Saturday, August 30, 2014

CSA Farm Share Week 14


Hello Everyone,

This week you will find in your shares:

Sat. August 30
  • Lettuce Mix
  • Sweet Peppers
  • Tomatoes
  • Potatoes
  • Dill
Tue. September 2
  • Tomatoes*
  • Sweet Peppers*
  • Onions*
  • Cilantro*
  • Parsley*
  • Jalapeno Pepper*
  • Concord Grapes (from a friends vine)**THESE HAVE SEEDS


Thursday, August 21, 2014

CSA Farm Share Week 13


Hello Everyone,

This week you will find in your shares:

Sat. August 23
  • Lettuce Mix
  • Bunching Onions
  • Potatoes
  • Tomatoes
  • Sage
  • Garlic
  • Jalapeno Pepper
Tue. August 26
  • Lettuce Mix
  • Bell Peppers
  • Jalapeno Pepper
  • Potatoes
  • Tomatoes
  • Dill
Vegetable Spotlight - Tomato
It’s place of origin is the lower Andes, what is today Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. Archeology has produced no information on its early history there, it’s speculated that pre-Columbian peruvians simply gathered the wild fruit in season and made no attempt to improve it. The most likely explanation for its spread to Italy was the theory that the Spaniards brought seeds to Spain, then passed them on to Naples, which was under Spanish rule in 1522. While the Spaniards accepted the new plant passively, the Italians on the other hand were quite aggressive about it. By the renaissance it had spread as far as Poland.

The rest of Europe distrusted the tomato as food for quite a while, as late as 1760 is was treated as more of an ornamental plant, even in America. It was regarded as poisonous by many early botanists, probably because it was recognized as a member of the family Solanaceae (Nightshades), which includes several toxic plants.

One of the first person to grow tomatoes in the U.S. was Thomas Jefferson, possibly getting his seeds from an Italian painter in Salem, Mass. His neighbors were afraid to taste them. By 1782 Jefferson said the plants were common in the private gardens of Virginians. And by the early 1800’s Americans seemed to have discovered the joy of a eating fresh, vine ripe tomato!

Friday, August 15, 2014

CSA Farm Share Week 12


Hello Everyone,

This week you will find in your shares:

Sat. August 13
  • Lettuce Mix
  • Bunching Onions
  • Green Pepper
  • Squash
  • White Onion
  • Parsley
  • Romano Beans
  • Cherry Tomatoes
Tue. August 19
  • Lettuce Mix
  • Bunching Onions
  • Onion
  • Tomatoes
  • Garlic
  • Fresh Sage and Rosemary
Vegetable Spotlight - Lettuce  

Nobody really knows where lettuce originated, but we do know it has been on the human menu at least since 800 BC.,when an Assyrian herbal listed it among the 250 plants growing in the gardens of King Merodach-Baladan in Babylon.  Herodotus wrote that the kings of Persia had lettuce on their tables about 550 BC and it was also being grown in Egypt.  At those times, lettuce did not form heads, but rather grew leaves on a tall stalk (much like the wild lettuce known as a “weed” found in our regions-Lactuca scariola).  The Romans cultivated a variety of lettuce that grew more “head like.”  This variety was not recognized till the 1st century AD.


Lettuce seems to be slow in reaching the far east, only in the 5th century do we see it mentioned in Chinese literature.  It was cultivated in French gardens, but water cress seemed to have been preferred as a salad green.
It appears to have enjoyed luxury status, being served at all the great medieval banquets.  By 1440 lettuce became quite popular in England, and in the 17th century, Louis XIV was quite fond of it.
Columbus is purportedly the one who introduced it to the New World, but not until after World War I, did Americans pay much attention to it.

Friday, August 8, 2014

CSA Farm Share Week 11

Hello Everyone,

This week you will find in your shares:

Sat. August 8
  • Swiss Chard
  • White Onions
  • Green Pepper
  • Blue and Purple Potato
  • Jalepeno pepper (med. hot)
  • Garlic
Tue. August 12
  • Lettuce Mix
  • White Onions
  • Green Pepper
  • Blue Potato
  • Garlic
Taking a break from the Vegetable spotlight.  Got too busy this week to write it, I'm sure somebody's really bummed they can't learn more esoteric vegetable information. :)