I’ve tried many times to write something like this. It’s always too strong, too personal, too vitriolic; something we don’t dare go on record saying. So I’ll let this other full-time farmer say it for me. Read it with an open mind, and try to see things from our side of the market table. One caveat, the shot at fancy restaurants isn’t fair to places like Sycamore, which take very seriously their commitment to local foods and farm-sourcing. Otherwise, I think it’s spot-on and would welcome some comments or constructive debate on its somewhat provocative argument.

Okra produces a wide variety of reaction from customers, ranging from YUM to EW to HUH? Fresh okra is delicious, but it’s not surprising that okra has a bad reputation among some, as it can be slimy and tough if overgrown or old. Also, it doesn’t store or transport well, so if it’s been sitting very long it’s not going to be very good. We only sell okra harvested within a few days of market, to keep it tasty and fresh.

We grow two varieties, a standard Clemson Spineless and a more unique Burmese. The latter is paler than other okra, and can grow much larger than usual while still being tender and flavorful. These can be 8-10″ long and still taste great, not hard or nasty like other okras get at that stage. This claim is backed up by both our employees’ raves, and reviews from Sycamore Restaurant and Uprise Bakery, who have been buying and approving of it. To the several customers who have argued with me about Burmese’s size: everyone who tries it understands that it’s not the same as others’ overgrown okra that looks similar. Give it a try.

Okra is best used within a few days of purchase, partly because it is hard to give okra perfect storage conditions at home. Okra is subject to chilling injury if stored in too cold of a spot in the refrigerator, but room temperature is definitely too warm. It is best stored at temperatures of 45-50 degrees, and we come close to those conditions by storing okra between harvest and market in our walk-in cooler, which we maintain at about 55 degrees (a compromise between ideal temperatures for tomatoes, okra, zucchini, and cucumbers).

We like okra best when it’s sauteed or fried. Just heat some oil or butter in a skillet, chop the okra into 1/2″ rounds, maybe coat it with some cornmeal & salt, then fry or saute it until the “goo” is gone but the okra is still tender. These have a great flavor on their own and make a nice side dish or main meal. Okra freezes well & easily; just throw them whole into a Ziploc-type bag and chuck in the freezer (don’t blanch or they’ll turn really slimy). The texture won’t be as good on its own, but it adds great flavor and structure to soups and stews throughout the winter.

Our okra is really producing now, so we’d like more people to try it. This week we’ll have two pricing structures, a higher price for small “normal” okra and a lower price for the larger Burmese. This is our attempt to convince customers the Burmese is in fact edible and not just the result of a lazy or uneducated farmer, and to reflect the basic economics in which picking small okra lowers our yields per area and thus needs to cost more. We can let Burmese grow longer, getting more yield with less picking, and thus we can charge less for it. If you really want little okra, you’ll have to pay for the extra work it takes. Our prices also reflect the fact that we’re not bringing the entire week’s harvest to market, only the few days before.

If you’ve ever picked okra, you understand. The plants are tall, leafy, and prickly. There’s something in the plants which really irritates the skin; after picking long rows, my arms & hands feel like acid has been poured on them. We’re moving toward using gloves and long shirts, but it’s often so danged hot during okra season that those have their own problems. Hunting for the one or two fruits in a tall, jungly plant takes time, and care in order to cut them off without damaging the plant.

But oh, is good okra good.

Despite the somewhat empty appearance of our stand for the past few weeks, we really do have a lot on the way. Talking to other market vendors on Saturday, I heard many tales of woe. Everyone seems to be having a difficult year, as rain and insects ruin or set back crops. Really, it’s mid July and there are almost no tomatoes at market? Must be a bad year.

We’re always late to the summer produce party, partly because of our frost pocket valley and partly because we just get things in late because we’re so busy with spring items. But we have lots of things coming on strong now and within a week or two (or three?) of market, such as:

Tomatillos, which are very slow to develop but surely will be ready soon. Those half-filled husks are teasing us…

Garlic, which in this poorly lit photo is filling the rafters of our barn. The crop was an overall success, with a good distribution of beautiful, large heads. The conditions have been on the humid side for the curing process, but we haven’t detected any problems yet. We’re thrilled to start bringing our diverse display to market soon.
Tomatoes, which are looking vibrant and loaded. Probably still several weeks from real production, as all the fruits are still green, but plants are healthy with no sign of disease so far. We’re hoping it will dry out just enough to enhance the flavor as these begin to ripen.
Peppers, which like the tomatoes are healthy and productive, just need more time to mature. The variety in the photo above is Jimmy Nardello’s Italian, an heirloom variety of sweet pepper that is good for drying, among other things. This is recognized on the Slow Food “Ark of Taste” list for its exceptional qualities. The upcoming week’s heat and sun will do wonders for the peppers.
Edamame, which we’d already have at market if voles hadn’t decimated our first planting. We have a few self-seeded plants in last year’s beds which are maturing now; we ate the first fresh edamame of the season Sunday. The photo above shows pods at full size but not yet filled out; possibly a few this coming weekend, more likely the week after.
The cucumbers have been productive so far, especially these wonderfully sweet and crunchy Poona Kheeras. These are an Indian heirloom, and I had a nice young Indian-American woman double back to the stand in excitement when she saw them, as she was born in the Poona region from whence these came.

Selling these can be hard as the market is saturated in cheap cukes right now and we’re not going to lower our price to a loss just because others are overproducing. I’m also a bit concerned about a similar dynamic on other “standard” items like tomatoes and peppers, so we’ll see. We’re also concerned about our ongoing cucumber beetle infestation and its long-term effect on cukes and summer squash, but for now we’re getting good production.

So those are some things for customers to look forward to in coming weeks.

This weekend we’ll have the season’s first garlic scapes. These are the tender young flower stems of hardneck garlic, which begin to emerge about a month before the heads are ready. They should be removed to force the plant’s energy into bulbing. The easiest way to harvest scapes is to cut them off, but that wastes the best part: the tender, flavorful stem within the plant itself. With equal parts luck and skill, you can gently but firmly tug on the scape and convince it to break near the base of the plant, then be drawn up through the long, almost 2-foot stalk of the plant to emerge as a tender, coiled garlic scape. If harvested too late, scapes will become tough and woody, but the young, tender scapes are a true highlight of seasonal fare for us.

We sell ours in grades; highest price for those we’ve extracted successfully intact, and lower prices for smaller ones and broken ones that don’t have the inner portion. Use scapes like garlic scallions; chopped into anything they add a nice flavor. I particularly like them with eggs and soup. Another more creative way to use them involves making pesto; read our recipe here with a photo.

We love scapes for their tender texture and fresh garlic flavor and always enjoy their brief season. And it’s a good sign that the true garlic harvest is growing near.