WHAT’S IN THE BOX The following are the items being harvested this coming week. Items and quantities in your box may vary depending on your harvest day and the harvest. Please read the Notes on the Share (below) to know which items we "rotate" through the boxes. If the harvest of a crop is not enough for every member, we keep track of whom has received it and whom has not so as to keep the shares even.

The picture represents a full share box and is not exactly what every box will contain this week. The boxes are completely governed by what is ripe and ready for harvest and how much of it there is. We endeavour to divide the harvest fairly.

NOTES ON STORING THE HARVEST Please check out our Vegetable & Fruit page on the website to find tips on maximizing the life of your veggies.

NOTES ON THE SHARE Basil – We are preparing whole areas of the farm for cover crops. Basil plantings are being pulled up before they are tilled in. Big pesto bunches in every box. Lemon Basil and Purple Basil – We have both. If you would like a bunch, please email us. The lemon basil is lovely in salad dressings, marinades and vegetable pastas...to mention a few dishes. The purple basil has a subtle basil flavour and adds a great colour to many dishes. Broccoli – We have two varieties which are heading - 'DeCiccio' which have smaller heads and 'Marathon' which have large heads. There may be green cabbage moth caterpillars, as this is organic broccoli. Green Cabbage – Still harvesting 'Golden Acre'. If you would not like any, please let us know. Red Cabbage – Harvesting 'Red Rock'. Carrots – This next planting of carrots are some of the ugliest carrots we have grown. The varieties are 'Scarlett Nantes', 'Deep Purple' and 'Cosmic Purple'. They are still great to eat and juice but the soil in which they were planted must have been too rich and/or trying to keep them cool during the heat waves of the summer has caused them to branch out....as opposed to sending down a single tap root searching for water. So everyone will receive a bunch of WILD carrots - bagged to try and contain them! Our next planting of carrots which are lovely and straight, will not be ready for two to three weeks. If you would prefer no ugly carrots for the next few weeks, please email us. Chillies - The harvest of ‘Padron’ chillies will continue to appear in some boxes. There are ‘Hungarian Hot Wax’, ‘Long Thin Cayennes’ and ‘Thai Hot’ or ‘Bird’s Eye’ being harvested. Please look at the pepper post to identify. Coriander – Bunch in every box. Cucumbers – We are harvesting the third planting. There are small, round 'Lemon' cucumbers, small pickling cucumbers 'Sumter', medium size cucumbers 'Marketmore' and 'Straight Eight' and large Chinese climbing cucumbers 'Suyo'. Eggplant – Please look at the eggplant post to identify. We rotate the harvest. Garlic – Bulb in every box. Lettuce – Harvesting 'Crisp Mint' a Romaine lettuce and 'Perella Rougette' for the full shares. Mesclun – Harvesting another mesclun planting. Onions – 'California Red' onion(s) in every box. Parsley – Harvesting curly leaf. Parsnips – We have started harvesting big parsnips 'Hollow Crown'. Patty Pan Squash – The variety is 'Jaune Et Verte'. They are scallop, small, round summer squash. Delicious baked, grilled or stir fried. We are rotating the harvest of these each week. Silverbeet – Bunches of 'Ruby Red' or 'Perpetual Gator' in every box. Tomatoes – Romas and 'Marglobes', 'Principe Borghese' and 'Sun Gold'. The tomato harvest is dwindling...even with a second planting. Their season is almost done. Pumpkin – Harvesting 'Australian Butter' and 'Butternut' pumpkins. 'Tiny Tim' Pumpkins – We planted a few of these tiny little pumpkins just as an Autumn treat. They are apparently edible but we just like them as a seasonal display. Happy Autumn!! Zucchini – Harvesting 'Nero de Milano' and 'Romanesco'. The zucchinis are slowing down and we are rotating the harvest. We are also harvesting 'Golden Crookneck', a summer squash.

NOTES ON WHAT'S GROWING The melon and watermelon have finished. There are many huge melons on the plants but we are not sure if they will ripen as the nights have really cooled down and melons like balmy nights! It has been a wonderful season for both melons and watermelons!

We have planted a variety of broccoli which is all heading up now...every single plant at the same time! I have never seen anything like it...so uniform and perfect. With that and our other two varieties which are producing, we are about to have a great amount of broccoli. Not sure if the 'Belstar' will be ready this week or next but get your broccoli recipes ready!

We have finished with one bean planting and we have one more which we are hoping will produce. The cold nights keep the warm weather plants from producing flowers. Without flowers, there are no fruits...or beans in this case. We are not sure if this last planting will produce or not...

We have two more corn plantings which we hope will keep growing. One has already tasseled and pollinated but the ears are not ready. The other has not tasseled yet.

There is a planting of cauliflower just beginning to head up and a planting of 'Romanesco' broccoli which may start heading up. 'Romanesco' is that lovely Esher-esc plant that has whirls of lime green spirals. It is classified a broccoli but grows like a cauliflower and can be used as you would either.

The kale plantings are growing as are the silverbeet. And the re-plantings of Asian greens have sprouted and have true leaves. Baby bok choy in three weeks!!

ESKY'S Please keep putting out your esky's. Peter is happy to put your vegetables in one to preserve the freshness of the food until you return home. Leave them in the shade and leave a note if you think he would not spot it. We have also been told that water frozen in juice bottles with card board on top in an esky is an excellent way to protect the tender greens and keep everything cold and crisp. Thanks for the advice!

SEASONAL EATING - SHARING INSPIRATION Please keep sharing your inspirations. True seasonal eating has lost its definition, due partly to the fact that the grocery stores and fruit and vegetable shops seem to have everything, all the time. It is great to be a part of the re-awakening of eating with the season and I am enjoying compiling what that looks like for so many different families.

RECIPE SUGGESTIONS Braised Red Cabbage with Bacon Thai Salad Dresssing Pasta with Broccoli and Lemon Basil Sauce Pickled Red Cabbage Roasted Parsnips, Beetroot and Carrots

You can also search by key ingredient on our website recipe page for many more ideas.