Another great week. Thursday may see some changes so stay tuned for updates then.

A few change ups on the share today I wanted to let folks know about. Peppers went in the Thursday shares last week so they're out this week. We've had some deer predation In the lettuce this week so some folks are getting Kweik instead of Rosencrantz. Also, the beans have slowed way down so it's a lighter share today, which actually evens things out a bit as Thusday beans started before Monday.

A relatively heavy share today. Tomatoes are producing well now and the beans have peaked (I think). We're back with some lettuce today and if the deer leave us alone we should continue to have a good supply. This beautiful weather is really helping with a lot of the summer crops.

Hi everyone! Today is going to be a very quick and easy post because today happens to be my 25th birthday and I'm about to help my wife bake some blackberry muffins mmmmmm.... But, anyways, its been a pretty laid back week while we've been putting doors in and getting all our tools and materials ready to start doing trim and siding. Though, once we start it's going to be serious business because, well, it's what you see when the building is finished so we have to do it just right. And, speaking of things you see when the building is finished check out the retail space now that it's been textured --------------------------------------------------->>
Colors are still being debated but, compared to what it looked like 4-5 months ago when it didn't exist...it's a room where there used to be nothing so I'm still blown away.

On the farm front everyone is still talking about/recovering from the farm dinners last weekend, and I hope the same goes for all of you that attended. A farm party isn't a farm party unless you're still talking about it the week after, so I hope you all had a blast and will continue to come out and support our endeavors. And, hopefully next time I'll be able to make it out to eat and be merry with all of you good people too.

As a bonus, here are two new friends we met when we picked up some lumber. They were hiding in the boards so we made sure to move them to a safer home where they stuck very close to each other. It was a neat little surprise.

Have a great weekend!
Til' next time,
Louis

For a number of years I've been growing two peppers that look scary, kind of like they might be hot. They're not. In fact they are both super sweet. The bigger, thicker one is Stocky Red Roaster, a Frank Morton pepper was bread right here in the Willamette Valley.

The thinner one is an Italian import, Jimmy Nardello. This is a Slow Food Ark of taste variety but really I grow it because it's so sweet! It also ripens early and so today we put one in each share as a little preview. Peppers don't usually really come ripe for us until September but we've had good heat this summer so we have some early ones this year.

Josh Volk

Regular blog contributor, occasional blog signer.

Lettuce is on a break this week but the heat is not. Beans, squash, cucs, and tomatoes are all tasty summer fruits for this week. We're recovering from a weekend of amazing farm dinners so more info in the next post.

Hey! It's been a while, hasn't it? Sorry we didn't talk last week, I just moved into a new house and it was a little hectic on the (new) home front, but now we're mostly settled in so I'm back! The past two weeks have been fun though, mostly focused on getting the porches finished by applying lots of layers on top...fancy plywood, then water and ice shield, then tar paper, then 1"x4" planks so the screws holding down the metal don't shine through the fancy plywood, and then the metal. Somebody's gotta make sure you folks stay cool and dry when you're lounging out there in the rain or shine. All in all I think they turned out great, and the shade they provide certainly help us out now more than ever. It also happened that we finished up the porches with enough spare time today to set the entrance door to the atrium! Only the first of many. Tomorrow we'll tackle the rest of them.

As for the interior we've been pretty hands off as a lot of different sub contractors have been doing their thing inside. All the rooms now have drywall from floor to ceiling, and the taping crew has been busy walking around on their crazy stilts sealing up the joints and covering nail holes with drywall mud.

Apparently they're really easy to walk on, the feet articulate like a real foot as you walk and everything. I think they'd be applicable in everyday life, don't you? Needless to say I was not allowed to try them on.

Anyways, here's a sunny end-of-the-day photo with the porches all finished up. As for the upward facing metal that's all she wrote, but next comes the metal siding and I bet we'll start with that next week. I hope a lot of you are lucky enough to get to come out to at least one of the farm dinners this weekend and check everything out. The gourmet meal is just icing on the cake compared with bearing witness to the brilliance of the gleaming edifice we have erected in the name of sustainable agriculture. But, whether or not you're coming for the food or just to check out the farm stand, I hope you enjoy it either way.

Have a wonderful weekend!
Til' next time,
Louis

I remembered to take a photo of the beans today. Coban on the left is a thin fillet bean, Nor'easter on the right is a broad flat bean. Both are super tender and tasty and need little to no cooking. Hoping we'll have enough over the next few weeks that all of the shares will get both varieties, maybe even more than once.

Some of the mid summer bounty is starting to come in. Tomatoes seem to be increasing and we harvested beautiful sweet onions today. A couple of the pick up sites will also see beans this week. The other sites will be seeing them soon!

I forgot to take a picture of the two, very distinct beans we have. One is a small , thin fillet bean, think green bean only more delicate. The other is a broad, flat bean, also a green bean but much larger. Both are delicious alone or cooked into a salad form. I'll post a photo and more info soon.