Harvesting in the High Tunnel
The high tunnel is fully planted and looking mighty verdant and lush! It is currently planted with a mix of cucumbers, tomatoes, and sweet peppers. To prepare for the summer sun, we’ve installed a shade cloth over the top of it that will allow us to provide UV and heat protection. Our high tunnel is an incredibly valuable part of the farm as it allows us to extend the season of certain crops by keeping them warm during the winter or cooler in the summer months. The reason we were able to extend our fall succession of tomatoes so long last year was largely due to our high tunnel!
We harvested the first sweet peppers out of the high tunnel this week! These peppers are a Cornito type that are typically about 3-5 inches long with a taper away from the stem end. They’re exceptionally sweet and versatile, making them perfect for roasting, stuffing, stir-frying, grilling (hello summer fajitas!), or snacking. Farmer Caitiin loves adding them to a batch of red beans and rice while Farmer Alex likes using them as a pizza topping or dipping them into hummus. You can snag your own sweet peppers at the farm stand!
Have you had the opportunity to try any of our slicer or cherry tomatoes yet?! This tomato season has been an abundant one but the swift arrival of summer means our plants are beginning to incur heat stress. This means that tomatoes will only be in season for a few more weeks before we bid farewell until the fall. That being said, we highly encourage you to stop by the farm stand and take full advantage of all of our tomatoes! Now is the perfect time to can a big batch of sauce, jam, or even ketchup! Here’s the recipe for a honey-sweetened tomato jam.
In Season at the Farm Stand: Amaranth Greens, Sweet Peppers, Delicata Squash, Spaghetti Squash, Zucchini, Cousa Squash, Cucumbers (pickling & slicers), Tomatoes (slicers & cherries), Carrots, Beets, and Scallions.
