Chinese Pink Celery
Cucumbers (asst. varieties)
Head Lettuce (asst. varieties)
Jubilee Cherry Tomato Mix
Peppers: Sweet (see descriptions in 8/5 newsletter)
Shallots: Mix
Tomatoes: slicers (see descriptions in 8/5 newsletter)
and at least one of the following: (please see **NOTE after "A Little Detail..." below)
Bean Mix: Fortex, Provider and Gold Rush
Eggplant: Shinkasen (Asian, dark purple) or Listada De Gandia (striped)
Okra (Red): Burgundy & Candle Fire
Summer Squash (the end is here)
🌿Herb It! option: Sweet Basil, Lemon Savory, Chocolate Mint
Colorful, crunchy, and just plain cheerful—sweet peppers are one of the best ways to add a pop of flavor (and sunshine!) to your meals. Unlike their spicy cousins, these beauties bring sweetness without heat, whether you’re enjoying them raw with dip, sliced onto salads, or roasted until caramelized and smoky. Fun fact: red peppers are actually just fully ripened green peppers, which is why they’re sweeter and higher in vitamin C.
🍽️ Simple Recipe: Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Salad
🍽️ Bonus Recipe: Roasted Eggplant, Pepper and Tomato Pasta
🍽️ Bonus Recipe II: Cucumber Shallot Salad (replace the parsley with pink celery!)
When you are roasting vegetables, roast extras if you have the space. Then allow to cool and toss in the freezer. Now you’ve got ready-to-use ingredients for later meals!
Here’s our downloadable one-page guide to storing all things produce!
Have you seen or heard the “tip” that peppers with 3 lobes are female and with 4 lobes are male (or vice versa)? And that one has fewer seeds than the other? Pure internet nonsense! Lobes and seediness vary by variety and from pepper to pepper. Peppers do not have sexes (or sex for that matter). 😂
Anyone else feeling a bit of weather whiplash? We’re loving the return of flannel weather, but our poor summer crops aren’t nearly as happy. Basil in particular is not impressed.
The tomatoes, on the other hand, decided the cool-down was their cue to ripen everything at once—especially the cherry tomatoes. Monday’s harvest took hours, and we nearly ran out of crates hauling them all in. So if you notice your box is extra tomato-heavy this week, now you know why (and yes, we really do need those crates back!).
Meanwhile, summer squash has officially reached the end of the road. Only a few scraggly plants remain, so we’re calling it done for the season.
This past week was all about clearing out tired summer beds and tucking in fall crops. We pulled another round of carrots and tucked them safely into the cooler. The yield was smaller than we’d hoped—those beds suffered from all the rain, and rot took more than its fair share—but it still feels good to have them harvested, washed, and ready to go.
The swiss chard finally made it into the ground, too—delayed because those carrots were still holding their spot. And since deer seem to love chard even more than choi (if you read last week’s newsletter, you know the story there), we gave it some extra protection with row cover and hoops. The choi was replanted as well, this time direct-seeded, since the deer left us no transplants to work with. That means it’ll be a bit later than planned, but it’s on its way. We also seeded the fall greens for the high tunnels, so there will be sweet, leafy harvests waiting for us when the weather turns colder.
The rest of the week? A whole lot of harvesting and hand weeding—farm rhythms at their finest.
Got big plans this week? Whether you’re feeding a crowd, craving salsa, or planning to put up a batch of pickles for the pantry, we’ve got you covered.
Our VegEmail program is your go-to source for ordering extra farm-fresh produce beyond your Bounty Box. Use it to stock up on your favorites or snag more of what you loved this week.
👉 Click here to place your VegEmail order (by Thursday at noon)
Pick-up is Saturday from 10am–noon at Singlespeed Brewing in Des Moines, the Grand Theater in Knoxville or on the farm.
It’s one more way we’re making it easier for you to eat seasonally, locally, and deliciously—on your schedule.
You’ve seen our photos, we’d love to see yours! Share photos of your Bounty Box haul or how you’re using your weekly produce. We’d LOVE to see them! You can email or text them to us or post them on the BGF Community Page. Every week we’ll feature photos from the membership on our social media outlets.
BASIL hates the cold and will turn black with exposure. Keep long stemmed basil in a glass/vase of water on your counter top (out of direct sunlight). Stems that are too short (trimmings/tops) should be placed in a glass or plastic container with a dry paper towel. Then put inside of a paper bag (for insulation) and put in the warmest part of your refrigerator (usually the door) or on the top shelf towards the front.
BEANS: Fresh beans are an easy "store." Just leave them in their plastic bag and keep them in the produce drawer. Can last up to 2 weeks.
CELERY: Separate leaves and stems for best storage. Leaves (with thin stems) can be stored like herbs in a glass of water in your refrigerator or in a zip-top plastic bag. Main stems keep best wrapped in aluminum foil and placed in your crisper drawer.
CUCUMBER: Store unwashed cucumbers wrapped in a cloth or paper towel then sealed in a plastic bag in the vegetable crisper bin for about a week. Keep cucumbers tucked far away from tomatoes, apples, and citrus—these give off ethylene gas that accelerates cucumber deterioration. You can do a lot of fancy things to the skin of a cucumber, but when it is young, fresh (and unwaxed), it really only needs to be thoroughly washed. However, if the skin seems tough or bitter you can remove it; if the seeds are bulky, slice the cucumber lengthwise and scoop them out.
EGGPLANT: Eggplant prefers to be kept at about 50° F, which is warmer than most refrigerators and cooler than most kitchen counters. Wrap unwashed eggplant in a towel (not in plastic) to absorb any moisture and keep it in the vegetable bin of your refrigerator. Used within a week, it should still be fresh and mild. Many people like to peel, salt, and drain their eggplant to draw out any bitter flavor; however, bitterness develops only in eggplant that has been stored for a while, so with farm-fresh specimens this is generally not necessary. Many recipes call for salting in order to make the vegetable less watery and more absorbent—much like draining tofu. Salting is not an essential step, but it can greatly enhance the taste and texture of your dish and is well worth the extra effort. The shape of an eggplant determines how it is best prepared. Slice a straight, narrow eggplant into rounds or halves for grilling or broiling, and cut a rounded, bulbous eggplant into cubes for stews and stir-fries.
GARLIC, ONIONS & SHALLOTS: Fully cured bulbs don't require refrigeration. For longest storage, keep in a dark place with good airflow. Once cut, store in the refrigerator in a sealed container.
All of your GREENS will keep best if stored in a plastic bag, with the top folded over and placed in the produce drawer of your refrigerator. If there is extra moisture in the bag, just tuck in a cotton or paper towel.
HERBS: Generally, except for basil, set unwashed bunches of fresh herbs (with stems) upright into small jars filled with 1 to 2 inches of water, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for up to two weeks. Rinse fresh herbs right before use. To release their scents and flavors, rub them between your hands before mincing or chopping. If you have no idea what to do with fresh herbs, there is one great default answer "compound butter." Finely mince leaves and knead them into a stick of room temperature butter. Roll the butter into a log in plastic wrap and store in the freezer. Then simply slice off the amount you need to add delicious, ready-to-use flavor to vegetables, bread or meats.
OKRA: These lovely, horn-shaped vegetables are a warm weather treat. Extremely cold sensitive, wrap with a dishcloth or paper towel and store in their plastic bag in the warmest part of your fridge, or place the plastic bag in a small paper sack and store in the fridge door and use within the week. Traditional southerners will cut into rounds, bread in cornmeal and fry, but our favorite version is our dear friend Annie's method, "All I do is rinse off the pods and lay them in a saucepan with a little water in the bottom. Ten to fifteen minutes is all it takes...twenty if the pods are really big and "woody" feeling. I put salt on them and eat as finger food. It reminds me of young sweet corn."
PEPPERS: Place whole, unwashed peppers in a plastic bag, seal, and refrigerate for a week or more. Rinse peppers just before use. For sweet peppers, cut around the stem with a small knife and lift out the core. Slice down the side to open it up and then cut out the inner membranes. Store unused portions in a sealed bag or container in the refrigerator.
SUMMER SQUASH/ZUCCHINI: Refrigerate unwashed zucchini and summer squash for up to a week and a half in a perforated plastic bag or in a sealed plastic container lined with a kitchen towel. These do not need to be peeled to use, just slice them up and go!
TOMATOES: always store whole tomatoes at room temperature, out of direct sunlight. Once cut, store in a sealed container in the refrigerator.
** NOTE: You will notice over the course of the season that some box contents listed above say "Perhaps one of the following..." These are items that we can’t harvest in sufficient quantities for the whole CSA to receive at one time. We do track who gets what and we will do our best to ensure that everyone eventually receives each item. On some items this may take several weeks, so please be patient.
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Find us on the web: Blue Gate Farm
📧 Questions? Email us: bluegatefarmIA@gmail.com
What would make this newsletter more useful or enjoyable for you? Anything we can do to make your Bounty Box experience even better?
Just hit reply or click the comment button below and let us know — we really appreciate your input!
Thank you for being part of the farm this season. We’re glad you’re here!
Best from the farm,
— Jill and Sean & the whole BGF Crew
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