Tomatoes

This is a little blurb that Christy wrote about the tomatoes we grow on the two farms...



We grow mostly heirloom tomatoes, which are old-fashioned open-pollinated types that people have passed down through their families.  You will be getting tomatoes that when ripe are white, light yellow, dark yellow, orange, green, red, dark pink, and striped and bi-colored.  Some are big slicers, others little cherries, some for salads and some for sauce and salsa. The variety is enormous.  Many of these will be odd shaped (compared to commercial varieties) and some will have green shoulders.  The green part is edible—it’s just a characteristic of that type of tomato.

You will sometimes get tomatoes that have unripened patches inside.  That happens when the temperature during ripening gets above about 85 degrees.  There is nothing we can do about that unless we install ac in our tunnels!  Any unripe areas are certainly edible and as the season cools down you will see less of this in your tomatoes.
Never, no never, store your tomatoes in the refrigerator.  It’s way too cold and it will change both the flavor and texture—and not for the better.  Leave them on the counter and eat while they are room temperature for the best flavor.

When you eat an heirloom tomato you are tasting a bit of history: Mortgage Lifter, Boxcar Willie, Aunt Ruby’s German Green, Amish paste, Omar’s Red…..they tell the story of America.  Enjoy tomato season!
 


Were Are Really Making Vegetables Now

Sorry about the huge gap in blog posts...I have been to busy scratching myself in front of the air conditioner.  Between the massive swarms of mosquitoes and the scorching heat and humidity, I have been counting down the days til fall.  Just the other day my boyfriend asked me if I wanted to go fishing and I told him "sure, I will go fishing when you put the ice house out". 
Even though the skeeters are bad and the heat is hot...the farm continues to make delicious veggies.  The rain at the beginning of the month slowed things down but as we move towards the end of July they are making a come back. Here are a few shots of things around the farm.
Kale and Cabbage
Cucumber/Parsley/Gladiolas
The Tomatoes are getting ripe...
and very tall!
Beans are doing great
And the summer squash is getting big.
This summer we are so happy to welcome two new interns.  That is four more hands picking and weeding...AWESOME.  Megan and Tim are not just hands, they are a lot of fun to have around.  You can see Megan picking squash in the photo above; but I will be sure to get a nice photo of both of them to share with you all.