CSA Newsletter for September 5, 2015

Farm Update

The CSA tables are loaded down summer
abundance just before the Alma drop-off.

 This week we have had a lot of rain, and it looks like the dreaded Late Blight has once again infected our outside tomatoes. We also talked to our former extension agent who said his tomatoes were already dying off from the disease, so those of you who have gardens may want to keep an eye out for it. However, the cherry tomatoes and other coldframe tomatoes are producing like crazy.  They came late but very prolifically! Most of the other crops are doing very well and growing fast under the warm conditions.  The Brussels sprouts once again are tasting great earlier than usual, and we had some for breakfast today.  Our sweet potatoes also seem to be doing much better after a very slow start, so we are very hopeful for this crop.  Our shallots did very well once again, and have gained some notoriety this year as a world-class chef near Detroit is using a lot of them as a main part of a dish in the grand opening of his new restaurant!  This week our lettuce is less plentiful than most weeks (so don’t be surprised if you don’t see very much at the drop-off), but we will still have some, and we hope to start building back up a little over the next couple weeks.  Hope you enjoy the nice variety of great-tasting veggies once again this week! We certainly have been enjoying them at home!

What to Expect in Your Share This Week

At the regular drop-offs:

One of the choices this week
will be our specialty tomatoes!

• Cherry tomatoes
• Choice of carrots or potatoes
• Choice of tomatoes or cabbage
• Choice of snap beans or broccoli
• Choice of beets or kale
• Choice of Brussels sprouts, leeks, or lettuce
• Choice of shallots, specialty tomatoes, basil, or frisee

For home/workplace delivery:

A Share:                    B Share:
Cherry tomatoes        Cherry tomatoes
Carrots                       Potatoes
Cabbage                    Tomatoes
Snap beans                Broccoli
Beets                         Kale
Basil                          Shallot
Leek                          Lettuce

Veggie Spotlight: Tomatoes

Our tricolor cherry tomato
mix is one of our favorite
CSA items!  We eat them
like candy at home!

There are few garden plants more popular than the tomato, and it is one of the most widely eaten vegetables in the world. However, this widespread use of the tomato as a food has really become a lot more prevalent since the 19th century. Before this it was thought by Europeans to be poisonous, and it was often used for more ornamental purposes, both on the table and in the garden. (The tomato foliage does have mild toxins; however the fruit has very little, and you would have to eat a lot of tomato foliage to get ill.) The tomato’s origin is still debated in academic circles, and is thought to either have come from modern day Peru or somewhere in Mexico. However, most of its early recorded use is in Mexico, where evidence of its cultivation dates back to 500 BC. From then until the very early 1500s the tomato was only found in the Americas, but after Spain began its exploration and exploitation of the Aztecs and their land, the tomato soon made its way to Europe and quickly spread over the rest of the world. The first tomatoes that came over from Mexico to Europe were yellow, which remained the most common color of the early tomatoes in Europe. The tomato varieties that we grow today are mostly the result of a plant breeder from Ohio named Alexander Livingston, who greatly improved the flavor and eating quality of tomatoes that we enjoy today.  Before his work, tomatoes were commonly hollow with a hard core.

You’ve probably also heard the debate over whether the tomato is a fruit or vegetable. This issue has even been taken to the Supreme Court! Actually, it is both. Botanists consider it a fruit, because it forms from the ovary of a flower (it is considered a berry fruit). However, it is considered a vegetable to horticulturists, due to its annual growing culture and lower sugar content than other fruits.  The fruits vary widely in nutrient content and antioxidants, depending on variety and color. However, all tomatoes have a lot of vitamins A and C and contain the antioxidant Lycopene, which is thought to prevent cancer and heal the skin, especially from the effects of UV rays.

Yellow cherry tomatoes growing in the coldframes.

On our farm, the tomatoes start in the greenhouse as seeds planted in trays in mid-March. These seeds turn into fast-growing plants that are transplanted into our coldframes and field. The planting of the tomatoes took place in late May this year, both inside and outside. The plants that go in the coldframes are put into raised beds with plastic mulch. Stakes are put in the rows of plants every 8 feet. Then as the plants grow, lines of twine are put tightly around the rows of plants to guide their growth upward so they are not sprawled over the ground. At the end of the season most vines are 10-15 feet long. The system we use for the tomatoes improves the quality and flavor of tomatoes. This time of the year, we only water the tomatoes a little bit, so they can concentrate the flavor and sugars of the fruit for better eating and nutrient value. When tomatoes are overwatered, the taste is less intense and the nutrients are more diluted. By only giving our tomatoes a little water, we sacrifice a little on total yield, but we feel it is way worth it in flavor.  The outside tomatoes are exposed to more difficult conditions, but since we need more tomatoes than the coldframes can produce we plant a few beds each year.  Last year most tomato growers in Michigan, both farmers and home gardeners alike, got hit with a disease called Late Blight.  We had it kill all of our outside tomatoes last year, and we just noticed the start of the infection this weekend on the foliage of our field tomatoes because the conditions have been so favorable for the disease. At least this year we have already started to get a lot of tomatoes out of these plants, so we are hopeful that it won’t set us back too much.

Though the tomatoes are later than in normal years due to a cool start to summer, we now have our great tasting tomatoes back in full swing. We hope you enjoy this tomato season!

Recipes

Now that you know all about tomatoes, here are some recipes to help you get the most out of all that late-summer goodness!  Check out this recipe for Balsamic Roasted Tomatoes, which is totally simple and delicious!

You also can't go wrong with this Tomato Basil Chicken!  This is another quick, simple recipe made with the freshest flavors of the season.