July 26, 2021
I set an intention to cook less this summer, for the sake of both my mental health and my electric bill. But cooking less doesn’t mean eating less, not at all. I cook in batches, maybe two or three times a week, hopefully early in the morning before the hot afternoon sun streams through my… Read more »
Seasonal fruit from Mission Garden Mission Garden is an urban garden that honors Tucson’s long agricultural history and features heirloom Sonoran Desert-adapted fruit trees. We began working with the folks there two years ago in an attempt to diversify our offerings and support more community producers. We’re happy to continue our partnership with Mission Garden… Read more »
July 12, 2021
Garlic is a magical thing to grow. Plant one clove beneath the soil and in a matter of months it will multiply, eventually forming an entirely new bulb of garlic. In southern Arizona, garlic is planted in the fall because it requires four to six weeks of cool weather to vernalize (induce the seed’s flowering… Read more »
Editor’s Note: One of our missions at Tucson CSA is to provide a marketplace for new food producers to sell their products, get feedback, and continue to grow their operation. Many times, because these new producers are just starting off, they don’t have the infrastructure or ability to grow large enough quantities to provide food… Read more »
July 10, 2021
Secondhand Plants is a gardening and plant salvage project tended by Marina. She hosts monthly yard sales at different locations in Tucson and practices ongoing plant rehab & recycling projects. It started with a surplus of agave pups, cactus pads, & spider plant babies. Propagating and salvaging plants to share is one of the joys… Read more »
June 28, 2021
This time of year, a unique delicacy sprouts to life from corn fields. Its Aztec name is cuitlacoche (pronounced QUEET-la-coh-chay). Referred to as “corn smut”, farmers in central Mexico call it “el oro negro” or “back gold.” Gathered during the rainy season from now through mid-October, huitlacoche has long been considered a delicacy. Here in… Read more »
Over the course of the past two months, as temperatures rose higher and higher, Tucson CSA members found a welcome sight in their shares: delicate whole lettuce with roots still attached. Those who garden know that it’s too hot to get lettuce to germinate starting in April, so where did those delectable and cool leaves… Read more »
Known as dow gauk in China, sasage in Japan, and either yardlong or asparagus bean in England and the US, this close relative of southern peas (think black-eyed peas, purple hull peas, and crowder peas) grows well in the summer heat. Yardlong beans grow quickly and can grow up to three feet long but are… Read more »
