Harvesting Tomatoes and Planting Melons

Village Farm Team,

The moment you’ve been waiting for has finally arrived...tomatoes are back in season! The first few harvests will be small as our tomatoes slowly begin to mature so hang tight if you’re planning on purchasing a large amount for canning or preserving. Our harvest at the beginning of this week included some of each of the following varieties: Sungold, Cherry Bomb, Martha Washington, Grand Marshall, Verona, Sunrise Bumble Bee, and Purple Bumble Bee. We will have limited quantities of our tomatoes at the veggie wagon this Saturday so if you’d like to snag some make sure to get there early!

We transplanted the first melons in the ground last week. We planted tried and true favorites Sugar Cube muskmelons and Sugar Baby watermelons. These varieties not only have great flavor, but they’ve performed well for us in the past. This week, we’ll be focusing on transplanting five rows of eggplant once the soil dries out just a bit. We’ve chosen a mix that includes both Asian and Italian varieties as well as a Brazilian specialty that is green. Here are the varieties we’ll be growing: Orient Charm, Orient Express, Nadia, Barbarella, and Comprido Verde Claro.

Our harvest lineup seems to grow every single week as we find ourselves at the unique time of year when spring and summer crops overlap. Here’s what’s been added to the harvesting list over the past couple of weeks: summer squash (zucchini and yellow crookneck), green beans, Dragon’s Tongue beans, tomatoes, Ashley cucumbers, and Lemon cucumbers. We love growing these veggies for our community so make sure to pop by the veggie wagon on Saturdays from 8am to noon so you can pick some up to take home. And, don’t forget that the relaunch of our Harvest Green Farmers Market will take place from 8am to noon on the third Saturday of every month beginning Saturday, May 15th!