6/17/26 Summer Solstice …a time of great impatience!!
Summer Solstice is this Sunday, June 21st… the longest day of the year and the most hours of daylight and sun. The loooong daylight hours have a tremendous impact on the growing of our crops. Our production capacity is based upon the amazing process of photosynthesis and when there are more hours of sunlight, there is more photosynthetic potential. This means that things are growing like wild… and we sometimes forget how fast. You can almost see the lettuce plants grow, the tomatoes need trellising adjustments every week as they shoot up… and while these plants are growing, many of the fruits of summer still need some maturing.
This is where the impatience comes in. As these plants are maturing, they put on their first flush of strawberries, tomatoes, and eggplant… and we get excited but then we have to wait, impatiently. The only crops we have a good lead on are the Summer Squash and Cucumbers because we do them in our hot hoop houses. We are really excited to have Cherry Tomatoes this year as we have the first every good crop in a hoop house. Maybe we’ll start getting them out to some portion of boxes next week but there will not be enough for all for a bit.
There was a first flush of Strawberries in May as is usual but then they stopped as the plants took the next step in maturing. Only Family Boxes got them once and we’ve had all of 10 in the add on store each week.
The Tomato plants look amazing and there are a lot of small and green fruit but they still need a while! Thankfully it’s been a warmer year and they’ve really appreciated that. Our first tomato seeds were planted during the first weeks of January, babied in the nursery until March, up-potted to keep growing and then planted and babied in the fields for a couple of months with side crops of lettuces. Then we started trellising them in early May. We can’t tell you how excited we are about our round slicers which will come on first, followed our more fun and colorful Heirlooms!
The Eggplant and Peppers still have a ways to go. We’ve been working really hard to get into the hot houses to weed, fertilize and trellis the peppers. This can can only happen in the first couple hours of the day, or else it gets to hot. And last week’s heat wave really set us back on all these management tasks.
Our first succession of Corn is just putting out their first tassels (the male flowers at the top of the plants). In the Midwest they say that Corn should be “knee high by the 4th of July”, well ours were knee high by the 4th of June and we’re expecting a July crop. Our second succession is 8” tall and our third was seeded yesterday!
Now Weeds! We are growing them really well right now. Not only do our veggie plants grow fast near Solstice, but the weeds too. ;) Overall this year our weed management game has been amazing (thanks Sam) but with the heat last week and all the work, it feels weedier out there than we would like.
June is always like this. It seems like it should be a time of plenty but it actually often has shortfalls and yet you’re working so hard. The heat wave last week was particularly rough yes on the plants, but also us as the crew got started working at 5am some days. Thanks to all our hardworking crew!
Singing Frogs Farm is Hiring
We have an amazing crew this year (read last week’s newsletter) but we are getting hints that a few of them are moving on this autumn and thinking ahead. Plus we have two summer interns who will be leaving in August. Sooo, we are doing a major hire for a July or August start position. This is to be someone who is serious about growing, with some experience. This person(s) will learn our systems this autumn, farm with us through the winter and then be a rockstar farmer with us next year! If you know of anyone, please send them to the Jobs Page of our website, we’d love to learn more about them.
This Week’s Box
Green Butter Lettuce
Rainbow Kale
Carrots (SR) OR Mixed Beets (WC)
Caraflex Cabbage
Cucumbers (SR) OR Summer Squash (WC)
Garlic Scapes
Plums (Classic) or Escarole (Family)
Family: Cauliflower
Produce Notes & Recipes
Garlic Scapes are a sure sign of Spring moving into Summer! They are an ultra seasonal food and we love them… plus they look amazingly like a child’s drawing of something magical. Garlic Scapes are the flower stalks of hardneck garlic plants. We are growing two garlic varieties this year, our hardneck is a Chesnok Red. The Scapes curl upward as they grow and if harvested before they straighten are yummy and tender. They also store a LONG time. I accidentally lost a bunch in the back of my fridge last summer and ate 6 weeks later and they were still good (I’m not recommending that but they do store well). Here are some ideas. They've got a mild garlic fragrance and a mellow garlic flavor.
Some say you get the most from garlic scapes by using them raw. They're terrific chopped or very thinly sliced added to a tuna or chicken salad, stirred into hot rice or scattered over a salad, the way you might scatter sliced scallions or an herb.
Cut into green bean lengths and cook in butter for 5-6 minutes and eat on toast (Yum!);
Dice into scrambled eggs;
Chop into short sections and add to stir-fry or add to a veggie sauté (like today’s Bok Choi and Kale recipe);
Make pesto from scapes (this seems to be a very popular way to use them - see recipe) or add them to a basil pesto;
Use in any recipe that calls for onions but where you would like to add the taste of garlic;
Add to tomato based soup or chicken soup;
Chop and use just as you would garlic cloves.
Garlic Scape Pesto (by Kim O’Donnel Washington Post)
1 c garlic scapes (~ 8-9), top flowery part removed, cut into ¼-inch slices
1/3 cup walnuts
¾ cup olive oil
¼-1/2 cup grated parmigiana
½ teaspoon salt
black pepper to taste
Place scapes and walnuts in the bowl of a food processor and whiz until well combined and somewhat smooth. Slowly drizzle in oil and process until integrated. With a rubber spatula, scoop pesto out of bowl and into a mixing bowl. Add parmigiano to taste; add salt and pepper. Makes about 6 ounces of pesto. Keeps for up to one week in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.
Note: For ½ pound short pasta such as penne, add about 2 tablespoons of pesto to cooked pasta and stir until pasta is well coated.
There’s something new is in our boxes this week. We have a Caraflex Cabbage which this is the first time we’ve grown. Tell us what you think! We decided to try them because if you follow Cabbage Fashion they are all the rage. Caraflex are a sweet and tender heirloom-style cabbage with a distinctive pointed shape. Compared to the round Farao cabbages you've received before, Caraflex has a milder flavor and delicate texture that shines in salads, slaws, stir-fries, or simply sliced into wedges and roasted. Caraflex has developed almost a cult following because the leaves are sweeter and more tender than standard cabbage. Plus who doesn't love a cone head.
Being sweeter it would make a great salad/slaw. You could do with shredded Carrots and a honey mustard dressing or with roasted Mixed Beets and an apple cider dressing. But I had to include the below recipe… sometimes it’s fun to roast (or grill) a cabbage.
Charred Caraflex Cabbage with Garlic Scape Brown Butter
1 medium Caraflex cabbage
4–6 garlic scapes, thinly sliced
4 Tbs butter
1 Tbs olive oil
Juice of ½ lemon
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Parmesan, toasted breadcrumbs, or chopped walnuts
Cut the Caraflex cabbage into 6–8 wedges, leaving a small portion of the core attached so the wedges stay together.
Preheat oven to 425°F. Brush cabbage wedges with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper.
Arrange wedges on a baking sheet and roast for 20–25 minutes, turning once halfway through, until the edges are browned and crisp and the centers are tender.
While the cabbage roasts, melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Continue cooking until the butter turns golden brown and develops a nutty aroma.
Add the sliced garlic scapes and cook for 2–3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender and bright green.
Remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice.
Arrange the roasted cabbage on a serving platter and spoon the garlic scape brown butter over the wedges.
Sprinkle with Parmesan, toasted breadcrumbs, or walnuts if desired and serve warm.
Extra Shares
Flower Share: Clarkia are in and are the highlight!
Lettuce Share: Panisse & Little Gems 🥬
Bunched Greens Share: 🌈 Rainbow Chard
Herb Share: Genovese Basil
Egg Shares: 🥚🥚 EGG NOTE!! 🥚🥚 Feel free to send us back your clean egg cartons to get reused.Extra Shares