: Our harvest season will run from Saturday, June 14th through Tuesday, December 9th this year.
Where is the farm? The member parking lot is located at 1720 Cooper Rd., Sebastopol, CA 95472.
Slow on Cooper Rd. Out of respect for our neighbors and the many kids and animals that live on Cooper Rd., please drive slow (20 mph)!
