***Labor Day is next Monday, and shares will be delivered as usual! Let us know if you would like us to save your box at the farm for later pickup, or switch to a Thursday site.

You’ll see that a new item has been added to your box this week. That’s right, potatoes! We dug the first of our potatoes last week.

Potatoes are generally harvested using a specialized harvester. However, our harvester is currently undergoing some upgrades to get it ready for our big fall potato harvest. We improvised by using our potato digger, and picking up the potatoes by hand. Our digger lifts the potatoes from the ground. Then they travel along a shaking conveyor belt to remove any extra dirt, rocks, or debris. The digger then dumps them out onto the ground in neat rows. Our crew picks up the potatoes by hand and puts them in buckets. Once all the buckets are full, they get carted down to the packing shed where we wash and sort them.

Last week was also a big week for onions. Each year, the onions tell us when they’re done growing. As the onion matures, the “neck” weakens and causes the tops of the onions to flop over. Once the tops flop over, we pull all of our onions and shallots out of the ground, and lay them on the plastic mulch to begin the drying process. Having the drying process start outside gives us time to move things around, and prepare for indoor onion drying. 

This week will be spent harvesting more potatoes and carrots, and relocating our garlic so we can start preparing our drying sheds for onions.

***In your box this week is a Carmen Pepper. It’s a sweet Italian frying pepper. Because it’s long and pointy it can often be mistaken for a hot pepper, but they are sweet and very tasty! You can use it the same way you would a regular bell pepper.

In your box this week:

Thyme – Cucumber – Zucchini – Sweet Peppers – Jalapeno – Tomatoes – Red Potatoes – Carrots – Lettuce – Basil – Green Beans – Melon – Onion

I’m still holding onto all the light, and bright flavors of Summer. This lemon and thyme shortbread is the perfect late summer treat. It’s bright, earthy, and not too sweet.

We gave big bundles of cilantro last week. If you’ve been looking for a way to use up the rest of it, this recipe for Sheet Pan Potatoes is a great way to do so. Crispy potatoes with a bright and spicy sauce. Absolutely delicious! There’s a lot of room to play around with this recipe. Try adding different proteins and veggies for tasty combinations. Tomatoes, bell peppers, and lettuce would be tasty additions from your box.