Welcome to Week 7 of the 2025 summer CSA season. This week is a Group A week, which means full shares in all locations pick up and half shares in Duluth pick up.
In their shares this week, members will receive the following vegetables: carrots, kohlrabi, green cabbage, rainbow Swiss chard, head lettuce, snap peas, cucumbers, scallions and cilantro. Members will also receive either a very small summer squash or an equally small purple cauliflower.
Flower shares will include: Snapdragons, zinnias, gooseneck loosestrife, hosta flowers, dara/chocolate lace flower, pincushion, bells of Ireland and statice.
The online store is open this week, offering napa cabbage, kale, collard greens and farm gear and Heather-Marie’s linoleum block prints. Please place orders by 10 a.m. Tuesday morning to allow for processing.
This newsletter includes a roundup of news from the farm as well as information and recipes. Feel free to jump to the bottom of the newsletter to find the section titled, “This week’s veggies and recipes.”
News from the farm
Next week, we’ll mark the midpoint of the CSA summer season, and life on the farm has decidedly shifted gears. The rush of transplanting is behind us and now it’s a matter of trying to keep weeds under control while working stay on top of harvesting and cultivating.
It’s been a cooler, wetter growing season than we’ve had in years past, which means a change in what plants are doing well. The brassicas — plants in the cabbage family — are thriving this season. This week, that is marked by some beautiful green cabbage that members will be receiving and the last kohlrabi harvest of the year.
But this week, we’re excited to get to harvesting the vegetables that are favorites for many. Our cucumber plants are now well over head high in the high tunnel, and we’re hopeful to be providing both slicing and pickling cucumbers on a consistent basis. Soon, we should have enough pickling cucumbers to sell them in bulk.
This week, we’ll harvest the first summer squash, which have been slow to produce fruit because of the cooler temperatures.
We’re very excited to be pulling fresh carrots from the ground from the first of five plantings of carrots. They will be small but sweet at first but will gradually increase in size in the weeks to come.
Nothing says midsummer quite like snap peas, and this year’s planting is looking fantastic. We hope to have snap peas for the next two and perhaps three deliveries.
In our high tunnel, the first of the cherry tomatoes are finally starting to ripen, and we have our fingers crossed that they will show up in boxes starting next week with our other tomatoes not far behind. We have a wonderful assortment of tomatoes and they are looking healthy and strong.
Our pepper plants are also beginning to produce, but they, too, have been a little sluggish.
The consistent rain has been both a boon and a hindrance on the farm. The rain that fall last week brought more than an inch and a half of rain to the farm and this week, another system is in the forecast.
The wet conditions make it a challenge to prepare new beds for the final plantings of the season. They have also created an environment that has welcomed an influx of weeds and undesirable insects. This season, a bug called the tarnished plant bug can be seen everywhere, threatening to do damage to cucumber plants and flowers as well.
As we near late July, the rhythm of the farm is pretty steady. We do our best to crawl out of bed before the sunrise and get to our daily routines. We’re grateful for our team here at the farm, who help us with their effort, energy and passion.
And we’re grateful to our customers who remind us on a regular basis why we do this work.
Updated events calendar
We’ve made a few adjustments to the events calendar for the rest of the season. Here are the new dates and times. We hope you can join us and remember you can also find this information in the CSA Member Portal.
Cider with your farmers
Summary: Meet your farmers for a cider at Duluth Cider. This cidery is owned by our friends Val and Jake, who also happen to be members of our CSA. This is a chance for your farmers to relax and for everyone to hang out and have a pint of either alcoholic or nonalcoholic beverages. We can even play bingo if people are up for that.
- Date: Tuesday, July 29 (Please note new date.)
- Time: 6 p.m.
- Location: Duluth Cider
Floral Arranging Workshop
Summary: This will be our third year of offering this workshop. Heather-Marie and Kristina will provide flowers and tips on arranging beautiful farm-grown flowers.
*There will be a fee for this workshop.
- Date: Wednesday, August 13 (Please note new date.)
- Time: 6 p.m.
- Location: Rising Phoenix Community Farm
Potluck and Community Celebration
Summary: Here’s our chance to gather, celebrate the season and eat great food. This year we are opening up this event to the community as well. We’ll have a potluck meal, a bonfire, games and a chance to explore the farm or just hang out and relax.
Location: Rising Phoenix Community Farm
Date: Saturday, September 6
Time: 1 p.m.
This week’s veggies and recipes
Swiss chard
Swiss chard is closely related to beets. Like beets, there are two edible parts; the leafy greens and the stems or ribs. Swiss chard can be a replacement for any green in a recipe, whether it’s kale or spinach. Both the stems and leaves are delicious, along with being so pretty! Swiss chard can be eaten raw, along with sauteed, steamed and braised. The stems take a little longer to cook. Chard can also be blanched and freezes well.
Vegetable frittata
- Swiss chard, stems chopped, leaves ripped into bite size pieces
- Dry white wine (optional)
- Scallions
- Garlic, minced
- 4 to 6 eggs, scrambled
- Fresh herbs of your choosing
- Za’atar, optional spice blend
Preheat oven to 350
Saute onions, garlic, chard stems and spices in oven-proof pan. Add chard leaves. If using, add a splash or two of white wine and cover to let the chard leaves braise and soften a little.
Add eggs, stirring to mix everything together.
Place in oven and cook until eggs are just set — about 15 to 20 minutes. Serve topped with chopped scallions.
Cucumber salad
This is a pretty simple, standard recipe that John’s mom used to make when he was a child.
Ingredients:
- Cucumber, sliced
- Onions, ideally red onions, but scallions would work
- Fresh dill if you have it, but Thai basil would work
- 3 tablespoons white vinegar
- 3 tablespoons mayonaise
- 1 teaspoon of sugar
- Salt and pepper to taste
Slice the cucumbers and place in a colander. Salt generously and let sit for at least a half hour so that the cucumbers lose some of their moisture. Rinse well and place in a bowl. Add remaining ingredients and season to taste. Refrigerate and let sit for an hour or so to let the flavors meld together.