CONTINUAL HARVEST  

We are getting into that sweet spot in the growing season now where pretty much everything is ready and needs to be continually harvested. (With the exception of some of the recently seeded or transplanted items such as the onions, radishes, new cilantro, new beets, new carrots, and new lettuce.) Continual harvest encourages more prolific development and growth on the plants. 

 

We welcome the Main Street Community Garden members to come to the garden throughout the week as you prepare for your meals, even on a daily basis if that is how you would like to do it. We want for everyone to be able to enjoy and use the veggies as they are becoming available. Keep in mind that there are other gardeners coming out to harvest as well. So please try to be fair when harvesting. 

  

As an example of a general rule of thumb, if there are 10 eggplants available, just take one so that others can partake. Trust me, there will be many more this season. The tomatoes are an item that would be good to harvest more sparingly, at this early point as they are just beginning to ripen, in order to share the wealth. In a few weeks, we will have no limits on Toms because they should be just bursting! The kale, chard, herbs, broccoli, jalapeños are all ready to give give give NOW! So please go ahead and harvest those items for yourselves throughout the week. 

  

I have taken a suggestion from one of our members and I am attaching a veggie by veggie list of guidelines of how to harvest each one. Please have a look at it. And ask away if you need further clarification. 

  

GROUP HARVEST 

You are also quite welcome to harvest for yourselves on Thursdays. Last week we tried a new method of harvesting where we set out boxes and harvested each veggie en masse and placed them into boxes. Then gardeners who were working together on harvesting the different veggies could take a fair amount from each box for themselves and the remainder at the end of the evening was given to Grow Another Row. 

 

One of the main goals voiced by members at the beginning of the season was to give to charities. We are so fortunate to have this charitable outlet where we are easily able to share this bounty with those in need. Thursdays are the day that we have arranged for the pick ups for Grow Another Row. We will plan to harvest during our community work session and then the donation will be made around 7pm at the end of the session. If you have in mind a certain amount of vegetables that you need or want to harvest for yourself, feel free to do so. And you are of course welcome, to harvest for yourself into your own bag or box and do not need to place items into the communal harvest boxes. But do keep in mind that a portion of the garden's bounty is intended to be donated.  

 

We are simply trying to make this process clear at this point in the season now that we are having plentiful harvests. Please do not hesitate to ask questions if you have them. And we are very open to input and truly encourage open dialogue about how to make all of this work as smoothly as possible. 

         

TOMATOES  

This week we need to continue to tame the tomatoes. We have run out of twine, so please bring twine to tie them with as well as scissors to continue to sucker them and pare them down. We also need additional poles to train some of them up onto. Tall, straight pruned shrub and tree branches can work for this if you have any lying around in your backyards. 

  

As you will notice, the tomato plants are just hitting their stride. We planted so many and with such density that we need to be on the aggressive side when we are pruning them so that as the season goes on (and bear in mind that we will be harvesting tomatoes straight on through September, and likely well into October before the first frost will snatch them away) they will continue to grow and fill out and we need to be able to get our bodies in between the rows to harvest them and hunt around for the ripe ones that might be hiding in the tomato jungle. So don't hold back! But only get aggressive if you absolutely KNOW what you are doing. If you do not know, please ask us! We are around each week to help. 

  

DOGGIES 

Please keep in mind one rule that needs to apply to all gardeners ------- please tie your dogs up OUTSIDE of the garden fence. Thank you! 

 

See you at this Thursday's 5:30pm work session.   

Fresh Summer Recipes

Here is a recipe to make use of all the tomatoes that will be exploding from the garden in the next week! Get your canning supplies ready to make some salsa!!!!

Deliciosa Tomato Salsa

-4 medium-small round or 6 or 7 plum ripe tomatoes
-Fresh serrano chiles to taste (roughly 3 to 5, or even more depending on your Scoville scale)
-A dozen or so large sprigs of cilantro
-1 large garlic clove, peeled and very finely chopped
-1 small (4-ounce) white onion
-1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
-Salt and pepper

Core the tomatoes, then cut in half widthwise and squeeze out the seeds if you wish (it will give the sauce a less rustic appearance). Finely dice the flesh by slicing it into roughly 1/4-inch thick pieces, then cutting each slice into small dice. Scoop into a bowl.
Cut the chiles in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds if you wish. Chop the chiles as finely as you can, then add them to the tomatoes. Carefully bunch up the cilantro sprigs, and, with a sharp knife, slice them 1/16-inch thick, stems and all, working your way down from the leafy end until you run out of leaves. Scoop the chopped cilantro into the tomato mixture along with the optional garlic. Next, finely dice the onion with a knife (a food processor will turn it into a sour mess), scoop it into a small strainer, then rinse it under cold water. Shake to remove the excess water and add to the tomato mixture. Taste and season with lime juice and salt, and let stand if you have a little time, for the flavors to meld before using or scooping into a salsa dish and serving.

Fresh Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

Preheat broiler.

- 1 1/2 pounds fresh tomatillos
- 5 fresh serrano chiles
- 3 garlic cloves, unpeeled
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
- 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
- 2 teaspoons coarse salt

If using fresh tomatillos, remove husks and rinse under warm water to remove stickiness. Broil chiles, garlic, and fresh tomatillos rack of a broiler pan 1 to 2 inches from heat, turning once, until tomatillos are softened and slightly charred, about 7 minutes.
Peel garlic and pull off tops of chiles. Purée all ingredients in a blender.