Summer CSA Week 9 | Doing a barrel roll

Week 9: August 14 - August 117

We got a new toy! A stainless steel barrel washer, to be exact. And to be completely honest, it’s not exactly new - we bought it back in April, thanks in part to an infrastructure grant from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. Since then, it has been sitting behind the market barn under a tarp, waiting for its time to shine. And this week we finally got a chance to give it a spin (pun gleefully intended)!

What’s a barrel washer, you ask? Think of it like a giant tumbler for crops like carrots, beets, potatoes, and other root crops that don’t bruise. Put the veggies in and hit the ON switch, and the large cylindrical barrel with scrubbing brushes rotates while a line of sprayer nozzles direct water at the crop, tumbling the veggies clean. It’s pretty cool (by farmers’ standards, at least). Rather than hand spraying crates of potatoes and beets we can let the barrel washer do the work for us, in bulk and at speed. 

We’re looking forward to the machine lightening our labor in early October, when we’ll harvest and clean a couple dozen beds of fall carrots, beets, rutabaga, potatoes, turnips, watermelon radishes, and more. This week was just a preliminary trial. The variety of carrots we grew for early August, Caravel, have elongated greens that have been snapping off after harvest, making them the perfect test case. Rather than bunching the roots along with the greens, we “topped” the carrots in the field and then took them to the barrel washer for cleaning. And we were thrilled with the results! 

Speaking of things we’re thrilled about, we’re excited to have melons in the bag this week! Those of you who were members last year will remember what a tough melon year 2024 was. We were starting to think we might be melon-cursed after we lost 30-40 watermelons a few weeks ago to crow damage, of all things. But we’ve managed to keep the corvids away from the remainder of the crop since then, so we have melons for you! Woohoo!

Have a barrel-of-fun week,

Chris, Ashley, Hallie, and the 10th Street Farm Crew

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In Your Bag This Week

Melon!: Your choice (while supplies last) of cantaloupe or watermelon! The ‘icebox’ watermelons are packed with flavor in a manageable size - ready to eat right now. And the cantaloupes are perfect for breakfast or a snack! (Wait until they smell delicious at the stem end before cutting them open for full flavor.) Store in your fridge.

Tropea Onions: Our favorite fresh red onions - mild and versatile. Store in an airtight bag or container in your fridge.

Pepper: Sweet peppers are amazing raw, with dips, or added to a skillet or grill. Store in an airtight bag or container in your fridge.

Cucumber: Crunchy and refreshing, chop up for a salad, add to sandwiches or just eat raw. Store in an airtight bag or container in your fridge.

Tomatoes: Slicer(s) and cherry tomatoes for all shares this week. We’re loving these mid-summer tomatoes, so full of flavor! Store on the counter - never in the fridge!

Flavor Mix microgreens: Mild and tasty, these make an easy salad on their own or can add some color to any other salad. Try them on eggs or sandwiches – or anything, really! Store in an airtight bag or container in your fridge.

Farm Mix Salad Mix (half shares): A tasty mix of red and green lettuce. Delicious with just olive oil and salt, or dress it up! Store in an airtight bag or container in your fridge.

Arugula (full shares): Peppery greens that add zip to a salad. We love arugula dressed simply with oil and salt. Store in an airtight bag or container in your fridge.

Carrots (full shares): These carrots are sweet, crunchy, and oh so addicting - and washed in our new barrel washer! Remove tops and store in an airtight bag or container in your fridge.

What should I make with what’s in the bag?

We made this Greek farro salad last night, and it couldn’t be better suited for this week’s bag - bell pepper and cucumber are the star, and it would be great with arugula, farm mix, or flavor mix. Add in some tomato, why not? If you’re looking for a way to gussy up your melon, try a cantaloupe prosciutto salad or this watermelon cucumber salad with feta and mint. Or if you need to eat a whole cucumber, try out the viral TikTok cucumber salad recipe from last summer. 

If your onions are piling up (no judgment!) you could take the beautiful tropea in the bag this week and pickle them to add to tacos, salads, or sandwiches in the coming weeks. Or caramelize them and freeze them in an ice cube tray for future flavor!

If you've found a recipe you're loving, please send it our way. We're always looking for new things to cook and share with other members!

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We wash everything in your bag but we wash them in bulk so some things may need an extra rinse at home. Thanks!