Farm News

Its amazing that we have already turned the corner towards fall. During the past several days Michael has been prepping a field for planting our fall brassica crops (broc, cauliflower, cabbage, etc). This field got a special treatment this year. I plowed it as soon as the snow melted and planted it to oats, field peas, and fava beans. This green manure crop grew thick and 3 foot tall, and then we incorporated this biomass into the soil to feed the soil microbes, which will eventually feed the fall crops that we will plant in just a few days.

Of course its still high season for now, and crops are growing strong. Unfortunately so are the weeds. Weeds are usually at the top of the list of crop pests for an organic farmer. On the positive side, they are also predictable critters. Give them heat, light, moisture, and fertile soil, and poof!, instant carpet of weed seedlings. Since we know they are going to crash our party we try to head them off at the gate. Tara and I have spent much of the last 2 months lightly cultivating the soil to kill the tiny ‘thread’ weeds before they emerge from the soil, and the all of us have spent a whole lot of time hand weeding and hoeing the escapes. I have to hand it to the crew, the farm looks really great and none of our crops are suffering from weed competition. Keeping weeds from going to seed is a high priority for us, as a single pigweed (our most abundant weed) is capable of producing over 150,000 seeds which can persist in the soil for decades. Since one years weedy field sows hard labor for several generations of farmers to follow, its worth nipping them in the bud.

Hope you enjoy the harvest.

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

Gentle reminder: The balance of your CSA share payment is due unless you’ve made previous arrangements. Please call or email if you need to know your balance, or if you wish to set up a payment plan.

In the box this week:

Summercrisp lettuce Kale

Snap peas Salad turnips

Broccoli Garlic scapes

Salad mix Summer squash

Bok Choy

What do I do with it?

Salad turnips: are all the rage at fancy restaurants. They are mild, sweet turnips for slicing on salads. You can also cook the greens.

Kale: I use to apologize for putting kale in the box, but no more. This stuff is so good for you-it’s got Vitamins A, B, C, calcium and other minerals. Plus I just plain like it. Sauté in oil or butter, stir fry, use in soups—its very versatile. See recipe below.

Garlic scapes: For those of you who missed the earlier boxes, these are the flower buds from our hard neck garlic. Everything but the thin ‘whip’ at the end is edible. Great in stir fry, steamed, or sauté. Mild garlic flavor. Once you’ve tried these you will love them. They store for weeks in the fridge crisper drawer.

Coming soon:

cabbage, carrots

Recipes:

Ginger Kale, from Shepard’s Garden Seed catalog

1 large bunch kale, stems removed, leaves cut in strips

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

2 large cloves garlic, minced

1 medium onion, chopped

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root

1 fresh lime, juiced

freshly ground black pepper

Steam kale until slightly wilted. In large skillet or wok, hat oil and butter, add garlic, onion, and ginger; sauté until onion is soft. Toss in kale. Cover and cook on low heat until kale is tender. Toss in lime juice and pepper to taste. Makes 2-4 servings.

(Farmers note: you can sub garlic scapes in here very easily. Also, I happen to like kale stems so I don’t remove them unless they are huge or tough—just chop them finer than the leaves.)

Garlic-Marinated Broccoli

From "Asparagus to Zucchini: A Guide to Farm-Fresh Seasonal Produce."

3 tablespoons olive oil 2 tablespoons vinegar

1 teaspoon finely minced garlic 2 teaspoons soy sauce

1teaspoon chopped fresh oregano fresh pepper to taste

½ teaspoon dried oregano 1 large head broccoli, cut into 2 inch florets

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil or 1 tsp dried basil

Mix together all ingredients except broccoli. Steam or quickly boil broccoli florets until tender-crisp. Drain and chill in ice water. Toss with marinated and let stand at least ½ hour. Serve at room temperature or chilled. Four servings.