Photo by Scott David Gordon

CSA Members - We Need Your Input!

As many of you know, I am someone who is constantly coming up with new ways to improve the farm.  I have written about how things on the farm are always changing as we try new methods for growing that will increase our sustainability and efficiency.  Some of these methods end up working, while others we take back to the drawing board.  What stays constant is our drive to grow the highest quality organic produce that we can.

This drive to improve doesn't end in the field, though.  As your farmer, I want to make the CSA experience the best it can be, and while I may have lots of ideas on my own about how to do this, what I really need is to hear from you!  As a CSA member, you know more than anyone what is working well for you and what needs improvement.  Soon, we will be emailing you a survey about the CSA.  Please keep an eye out for this and complete it if you can.   With your input, this CSA will only get better and better!

Matt packs up CSA shares. Photo by Scott David Gordon

New CSA Pickup and Market Stand at The ABGB!

I'm excited to announce that we now have a new Sunday CSA pickup and market stand site at The ABGB located at 1305 West Oltorf!  The farm stand at the ABGB will be open to all on Sundays from 12pm-3pm, and CSA members can elect to pick up their shares at this time, too.  And since we will have a market stand there,  CSA members can swap out any vegetables their box for ones in our booth.

My hope is that CSA members - and vegetable lovers in general - will enjoy hanging out at The ABGB on Sundays.  Believe me, the beer garden is a super welcoming space - and their pizza is really good.  It's kid friendly for all you fellow parents out there, and if you have dogs, they're welcome there, too.  And, as if all of that weren't enough, The ABGB has live music on Sundays starting at 4pm.   Who could ask for more?   Hope to see you there one Sunday!

Heading home with lots of fresh organic tomatoes & vegetables! Photo by Scott David Gordon

Thanks to everyone who joined us in celebrating the tomato at Rockin' Tomato last Friday.  We had a blast - hope you did, too!  Want to be the first to know about other JBG pop-up events coming up around town?  Sign up for the Ceres Vegetable Society by clicking here, and we will add you to our email list!

JBG Bulk Tomato Sale

And, for all of you tomato lovers who want more tomatoes now (and who doesn't?), we are in the middle of our Bulk Tomato Sale!  Just click here to order.  Tomato season is Texas is a short and sweet one – we are currently in our peak tomato harvest, but soon enough the heat is going to really kick in and it will be too hot for our Texas tomatoes to set fruit.   Order any of the following varieties while you still can - Heirloom tomatoes, large homegrown tomatoes, San Marzano sauce tomatoes, green tomatoes, plum tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, and yellow tomatoes.

Your order can be picked up at any of our farmers’ markets, as an add-on to your existing CSA home delivery, or picked up at our Hergotz Farm located just east of town near ABIA.

The deadline for ordering tomatoes is 2:30 PM the day prior to delivery (Mon-Sat) for Austin and San Antonio, and Friday 2:30 PM for Sunday pickups. The deadline for Dallas orders is Wednesday 2:30 PM.  Click here to order.

Note: Because tomatoes are a perishable crop, no refunds will be issued for orders not picked up.

The sign says it all out in front of Rockin' Tomato. Photo by Scott David Gordon

The JBG truck pulls into the parking lot at Rockin' Tomato. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Folks gather for tomatoes and tunes at Rockin' Tomato. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Patty pan squash! Photo by Scott David Gordon

This week has been a mixture of sun, clouds, and rain.  We've been farming through it all, making sure the harvest comes in and new crops are planted.  Thanks again to our incredible crew for continuing to work in these ever-changing weather conditions.

Patty pan squash harvest. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Squash blossom closeup. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Zucchini. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Montana brings transplants out to the field for planting. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Planting continues during a break in the rain. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Francisco harvests cucumbers. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Cucumber closeup. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Harvesting in the rain. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Peppers in the field get some rain. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Pepper harvest. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Photo by Scott David Gordon

Do you have a favorite tomato recipe you'd like to share?  Maybe a tomato-based dish or a homemade sauce or salsa recipe?  With the season at its peak, we are looking for some great recipes featuring this summer fruit.  And, we thought, who better to ask than you?   There are some amazing cooks in this community!  So, if you have one you're willing to share, email it to us at farm@jbgorganic.com.  Until then, we'll leave you with some ideas from the New York Times for summer tomatoes - just click here. And, then, remember to send us one of your own!  Thanks so much, and we hope you are enjoying tomato season as much as we are.

CSA Box Contents Week of June 15th

Photo by Scott David Gordon

We're rockin' it - with tomatoes that is!  Seriously, the tomato harvests coming in look amazing - so much so that I want to celebrate!  So, that's exactly what we are going to do this, Friday, June 12th,  from 6pm to 8pm as part of our Ceres Vegetable Society. And can you guess where the party will be?  Well, Rockin' Tomato, of course, at 3003 S. Lamar! I hope you can join me there from 6pm to 8pm - we'll have a pop-up market, live blue grass music, and lots of tomatoes.  All of you tomato lovers can also pre-order our organically grown tomatoes in bulk to pickup at the event. Just make sure you do it fast - the cut off time for ordering tomatoes is 2pm the day of the event, Friday, June 12th).  Click here to order large homegrown tomatoes, San Marzano sauce tomatoes, green tomatoes, plum tomatoes, mixed cherry tomatoes, mixed yellow tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, and Saladette tomatoes. 

Currently, we are at the peak of our tomato season, but before long, it will be too hot in Central Texas for these plants to set fruit. Now is the time to pick up some of our locally grown, certified organic tomatoes for canning, making salsa and sauces, or just plain enjoying on their own or in sandwiches. Come join the fun and go home with the tomatoes of your choice. And, for those of you who like a surprise, you can order the special Farmer's Choice Mystery Box - this one will be filled with tomatoes hand-selected by none other than yours truly! Believe me, these mystery boxes are going to be great. And for salsa makers, we have another debut in store for tomorrow - JBG's Famous Salsa Kit featuring some of our inglorious tomatoes, onions, and serrano or jalapeno peppers, ripe and ready to be roasted.  Click here to order the Farmer's Choice Mystery Box or JBG's Famous Salsa Kit.

If you love tomatoes, I hope you will join us this Friday, June 12th, from 6pm to 8pm, at Rockin' Tomato.   And, remember, if you want to order tomatoes in bulk to pickup at the event, you need to do it now - the cut-of for ordering is Friday, June 12th at 2pm.  Just click here to pre-order, and we'll select some beautiful tomatoes for you!

It's tomato time. Photo by Carrie Kenny

Morning harvest. Photo by Scott David Gordon

It's finally feeling like summer out there.   That means that the best time to be in the field is in the early morning.  Thank you to our wonderful photographer, Scott David Gordon, for capturing these images of the morning harvest.

Tilling the fields in the morning. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Photo by Scott David Gordon

Enrique, Marcus, & Eric bring out transplants from the greenhouse for planting. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Enrique & Marcus plant butternut squash. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Just planted rows of butternut squash. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Squash is on it's way! Photo by Scott David Gordon

Photo by Scott David Gordon

Flowers soak up the morning sun. Photo by Scott David Gordon

And, this week, we delivered all of the carrots that the Dave Matthews Band, along with REVERB, purchased from JBG to give to the Capital Area Food Bank.  Here's how this donation program works - when concert goers buy a custom Dave Matthews Band Naglene bottle for a $10, that $10 is used to buy vegetables from a local farmer.  Then, these vegetables are given to an area food bank.  Our thanks goes out to the Dave Matthews Band for making this large delivery (almost 2,000 pounds!) of organic carrots to the Capital Area Food Bank possible.

JBG crew member, Andrew, watches as Cedric from the Capital Area Food Bank works on unloading almost 2,000 lbs of carrots! Photo by Scott David Gordon

Andrew poses with Capital Area Food Bank staff members Bethany & Cedric along with the huge carrot delivery! Photo by Scott David Gordon