Alliums

Bunched: Spring garlic, scallions, spring onions. Store in a plastic bag or damp cloth in the fridge. If you store them without the bag, they will become wilty but are still useable.

Fresh onions, garlic: Store in the fridge, with out a bag is fine, expect a couple weeks of freshness

Cured garlic, onions: Store on countertop or in a cool dark drawer. Just like other root drawers though, don’t forget about them!

Eggs

Our eggs are washed and refrigerated and should be stored in the fridge. We do this because our barn temperature fluctuates and it is safer from a food safety perspective to store at a consistent temperature. 
 

Flowers

We provide flower food packets. I recommend using half on day one and the other on day 3. Change the water every day and snip the bottoms to maintain freshness. Pull any leaves off that would touch the water. 
 

Greens

Loose bunched greens: Napa, cabbage, Kale, Collards, Chard, Bok Choy, Broccoli Rabe, lettuce heads, celery.These items are dunked and hydrocooled for about 30 minutes post harvest and put in the fridge to chill. Unless requested, we deliver these without plastic. They will, however, remain crispy and fresh if protected in your fridge. For plastic users, put the bunch in a bag in fridge. To avoid plastic, wrap the bunch in a damp cloth towel and place in the fridge If you would like us to provide the plastic bag, write a note on your order.

Bagged Greens: Baby greens, lettuce mix, baby bok choy. These are soaked and hydrocooled for 30 minutes to an hour then spun, chilled and bagged. We use our house well water for this but they are not technically washed. Only facilities that have been inspected by 3rd party auditors for safety can call their produce washed. This is an expensive process so we opt to say that we hydrocool. This process increases the shelf life of the produce post harvest. Storage for bagged greens is simple. The bag as is will be good in the fridge for at least a week. If there is excess moisture in the bag, you can respin the greens and store or put a paper towel in the bag. You can also take the greens out of the bag and store in a damp cloth bag.
 

Herbs

Leafy cool season annuals: cilantro, dill, parsley. We deliver them without a bag, after being hydrocooled. They store well in a bag in the fridge. A note on cilantro, it needs to be dry before being placed in a bag, otherwise it becomes black mush. 

Basils, lemon balm, mint: Basil does NOT like being cold or damp, nor does lemon balm, mint is more tolerant. To store, cut the bottom of the stems and place in cool water on your counter. Any leaves that touch the water will turn black, so remove those leaves and use them first. Change the water daily or twice daily. 

Perennial herbs: oregano, thyme, anise hyssop, sage, rosemary, lavender. If they are dry they can go into a plastic bag in the fridge. They can also be stored like the basil.
 

Morganics

Morganics products are freshly milled and still have all the healthy oils intact. They are best stored in the fridge or freezer. 

Mushrooms

Store mushrooms in the paper bags they are delivered in, in the fridge. Shiitakes, lion’s mane and black pearl last the longest, then blue, then yellow and chestnut then pink. Pinks should be cooked within 3 days. 

Roots

Fresh with greens: Radishes, beets, salad turnips, purple turnips, kohlrabi (technically not a root), carrots, fennel (also not a root), celeriac. First, separate the greens from the root, if the greens are on the root, the greens will suck moisture from the root and the root will get floppy. If using the greens, store separately, like bunched greens mentioned above. To store the roots, keep them in the fridge i b

Tomatoes, An Introduction

There are thousands of tomato varieties in existence. From the Great White (heirloom) to Rutgers Beefsteak (hybrid)  to Flavr Savr (GMO), tomatoes are bred for flavor, disease resistance , shelf stability, resistance to cracking, aesthetics and more desired characteristics. As a certified organic farm, we do not grow any GMO tomatoes but instead rely on heirloom and hybrid varieties. Martenette Farms considers disease resistance , flavor and aesthetics to be the more important considerations when choosing our varietals. Tomatoes are divided into our house tomatoes and field tomatoes. They each have advantages and disadvantages and different needs from the environment. 

House/High tunnel Tomatoes

These tomatoes are started from seed in late February/early March and transplanted into an unheated high tunnel. Growing in a high tunnel has a lot of benefits: 

1. The warmer temperatures in the house can allow for earlier planting and extends the season past first frost
2. The tunnel’s roof reduces the detrimental effects of rain events. Rain increases the spread of fungal disease 
3. Tunnel tomatoes are also grown on a string trellis. Weekly pruning and training allow the farm to control airflow, number of fruits per set and provides the opportunity to perform regular health checks on the plants. 

Martenette plants about 320 plants in 90 foot beds. We have always done a double leader pruning which leaves 2 primary vines, and all the leaf node suckers on each vine are pruned. The two vines are then clipped to a string that is attached to the cross bars of the tunnel.  The leaves are pruned to just above the fruit sets. This year were are experimenting with single leader to allow for more airflow.

The varieties that do well in the tunnels are heirlooms, heirloom-looking hybrids and some hybrid cherry tomatoes. All of these are indeterminate, meaning that they will continue to produce fruit all season and ripen as they produce. Heirlooms, grown for their unique looks and exceptional flavor, are notoriously prone to disease and need to be treated with great care to avoid bruising and cracking. Bruising and Cracking will be discussed in another section. Heirloom looking hybrids keep the unique looks of and a lot of the flavor of heirlooms but can also be less vulnerable to disease and have thicker skin, so deal with water and heat fluctuations.  The harvest of house tomatoes starts in late June and continues through October, assuming the plants stay healthy. 

Field Tomatoes

The field can be an unforgiving climate, from unexpected frosts, to excess rain, heat, humidity and aridity, the field tomatoes need to be able to deal with all of these circumstances while staying delicious, mostly blemish free and resistant to the bacterial and fungal infections that loom in the air and soil. Typically that means we stick to a few trusted slicing varieties that look more like the tomatoes of the grocery store. The varieties we choose tend to be determinate meaning that they make all their fruit over the course of 7 weeks and then ripen over the course of three weeks. They will then have a 2nd flush that is typically not as prolific. Most of our cherry tomatoes are grown in the field as well. Cherry tomatoes are indeterminate and will produce until late September. Our chosen varieties are pink and red beefsteaks with one or two heirlooms thrown in just to trial their vigor. Rain can cause cracking, particularly in cherry tomatoes, so harvesting in the field, usually done when ¾ ripe, can be done at blush if a rain storm is coming. 

Ripening

Tomatoes ripen from the bottom up usually so when checking their color I like to look at the bottom of the fruit as it will give you the best idea of what the color of the fruit should be when it is full ripe. Ideally, ripening starts at the bottom and evenly works its way up to the shoulders. When the tomatoes ripen they start to produce sugars. As long as the fruit is blushing and it is kept at a temperature above 55 degrees,  it will continue to create those sugars and ripen. Hotter environments will speed ripening but may also speed decay. Cooler temps slow ripening down. 

Temperature, Moisture and micronutrients are the important factors in getting a tomato to ripen perfectly though these are not always easy to control. 

How we harvest

Everyone has heard that vine ripened tomatoes have more flavor than those picked green and “ripened” by using ethylene gas. This is true, however, we don’t need to wait until the tomato is 100% ripe to get 100% of the flavor. Once a tomato starts ripening, it starts producing its own ethylene gas to continue the process. It will continue to do this after it is picked, ripening over the course of 3 days to a week. Tomatoes tend to bruise and crack when they are close to ripening, especially if left on the vine. That is why we typically harvest the house tomatoes at first blush and allow them to ripen in our ripening room. Field tomatoes are picked closer to full ripeness, especially since their ripening, once it starts in the field can be fast. We will often harvest 50 -100 lb 3 x a week for the 3 or 4 weeks of the first flush of field tomatoes. Once a tomato starts ripening, it will continue to make all the sugars it typically does so the end result is a sweet, flavorful tomato with reduced cracking and bruising.

For our cherry tomatoes, we harvest close to ripe or ripe, they tend to crack with rain events so we may harvest when they are less ripe right before a big rain. 

Imperfections on tomatoes 

Green Shoulders - This is a classic sign of potassium deficiency. We drip feed potassium once a week to lower this occurence but some plants are more prone to it and adequate watering after feeding is important. For our field tomatoes, the ground has been quite wet, making it hard to water the section after potassium. The green shoulders will sometimes lessen as the fruit continues to ripen, but not always. This part of the fruit will less palatable and I usually discard it if eating a fresh tomato.

Uneven Ripening - Like green shoulders, uneven ripening is mostly caused by potassium deficiency and uneven watering. In the case of uneven ripening, eat the ripe part and compost the rest. 

Splits - Splits occur most frequently on thin skinned tomatoes but are usually the result of uneven watering. In the case of house tomatoes, sometimes the ground is too dry from several hot days and even a long slow drink from the drip tape causes the fruits to uptake the water and bust out of its skin. Not all splits are the kiss of death for a tomato. If it occurs when the fruit is ripe, it can still be eaten safely within a few days, so long as the split doesnt start growing mold. In the case of mold, the mold can be cut out and the fruit can be cooked or otherwise processed. There are also skin splits that do not affect the inside of the fruit. These are totally fine to eat and are not prone to molding. A dry split is one that penetrates the skin and fruit but it breaks in between chambers so there is no spoilage of the fruit. 

Black spots - Usually occurs later in the season and is a sign of late blight or other diseases. Usually the spots can be cut around without affecting the taste of the tomato, especially if processing or cooking. Martenette tries to sort these tomatoes out but the spots can come up as it is ripening.

Varieties

Yellow: Yellow Brandywine, Copia, Napa Chardonay Blush, Pork Chop, low acid flavor, moderately resistant to cracking but has a tendency to ripen unevenly.

Yellow/Orange/Pink: German Johnson, Gold medal Large fruits that are especially prone to cracking, mild sweet flavor, juicy and a little sloppy when ripe

Orange Valencia-actually an heirloom even though it looks like an ordinary slicer. Superb flavor, shelf stability, not prone to cracking or green shoulders, thick skinned and firm even when ripe

Pink- Pink Brandywine, Abigail, Damsel (field) has a tendency to ripen irregularly and have green shoulders. Abigail and Damsel are round and thicker skinned slicing tomatoes, Brandywines are odd shaped and thin skinned. Taste is very pleasant tomato taste without the metallic taste that can accompany store bought tomatoes

Green- Cherokee Green. Deep yellow green when ripe. Splits easily but the flavor is tangy and crisp. 

Purple- Black pinapple, ananas noir, black brandywine, carbon, cherokee purple. The shoulders on all of these are either dark purple or green and while the shoulder fade when ripe, there is usually a little residual color. Sometimes prone to splits or dry splits, which do not effect the overall flavor or stability of the fruit.  Flavor is rich and sweet.

Red - Caiman, Galahad, Omar’s Lebanese, Moscovich- Robust tomato flavor. Caiman and Galahard are a firm beefsteak, Omar’s is an heirloom as is moscovich, which is smaller. Galahad is determinate, so it tends to ripen quickly over 3 weeks. Martenette also grows another round of them in the high tunnel, planting in mid July.

Paste-San Marzano, San Marzano II, Granadero Typically harvested at full ripeness. These are used for cooking and processing. They are meaty with less inner goo than other tomatoes. Paste tomatoes are also prone to black spots, soft spots and may need some cutting out to process. 

Tomatoes are most prolific during the hot days and warm nights of summer. There productivity and ability to fend off disease wanes as the days do. Colder night of late September also affect their size and flavor but they plants will still produce until the frost kills them or we do. 

When you receive your tomatoes, leave them on your kitchen counter bottoms up to ripen. If they are close to your fruit bowl, especially if there are bananas or onions nearby, they will ripen faster, though it could potentially cause some spoilage. Inspect your fruit for damage. Splits are usually okay if they are clean, not oozing and dry. If they are oozy or molded, you can usually cut that part away and still enjoy it fresh. Otherwise, throw it in the fridge to cook with later. Refrigerating tomatoes causes the texture to turn mealy and dampens the flavor. Tomatoes are ripe when they are uniform in color, the exception for green shoulders as mentioned above, or for multi-colored tomatoes and have a slight give in their flesh. A serrate knife is best for tomato cutting, or if you are feeling fancy,  a Cutco trimmer or cheese knife. 

ag, damp cloth, or, what I do, a tupperware, glass or plastic. This will keep them crispy for a month. 

Storage, no greens: Radishes, beets, turnips, kohlrabi, carrots, fennel, celeriac, rutabaga

Potatoes: We do not offer “storage potatoes” Only fresh but I ate out last potatoe in March from October. Potatoes are sold washed and will keep in a paper bag in the fridge for a month or two (or 5)

Summer lovers

Zucchini, Eggplant, Cucumbers, Peppers, Okra: If you have a separate compartment of your fridge that can be set to 55*F store them like that. Otherwise, I would put them in the crisper drawer. They will last longer if stored in a bag, paper or plastic, or a cloth. Eggplant will get brown spots and soft spots if too cold but can still be safely cooked like that. Cucumbers and zucchini will also get soft and spotty if too cold, or too warm. Peppers are more forgiving.

Tomatoes: When you receive your tomatoes, leave them on your kitchen counter bottoms up to ripen. If they are close to your fruit bowl, especially if there are bananas or onions nearby, they will ripen faster, though it could potentially cause some spoilage. Inspect your fruit for damage. Splits are usually okay if they are clean, not oozing and dry. If they are oozy or molded, you can usually cut that part away and still enjoy it fresh. Otherwise, throw it in the fridge to cook with later. Refrigerating tomatoes causes the texture to turn mealy and dampens the flavor. Tomatoes are ripe when they are uniform in color, the exception for green shoulders as mentioned above, or for multi-colored tomatoes and have a slight give in their flesh. A serrate knife is best for tomato cutting, or if you are feeling fancy,  a Cutco trimmer or cheese knife.
 

Winter Squash, Sweet Potatoes

Store these on the countertop. If they get soft, cut away bad parts and use the good stuff. 
 

Tomatoes, extended