The garlic harvest happened on Tuesday and Wednesday of last week, and what a harvest it was. It was our earliest and biggest harvest ever, with over 7,000 garlic bulbs coming out of the field and into the barn to cure. We were incredibly lucky that a crew from Climate Summer joined us for the big day. These five young people are spending the summer biking throughout Maine, volunteering and organizing and learning about work being done around climate change. They joined us for a long day of work, and we were so grateful to have their help. Now that the garlic is drying it will become more like the garlic you usually find at the store. But it’ll still have a crunch to it that you can only find in garlic that has recently come out of the ground.

Bill hanging garlic to cure on the third floor of the barn. Ten bulbs are tied together to create one bunch, and then the bunches are staggered for maximum air flow.

July is always a hard time for apprentices, and this year was no different than usual. We love all five of our apprentices, but two of them will be going on to different things sooner rather than later. So a big thank you and farewell to Benny and Laura. This means that we now have two apprentice positions available at the farm, if you know of anyone who might be interested! The apprentice page of our website has more details.

As for the veggies, this week is a good haul! I can’t ever remember giving both cherry and regular tomatoes in the same week before September. Some things are struggling (potato yields are down, and green beans are coming in late and sparse). But tomatoes and cucumbers, the two primary things that members said they wanted more of in last season’s end-of-year survey, are thriving. Hooray! We hope you enjoy the Chinese (Napa) cabbage this week, too. It’ll add great texture to any traditional slaw.

Have a wonderful week!

Reba and the HCF crew

Week 7 of 18 Veggies: Napa (Chinese) Cabbage, Slicing Tomato(es), Cherry Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Zuchinni and/or Zephyr Squash, Garlic, Basil, Green Beans, Carrots, Swiss Chard

This week’s recipes: Zucchini Bread Pancakes, Mango Slaw with Cashews and Mint, Summer Bread Salad with Tomatoes and Feta Cheese