Autumn begins?!?

Fall is officially here! But...it is still 90 degrees outside and we still have not gotten any measurable rainfall. In fact the irrigation routine is now so ingrained in our daily rhythm that I switch or turn on the irrigation as regularly as I brush my teeth.

Emily and I decided that we would recharge a bit this weekend before really delving into fall crops and end of the season cleanup. So we went on a farm tour to Mick Luber's Bluebird Farm in Cadiz. Mick's farm is nestled in the hills of far Eastern Ohio. The drive to the farm was beautiful and the farm itself was intriguingly different from our largely flat, midwestern setting. The growing area on the farm was divided into two spaces. One in the valley, pictured here.


And another at the top of the hill on which the farm sits.


After returning home from the farm tour we took Sunday off. The only farm work that we did was of course moving around irrigation. Then on Monday morning we dived right back into harvesting for the CSA. First we cut these bok choi. As you can see we've grown them in a tunnel of fabric called remay, which prevents pests from demolishing this particular crop.


Then we judged that this lettuce could wait another week or two until we harvest it.


Next we picked kale, sweet corn, tomatoes and finally peppers. While we picked bell peppers and jalapenos for our CSA we also grow some other peppers that we really like.


These are called Jimmy Nardellos. They are super sweet (sweeter even than the colored bells that are always in great demand) and are great raw in salads, sauteed in a stir-fry or roasted and used in soups or sauces.

We are trying another Italian frying pepper called Corno di Toro this year. These beautiful peppers range from slightly hot to mild with a great taste. They are an excellent addition to sauces. We really like them on pizza.


We also have jalapenos growing. With the hot dry weather we've heard from customers that these have packed quite a punch this year.


Finally we've got lots of bell peppers growing and starting to ripen (red, yellow and orange peppers are all fully ripe green peppers). We have not had as much luck this year with the peppers as we have in the past so we are just starting to get some turning. It is just one of the things that happens when it is constantly raining in June and the peppers get planted three weeks late!