Farm News

August rolls on with some topsy-turvy weather; one day it feels like fall and then its back to the dog days. Wednesday I spent most of the day keeping an eye on a big line of thunderstorms headed our way on the radar weather (you got to love the web). We spent nearly the whole day harvesting for the CSA, starting early in the morning cutting the lettuce, and finishing with the melons after lunch. At that point we had one eye on the melons and one on the darkening sky over Fort Hill to the west. While the crew finished the melons I rushed to batten down the hatches and get my precious tractors under cover. When the first lightening hit, the crew piled into the little blue pickup and headed back to the farm house. And what a light show we got. Fort Hill appears to be some kind of natural lightning rod to me. Huge flashes filled the sky and hit the hill, accompanied by intense thunder claps and pelting rain. It’s hard to describe how good a summer thunderstorm feels when you need the moisture (cross out “moving irrigation pipe” on the ‘to do’ list!). Plus you get a great light and effects show from Mother Nature. Tara wanted to watch in comfort so she pulled up chairs for everyone under the porch and the crew took in the show. It appears we will be in a wet weather pattern

Crops are generally doing well at the farm. We had our first significant harvests from the field tomatoes last week, which made me appreciate our tomato greenhouse all the more as we have been harvesting tomatoes from there for almost 6 weeks! Eggplant, pepper, sweet corn, summer greens, potato, onion and cucumber crops are some of the best I have ever seen. Looking out toward fall, we have a great field filled with salad greens, broccoli, cauliflower, red and green cabbage, Brussels sprouts, and kale. Perhaps the only down side (besides all the monster pigweed we need to pull completely out of the field by mid September) is the winter squash patch. This is one of my favorite and most reliable crops, but something happened this year that I haven’t been able to figure out. Sometime in early August the foliage just turned yellow and dried up. Right now the patch looks fried, like it would a full month from now. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the maturing squash will be able to pull enough sugar out of the dying vines to be able to fully ripen. At this point all we can do is hope and try to keep the farmers eyes focused on some other part of the farm!

Hope you enjoy the harvest,

Paul (For Tara, Michael, Bob, and Jean)

In the box this week: The “August Veggie Bonanza” box!

Tomatoes Carrots

Cucumbers Parsley

‘Ailsa Craig’ Big Sweet Onion Sweet Corn

Summer Squash Garlic

Cantaloupe or Yellow Doll Watermelon Bell peppers

Lettuce

What do I do with it?

Melons: You’ll get either a cantaloupe or a “Yellow Doll” watermelon. The Yellow Doll’s should be ready to eat and will store in your fridge for a week or two. The cantaloupes are variable this year: some are great and ready to eat, some need a few days on your counter. One way to tell is to note the color of the melon—if it’s mostly orange in the ribs, it’s ready to chill and eat. If it’s still pretty green, let the melon sit a day or two on a counter, out of direct light. Ripe melons also have an unmistakable aroma. These guys are hit or miss, some are the tastiest melons I’ve ever eaten, and some are duds. Kind of like a melon lottery!

Parsley: Either Italian flat or curly leaf. Fresh parsley bears no resemblance to the flavorless dried stuff. It’s a key ingredient to my linguine with clam sauce recipe below.

Summer Squash and Cukes: We are now harvesting the last patch of summer cucurbits, and the picking usually starts slowing way down after Labor Day, so eat ‘em while we got ‘em.

Sweet corn: This is the early variety Trinity, which seems to be a CSA favorite. While there are very few corn borers in there (the worm that messes up the middle of the ear), there are plenty of ear worms (the green guys at the tip). For the squeamish, just chop off the top inch or two of the ear and waa-laa, no bugs AND no chemicals, what a deal.

Coming soon: Very good chance for beets, bell peppers, jalapeno’s, escarole, eggplant, cucumbers, sweet corn, cilantro (salsa time!), tomatoes, lettuce, garlic, and onions.

Linguine with clam sauce, by Paul Bucciaglia

1 lb linguini fini, cooked al dente

1/2 cup olive oil (that’s a guess, I just pour a big puddle in a skillet)

1 Tblsp. butter

1 bunch parsley, large stems removed, leaves coarsely chopped

4-6 cloves hardneck garlic, peeled and chopped

2 cans clams

½ cup clam juice

juice of ½ lemon

1/2 teaspoon oregano

fresh black pepper and Romano cheese to taste

optional: dash of white wine

Add oil to large skillet, heat on low, add garlic and sauté (do NOT brown it). Add cans of clams, with juice. Cook until bubbling. Add chopped parsley and oregano, continue to cook. Add lemon, wine, and clam juice, continue to simmer. Cook linguini, drain, put back in pot and toss with butter. Keep sauce warm and bubbling (add water or pasta water if necessary). Put macaroni on plate, add liberal amounts of sauce, grate romano cheese over it, and add fresh ground pepper. Serve immediately.