Dear CSA Member:
We have not melted but come very close over the last week. The cucumbers have been soaking up the heat and just love it. Each vegetable has a peak harvest when a bulk of the crop is ready. This week it is the cucumbers. There are Marketmore, a green slicer, and also Boothby Blonde and Poona Kheera cucumbers. The Boothby Blonde and Poona Kheera are both heirloom varieties of smaller, oval cucumbers. The Boothby Blonde cukes are generally a lighter yellow than the Poona Kheera and anywhere from russet brown to light yellow to a dark green. There is no rhyme or reason with the Poona Kheera, and I am sure if you were to see them in a grocery, you would pass them by. They are sweet, juicy and our favorites. Do not be wary of a brown cucumber with this batch. Some are large, some small — every shape, color and size. Being an heirloom variety, the seeds can be saved from one season to the next if properly harvested, and they are varieties that have a long history. The Poona Kheera are a variety from India, the Boothby Blonde are from Maine. Quite a diversity in their origin but both delicious.
Enjoy the vegetables
Deborah for everyone at Stoneledge Farm