CSA week 5

With little snow fall and light early spring rains, we were out on our field with the tractor in mid April. Laying compost and getting beds shaped into plastic earlier than years previous. Usually we are anxiously awaiting a phantom perfect weather window sometime in the first two weeks of May when the ground has dried enough that we can drive out there without sinking deep into the mud. The field was prepped so early that it sat for weeks empty, even briefly accumulating 6” of snow. Once it warmed enough we were out there planting. After that late season snow, it felt like it didn’t rain all through those early weeks of putting plants into he ground. We were out there with hundreds of feet of hoses watering in new and unrooted seedlings in the more sandy areas of the garden. The next time it rained was Memorial Day weekend when it poured for 2 days straight. I remember it clearly because it timed up with needing to plant the summer squash and cucumbers out. They had outgrown their trays and the nighttime temperatures were creeping up out of the high 30’s an into the lower 40’s. It was sloppy work, but strangely blissful. I couldn’t remember the last time I had worked in a down pour with enough rain to warrant wearing a rain jacket. The mud accumulated on my fingers and jacket sleeves, and formed clumps on the knees of my pants where I knelt to pop plants in. I covered the summer squash and cucumbers when I was done with row cover to protect them from bugs and to warm them up a bit at night. Then we got several rounds of 95 degrees and no rain through June. Just when we felt like it may never rain again, it started July 4th weekend and it hasn’t stopped for a month. We don’t mind, and the gardens don’t either. The plants are big and strong enough to suck up all the moisture they need and ignore what they don’t. The pond level looks high and healthy, blooming with white lily pad flowers that the bees and other bugs love. The garden aisles thankfully seem to be happily absorbing all the water sucking it in and down not leaving us a muddy mess. I think about the drought we were in, the drought the norther half of the state is still in, and the seemingly regular devastating wildfires out west and I am grateful for all the rain here.

In the share:

• Broccoli

• Cucumbers

• Sweet Corn ( from Davis Natural Produce )

• Eggplant

• Sungold Cherry Tomatoes

• Green Beans

• Fennel

• Kohlrabi

COLD CORN SALAD

-you can do this same recipee without cooking the corn. Its good as it.

6 ears corn, husked and cleaned

• 1 pint cherry tomatoes halved.

• 1 large onion, diced

• ¼ cup chopped fresh basil

• ¼ cup olive oil

• 2 tablespoons white vinegar

• salt and pepper to taste

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook corn in boiling water for 7 to 10 minutes, or until desired tenderness. Drain, cool, and cut kernels off the cob with a sharp knife.

• Step 2

  In a large bowl, toss together the corn, tomatoes, onion, basil, oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Chill until serving.