Yes folks, it's really summer!

Cherokee Purple Tomatoes

And how do we know that summer has finally, really, truly arrived?  Because we have tomatoes!  Beautiful, precious heirloom tomatoes!  Grown in a plastic greenhouse of course (hey, it IS the Pacific Northwest), but tomatoes nonetheless. We are newby tomato growers really.  Last year was the first

Cour di Bue Tomatoe

year with the big hoophouse (plastic greenhouse) so we experimented with varieties and techniques.  Took what we learned this year and keep tweaking.
What we do know?  We love heirloom tomatoes!  Cherokee Purple - a big, "black" tomato and Cour di Bue, a lovely deep rosy pink Italian heirloom tomato are so far, two of our favorites.  But there are many more including Pineapple, Green Zebra, Cosmonaut, Black Prince and Jubilee. 

And coincidentally, tomatoes go very very well with...GARLIC!  Which we also have in force now.  Did you know that at Willowood we grow more than 20 kinds of garlic?  Because we really, really, really love garlic!  We will have a great selection of all our favorites at the markets today. Georgian Fire - so fabulous creamy and garlicky roasted; Japanese - HUGE cloves that are very sweet roasted but super hot raw; Belarus - rich and spicy, great for sauces and roasting; Kilarney Red - aromatic and super tasty roasted. 
Currently we are just offering food grade garlic for sale at the market, but starting next week we will also be bringing seed garlic!  Or...you can preorder your seed garlic and we will bring it to the market for you to pick up.  Check out our website to place an order www.willowoodfarm.net and follow the "Gourmet Seed Garlic" link.  Our seed garlic is well adapted to the wet, mild conditions of the Pacific Northwest and thrives in local gardens!
And of course, while it might seem like a good idea, one cannot live on garlic and tomatoes along (well, maybe for a short while!), but never fear...we have LOADS of other veggies to round out the nutritional package including:
From Willowood Farm
* Potatoes! Potatoes! We've got baby mixed and fingerling bags this week as well...
* Shelling Peas.
* Sugar Peas
* Yellow Wax Beans
* Dragon Langerie Romano Wax Beans
* Oodles of Onions - Big Ailsa Crag, Red and Yellow Cippolini, market favorite Red Torpedoes...
* Broccoli
* Head Lettuce
* Mesclun Mix
* Arugula
* Japanese Turnips
* Summer Squash.  Oh my, lots of summer squash!
* Leeks
* Celery
* Parsley
* Basil
* Kale
* Chard
* Garlic Scapes
* Beets
* Carrots
* And dry beans...
That's quite a list isn't it?  And believe it or not, all grown on one farm!
Our friends at Prairie Bottom have loads of food too, adding to the mix:
* Cabbage
* Green French Filet Beans
* Purple Beans
* Herb Bunches
* Flower Bunches
And lots more...
So, we hope you are hungry and we hope to see you at market!
Farmer Georgie
Willowood Farm

Even more food than last week? Well, yes, yes we can!

Torpedo Onions, a market favorite!

Yep, it just keeps coming and coming and coming!  This time of year, we were are in a literal deluge of vegetables, it's hard to remember back in January, February (and even March, April and May this year!), when the simplest head of lettuce of leaf of kale was so very precious!
No, instead, this time of year we are just trying to keep on top of getting everything picked when it needs to be!  Pick, pick, pick.  Done picking?  Great, day a day off and then...pick some more! Phew...
So on that note, I'm going to get right into the HUGE list of vegetables coming to market this week because I got to get out there and pack them up!
From Willowood Farm of Ebey's Prairie:
Onions!  Loads of them....
* Torpedo Onions w/ greens
* Ailsa Crag (big sweet onion) w/ greens
* Tonda Onion (gorgeous sweet red onion) w/ greens
* Red and Yellow Cippolinni onions w/ greens

* Walla Walla Onions (cured, not greens)
And then lots of potatoes this week including:
* Carola
* Mountain Rose
* Purple Majesty

Heirloom Cherokee Purple Tomatoes

* German Butterball
* Peas - Dwarf Gray Sugars
* Yellow Wax Beans
* Dragon Langerie Beans
* Raab Bunches
* Mesclun bags
* Arugula bags
* Spinach bags
* Kale
* Chard
* Kohlrabi
* Head Lettuce
* Summer Squash
* Beets
* Carrots
* Tomatoes - Multiple heirloom types!  Yum, yum!
* Celery
* Fava Beans
* Garlic - lots of it!

It's garlic time!

And that's just our farm!  Our friends at Prairie Bottom Farm are also packed to the gills.  From them we will be bringing:
* French filet beans
* Shallots
* Cauliflower
* Shelling Peas
* Cabbage
* Purple Beans
And loads more...
Now the big trick?  How to get it all packed in!  Yikes! Hope to see you at market today!

Farmer Georgie
Willowood Farm of Ebey's Prairie

Oodles and oodles and oodles of food!

All of a sudden, a "little bit of beans" turns into 50 or so lbs!  A "few bunch of carrots" and suddenly we've got 50 of them.  Oh, and "I think there might be a few Japanese salad turnips" turns into 65+ bunches of big, gorgeous turnips.  Multiple bins of perfectly gorgeous (and big!) broccoli heads. And then there's the summer squash....(need I say more?).

 
A harvest day like yesterday, makes it all seem easy and the weather that didn't cooperate, the crops that failed, the bugs that prevailed, the water that didn't happen...all just a faint bad dream.  I guess a day like yesterday is why we farmers do it!  Of course, the growing and picking is just two parts of a three part equation - the third (and in many ways most important) part?  The selling of course! 
And that's where you folks come in...So, hope you are ready to play your part because we are coming to market with a serious BOUNTY of beautiful food.  Here goes...
From the fields of Willowood Farm of Ebey's Prairie:
* Yellow Wax Beans! First picking, so beautiful and tender!
* Japanese Salad Turnips - red and white!
* Kohlrabi - They just keep coming!
* Peas - our favorite heirloom edible podded variety, kinda a cross between a snap and a snow pea
* Potatoes - A mix of yellow, white and red this week.
* Garlic, garlic, garlic!
* Carrots - Gorgeous white and orange bunches
* Beets - Red and Golden
* Garlic scapes

* Chard

* Kale
* Spinach bags
* Pea Vine bags
* Walla Walla Onions w/ greens
* Torpedo Onions w/ greens
* Red Tonda Onions w/ greens
* Fava Beans
* Broccoli
* Summer Squash - mixed types including pattypans!
* Squash Blossoms!
* Peregion Beans
* And....a few big, beautiful and scrumptious heirloom tomatoes (Bayview market only this week).
From our friends at Prairie Bottom farm:
* Herbs
* Scallions
* Lettuce Mix
* Cabbage
* Cauliflower
* Baby Beets
* Braising Mix
* Carrots
* Haricot Vert Beans
* Summer Squash
And we've also got Kamut, Purple Barley and Hard Red Wheat bags from Georgina, the grain lady.
Hope to see you at market!
Farmer Georgie
Willowood Farm of Ebey's Prairie