This Week's Vegetable Harvest: Carrots with greens Fresh Dill Celery Heirloom Tomatoes Toyko Bekana Broccoli or Zucchini - As our broccoli season begins, we will begin to rotate this crop into shares. Cucumbers Garlic Poblano Peppers Eggplant - This week, Glenview and Lake Forest members will receive.  This Week's Fruit Harvest (from Mick Klug Farms, St. Joseph, MI) Late Summer Strawberries Nectarines 'Canadice' Red Seedless Grapes

What's New at the Farm Stand

Tomatoes! - We keep tomatoes at their ideal temperature (50 degrees) in our warm cooler at the farm stand. Cherry, beefsteak, and 'imperfect' tomatoes are available at the farm stand everything from salads to sandwiches to sauces and more. We harvest and restock often, so if you're not seeing a variety available when you visit, please stop by another time. The Farm Stand is open daily, 7am-7pm.

Its Time! Taking Reservations for Bulk Tomato Cases We are again selling bulk quantities of our certified organic tomatoes for eating and canning. We are holding at our 2022 prices for members. Our availability and prices are as follows:  20 lb Heirloom Tomato Cases - $72 20 lb Paste Tomato Cases - $52  20lb Mixed 'Seconds' Cases - $42 - These cases include imperfect tomatoes (a mix of all varieties) that will need to be processed quickly as the tomatoes will not hold. Despite their imperfections, these tomatoes are delicious!  To place a reservation for tomato case(s), please fill out the following form. If harvests become limited, our 2023 CSA members will receive first priority. On the week of your delivery/pickup, we will send a confirmation reminder email to you. We are unable to provide replacement tomatoes if your case is not picked up. Please let us know if you have any questions. Thank you!

Mark Your Calendar! CSA Farm Share Member Event When: Saturday, September 9th, 9 am-12 pm. Where: Prairie Wind Family Farm, 560 Harris Road in Grayslake. Directional details on our website. Parking signs will be posted.  Who: All 2023 Farm Share members and guests are welcome. What to Bring: Rain or shine, so please dress for the weather. Please wear sturdy walking shoes and bring a water bottle. We also encourage bug repellant.  Activities available: U-Pick. We will offer family-friendly U-pick vegetables: Basil Sunflowers Kale Green Beans Farm Tour. Farmer Jeff will lead a walking tour from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Farm Stand. The farm stand will be open and available for shopping.  Refreshments. We will offer light refreshments. Open House. We welcome you to visit the animals (small flock and goat, Twix), relax, or take a peaceful stroll. RSVP: Please RSVP to give us a sense of the guests to expect. We look forward to seeing you!

Farm Journal

Good evening from the farm!

This Monday, we labored through the Labor Day heat to bring in the harvest. Like last week's harvest, this week's harvest is also a colorful one!

The team is also working against the seasonal clock to wrap up our reconstruction work. Last week, Jeff and the team finalized our first completely rebuilt hoophouse after the spring damage. We are striving to rebuild in innovative ways that challenge us to lessen our footprint, and adapt to our climate realities, and learn about new materials and technologies. For those keeping score, the spring damage included: 5 structures = 3 Hoophouses destroyed + 1 Greenhouse & 1 Hoophouse significantly damaged Spring Fixes: 2 hoophouses were temporarily rebuilt from parts and pieces to allow us to plant summer crops quickly. These structures are not reliable and will be removed or repurposed at the end of the season. Our greenhouse plastic was significantly damaged and we held it in place with temporary workarounds... shade cloth, ropes, and crossed fingers! Jeff's let the sudan grass cover crop grow as tall as it's ever been! This created a temporary windbreak as our reconstruction continued. Summer Rebuild: 1 greenhouse was recovered with new climate-smart plastic and track system. 1 hoophouse was recovered and repaired. 1 hoophouse was rebuilt with a newly installed carbon-neutral, solar-powered system for inflation fans and ventilation. In Progress: 2 hoophouses are nearly rebuilt! We are awaiting the perfect weather and work window to complete construction and cover them with plastic before this winter.

We're getting there! Thank you for your ongoing support and encouragement in this process. We look forward to sharing more in person during Jeff's tour on Saturday. We hope to see you there. Enjoy this week's late summer harvest! Your farmers, ~ Jeff, Jen, Gavin, David, Cleto, Miguel, Anacleto

Notes from the Farm Kitchen

Tokyo Bekana is the name of this week's Asian cabbage. Despite the name, we treat it much more like a head of lettuce than a head of cabbage. Simply chop as a salad, make it into spring roll wrap or lightly sauté, and add to cold soba noodles with tofu and other chopped veggies for a cool noodle dish. It is mild, crisp, and juicy, with just the barest hint of cabbage flavor.

Celery bunches are included in shares this week. We have received the question: why do you harvest in bunches rather than in heads? Answer: This allows us to provide you with celery longer! By cutting the whole plant, you may only receive celery once in shares. By harvesting taller, larger ribs into bunches and allowing the smaller inner ribs to continue to grow, we can provide you with celery for multiple weeks. Store your celery in a plastic bag and use it within one to two weeks. Because we conserve the water we provide to celery, our celery is more flavorful, though slightly tougher than celery coming from other states. It is perfect for juicing, cooking, and a diced chop.

Poblano peppers continue! Each poblano pepper is different, as pictured here. Throughout the coming weeks, members may see a variety of poblano shapes, colorations, and sizes but rest assured, they are all wonderful for stuffing, adding heat or roasting on the grill.

Seasonal Recipes in the Farm Kitchen Gluten-free Nectarine Upside Down Cake Heirloom Tomato Galette Tokyo Bekana Wraps Three Ingredient Celery Smoothie

• Tags: Celery, nectarine, tokyo bekana, Tomatoes

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