Welcome to the 9th share of the Pitchfork & Crow 2026 Summer CSA! Here’s what’s in the share this week:

• Butterhead Lettuce Heads
• Dill
• Broccoli
• Mixed Cauliflower
• Beets w/ Greens
• Overwintered Onions – Overwintered yellow onions this week. These were planted last October and withstood the winter weather to mature earlier than our spring planted main onion crop.
• Sweet Corn! – Small but tasty. Also, we tried to avoid the corn earworms but don’t be too surprised if we missed some.
• Romano Snap Beans – The pods are larger and flatter but you can use them like any other snap beans or green beans. The color will likely fade when cooked. This particular variety is called Marvel of Piedmont, but can easily be mistaken for Dragon Tongue beans.
• Summer Squash & Zucchini
• Mixed Cucumbers – Mixed green and silver slicers and some lemons too. Last year a CSA member shared a quick pickle recipe that became a go-to for us all summer. It’s pickling season! You can check it out here and enjoy pickles too.
• Purple Bell Peppers – These are the immature coloring for this variety of bell pepper, so treat them like green peppers.
• Jalapeno Peppers
• Poblano Peppers – The classic stuffing pepper, also good for flavoring any dish that is asking for a mild chile kick.
• Mixed Tomatoes – We’ve got tomatoes! Pints of cherries plus lots of big slicers this week.

We’ve just passed the first third of our 26 week Summer CSA season. Nine weeks down and Seventeen to go! We hope you’ve been enjoying the CSA thus far this summer. There’s plenty more headed your way. The first ripe melons are just a week or two out and before too long we should have red ripe peppers. The tomatoes are rolling in and we’re into the next successions of cucumbers and zucchini. It may be hot but at least there’s good things to eat!

Late July on the farm is all about irrigation, successions upon successions of vegetables planted, and trying to maintain some semblance of organization and control over the farmscape. We make a plan in December and if we’re lucky that plan is still recognizable mid-summer. This is just about the time we remember that control is an illusion, that we are just two people, that there really aren’t enough hours in the day to do all the things. Thankfully the weekly seed sowing list is dwindling and the transplanting quantity is letting up. There are a plethora of other things that need our attention.

In the past week we finished up our walk-in cooler upgrades and the lower daily temperatures seem to have helped keep the cooler temps stable for the time being. Friday Jeff prepped ground for planting while I sowed fall spinach, kohlrabi, kale, and cilantro. All of Saturday and Sunday morning we caught up on some transplanting of fall vegetables including the final round of sweet corn. Sunday afternoon we were back to harvesting summer squash and snap beans. And the winter carrots got seeded!

As we look at the week ahead we’ll be doing some last minute prep for a visit from the FDA on Friday afternoon. A first for us in 17 years. It’s interesting timing to be getting a visit from them when there’s so much in the news at the moment about various food-borne illnesses. Mostly there’s just some paperwork to organize ahead of that meeting. We also have some fall and winter cabbage, lettuce, and cucumbers to transplant, eggplant to weed, cultivating to get to, and the perpetual mowing. July is going to keep Julying, and then comes August.

Enjoy the vegetables and we’ll see you here next week!

Your farmers,
Carri Heisler & Jeff Bramlett

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Here are a few recipes to get you inspired:

Roasted Cherry Tomato Salsa

• 1 bunch Cherry Tomatoes
• 1 poblano pepper, halved and seeded
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 1/2 fresh jalapeno, diced
• 1 handful cilantro, roughly chopped
• zest of half an orange
• juice of 1 lime
• salt and pepper to taste

Preheat broiler while you are chopping your ingredients

Spread cherry tomatoes and poblano pepper on a baking sheet, roast under broiler until soft and lightly charred, turning once, about 7 minutes

Remove from broiler, allow to cool about 20 minutes

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, pulse with an immersion blender until combined but still slightly chunky. Check for seasoning. Serve with chips, tacos, fajitas, or over grilled meats or fish.

From Food52.com by Meredith Shanley, https://food52.com/recipes/322-roasted-cherry-tomato-salsa

Roasted Broccoli with Nacho Toppings

For baking:

• 3 large crowns of broccoli (up to 4 crowns)
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pinch Salt, to taste
• 3 cup shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
• 1 can black beans, drained
• 1 bunch scallions, finely chopped
• 1 jalapeño, finely sliced (optional)
• 1 Tomato, chopped (optional)
• 1 Onion, chopped (optional)

For topping and accessorizing:

• 1 drizzle Sour cream with lime juice
• 1 drizzle Salsa
• 1 drizzle Guacamole (avocado, lime juice, salt)

Turn oven to 400° F and let it come to temperature while you chop the broccoli into bite-sized pieces. Toss the broccoli pieces into a large roasting pan or sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt. Gently mix the broccoli with your hands to make sure the broccoli is coated with oil and salt.

Roast broccoli for 15 minutes (or just 12 minutes if you like the broccoli to remain a little crunchy in the center).

While the broccoli roasts, grate your cheese and prepare and choose your other toppings.

Once the broccoli has roasted for 15 minutes remove it from the oven and sprinkle the cheese, black beans, scallions and any other toppings you choose over the roasted broccoli. Do your best to evenly disburse the cheese so every piece of broccoli gets a bit cheesy.

Place the tray back in the oven and roast for another 5 minutes. If you like it really crispy turn the broiler on for the last 2 minutes and place the tray underneath.

During the last few minutes of roasting, relax or prepare any of the dips and sauces.

Remove the broccoli nachos from the oven. Serve as is or top the tray with drizzles of sour cream and salsa or dollops of guacamole.

From Food52.com by Leanne Brown, https://food52.com/recipes/69164-roasted-broccoli-with-nacho-toppings

Creamy Cucumber “Side”

• organic English cucumber (about one lb-sized)
• 1/2 Vidalia onion, peeled
• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon organic cane sugar
• 1/2 cup best quality Greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped
• zest of one Meyer lemon

Slice the cucumber and onion as thinly as possible. Place slices in a colander, sprinkle with the salt, stir and seat the colander over a bowl to catch the released liquid. Refrigerate for one hour.

Discard the extra liquid and now rinse the salt from the cucumber and onion. Drain well and pat the slices dry using kitchen towels.

Turn the cucumber and onion into a medium-sized bowl and add the sugar and vinegar, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Fold in the yogurt, dill and lemon zest. Chill for an hour, stir again (juices will have settled) and serve.

From Food52.com by Lizthechef, https://food52.com/recipes/4900-creamy-cucumber-side