hi everyone,

i just wanted to give you some more info about some of your veggies that hasn't made it into the newsletter.

potatoes, onions, garlic: Right now the potatoes, onions and garlic you are getting are for shorter term storage and later in the season you will get ones that will keep for many months. these early varieties won't keep for months, but they should be great for a few weeks. despite what the newsletter implied, it is not necessary to keep these in the refrigerator, unless you have cut them. storage potatoes, onions, and garlic like to be kept in a cool, dry and dark place like your cupboard, but these first varieties you might want to keep in a place where you see them regularly and won't forget about them. they want plenty of airflow - so leave them in an open box or tray (and not in plastic bags!). my favorite place for these early onions and garlic is a hanging basket in the kitchen where they can get air, you can see them regularly. just make sure they are out of the sun.

different storage crops have different methods of CURING - or drying down to make them more stable for long term storage. while onions and garlic dry down for many weeks, we only dry our potatoes for one day.
garlic: we have harvested all our garlic and it is hanging up in our corn crib to dry completely. once it is cured it will keep for 4-8months. What you are getting now has not been completely cured. if you use it up in a few weeks there's no need to refrigerate it.
Onions: we are in the middle of our onion harvest. you have been getting onions harvested the day of your delivery so far, but we hope to harvest our storage onions this week and get them curing soon. you will still be receiving short-term storage onions for many weeks. These earlier onions you get are "sweeter" varieties.
potatoes: we dry our potatoes for a day on screens in the shade. potatoes do not like sun and will turn green if left out in too much light. all the potatoes you receive should keep for 2 months or more if properly stored and without wounds. small nicks will scar over, but deeper cuts can start rotting. check on them every week or so to make sure that nothing is decaying. we try not to give you any that have any wounds, but sometimes they sneak past us. if you are unsure about any when you receive your box, eat them first. the potatoes are dry when they go into your box, but can easily get wet from some of the other freshly washed veggies. please make sure they are dry before you put them away.

tomatoes:
we are giving you many different sizes and colors(red, green and yellow striped, pale yellow, orange, purply-green, rainbow) of tomatoes. the tomatoes in your box are either fully ripe or will be ripe in the next few days. tomatoes like to be kept in the warm and dry, like on your kitchen counter, and do not mind sun. it is our goal to give you tomatoes that you can eat right away, and some that will last till the end of your week. i know it is confusing to have both different colors and different stages of ripeness. to know if it is ripe, give it a gentle squeeze. a ripe tomato will feel similar to a ripe peach when squeezed.

aronia berries:
you might get these this week, but it isn't on your newsletter. these are dark berries. they are full of antioxidants (like many berries, but even more) which have cancer fighting properties. aronia berries are native to the us. theyare very astringent (make your mouth pucker) but have nice other flavors too. the flavor is improved by freezing. some people like to eat them alone, but i prefer to freeze them and then add them to other things, like smoothies with other fruit, or muffins.

hope you are enjoying all your food,
let us know if you have any questions, requests, concerns, etc