Month: July 2016

Water is so lovely when it falls from the sky. This week we have gotten back on the rain track and even though the systems bringing it to us have been on the violent side, we are oh so happy to have the water. The time and effort to set up and run water on many acres is happily spent in other places on the farm, like picking tomatoes. The tomato crop this year is looking really outstanding and this is due to the diligent efforts of the farm’s field and crew managers, Kristin and Corinne. Starting with a research visit to Johnny’s Selected Seeds last summer they have made it their mission to improve our system of growing tomatoes in field tunnels. Since the blight year of 2009 (we lost all 950 of our tomato plants) the farm has grown tomatoes (except for upic cherries) under movable tunnels, protecting them from disease. When we made this change we just moved our systems for growing out in the field under cover, which worked fine but wasn’t really taking full advantage of the indoor environment. In the past five years there has been a lot of work done by farmers and researchers alike on improving tunnel grown tomatoes from new watering schedules, systems for trellising, techniques for pruning off unwanted growth, etc. Kristin and Corrine looked at all of these improvements and went to work creating a new tomato culture for us and training the crew in the weekly intricacies of maximizing growth and fruiting of this crop. When you are enjoying the best tomato ever, think of these two hard working farmers.

What’s in the share

Carrots

Tomato

Green Pepper

Eggplant

Scallions

Jalapeno

Cukes

Kohlrabi

Lettuce

Chard/Kale

What’s in Upic

Beans

Cherry Tomatoes (just starting)

 

A little rain here and there and some gargantuan efforts with irrigation have got us on track with moisture on the farm. This week we crest a hill of sorts that separates the last 6 months of prep and planting from the next 4 months of harvest. Our days become very structured as we add tomatoes, eggplant, carrots and peppers to the harvest list and work in between to keep the weeds down and plant the last rounds of greens. We are hoping we are back in the rain track so we can make the most of the next few weeks before we start losing our long days in August.

Tomatoes and Eggplant…Must Be Summer

Our first tomatoes and eggplant appear this week. For some reason one variety of our heirlooms are ahead of anything else (they are usually late). I had my first on a salad yesterday and after I was out of lettuce just kept going with balsamic vinegar and more tomato. The asian eggplant this week are my favorite. The skins are tender and don’t need to be peeled. I love to halve these, brush with olive oil and set them on the grill to almost blacken. They also do great sliced into very hot oil and tossed until tender. Sweet soy/teriyaki or tahini/yogurt makes an easy finish.

Peas Cooked

I think we have had our shortest snap/snow pea season in my history here. They really did not like the Carolina weather we had and we actually saw them drop flowers instead of make peas. We watered over the weekend and the cooler nights/rain may give them a second wind. Let’s cross our fingers.

Carrots Are Back

Our first carrot harvest went well. They are a little small but we couldn’t wait any longer, especially since we had a stellar group of exchange students from Spain wanting to help out. Watch your sugar intake on the days when you eat these… they are sweet.

Greens Are Good… but sometimes hard to keep up with

Some of you are well-versed in world of greens while others may be having a stare down with those bags in your fridge wondering where to start.  We are here to help!  We encourage you to jump in with both feet and find your food muse amongst the leaves of chard, kale and spinach. Start simple and combine these greens with things you and your family already like to eat.

1. Salads of course – and making your salad into more of a meal by adding other veggies, nuts, chicken, legumes or other proteins.  We find that if we have a delicious dressing already prepared, we are way more likely to eat a salad for a quick lunch. Here’s a link to our salads recipe page with an awesome balsamic vinaigrette.
2. Stir fries and sautés. Try this article how to…
3. Is pesto a favorite?  Lightly steam your chard or kale, and throw it in the blender or food processor with garlic, onions, basil, or other herbs, toss it on pasta or pizza with oil or butter, and cheese.
4. Bacon.  We heard from a mom this week who cooks the bacon in a pan, and then adds in the greens.  Her children devour every bite!
5. Spanikopita.  We’ve been making variations on this for years.  I use kale, chard, or spinach, I use whatever cheese I might have, and I rarely use the filo dough due to time constraints.   Sometimes I’ll top it with bread crumbs, roasted sunflower seeds, or even crushed up tortilla chips.  We call it kale pie.  I like to steam the greens and then puree them in the food processor.  And lots of basil.
6. Smoothies!!  Green smoothies are all the rage these days.  If you’re not doing it already, then get on the trend! Throw your greens in the blender along with fruit, juice, and you’ll be powered up for the day!
7. Here’s a funny article about fashionable kale and another about a reluctant kale eaters conversion into the fold (with recipe).
8. The internet of course has all the answers we need.   Here is a list of recipes on Vegetarian Times with kale.

What’s in the share…

Zucchini

Cucumbers

Lettuce

Scallions

Asian Greens

Chard

Carrots

Eggplant

Tomatoes

Kohlrabi

Summer onion

What’s in Upic…

Snow and Snap Peas

Flowers

Herbs

Another hot dry week ahead. All this dry is slowing the crops (and us) down a bit. It rained enough this weekend to kill some barbecues but we gathered only .15 inches out of the dreariness. Over the past couple weeks there have been a few casualties in our asian/salad greens plantings to bolting. This is when the crop passes through vegetative stage (making leaves) quickly and moves right into reproductive stage (making flowers and seeds). This is always the result of stress, which in this case is due to the heat and dry. For these leafy crops it means we lose any chance to cut them and while we have not had a lot of this it does impact the diversity in the share. I don’t want to farm in the mid-atlantic but I am coveting their rainfall this year.

We have been waiting patiently for our first carrot harvest and while they are close they need another week to size up all the way. This is a great crop for us but it is not one that thrives in heat. That said many of our heat lovers like tomatoes, eggplant and melons are doing very well and should be coming along soon.

Garlic

Garlic came out of the field this past week and with the help of a couple major fans is drying down in the barn. If it stays hot and dry we may see the first heads in your shares in next month. If the planets align as planned we will have basil tomatoes and garlic at the same time…the great summer trinity.

What’s in the share…

Zucchini

Cucumbers

Lettuce Mix

Scallions

Kale

Chard

Beets

What’s in Upic…

Snow and Snap Peas

Flowers

Herbs

We have settled into our summer schedule here at the farm. All of our big crops are in the ground and while there is still some planting to do and an endless effort keeping up with weeds we have started down the road of spending the majority of our time harvesting. Tomatoes and peppers look great this year and our staple carrots are just a week or two away. As we add these crops to the mix they really fill up our schedule. In a few weeks our routine will look like this: digging carrots and bunching scallions on Monday and Thursday afternoons, picking tomatoes, peppers, zucchini and cukes Monday, Wednesday and Friday, everything else Tuesday and Friday mornings. You add the cleaning and sorting to all of these crops and soon we will really be working to carve out time for trellising tomatoes or transplanting lettuce. All of this reaches a crescendo in September when the summer crops keep coming and we add in 5 tons of potatoes and 3 tons of winter squash…but lets not get there too soon.

The World’s Best Yogurt…
Jars!

Wholesome Holmstead works some kind of magic to create their yogurt for us each week. I keep finding new ways to incorporate it into 3 meals a day, lately a dollop on top of everything from soup to ice cream. If you have been trying this stuff out and have a jar or six at home please bring them back. We worked hard with them to get rid of the cumbersome deposit system of last year but having jars and lids come back is a savings. You can place them in the milk crate sitting near the cooler in the CSA barn.

What’s in the share…

Zucchini

Cucumbers

Radishes

Lettuce

Kale

Chard

Cabbage

Broccoli

What’s in Upic…

Peas

Flowers

Herbs