W2585 Longmeadow Drive · Elkhorn / Lafayette, WI

Dale's Quails Acres

Grown the Regenerative Way

No synthetics. Soil and biology do the work.

Week of August 24

This week's harvest

Paste tomatoes are in: romas, cherries, Sungold, and Cauralina. Beefsteak is just coming in — we were starting to take it personally. Slicing cukes are limited. Picklers are gone for the year. We underestimated Wisconsinites' love for pickles, which is a little like underestimating snow. Yukon Golds are in. Still quite a few with fresh dirt still on them — perfect for short-term storage, not a winter cellar potato. Beans look good. Peppers of every heat are heavy, plus bells and Italian fryers. Squash and melons are gone for the year. We looked. They are not hiding. Basil is limited, 2 oz bunches. Spring carrots are still in the field. Fall carrots wait until after the first frost, which is when they get actually sweet. Sweet corn is still in the field; we will post it when a thumbnail pops milk, not before. No salsa box: cilantro has a plan, and it does not include this week.

Last pick posted Sunday, Aug 30, 11:00 PM.

Custom ½ Bushel

5ready

Farmers Friend

4ready

Roma Box

4ready

Cauralina Box

1ready

Beefsteak Box

1ready

Vine Mix

8ready

Sweet Peppers

3ready

Hot Peppers

3ready

Mixed Peppers

4ready

Tomato

  • Roma tomatoes

    Plenty

    Paste, sauce, roasting. Not a slicing tomato and not trying to be.

  • Cherry tomatoes

    Plenty

    Mixed pints. They disappear. We have theories.

  • Sungold cherries

    Plenty

    The orange ones. Eat them out of the pint. We would.

  • Cauralina tomatoes

    Plenty

    Oxheart paste. Sauce with the romas. Built like they lift things.

  • Beefsteak tomatoes

    Limited

    Just coming in. We were starting to take it personally.

Vine

  • Slicing cucumbers

    Limited

    Slicers. Picklers took the year off without asking.

  • Pickling cucumbers

    Gone

    Gone for the year. We planted like polite people. Wisconsin did not pickle like polite people. Next year we will not be cute about it.

  • Squash & melons

    Gone

    Lost the planting. A hole. 2027 can do better.

Pod

  • Green bush beans (Dulcina)

    Plenty

    Still picking the residue-in bed. The weedy row won. We noticed.

  • Wax bush beans

    Plenty

    Same price as the green. Yellow, snap, same story.

Root

  • Yukon Gold potatoes

    Plenty

    Still quite a few with fresh dirt still on them. Perfect for short-term storage — Yukon Golds are not a starch potato, so they are not a winter potato. Bags at the stand if a crate feels like a dare.

  • Spring carrots

    Limited

    Spring planting, still in the field. Tops on. Fall carrots wait for frost — they get the last laugh.

Allium

  • Storage onions

    Limited

    The keepers. Dark, dry, air. They will wait for you.

  • White onions

    Limited

    Limited. Milder. Eat them sooner — they are not in it for the long haul.

  • Red onions

    Gone

    Gone. Popular, and they knew it.

Pepper

  • Bell peppers

    Plenty

    The grocery-store shape. Except these actually taste like a pepper.

  • Lunchbox sweet peppers

    Plenty

    Snack peppers. Sweet, not hot. The easy yes.

  • Italian frying peppers

    Plenty

    Thin walls, quick in a pan. Not a stuffing pepper and not trying to be.

  • Sweet cherry peppers

    Plenty

    The round sweet ones. Not a tomato. 25¢, or five for a dollar.

  • Banana peppers

    Plenty

    Mild. Pickle them or eat them like they have nothing to prove.

  • Peperoncini

    Plenty

    The pickle pepper, even in a year with no picklers. Optimistic plants.

  • Jalapeño peppers

    Plenty

    Plenty. Take a pile if heat is a lifestyle.

  • Cayenne peppers

    Plenty

    Dry them. They keep. Heat you can hang on a string.

  • Habanero peppers

    Plenty

    Hot. Ask for a pile. Then wash your hands. Then wash them again.

Herb

  • Basil

    Limited

    2 oz bunches. Cilantro is still underground, considering a career.

Eggs

  • Chicken eggs, unwashed

    Add-on

    Free-range. Unwashed — the bloom stays on. $4/dozen at the stand.

  • Quail eggs, unwashed

    Add-on

    Unwashed. $4/dozen, scissors in the carton. The shell is the joke; the scissors are the punchline.

Add-on

  • Raw honey

    Add-on

    Ours. 10 oz, +$8. The bees did the work. We carried the buckets.

  • Goat milk soap

    Add-on

    Handmade goat milk, 4 oz, +$4. Smells like you made better choices today.

In the ground

Still to come

Not a date. Not a CSA calendar. Just what is in the row and not ready to lie about. Fall likes the cool. So do these.

  • Fall cilantro

    In the field

    Just germinating. It heard you asking. It is thinking about it.

  • Cherry Belle radish

    In the field

    About two inches. Three or four weeks. They are not ignoring you.

  • Giant radish

    In the field

    Same size as the Cherry Belle. Growing at their own speed, which is slow.

  • Fall carrots

    In the field

    Wait until after the first frost. That is when they get really sweet — a decent apology for November.

  • Sweet corn

    In the field

    Still in the field. When the silk browns and a thumbnail pops milk, we will stop being coy.

  • Fall beets

    In the field

    Just germinating. No beets on the table. We miss them too.

  • Cabbage

    In the field

    Heading up. Fall crop. They like the cool. So do we.

  • Cauliflower

    In the field

    In the row. Not white yet. Come back when they look like brains you would actually eat.

  • Spinach

    In the field

    Fall sowing. A summer planting would have bolted and judged you.

  • Kale

    In the field

    Coming. It will outlast your enthusiasm, which is the point.

  • Buttercrunch lettuce

    In the field

    For cooler days. August melts lettuce and we have some self-respect.

Bulk without the panic

How to keep it

People skip the extra pounds because they picture it rotting on the counter. Most of this wants a dark shelf or a crisper — not a second fridge and a spreadsheet. If bulk has ever intimidated you, start here, then take more than you think.

  • Potatoes

    Cool, dark, dry. Not the fridge — they turn sweet and sad. Yukon Golds are for weeks, not winter; they are not a starch potato. A cardboard box in the basement beats any gadget. Skip the plastic bag unless you enjoy sprouting science experiments.

  • Tomatoes

    Counter, stem-side down, out of the sun. The fridge is where flavor goes to die. If they get ahead of you, roast a tray and freeze it. Future-you will pretend you planned that.

  • Cucumbers

    Crisper drawer, not sealed like a tomb. Eat the shiny ones first. They do not improve with time, unlike your patience.

  • Peppers

    A week in the fridge. After that: slice and freeze, pickle, or dry. Cayenne and habanero on a string look like you meant to decorate. Jalapeños freeze without complaining.

  • Onions

    Mesh bag, air, dark. Keep them away from the potatoes — they make each other weird. Storage onions will wait. White onions will not. Eat the whites first and stop feeling guilty about it.

  • Carrots

    Tops off, or they drink themselves hollow. Fridge, damp towel. Spring bunches are for now. Fall carrots after frost are the keepers — and they taste like they paid attention.

  • Basil

    Jar of water on the counter, like flowers. The fridge turns it black and then you write us. Don't write us.

  • Eggs

    Unwashed on purpose. The bloom is the wrapper — leave it on until you crack one. Counter is fine for a week or two; fridge if you want longer. Grocery eggs are washed. These are not. That is the point.

  • Honey

    The cupboard. It does not go bad. If it crystals, set the jar in warm water. The microwave is a choice, and not a good one.

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