Week eighteen summary: Mmm. Summary.

Above: oregano. See more photos from this week.

Jen was feeling sick so I went to the farm by myself. The weather report said that it was likely we would see a scattered shower or two and then become partly sunny. So I expected that it would be overcast with a drizzle or two at the most and didn't feel the need the bring my rain coat or even wear boots. More on this later.

I stopped off at the Italian market on 9th st. to go to Fante's to pick up some more jars and lids for canning. While I was there I picked up a cheese thermometer as I want to try my hand at cheese making soon. Right as I was getting ready to leave the store it started to downpour. The clerk told me how happy he was that he wouldn't have to listen to customers tell him what a nice day it was outside while he was trapped inside. I wished him a nice day and told him that it was supposed to clear up shortly and that I would be playing outside in the sun all day. (I didn't but now I wish I did.)

By the time I got to the farm it had been raining solid for almost 45 minutes. And I was regretting not having brought anything at all to cover myself out in the rain. The best I could do was grab my Tusker baseball hat that has been sitting on my car's dashboard for close to a year, too disgusting to wear but heavy in sentimental value, and suck it up.

I figured I would start in the farm stand and take my time hoping that the rain would pass shortly and while the fields would be soaking wet, I wouldn't necessarily be. Here's what I picked up from the farm stand:

• Four small heads of Devil's Ear lettuce
• Six orange peppers
• Two eggplants
• Two bunches of kale
• Two bunches of parsley
• Two bunches of cilantro
• Two pounds of Swiss chard
• One-quarter pounds of arugula
• Eight pounds of tomatoes
• Two pounds of spinach
• Four summer squash
• One bunch of turnips
• One head of bok choy
• Four pounds of potatoes
• Two bulbs of garlic

After picking up all of that, cataloging everything and taking pictures, which people didn't seem every happy about, it was still raining although it was much, much lighter now. I put all the food and my camera into my car to start the pick-your-own fields.

While it was almost down to a drizzle I was very happy to have that disgusting old hat to protect at least my glasses from being soaked while I picked. First stop was the Amish paste tomatoes. But after walking through 4 long rows I could only find two quarts of ripe ones. I guess the rain had knocked the ripe ones down to the ground and caused them to rot because the ground was covered in rotting red tomato carcasses. I moved over to the Plum Dandys and had much better luck. They were bursting with wonderfully ripe beauties.

By the time I was done picking the eight quarts we were allotted the bottom half of my pant legs were soaked from walking through wet weeds that have grown up here and there between the rows.

If I haven't mentioned it, this was the first time I had been to the farm by myself. It was really nice and relaxing being able to go at my own pace and do what I wanted to do. I won't go vegetable by vegetable, giving the details of picking each one. I'll save you that, but here is a list of all the pick-your-own:

• Eight quarts of paste/sauce tomatoes
• Forty hot peppers
• Two international eggplants
• One quart dragon tongue wax beans
• One quart green beans
• Marjoram
• Lemongrass
• Sage
• Oregano
• Anise hyssop