This past week has been so lovely. The gorgeous sunrises and sunsets, cloudy and sometimes rainy afternoons, and the blessedly cooler air have been a blessing. Monsoon season is truly incredible and I sure hope it is a good one! While the rain and cooler weather is invigorating for plants and farmers alike, there are other forces at play the last few weeks that are not so welcome. Willowbrook Farm is seeing curly top virus on their tomato plants this year, after a two-hear hiatus. Their summer squash plants are also battling some sort of disease and they have already lost several plants as a result. Farming is certainly not a one-way street. There are always animal and insect pests, weeds, disease, and weather to worry about and/or battle against. Don’t worry though! There will still be plenty of tomatoes and summer squash to enjoy in the coming weeks.
This week we have more beets and salad turnips to enjoy before their seasons come to a close. Chioggia beets, also known as “candy stripe,” have beautiful white and red stripes of color hidden under their red exterior. They are delicious and look very impressive when cut in thin slices. Also from Whipstone Farm, raddichio is a variety of chicory that is often added to salad mixes and is beloved in Italian cooking. It has a bitter flavor profile that mellows when cooked. Add it to your salads and slaws or try roasting it with other vegetables. We also have our first potatoes of the season from our favorite potato farmers, Dave and Ramona Sanders. Dave and Ramona farm on a small plot of land in Camp Verde and are masters at growing delicious potatoes. These fresh potatoes are as good as it gets!
Have an amazing week!
Meghan
What’s in your basket – June 29th
Kale – Willowbrook Farm
Potatoes – Sanders’ Farm
Radicchio – Whipstone Farm
Salad mix – Willowbrook Farm
Salad turnips – Whipstone Farm
Summer squash – Willowbrook Farm
Rain!
Stringing up the greenhouse tomatoes at Whipstone Farm.
Getting ready to cover pepper plants with shade cloth at Willowbrook Farm.
Flower farming is so pretty.