ok - there's a lot of cabbage pictures which are actually from last month but i didnt' take any veggie pictures this month

What's in your box
FOR SURE:
Kale, Sweet Pepper, Tomato, Leeks,


PROBABLY:
Chard, Mustard Greens, Watermelon or cantaloupe, Summer squash/zucchini, Eggplant, Broccolini, Basil, Cilantro, Grapes, Ailsa Craig Onions,


MAYBE:
Cucumber, hot pepper (in a bag), cabbage, beans, ground cherries, apples, shallots



if you aren't a csa member, but one of our community partners - please let us know if you are particularly interested in getting any of these crops. WE deliver Tuesdays and fridays.



BEETLES and other insects:
The world is full of an amazing diversity of insects. They are bizarre, beautiful, creepy, intricate, and play a vital role in our ecosystem. In Iowa, many native bees, pollinators, and other insects are seriously struggling due to habitat loss and pesticides. Many insects are beneficial in the garden, and a few of them love to eat our crops. In particular, we have trouble with flea beetles (on eggplants, boc choy, mustards, radish, kale, etc), cucumber beetles (eating leaves of cucumbers, melons, squash and also carrying bacterial wilt disease), tomato hornworms, cabbage loopers (green caterpillar on cabbage and broccoli), and increasingly, Japanese beetles. We have a number of ways we try to control pests (or keep the plants healthy despite pest pressure) but we are limited by our desire to not harm any other creatures or to use any harmful chemicals. Therefore:
1. you might have some bugs on your veggies or in your fruit.
2. you might have some bug bites on your veggies
3. you might have less veggies.


IN particular
- our CUCUMBERS are now dying and our CANTALOUPES look like they will soon follow - soon there will be no more cukes or cantaloupes.
- the Japanese beetles have been voraciously eating the leaves of very many crops and we are concerned that some of these crops or varieties might not survive in the long-term - including peaches, cherries, grapes, raspberries, plums, etc. The beetles really love the grapes.

HOwever, we've been getting some great rain, so many of our other crops are doing fantastically!!


GRAPES:
WINE GRAPES and Concord-y Grapes

We have a number of hardy "wine" grapes growing on our farm, and the adjacent vineyard that we care for. We have Edelweiss, La Crescent, Frontenac, Frontenac Gris, Petite Amie, Bluebell, Bluemoon, Moore's diamond, Marquette, Elmer, Mars, and also various concord type grapes taken from local cuttings.
These have more flavor and seeds than your normal grocery store table grapes, but are very delicious and exciting to eat fresh. They also make great juice, jam, and decent wine, but you will probably only get enough for snacking. These grapes are also popular with the birds, so we are trying to protect them with bird netting until they ripen fully.

This week we will be harvesting the edelweiss grape, and perhaps the frontenac gris. Due to the intense beetle pressure, they might not be as flavorful as in past years. You should get grapes a few times in the next month.

ONIONS

The onions you get this week, Ailsa Craig, are medium length storage onions, so they can be kept out on the counter or in your cupboard but should get used this month.

TOMATOES
Our tomatoes come in many shapes, sizes, and colors. We are trying to give you a range of ripeness to last you the whole week, so keep them out on the counter at room temperature and use them as they ripen. A ripe tomato is softer when pressed, and has a deeper or more vibrant color. the green zebra tomato is the only "green" tomato we have, and even that is green and yellow striped. All the rest of our tomatoes are variations of yellow, orange, red, pink, purple, or "black" which is really a browny-greeny-purple color.