Upic Expands…and so does late blight

What’s in Upic?……
Snap Peas and Snow Peas
Thyme        Chives        Basil
Parsley    Cilantro    Beans (one pint Plz)
Flowers with signs

The Upic field adds many new items this week as summer arrives with a vengeance. This field has been a real bright spot this year as it has really started to look great even with the poor weather. The flowers are coming in early this year and thanks to many hours of help from CSA members Bob Leezer and Barb Harvey we have the healthiest looking plants we have had in many years.
Those of you new to the upic experience at the farm here are a few points and guidelines to keep these crops going strong all summer:
•    Picking is open on Tuesday, Fridays, and Sundays from dawn to dusk. Please pick just once a week.
•    Look for the signs we post in the field indicating what is ready to pick. If you don’t see a sign, please don’t pick it.
•    Scissors are provided to help in cutting things that need to be cut (not peas). Please use them –clean cuts help keep the plants healthy and productive. Please don’t put scissors in your pockets! You’ll remember them when you get home. The loop on each pair is to go around your wrist and keep them handy for picking.
•    Be gentle with the plants when picking and use both hands, one to hold the plant and one to cut or pick. Parents please teach your little ones how to do this before letting them loose.
•    Be aware of where you are walking and try to walk between the beds and not on them.
•    Know and teach your young ones that all of the fencing at the farm is electrified, including the fence around the upic field.
•    Make sure the kids (and adults) stay out of the buildings and off of the tractors and farm equipment. The farm is old and there are numerous serious dangers to be found.
•    Weeding, picking rocks and squashing bad bugs are always welcome. If you question whether a bug is bad leave it be: it could be an ally.
•    Find a farmer and ask us if you are unsure how or what to pick.

The bad news for the week is that late blight has arrived in our tomato crop. We are trying to prune out the unhealthy foliage and pull whole plants that have the disease in their stems but we’re not sure if this will work. If the weather improves we may have enough healthy plants to make a season out of it. We just have to hope.
I mowed a third of our potato crop on Saturday trying to minimize the loss in the plants that are still healthy. We will begin digging really small potatoes in mid-August, which is about a month earlier than usual.
The tactics for managing this disease out break have really evolved over the past couple weeks as the infection has spread to pretty much everyone we know in the northeast. Usually we try to pull infected plants immediately to stop the spread of the disease to other farms, but the level of infection is so widespread that farmers are starting to now try and save sick plants with the hope of bringing in some kind of crop.

Late Blight Arrives Early

What’s in Upic?……
Snap Peas and Snow Peas

The upic field starts its second week with snow and snap peas open for picking. Flowers are blooming early this year and we hope to open them up for next week. Snap beans are coming along as well and the first planting has flowers and the good flush of beans starting. Please remember not to pick anything that is not labeled with a sign.
Dreaded late blight has arrived to this farm. Over the weekend we discovered late blight in our potatoes. This fungus is very destructive to potatoes and tomatoes and when conditions are right can take down an entire crop in a few days. We are trying to manage the infection in the potatoes and hope to keep it localized to a few varieties but it will affect our yields considerably. Late blight is something we deal with almost every year but usually don’t see it arrive until September or October –once the affected crops are done with harvest. This year the infection is earlier and stronger than usual because infected seedlings were brought into the northeast from the Alabama to be sold at Walmart, Home Depot and Lowes. These plants quickly released spores into the air, which the cold wet weather provided the perfect conditions to spread. There is currently late blight reported from Maryland to Ohio to Northern Maine. You can read more about this problem in a NY Times article http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/18/nyregion/18tomatoes.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=late%20blight&st=cse  Please try and buy your plants from local producers next year!
On a farm scale we are dealing with this fungus using two organically approved controls, one that kills the germinated spores on the leaf surface and another that kills the spores as they land on the plants. We are hoping to keep the loss to a minimum but there will be loss. If you have tomatoes or potatoes in your home garden please check you plants every few day for greasy looking splotches on the leaves and stems. When the weather is damp the splotches will be ringed by white mold. Pull these plants right away and either put them in a plastic bag and throw them away or bury them –don’t compost infected plants! The Fungus can survive in the compost pile but not underground. I’m sure I’ll have more to say on this problem in future newsletters.
We’re happy to be harvesting what we can from the fields right now. Those of you wondering when more crops will be coming in…we are too. The farm is still paying the price for five weeks of rain. There have been stories of other CSAs who have stopped harvest and distributions altogether until the crops return so for now we’ll count our blessings.
Carrots are a bright point and it looks as if we will have them for a while to come. Last week’s harvest was seeded on April 12th and, unlike many other things came in right on time –although they are a bit smaller than we like. There is nothing like a fresh local carrot after eating the stored and shipped varieties from the supermarket. My kids have been eating so many I’m thinking about having their blood sugar levels checked.
Seal Cove chevre is back in the share room as is nitrate-free bacon from Maine Farms. We are still waiting for more A to Z cookbooks…we’ll let you know when they arrive.
Frontier resturant and cinema www.explorefrontier.com is showing a great new film tonight and tomorrow about why we all need to eat local. Food Inc. explores the industrial food system and its effects on consumers, farmers, workers and the environment. Great interviews with Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation), Michael Pollan (The Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food), as well as farmer/celebrity Joel Salatin (Everything I Want to Do is Illegal).

Peas Please

What’s in Upic?……
Snap Peas and Snow Peas

The long awaited opening of Upic is this week with just one crop to start out…Peas! These are sweet eat-the-whole-pod snap and snow peas that rarely make it to the car, much less all the way home to family members. As we open the upic field with just one crop we ask that you only take a pint (will be provided) per share this first week. This will ensure that everyone can take some of these home to enjoy. We will open up some of the other crops next week as well.
Here’s the skinny on how Upic works. We prepare, plant, and weed this ½ acres plot just for you, the members of the farm. Growing there you will find cherry tomatoes, green beans, herbs, flowers, and most notably this week, peas. These are crops that are particularly rewarding to harvest and can add a lot of value to your share as they often are great accompaniments to the “field crops” we harvest and wash for you each week.
The important thing to understand about this field is that it belongs to everyone who has a share in the farm. There are 225 shares this year and we try very hard to plan each planting so that everyone will be able to sample every crop. The idea is that all of these crops are compliments to the field crops and not necessarily staples in and of themselves. While we would love to be able to plant enough basil for everyone to make pesto for the winter or sow enough beans to share with your neighbors, it’s just not possible in the space we have to work with. Those of you that split shares, we ask that you be particularly aware of your picking quantities.
With the exception of these first couple weeks we will not suggest amounts for you to take from the upic field. The idea is that we all take our share and consciously leave behind enough for everyone else. The upic field has always been our grand experiment in community spirit and in eleven years of CSA growing all over the Northeast we have never been disappointed.
Here are a few points and guidelines to keep Upic going strong all summer:
•    Picking is open on Tuesday, Fridays, and Sundays from dawn to dusk. Please pick just once a week.
•    Look for the signs we post in the field indicating what is ready to pick. If you don’t see a sign, please don’t pick it.
•    Scissors are provided to help in cutting things that need to be cut (not peas). Please use them –clean cuts help keep the plants healthy and productive. Please don’t put scissors in your pockets! You’ll remember them when you get home. The loop on each pair is to go around your wrist and keep them handy for picking.
•    Be gentle with the plants when picking and use both hands, one to hold the plant and one to cut or pick. Parents please teach your little ones how to do this before letting them loose.
•    Be aware of where you are walking and try to walk between the beds and not on them.
•    Know and teach your young ones that all of the fencing at the farm is electrified, including the fence around the upic field.
•    Make sure the kids (and adults) stay out of the buildings and off of the tractors and farm equipment. The farm is old and there are numerous serious dangers to be found.
•    Weeding, picking rocks and squashing bad bugs are always welcome. If you question whether a bug is bad leave it be: it could be an ally.
•    Find a farmer and ask us if you are unsure how or what to pick.

Stunted growth

Hey everyone…July is underway this week and we have a few more interesting vegetables to add to the mix. The downside is the conspicuous absence of greens, mainly that CSA share staple lettuce.
The lack of light and the vast amounts of water we have been dealing with has really slowed up the growth in most things out in the fields. Unfortunately this slowdown is most apparent in things we try and harvest for you every week –like lettuce. These crops are planted every few weeks and go through a cycle of cut and re-cut before a new planting is ready for harvest. The timing of the harvesting and planting is time tested, based on my last ten years of growing in the northeast. Unfortunately the poor growth is a testament as to how far off the average we really are this year. This morning we went down to the field and decided that the new lettuce mix planting was just not ready. The older planting that we have been working on has some re-growth of size but we all found it to be tough and a bit bitter. As a rule when faced with deciding to give low quality food
or not, we opt to hold back. Taste, keeping quality and most importantly, nutrient content are all reflected in the flavor and texture of the produce we grow.
We are hoping that lettuce  (along with many of our other “staple” greens) will return next week. In the meantime let’s talk about Kohlrabi! This is a great old European vegetable from the cabbage family that excels in many ways beyond its obvious good looks. The swollen stem or crown is what we eat and we have chosen this variety because of its superior taste. The color and shape make kohlrabi appear to have been invented in the proctor and gamble fun food lab –but no it is the result of a few generations of farmers with good tatste and a good sense of humor. Please try this vegetable! It’s fresh and crisp raw and rich and creamy cooked. There are a few good recipes to try on the website http://crystalspringcsa.com/archives/category/recipes/kohlrabi . Don’t forget to use the leaves! They have the texture and flavor of kale.
The Upic field is coming along and thanks to a lot of great work by CSA members Bob Leezer and Barb Harvey it looks like it will be the best looking Upic in recent memory. Peas are in deep flower and we hope to be able to let you into them soon. Some of the flower varieties are also coming along, as is the first planting of snap beans. More on the upic field, what’s ready to pick and how it all works in the next newsletter.

Great local products at pick-up. Eggs, organic milk, cheese, fresh bread, lamb sausage, bacon, pork sausage, ground beef, fair trade coffee and organic gelato, all locally produced, will be available.
Pre-order bread, milk, and eggs this week for next week’s pick-up. Talk to one of us at pickup if you would like to preorder and reserve these items for next week. Let us know how much you would like, what day you will come for pickup, and if it will be a standing order. Wild Oats bread flavors are six grain and anadama on Tuesdays and honey wheat and molasses oat on Fridays.
Maples Maine made organic gelato is here! This is good stuff. Look for vanilla bean, carmelized banana, dark chocolate sorbetto and many other flavors.
Crystal Spring Blend Coffee. That’s right, our own blend of fair trade locally roasted coffee from Brunswick roaster Wicked Joe’s Coffee. Twelve oz. bags are $10 with all profits going to retrofit the farm buildings. Drink deeply.

Roasted Kohrabi

1 1/2 pounds fresh kohlrabi, ends trimmed, thick green skin sliced off with a knife, diced

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon garlic (optional, to my taste)
Salt
Good vinegar

Set oven to 450F. Toss the diced kohlrabi with olive oil, garlic and salt in a bowl. (This can be done on the pan but you’ll likely use more oil.) Spread evenly on a rimmed baking sheet and put into oven (it needn’t be fully preheated) and roast for 30 – 34 minutes, stirring every five minutes started after about 20 minutes. Sprinkle with a good vinegar (probably at the table so the kohlrabi don’t get squishy).

Kimchi

Cut one head of Napa (chinese) cabbage  crossways so that you have 1-2 inch pieces. Soak in 1 gallon of water in which you have dissolved one cup of salt (kosher). Let soak up to 8 hours, then drain and lightly rinse and drain again. Shake off any excess moisture and pile into a bowl. In a smaller bowl mix 1 tbsp sugar, 1-2 tsp kosher salt 1-2 tbsp cayenne or other hot pepper powder, 1- 4 tsp of red pepper flakes or comparable amount of chopped fresh peppers, 4-8 cloves of garlic sliced or minced, one large onion cut in half and thinly sliced. Mix all together then pack cabbage mixture into screw top jars that you have sterilized (don’t need canning jars; the Koreans don’t have them!), leaving about 1/2 of head room. I let them sit for 6-8 hours and then refrigerate. Start tasting after 4-5 days . Usually by the 2nd or 3rd head, you have perfected the mix that works best for you. Keeps a long time in the fridge; bubbles indicate fermentation, which you want.