06/13/2026
This is a TERRIBLE year for local strawberries! We have the last 9 pints [EDIT: STRAWBERRIES SOLD OUT FOR THE SEASON!!] for the SEASON in the store today.
But we have lots of other tasty produce in the store this weekend !
BULK BOXES OF GARLIC SCAPES AVAILABLE!
5 # = $15, 10 # = $25
What is a garlic scape and how do I eat it?!
Garlic scapes are the flower stalk the garlic plant sends up. We have to snap them off so the garlic will grow bigger. "Have" to, because actually garlic scapes are DELICIOUS!! So, getting to harvest them is a joy! You can mince them up and toss in a stir fry, just like garlic. They have a milder flavor, so don't be afraid to add lots! They'll keep in a bag in the fridge for a couple weeks, so no rush. You can mince and freeze in ice cube trays in olive oil to preserve them, you can pickle them, you can make garlic scape pesto (recipe coming next week when we give you MORE) and you can freeze the extra garlic scape pesto in ice cube trays, too. I'm a big fan of scapes!
Other fresh produce in the store this weekend:
Lettuce
Snow peas
Snap peas
Radishes
Arugula
Mustard greens salad mix
Garlic scapes
Dill (we think you'd enjoy making a little saute with dill, snow peas, and minced garlic scapes? Maybe some bok choi chopped in there... YUM)
Bok choi
Kohlrabi
Spinach
Kale
Collards
Swiss chard
Turnips
Cilantro
In farm news, the deer have been mostly fenced out.
Raul saw some baby deer tracks inside the property today, but mama didn't come in with baby, so we're holding the perimeter against voracious lettuce-predators pretty well!! And the row of lettuce they ate earlier is growing back, so we'll still get to eat some of that! Bugs are mostly being kept in check so far. Except for in the strawberry patch.
This is about the worst year for strawberries we've ever seen.
This is not a normal strawberry year. The super late freezes that came after too many weeks of super hot weather made sure that most of the strawberry flowers were zapped. Also the peach flowers were zapped and our little plum tree died. So, not a great year for fruit in general. I haven't checked in with the blueberry farmers yet...
Now we do have SOME strawberries, but then there are these little sap beetles. For some reason this year, our berries are enjoying the largest sap beetle infestation the world's ever seen. So it's taking Raul a lot of time to harvest the berries and half of them he has to throw away because they're full of holes and little beetles. It's just not a very fun time in the strawberry patch this year. So it goes. We will have plenty of amazing watermelons later, though, so all is not lost. Not sure how the pear tree is doing. Usually pears are pretty tough. :)
This rain has been GREAT though! And with our sandy soil, not a problem at all. Everything is growing like gangbusters and so are the weeds. ;) Raul is prioritizing staying ahead of the weeds this week. 100%
I'm prioritizing making pottery because between veggies and all the organizing to help lift community voices in the face of these data center developments... well, pottery has taken a back seat. Time to get making! Come by the store and treat yourself to a new mug in order to encourage me to make pottery-making the priority. :D It takes a village!
And mark your calendars for next Thursday, we have a big event coming up with Charlie Berens to elevate community voices in the face of these data centers. (We need to raise $1000+ more dollars to get our givebutter campaign up to $3600+ so we can pay for event costs, donate here if you want to help: https://givebutter.com/no-data-centers-beloit )
See you soon, neighbors!
~ Jenny + Raul
![This is a TERRIBLE year for local strawberries! We have the last 9 pints [EDIT: STRAWBERRIES SOLD OUT FOR THE SEASON!!] ...](https://img4.zupermar.com/616/520/1653148096165202.jpg)
