THIS WEEK’S HARVEST
In a nutshell: Tomatoes are ripening higher on the vine and curing onions burst out of the sides of the greenhouse.
Bicolor Sweet Corn, Summer Squash & Zucchini, Lemon & Persian Cucumbers, Rainbow Carrots, Walla Walla Sweet Onions, Galia & Sarah’s Choice Melons, Early Girl & Heirloom Tomatoes, Salad Mix, Little Gem Lettuces, Red Butter Lettuce, Rainbow Chard, Fennel, Celery, Hakurei Salad Turnips, Sweet and Tender Cabbage.
U-PICK
Albion Strawberries: 3 pints per share
Cherry Tomatoes: 3 pint per share
Shishito & Padrón Frying Peppers: 2 pints total per share | There continue to be more Shishitos than Padrons. See Week 6’s Newsletter for harvest and preparation tips.
Dragon Tongue Beans: 4 pints per share | These gorgeous, purple-speckled beans have a sweet flavor.
Jalapeños: 4 peppers per share | if you like your jalapeños hot, look for peppers with checking (little cracks) on them
Buena Mulata Peppers: 2 peppers per share | see Harvest Notes for details!
Pickling Cucumbers: 1 gallon season limit | Winding down, so pick soon if you still haven’t! See Week 6’s Newsletter for harvests and pickling instructions.
Tomatillos: 1 pint per share
Herbs: Italian Basil, Thai Basil, Tulsi Basil, Dill, Chamomile, Parsley, Onion Chives, Garlic Chives, Tarragon, Oregano, Marjoram, Culinary Sage, Lemon Balm, Lemon Verbena, Vietnamese Coriander, Shiso (Perilla), Culinary Lavender, French Sorrel, Borage, Violas, Thyme and Mints.
Flowers!
HARVEST NOTES
Rainbow Carrots: For the next week or two we’ll have our custom mix of rainbow carrots. We often think that the vast variations in carrot flavor due to variety, terroir, and season warrant them having their own tasting flights. We hope you enjoy Purple Haze, Romance and Gold Nugget as much as we do!
CELERY AND FENNEL WITH WALNUTS AND BLUE CHEESE
Recipe by Alison Roman
This week is the perfect time to make this sophisticated (and easy) salad! We’ve been enjoying it as a side dish, or made more substantial eaten atop a grain like farro.
Serves 4 to 6
1⁄2 cup toasted walnuts, coarsely chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 celery stalks, with leaves, thinly sliced on the bias
1 large fennel bulb, trimmed and thinly sliced lengthwise
1⁄2 small shallot, thinly sliced (torpedo onions would be good here too)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, plus more as needed (also delicious with champagne vinegar!)
1⁄4 cup olive oil, plus more as needed and for drizzling
1 1⁄2 ounces firm blue cheese, such as Bayley Hazen or Valdeon, or a mild Stilton, thinly sliced or crumbled
Toss the walnuts with a bit of olive oil so they are nicely coated, then season with salt and pepper and set aside.
Toss the celery stalks (reserve the leaves for garnish), fennel, shallot, and lemon juice in a large bowl; season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with the olive oil and season with enough lemon juice to make it very tangy.
Transfer to a large serving platter or large shallow bowl and top with the walnuts, cheese, celery leaves, and another drizzle of olive oil and plenty of pepper.
WINTER SISTER FARM CSA SIGN-UPS NOW OPEN!
The hottest tickets in town are now on sale — Winter Sister Farm’s 2024 Winter CSA program is now open for registration! Winter Sister Farm, right next door to us, was started by our dear friends Anna and Sarah Dozor. Their CSA runs runs from December through May and includes 24 weeks of specialty winter veggies, flowers, herbs, and more — all picked up by CSA members, free-choice market style, on their beautiful farm here on Cooper Rd! Sign-up today!
FLOWER POWER: THe Space Between
Tips and inspiration to unlock the flower garden from our Flower Ambassador, Cassidy Blackwell
The subtle tilt of light. The scratch of seed pods against my arm as I walk through the flower rows. The bright pinks of summer Snapdragons have faded into the bronzed hues of Hot Biscuit Amaranth and the the deep velvety wine colored Scabiosa. Even though it’s 90 degrees at 6pm, you can feel the change of seasons in the flower garden.
Nature is marching towards the equinox and this straddling of seasons is showing in my bouquets! The bold face Rudbeckias and Sunflowers (literally) nod to the summer sun while golden seed pods and grasses give artful and earthy flourishes to finish. While the big white Nicotiana’s have faded, I’m absolutely loving their smaller dusty coral hued Peach Screamer Nicotiana cousins in the far Western garden bed.
Bright palettes have been replaced by more muted tones. While the joys of peak summer may have been found in bright bold array of hues, I’m enjoying this subtlety of this shift because in this space between there remains beauty and growth.
See you in the garden,
Cassidy
CSA BASICS
ATTENTION MEMBERS: Please make sure to drive slow (15 - 20 mph) on Cooper Rd. out of respect for our human and pet neighbors! Thank you!
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
When can I u-pick?: Oriented members can come to the farm any time, 7 days a week, sunrise to sunset, to u-pick and enjoy the farm, minding weekly u-pick limits.
2023 CSA program dates: Our harvest season will run this year from June 24th - December 19th
Where is the farm? The member parking lot is located at 1720 Cooper Rd., Sebastopol, CA 95472.
Where should I park?: Follow our sign on Cooper Rd. down a short gravel driveway. Please find a parking spot next to the solar panels or along the road further down. Please don’t park behind the solar panels.
Where’s the bathroom!: Under the big solar panels in the parking lot.
What should I bring?:
Your WCCF tote bag
Pint baskets or small containers for measuring your allotment of u-pick crops like strawberries
A vase, bucket, or water bottle to keep your flowers and herbs happy
Clippers or secateurs to cut flowers (if you have some), we also have some in the barn
Water / sun hat / picnic supplies if you plan to stay awhile!
Friends and family!
Newsletters & email communication: All our important CSA communications are through this email address, which seems to be getting spam blocked a lot. Please make sure this email address is in your address book so you get important CSA communications. All newsletters and important updates are also posted on the Newsletters page of our website weekly.
