Peppers are back in season at the Farm Stand! We’re currently harvesting four different varieties: jalapeno, poblano, shishito, and bell peppers. We’re also growing sweet cornito peppers (below) but they aren’t quite ready yet. Farmer Anne used the bell peppers to make this stuffed pepper recipe and highly recommends trying it. Jalapenos are almost always our go-to for adding to salsas. Poblanos are also great for salsas or stuffing. As for the shishito peppers, we recommend blistering them for an easy side dish or appetizer. Here’s a recipe if you’d like to try it. 

The cantaloupes we planted a few weeks back are covered in flowers and small fruits! The watermelons are also blooming but haven’t started setting fruit yet. Melons are members of the Cucurbit family along with other summer favorites like cucumbers and summer squashes. They thrive during the warmer months and grow in a vining pattern. Since the cantaloupes (below) are still fairly small, we estimate that it will take another month for them to mature to ideal harvesting size. We’ll let you know as soon as this beloved summer fruit makes its way to the Farm Stand! 

We’re in the middle of transitioning from cool season crops to those that thrive during the warmer months. Leafy greens like kale and salad greens are officially out of season until cooler days return in late fall. Root veggies like carrots and beets are still available in the coolers but we highly recommend enjoying them as much as possible before they make their way out of season as well. The good news is that this makes way for the return of summertime favorites like cucumbers and peppers! Over the coming weeks, we’ll see the return of okra, long beans, and melons. 

In Season at the Farm Stand: Cherry and Slicing Tomatoes, Pickling and Slicing Cucumbers, Zucchini, Eggplant, Jalapenos, Green Bell Peppers, Shishito Peppers, Poblano Peppers, Red and Golden Beets, Carrots, Basil, and Flowers. 

Cherry tomatoes have made their way back into season! We’re harvesting a mix of Sungold and Black Cherry tomatoes from our plants in the high tunnel. Did you know that tomatoes store best at room temperature? The chill of refrigeration typically causes them to lose flavor and taste a bit bland. That’s why you’ll find our tomatoes next to the fridge at the Farm Stand rather than in it! Our cherry tomatoes are great for snacking and adding to salads. Farmer Anna loves to add a few cherry tomatoes to her salsa for the sweet flavor they impart.

The first varieties of sweet peppers have also made their way into season here on the farm! We have Islander peppers, the lovely purple bells you can see in the photo below along with sweet banana peppers. Since Islander is a bell pepper, it’s perfect for stuffing and baking. Or, you can saute it with some onions and serve it up alongside grilled chicken for a tasty taco filling like Farmer Anna recommends. Our banana peppers are great for pickling but they can also be chopped and added to stir-fries or salads.

We’ll have a special surprise for you at the Farm Stand next Saturday, May 13th, for Mother’s Day: cut flower bouquets! We’ll have bouquets made with a mix of zinnias and marigolds available for purchase during our Farm Stand that day from 9am-noon. These bouquets are a great way to bring some farm beauty home to enjoy. We’ll have a limited amount available so make sure to get there sooner rather than later!

In Season at the Farm Stand: Cherry Tomatoes, Purple Bell Peppers, Banana Peppers, Cucumbers (pickling and slicing), Summer Squashes (Zephyr, Magda, and Zucchini), Bulb Onions, Leeks, Green Garlic, Celery, Kale, Collards, Cabbage, and Beets.

June 2nd, 2021

We harvested the first of our Wonder Bell peppers last week, a standard heirloom bell pepper. We’ve been harvesting these peppers green but they can also be left on the plant to eventually mature to a red color. Wonder Bells are perfect peppers for stuffing but they can also be roasted, grilled, sautéed, or enjoyed raw with your favorite dip. In addition to the Wonder Bells we’re just starting to harvest small amounts of our Turkish Biberiye peppers. These peppers are perfect for pickling and based on our taste testing have a heat similar to a jalapeño.

Winter squash might be the last thing on your mind in June but ours are coming right along! The term “winter squash” can be misleading as we often associate these vegetables with cooler weather. Just like summer squashes, winter squashes are grown during the warmer months. The 898 squash we’re growing from Row 7 Seeds (pictured below) is nearing the first harvest. It’s a small statured butternut that has been bred to pack concentrated sweetness and flavor into a single-serving squash.

Remember the cowpeas we planted back in March in the high tunnel? They’re not only thriving, they’re just beginning to flower! This variety is called “Red Ripper” and it produces 10-inch pods that begin green and turn to a purplish hue as they mature. Cowpeas can be shelled and eaten fresh or allowed to dry out on the vine before being harvested. We will most likely be harvesting and shelling our cowpeas fresh because we think they have a superior flavor in this stage. Fresh cowpeas can be cooked just as you would fresh black-eyed-peas.

Being an anthropologist in a former life, every time I find a new-to-me fruit or vegetable, I look up its history and uses. Papaloquelite (or “papalo” for short) is native to Mexico and South America and is mainly used in salsas or as a garnish to tacos and other dishes. In Bolivia, it’s common to see vases of papalo on restaurant tables so that diners may pull off its leaves and season their food. For this recipe, papalo takes the place of cilantro in a quick and easy guacamole that is served atop sweet pepper and summer squash tacos.