Nobody tried to guess what type of butterfly was in the picture at the top of last week’s newsletter. Maybe I didn’t specify it was a contest with a $1,000,000 prize. Oh well. The prize money will be put to good use here on the farm. And if you would like to make a guess feel free though there is no prize this time.
What will we have this week?
Tomatoes, potatoes, cherry tomatoes, some eggplants, peppers, a few tomatillos, and hot peppers. And that is just the nightshade section. We’ll also have some bok choy, some kale, and a few cauliflower from the brassica department. We have onions and garlic from our allium aisle. We’ll have okra from the okra section (I don’t think it is related to any of our other veggies). We’ll also have a few carrots (the seeding did not go as planned so we are short of what we hoped for), some beets (the planting we put into our hoop house to keep the deer off), a few cukes, some big zucchini (should have picked them this weekend, oops), and a few other things I’m sure.
It is a FruitShare, EggShare, FlowerShare and for those who didn’t get it last week, CoffeeShare week.
Farm News
We are now in peak tomato season. I’m not sure how long the peak will last. I have a feeling due to all the wet weather that the peak is going to be pretty narrow. Wet weather is great for tomato diseases.
Anyway, the reason I bring it up is that I want to make sure our members get the most out of their tomatoes. First of all, we pick tomatoes prior to being “fully ripe”. What? That’s sacrilegious! I want my vine-ripened tomatoes! Seems like that is what you should get from a CSA farm, no?
Well you are right. The answer is no. Reading through research over the years we have learned that once tomatoes reach the “breaker” stage there is no further nutrition delivered to the fruit. A thin wall of cells cuts off the fruit from the mother plant. So at this stage the fruit is considered “vine-ripe” and can be further “ripened” off the vine because — everyone say it together — tomatoes are climacteric! Therefore, we harvest the tomatoes anytime they are past the breaker stage and give them out as quickly as we are able to distribute them to our members. You may find some tomatoes riper than others and for those picking up at the farm you can choose how ripe your tomatoes are.
Why do I tell you all this? Mainly to let you know that we know the tomatoes you are getting may not be fully ripe and more importantly to ensure you know when they are ripe. We grow a variety of tomatoes that have differing color characteristics. Some are yellow. Some are striped. Some are maroon with green shoulders. Some are yellow with a hint of red. And some are red. So you won’t be able to tell if the tomato is ripe based exclusively on its color. Some of our tomatoes are ripe when green! The way you tell the ripeness of the tomato is by giving it a gentle squeeze (I think I am going to regret telling people this because now everyone is going to squeeze the tomatoes while choosing them in the pick-up tent). The more give there is the riper the tomato. You can try this at home with your tomatoes but please don’t squeeze the ones in the tent. A little handling is fine and should give you a sense as to its ripeness. Squeezing too often will compromise the tomato.
Finally, in case you didn’t already know, you should not put tomatoes in the fridge. Leave them on the counter and use them as they ripen. Putting them in the fridge changes their texture. Once cut, if not fully consumed, the tomato can then be put into the fridge. Cherry tomatoes are also better if they are left out of the fridge. However, if they are getting too ripe and you can’t eat them right away (or for our British members, straight away) you can put them in the fridge. The texture of cherry tomatoes isn’t as critical as full size tomatoes. I think that about covers everything about tomatoes this season. Let me know if you have any questions.
Joke of the Week
How do you stop a rotten tomato from smelling?
Pinch its nose.
As always, feel free to send in questions, comments, suggestions, jokes or other interesting assortments of words.