Pickings, August 24

Even thought it's August, fall is in the air and we can feel the end to summer just around the corner. Our morning harvest starts a little later now, and we finish a bit earlier in the evening which means slightly more sleep for me. Plants, too, sense this change and many varieties have stopped growing and are reaching maturity now.  We're harvesting the last of the summer squash, started to dig potatoes and picked our first edamame today. We like it boiled in salt water for five minutes, cooled, sprinkled with sea salt then served cold. In Japan, they were often served as an appetizer at yakitori bars and pair nicely with an Asahi Super-Dry or Sapporo but any ice cold beer will do.

This week, you'll  see garlic in your baskets and lots of tomatoes. You may also have received a bit of fennel, arugula, beets, onions, cabbage or swiss chard. A woodchuck helped himself to the broccoli so quantities of that and greens are scarce at the moment . We did manage to squeeze in a few late sowings of chard, spinach, carrots, rappi, turnips, beets and pak choi, which should be ready before frost.

We also increased our flock of chickens for eggs and will offer USDA-certified free range poultry, both of which will be available in October. These are birds are descended from a French breed which can  survive primarily on forage with limited grain. We'll be taking pre-orders in the near future.