Harvesting Long Beans and Ground Cherries and Preparing for La Tomatina Padre

June 8th, 2023

Green beans may have made their way out of season but long beans have arrived to take their place! Long beans are officially here for the summer as they’re much more heat tolerant than traditional green beans. The first round we’re harvesting is the “red noodle” variety which produces lovely magenta colored beans that can be seen in the photo below. Long beans are best enjoyed cooked and can be stir-fried, steamed, or sautéed. Make sure to pick some up at the Farm Stand on Saturday or add them to your Veggie Share this week!

This year we decided to experiment with a trial run of ground cherries. Also called husk cherries or physalis, ground cherries are members of the nightshade family just like tomatoes and tomatillos. Similar to tomatillos, the fruits develop inside papery husks (seen above). Once the fruits are ripe, they drop to the ground. The husk can then be peeled back to expose the golden colored fruit (seen below). The fruits have a sweet, tropical flavor. Our goal with this trial is to see how they perform in our climate and to add some diversity to the mix. We’ll have a limited amount available for you to try at the Farm Stand on Saturday!

La Tomatina Padre, our annual celebration of tomato season, is coming up on Saturday, June 17th from 10am-noon! This resident-only event includes the ever-amusing tomato toss, small bites and beverages from Messina Hof, our homemade slip-n-slide, and a cooling shower from a local fire truck at the end. Since this event takes place on the same day as our Farmers Market, we encourage you to shop the market first, then head over for some tomato fun! You can secure your tickets here.

Upcoming Farm Events:

Farmers Markets this month: Saturday June 3rd, 10th, 17th, and 24th from 9am-12pm (new summer hours!)
Flavors of the Farm: Summertime Edition on Sunday, June 11th from 6-7pm (sign up here)
Tuesday Tomato Talk on Tuesday, June 13th from 6-7pm (sign up here)
La Tomatina Padre on Saturday, June 17th from 10am-noon (resident only event)
Meet the Farm Tour on Sunday, June 25th from 1:30-2pm (sign up here)

Currently in Season at the Farm Stand: Long Beans, Okra, Eggplant, Assorted Tomatoes, Assorted Sweet and Hot Peppers, Zucchini, Tromboncino Squash, Cucumbers, Carrots, Leeks, Onions, Rainbow Chard, Kale, Assorted Herbs, Edible Flowers, and Flower Bouquets.