Fruits of our Labor, for Markets 9/1

Malabar Spinach. Okra (blossom pictured). Two of my favorites of summer. Less showy than those flashy red tomatoes. But delicious staples of the season around here. The season that is starting to feel like the end is approaching.

Labor Day is an interesting holiday. It has come to symbolize the end of summer and the start of the school year in many places. Around here, however, while we are preparing for fall crops (spinach! broccoli! kale!), this fictional end of summer does not bring any slow-down. More compost. More seeding. More planting.

According to the US Dept. of Labor’s website, Labor Day “…is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers.” That sounds pretty nice. We sure hope that through our efforts here we have been contributing to both social and economic pursuits. Things will slow down on the planting and harvesting end as we focus on infrastructure projects this winter, and the vegetable production scales down to just salad greens going in and coming out of one greenhouse. (We refuse to be reliant on California salad this winter!)

(or Jalapenos. Here are ours: diced, frozen in ice cube trays, and then put in storage bags in the freezer to be added to wintertime dishes.)

Here’s a note on Labor Day that sounds even better. Peter McGuire, whom some say was the first to suggest the day, said our country needed a day to honor those “who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur we behold.”

Oh geez. Grandeur in the form of vegetables and flowers? I don’t know. But this winter it will seem grand to us to pull dried veggies from the pantry (carrots pictured) and frozen, shredded veggies from the freezer (zucchini and yellow squash pictured, for making bread or squash pancakes).

And so, we’ll use this weekend to remind us to celebrate our labors, and to prepare for the months ahead when we won’t be hauling in food fresh from the plants.

For markets this weekend:

Bell Peppers (purple, green, red, and orange), Green Beans, Jalapeno peppers, Malabar Spinach, Okra, Onions, Salad Mix, Summer Squash (yellow and zucchini), Watermelon (red and yellow), Shiitake Mushrooms,…and Bread, Eggs and Bouquets of Flowers.