CSA SUMMER SHARE WEEK #12 The last week of the Summer Share...Thank you for your support of our farm and growing endeavours. You have been a vital part of our continued desire to grow nutrient dense food for our community in a sustainable way. We look forward to the next 12 weeks of our CSA season.

NOTES ON WHAT'S GROWING Tahlia Gregori, the intern that has been working with us for the past three months leaves next week. She has been a fantastic intern and we wish her the best in her growing endeavours!

We have started harvesting the first of the Autumn broccoli crops. If you did not receive any this week, you will next! All of the brassicas love the cool nights we have been having and the rain has been welcome, too. We have also started harvesting our third zucchini planting. We hope that it will be able to ward off powdery mildew and keep growing until the frost. The next corn planting will be ready next week.

The sweet capsicums are still coming on. If you are receiving more than you know what to do with, you can slice them and freeze them to use in stir-fries and sauces through the winter!

We will have lettuce this week and next and then there will be a gap in the head lettuce. We have planted many other greens so that this gap will hopefully not be felt in the boxes. The lettuce seed does not like to germinate when it is hot. We do several things to work around this but had three weeks of lettuce not germinate in the glasshouse. The current lettuce seedlings are doing well but not even in the ground yet.

All of the Autumn brassicas are glowing and the parsnips and turnips are growing well. The transition into Autumn is always softened by the great flush of Summer vegetables still enjoying the warm soil. The bean picking Tuesday was not as heavy as summer weeks. There will be more beans next week.

The tomatoes are starting to succumb to summer disease. We are still picking though! The cherry tomato crop is still producing for “Pick Your Own” during farm pick up times! Please bring your own containers. Limit a 1 kilo bucket per family.

Farm pickup is 2-5pm Fridays and 8-11am Saturdays. Box pickup is available at other times by appointment only. Cherry Tomato picking is only available during farm pick up times.

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. We envisage that many of the vegetables you are receiving this week will last for two weeks with careful attention to storing upon arrival. Although we do wash all the greens after harvest, we are washing to take the heat out of the plants and wash away some surface dirt, not to prepare them for consumption. We also spray a seaweed/herb brew about every ten days. While this will not harm you, it does have a taste. We do suggest washing your produce prior to eating.

WHAT’S IN THE BOX The following are the items harvested this week. Items and quantities in your box may vary depending on your harvest day and the total harvest of each crop. The boxes are completely governed by what is ripe and ready for harvest and how much of it there is. We endeavor to divide the harvest fairly. 1/4 share: 5-7 items 1/2 share: 8-10 items Full Share: 10-12 items

Beans Bok Choy Red Cabbage Capsicum Carrots Chilies Coriander Lettuce Spring Onions Sweet Potatoes Tomatoes Watermelon

Extras Broccoli Cherry Tomatoes Chilies – 'Pimiento de Padrons'. Eggplant Melons Zucchini

RECIPE SUGGESTIONS

Roasted Sweet Potato, Sweet Capsicum and Carrot Soup - An internet find soup with delicious flavour Watermelon, Feta and Toasted Pumpkin Seed Salad Tassajara Warm Red Cabbage Salad - This is an adaptation of a fantastic Tassajara Restaurant recipe Broccoli, Capsicum, Carrot and Bok Choy Stir Fry - This recipe can include ay protein source - tofu, chicken, beef, mung bean sprouts. We made it with onions, capsicum, carrots, broccoli and bok choy and it was delicious! Bok Choy Salad - Crispy and delicious with roasted veggies and crunchy Asian noodles

You can search our recipes by looking for the key ingredients on our website recipe page

Please note - Photo is a randomly selected full share box.