Summer (or June) Solstice: The longest day of the year in our hemisphere! From the Latin sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still), because at the solstices, the Sun “stands still” where the movement of the Sun’s path comes to a stop before reversing direction. According to timeanddate.com June 21st will be 15 hours, 41 minutes, 16 seconds; June 22nd will be 2 seconds less and June 23rd, 7 seconds less than that.
The latest front page headline from the Capital Press: “Extreme Weather Sets Hard Choices” In this case, some wheat growers in Washington decided to spray fungicide over their 3000 acres to prevent or reduce damage from rust, a condition caused by the record cool, wet weather. We will never be faced with such a choice, as spraying toxic fungicides – or any pesticides – are simply not an option for us. Our (as in, ours and yours) choices are more like what will we get from the grocery store because we didn’t get it yet in our share because everything’s running late!
In Your Share This Week
Lettuce – Black Seeded Simpson or Red Sails
Bloomsdale & Tyee Spinach – This is the last of the Bloomsdale spinach as it is starting to bolt. The Tyee seems to be holding up well so far.
Garlic Scapes – these are the flowering tops of the Hardneck garlic. Softneck garlic does not make scapes. Use just as you would regular garlic.
Cilantro – For short term storage, wrap in a damp towel or stand upright in a container with an inch or so of water in fridge. Wash only before using. It’s a great ingredient for dressings/sauces over hot or cold veggies, greens, pasta or in marinades.
Sugar Snap Peas (Farm & NE Pick Ups ONLY) These are the Sugar Ann peas sown a rare clear day back in March. They took about 100 days to get to this stage.
Umpqua Broccoli (Parkrose Pick Up ONLY) This is an open pollinated broccoli that is also supposed to give us a healthy crop of side shoots after we harvest these first smallish heads.