Preparing for a new season is akin to welcoming home a friend who has been gone on a long journey. After waiting in joyful anticipation, we have now begun the process of fortifying the soil with compost and fertilizer, and creating more space in the coveted high tunnel. This week we seeded our first round of cool-season crops and soon enough we will meet again the familiar faces of Fall on the farm - leafy greens, root crops, fresh salad mixes, and tasty herbs. Come check out what's new during the Farm Tour this Saturday from 10am - 11am!

With the palette of a trained chef, Farmer Matt is still soaking in the tastes of summer. He has been enjoying fresh snacks of our new crop of Armenian cucumber and the versatility of sweet Italian peppers included in any meal on the menu! Matt also recommends keeping long beans on hand as they are great for a variety of dishes like a light broth with veg, or heavy cuisine like saucy stir fry with noodles.

Be sure to shop the Farm Stand this Saturday after the morning Farm Tour! Feel free to ask the farmers any questions you may have about starting your own Fall garden at home!

In Season : Zucchini, Korean Melon, Cucumbers, Okra, Long Beans, Shishito Peppers, Jalapeno Peppers, Sweet Italian Bell Peppers, Roselle Greens, and Flowers

At Sunset Farm, we have the joy of growing food 365 days out of the year! Of all seasons, summertime produces more exotic vegetables and less varieties compared to Spring and Fall peak seasons. With a bit of creativity in the kitchen, summer veggies can be prepared in a multitude of ways that will help them remain exciting and new at each meal!

Check out some ways below that you can continue to enjoy our summer produce, as we wait for Fall veggies that will be seeded in just a couple of weeks:

• Okra - Try slicing length wise and baking or air frying for a non-slimy result - also great cooked with eggs or paired with a sticky rice

• Long Beans - These can be used in any traditional green bean recipe and are also great to cook and use as a veggie noodle or blanch and chop into a salad

• Squash - In addition to baking and sauteeing - try shredding this veggie into a breakfast hash and baked goods, or use a quick pickle recipe with your favorite spices for fresh eating

• Cucumbers - The best lettuce replacement for summer salads, and great in preserved foods like kimchi and pickles

Add a spark to your home by taking home our beautiful fresh flowers too! We have had a bumper crop of sunflowers this year, and plan to keep producing until we enter cooler months. These blooms are very dependent on longer daylight hours, as shown by their faces beaming toward the morning sun!

In Season : Patty Pan Squash, Zucchini, Korean Melon, Cucumbers, Okra, Long Beans, Basil, Peppers : Shishito, Green Bell, Sweet Bell, Jalapeno, and Flowers

This week we harvested 106 pounds of Korean Melon off of just one row! These mildly sweet and crisp fruits lived up to their reputation of being super productive in the summer season. Farmer Matt prefers to enjoy these personal-sized melons as a mid-day snack, especially on hot days! Also known as Chamoe in Korean, this melon is traditionally prepared in salads, kimchi, and as an appetizer.

Despite rising temperatures, the farm is vibrant with colors of deep green from Roselle and Cowpeas, sprinkled with a pop of color from beautiful flowers! We highly recommend taking advantage of the last days of summer with kiddos and enjoy a morning walk through the farm landscape. If you are interested in a more educational farm adventure, mark your calendar for our monthly Farm Tours that take place every fourth Saturday of the month!

Farmer Josie is also in the planning process for community events and programs on the farm this coming Fall! Adults and kids alike will have an opportunity to learn more about our sustainable growing practices we use to produce delicious food for the community, while also interacting with nature in fun and creative ways!

In Season : Patty Pan Squash, Zucchini, Cucumbers, Okra, Long Beans, Basil, Peppers : Banana, Shishito, Green Bell, Sweet Bell, Jalapeno, Mad Hatter, and Poblano, and Flowers

New to the Grab-n-Go cooler this week are Roselle Greens - a refreshing, tangy leafy green loaded with nutrients like Vitamin C and antioxidants! This summertime staple can be eaten raw by finely chopping into a salad, or sauteed and paired with your favorite fish or meat! As part of the hibiscus family, this plant will soon grow into a large bush and produce pods that can be used to brew your own hibiscus tea! Stay tuned for updates as we begin selling the pods later this summer.

Flower bouquets continue to be a steady source of joy and are beaming with the most vibrant colors of zinnias! If your Spring garden is coming to an end and you are looking to fill it before planting Fall vegetables, we highly recommend tossing in zinnia and sunflower seeds, as they are easy to germinate and will quickly fill your garden space with beautiful blooms!

As we have hit some of the hottest days of summer so far, our crop rotation has narrowed down to only the most heat tolerant varieties. This week more long beans have germinated while our current succession is producing in abundance! Farmer Matt is preparing more growing space for okra by broad forking the bed - which so far is his favorite farm task even in the heat of the summer!

In Season : Patty Pan Squash, Zucchini, Cucumbers, Okra, Long Beans, Basil, Peppers : Banana, Shishito, Green Bell, Sweet Bell, Jalapeno, Mad Hatter, and Poblano, and Flowers

A new crew has arrived at Sunset Farm and they are excited for the opportunity to steward the land and serve the community of Jordan Ranch! A native Texan, Josie (pictured sitting), comes to us with agricultural experience fostered from a young age of cultivating home gardens and growing pasture-raised chickens. Josie has also worked at another Houston agrihood and brings a breadth of knowledge and passion to serve as the new Farm Manager.

Matthew (pictured standing) hails from the Northeast and more recently moved from Ohio to set roots in Texas. He is a professional chef by trade and has experience working in high-end and Farm-to-Table restaurants, managing meals for school districts, and everything in between. Matthew is also a personal trainer and looks forward to becoming more in-tune with the physicality of farming as well as experiencing the origins of food before it hits the hands of chefs! Be sure to stop by the Farm Stand this Saturday from 9am - 12pm to meet our new team members!

This week we tackled a bigger farm project of re-mulching the oldest blackberry row in our fruit orchard. These plants, along with the other two rows planted by volunteers this Spring, are thriving and the extra layer of mulch should prevent weeds from growing alongside them. Our sunflower patch is also in full bloom and a spectacle to see! Pollinators from butterflies to bees and wasps are bustling at the buffet of flowers!

In Season : Patty Pan Squash, Zucchini, Cucumbers, Okra, Long Beans, Basil, Peppers : Banana, Shishito, Green Bell, Sweet Bell, Jalapeno, Mad Hatter, and Poblano, and Flowers

These tiny blossoms in the fruit orchard belong to the Jujubee tree! Commonly coined as the "Texas Apple," Jujubees are small fruits with a thin skin and crisp apple-like flesh, only a bit drier and sweeter. This is the first fruit load for these trees and will likely be a smaller harvest. However, Jujubee trees can grow to be about 50ft tall and bear a significant amount of fruit!

After a whopping harvest of over 30lbs of cucumbers from our new variety called "Diva," we are excited to be planting more in our high tunnel this week! These cucumbers have a thin skin making them perfect for a summertime snack. Our favorite way to enjoy cucumbers on the farm is by including several slices in our water throughout the day - the perfect natural flavoring to encourage hydration on hot days!

Coming soon to the Grab-n-Go cooler are Cantaloupe and Korean melons! Stay tuned for updates as we wait for melons, zucchini, and a new variety of peppers to ripen. Be sure to stop by the Farm Stand this Saturday from 9am - 12pm to get your fill of summertime veggies and take home a beautiful flower bouquet!

In Season : Patty Pan Squash, Cucumbers, Okra, Long Beans, Basil, Peppers : Banana, Shishito, Green Bell, Sweet Bell, Jalapeno, Mad Hatter, and Poblano, and Flowers

The unique shape and versatility in the kitchen has made Patty Pan Squash a fan favorite during the Spring and Summer season! Veggie lovers enjoy this squash prepared in many ways like dicing and roasting, slicing fresh into a salad, and coring the middle to stuff with your favorite meat or rice. We are also excited to restock the Grab-n-Go cooler with tunnel-grown cucumbers! These fruits are slender, long, and crispy - perfect for a summer salad or sandwich.

This week we also enjoyed a very small taste of orchard fruits that are in abundance and slowly ripening. Freshly harvested figs warmed by the summer sun taste like a spoonful of sweet jam! These early harvests are sparse and must be caught before the birds find them, but we are hopeful for bigger harvests soon that will be sold in the Grab-n-Go cooler!

Be sure to stop by the Farm Stand this Saturday from 9am - 12pm to get your fill of summertime veggies and flowers! In coming weeks we plan to fill the field with more beautiful sunflower varieties that will bloom in late summer. For now, the birds are feasting on many sunflower heads in the field that have made delicious seeds!

In Season : Patty Pan Squash, Cucumbers, Okra, Long Beans, Basil, Peppers : Banana, Shishito, Green Bell, Sweet Bell, Jalapeno, Mad Hatter, and Poblano, and Flowers

Another round of summer plantings are new to the field this week including crops like long beans, Asian eggplant, melons, and zucchini! We have taken advantage of the recent dry weeks by frequently weeding and preparing more growing space for cover crop and summer veggies. The addition of white shade cloth covering the greenhouse and high tunnel, as seen in the photo, helps plants thrive during the heat of summer by filtering intense direct sunlight we experience this time of year.

Beautiful and bright zinnias, sunflowers, and celosia are still available in the Grab-n-Go cooler and Farm Stand on Saturday mornings! Our flower bouquets have also been added to tables at The Shed as a little slice of sunshine for residents! The perennial pollinator patch is also boasting of blooms this time of year with delicate pink turks cap and salvia flowers that are a favorite sappy snack for hummingbirds!

A source of joy recently for the farmers has been frequent visits from families and groups of kiddos to enjoy time at the farm playground and relaxing on the farm porch! We thoroughly enjoy the curiosity of little ones who ask questions about the farm and take home fresh produce to enjoy throughout the week from the Grab-n-Go cooler. If you're looking for summer break ideas, the farm playground is a great place for kids to be active and encounter nature!

In Season : Roma Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Basil, Italian Eggplant, Okra, Long Beans, Peppers : Banana, Shishito, Green Bell, Sweet Bell, Jalapeno, Mad Hatter, and Poblano, Green Onion, and Flowers

Join us on the farm this Saturday for a summertime farm tour from 10am - 11am! Check out our new plantings of cucumbers, melons, squash, and flowers while learning about how we keep plants productive and healthy during the heat of the summer! Participants will enjoy a refreshing treat of our new crop of Arava melons to cool off after the tour, and have a chance to shop for more seasonal veggies and flower bouquets!

We have sold our last cherry and slicing tomatoes of the season and only have roma tomatoes in stock! This will be the final week for our tomato crop until next year, so be sure to stop by the Farm Stand this Saturday. Though the variety of vegetables is more limited during the summer season, we are still hauling in big harvests of peppers, eggplant, long beans and okra!

In addition to beautifully ripening figs, we came across another surprise hiding in the orchard - two baby mourning doves almost ready to leave the nest! The lush canopy of leaves has been a safe haven for these babies and a buffer from the environmental elements. Stay tuned to our Sunset Farm social media pages, as we will post updates when the next flush of figs have been harvested! They will be available for sale by the pint in the Grab-n-Go cooler.

In Season : Roma Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Basil, Italian Eggplant, Okra, Long Beans, Peppers : Banana, Shishito, Green Bell, Sweet Bell, Jalapeno, Mad Hatter, and Poblano, Green Onion, and Flowers

A common question during extreme weather events like our recent deluge of rain, is what do the farmers do in wet fields and rainy weather? Recently, we have taken advantage of sunny days by lightly tilling soil and planting cover crop seeds to let the soil rest before a busy Fall season. In this case, rain helps the seeds germinate and keeps plants well watered without the use of irrigation. Summer cover crops, like Cowpeas and Sunflowers, are vigorous plants that grow quick enough to out-compete native weeds like nutsedge.

Summertime crops need to be harvested about every two days to capture veggies at peak ripeness and quality, especially okra which seems to grow inches overnight! Typically even in mild rain you will find us harvesting in the early morning to keep our Grab-n-Go cooler stocked with the freshest produce. Our tomato crop will be phasing out of season, so be sure to grab our sauce and cherry tomatoes soon! The abundance of rain has increased pest pressure for this crop, so we will be slowly removing tomato plants in the tunnel and field over the next couple of weeks.

This patch of sunflowers has become a popular photo op for resident walks through the neighborhood and is a beautiful example of a mature cover crop! Sunflowers have a long tap root that can penetrate our heavy clay soil, and produce a lovely harvestable flower. Similarly, Cowpeas trap nitrogen in the soil with the help of microbes that bind to the roots, while also creating an edible pod.

In Season : Cherry Tomatoes, Roma Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Basil, Italian Eggplant, Okra, Long Beans, Peppers : Banana, Shishito, Green Bell, Sweet Bell, Jalapeno, Mad Hatter, and Poblano, Green Onion, and Flowers

While some crops are longing for a dry spell, frequent summer showers have caused our sunflowers to burst with blooms! These sunnies are a perfect pair to bright zinnias and marigolds that make up our summertime bouquets. This week we are preparing beds to plant more flowers that will last throughout the summer season.

Long beans are dripping off of the vine this week and are available in red and green bunches in the Grab-n-Go cooler! We are also harvesting hot peppers including Jalapenos and Mad Hatter, pictured below. This pepper resembles a bishop's hat and tastes mildly sweet with floral notes combined with a spicy heat near the seed cavity. Mad Hatter creates a beautiful color and rich flavor when preserved in a hot pepper jelly!

Just a friendly reminder to visit our Grab-n-Go cooler now fitted with new and updated signs to streamline the purchasing process! The Grab-n-Go cooler option is open 24/7, making it a super convenient way to get fresh veggies on your table throughout the year. Visitors can simply grab a paper bag, fill it with your choice of veggies, and check out at the iPad stationed on the wall. Patrons can also stop by the Farm Stand from 9am - 12pm each Saturday!

In Season : Slicing Tomatoes, Cherry Tomatoes, Roma Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Basil, Italian Eggplant, Okra, Long Beans, Peppers: Banana, Shishito, Green Bell, Sweet Bell, Jalapeno, Mad Hatter, and Poblano, Green Onion, Lettuce, and Flowers

Due to potential rain this coming Saturday and an influx in the mosquito population due to recent storms, we will be postponing the Buds & Blooms Kids Farm Adventure that was scheduled for this Saturday. Our Farm Stand will still be open and stocked full of delicious veggies and beautiful bouquets! With many recent inquiries about fruit growing on the farm, we are happy to update that melons are ripening well and should be available within the next few weeks. This year we are growing cantaloupe, Arava, and Korean melons - each with their own distinct colors and flavors!

Did you know that around 80% of flowers sold in grocery stores are imported from other countries? Enjoy the beauty and benefits of fresh, local flowers grown without synthetic additives by shopping at the Farm Stand on Saturday or our Grab-n-Go cooler at your convenience! Flower bouquets are arranged and sold the day of harvest for optimal freshness and lasting enjoyment in your home. We have stunning varieties of zinnias, marigolds, celosia, sunflowers and more!

The first rounds of okra and long beans have hit the shelves in the Grab-n-Go cooler! During any dry moment on the farm we are preparing beds to plant more summer crops like beans, eggplant, and okra. These crops are prized for their resiliency through our extreme summer heat and pair wonderfully when cooked together as well!

In Season : Slicing Tomatoes, Cherry Tomatoes, Roma Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Basil, Asian Eggplant, Italian Eggplant, Okra, Long Beans, Banana Peppers, Poblano Peppers, Green Bell Peppers, Shishito Peppers, Green Onion, and Flowers