2016 Harvest 13

harvest 13.jpg

Sweet corn, melons, tomatoes, peppers, beans, zucchini, cucumbers, basil, lettuce, turnips, garlic and scallions!!!! It's full blown summer here at Tumbleweed Farm and we are pumped. It's getting pretty toasty out here but the plants are stoked (even though it's miserably hot for us). With that being said, when the plants are happy we're happy (our needs always come last!)

We've got a huge potato harvest ahead of us this week followed by a lot of transplanting and weeding. We're officially done seeding in the greenhouse but we're still transplanting like crazy for a few more weeks. It looks like all of the winter squash plants are doing really well so we're hopeful you all will receive quite the bounty to help get you through the fall and holiday season. The broccoli and cabbage plantings are thriving and we're thrilled that the gophers have left them alone so far (keep those fingers crossed!)

We also want to give a few more details about Rock the Harvest. It's Sunday, August 28th and folks should plan on showing up around 4pm . The band starts at 4:30pm and we'll have 2 different kinds of beer on tap. Plan on bringing a picnic dinner/picnic blanket (or chairs if you want to sit and watch the band) We're asking folks to keep dogs at home (unless you've already spoken to you directly) due to livestock, crops, and small children.  We'll have some parking avaliable on the grass at the farm and there will be plenty of parking right on highway 35. Our address is 5365 Highway 35, Mount Hood Parkdale, 97041. The farm is on the lefthand side of the highway. It should be a rockin' good time so bring your family, and some dancing boots!

We hope you enjoy the harvest this week! The sweet corn was picked today and should be eaten as soon as possible. It tastes best when fresh so try and eat it soon. Also--we love it raw so if you're in need of a snack on the ride home from picking your box up just bite right in!!

Cheers!                                                                                                                                                    T & A

Harvest 13

  1. Lettuce--place the lettuce in a plastic bag in the fridge to keep it crisp 
  2. Sweet Corn
  3. Garlic-Polish hardneck
  4. Beans
  5. Turnips--remove the greens and store the roots and greens separately in the fridge 
  6. Cherry tomatoes--keep at room temperature
  7. Full size tomatoes--keep at room temperature
  8. Basil--keep in a jar filled with water at room temperature
  9. Melons--keep at room temperature
  10. scallions
  11. Sweet Peppers
  12. Cucumbers
  13. Squash/Zucchini 

Recipe Suggestions 

Charred Green Beans with Harissa Yogurt (you can use any color of the beans you received)

Charred Green Beans with Harissa Yogurt (you can use any color of the beans you received)

 

 

 

2016 Harvest 12

And just like that, August has arrived in full force! This is the time of the year when we start to feel all the aches and pains from the season start to catch up with us. We're still busy tilling, weeding, composting, fertilizing, planting, harvesting (the heavy stuff now!) and trying to cook up healthy meals to keep us going. The good news is that this is also the time in the season when we are the most proud of the produce that we are harvesting for all of you! The tomatoes are finally starting to crank, the cucumbers and summer squash/zucchini are abundant and the sweet corn is just a week (or two!) away. The fresh flavors of the season are what it's all about folks and we are stoked! 

This coming week we will finish our final greenhouse seeding of the 2016 season YEEEEEHAWWWWW!!!!! The greenhouse seeding can be tedious and we are happy to wrap up a full year's worth of greenhouse work and close that door for a few months. This week we're keeping a close eye on the potatoes (I know we gave you a teaser taste last week!) and we'll start pulling those guys out of the ground very shortly. The eggplants are getting close to being harvestable as well. The first planting got nipped by a late frost so we've been a bit delayed in getting them to you, however the second planting is looking healthy so we'll be harvesting from there shortly.

Anyhow we hope this coming week you all get to enjoy the flavors of the season with your family and friends. And just a reminder that the Rock The Harvest party is Sunday, August 28th starting at 4pm. Bring a picnic, your family and even a few of your friends. We'll be rocking out to the Greenneck Daredvils and we'll have beer on tap (big thanks to Migration Brewing for supplying us with some kick ass beer!)

Enjoy your week everyone!

Your farmers,                                                                                                                                            T & A

Harvest 12

  1. Collard Greens
  2. Lettuce
  3. Zucchini/Summer Squash
  4. Garlic--Shantang Purple
  5. Full sized tomatoes--keep at room temperature not the fridge 
  6. Cherry tomatoes--keep at room temperature not the fridge
  7. Basil--keep the basil in water on your counter (don't refridgerate) 
  8. Parsley--keep in a plastic bag in the fridge 
  9. Scallions
  10. Leeks
  11. Beans
  12. Cucumbers--Slicers and Lemon Cucumbers
  13. Radishes--French Breakfast--remove greens and store radishes and greens in seperate plastic bags in the fridge. 
  14. Beets--remove greens and store in plastic bags in the fridge 

Recipe Suggestions

Spiced Summer Squash & Chickpea Bisque (you can use zucchini here too!)

Spiced Summer Squash & Chickpea Bisque (you can use zucchini here too!)

Collard Green & Turnip Slaw With Spicy Seed Brittle (substitute the turnips with radishes)

Collard Green & Turnip Slaw With Spicy Seed Brittle (substitute the turnips with radishes)

 

 

 

2016 Harvest 11

The first week of August has blessed us with our most colorful box of the season! Tomatoes are coming in (slowly but they're coming!) and we finally have enough to harvest for all of the boxes!! We cannot tell you all how stressful/frustrating it is when we don't have enough to fulfill all the shares. When it comes to certain crops (like tomatoes, peppers, eggplants) they begin to produce slowly and there is always this moment of "will this crop ever start cranking or is something wrong?" We have this thought every year and always have to remind ourselves to be patient. This summer has been so different from last summer and these hot weather crops are extra slow so our patience has been tested to the max! Moral of the story...good things come to farmers who wait. And this week we are proud to have an abundance of cucumbers, peppers, potatoes, greens, squash, zucchini and finally...tomatoes!

We hope this week you all enjoy some time cooking and eating with your family and friends. Cheers to the harvest.

Your farmers,                                                                                                                                            T & A

Harvest 11

  1. Kale
  2. Mustard Greens
  3. Garlic- This week's variety is Xian.
  4. Leeks
  5. Bell Peppers
  6. Cucumbers--Slicers and Lemon Cucumbers.  The lemons are the small yellow balls that look funny.
  7. Tomatoes--either cherry tomatoes or full size tomatoes.
  8. Fennel
  9. Summer Squash/Zucchini
  10. Potatoes
  11. Basil

Recipe Suggestions