FARM NEWS ~ May 27, 2025
Spring is in full swing!
(see our schedule at the bottom of the page...)
Welcome to another season at Fort Hill Farm! Since 2002, we’ve been growing veggies, plants, fruit, flowers, and herbs on our flat terrace above the Housatonic River. Spring in Connecticut is always unpredictable, and this year we got plenty of cool and cloudy days mixed in with just enough sunny ones to mow the cover crops, spade spring planting beds, spread compost, and plant, plant, plant. On the washout days, we’ve been growing crops in our greenhouses, and have had a good May harvest. The field crops that we’ve grown in the field under frost blankets are coming in as well, which puts several weeks ahead of where we have been in past years.
Dana checks out the crops in Greenhouse 8 on the one warm day we've had so far this spring. Elliott and the crew began building this house in the fall and finished this spring – just in time for planting in late March.
We’ve been fortunate to have a veteran crew returning the farm. They are taking over many tasks and areas of responsibilities and doing a better job each year. That’s not to say things are perfect. Ball joints on trucks still fail. Tractors won’t start or quit in the field. Old greenhouse plastic can rip and threaten to fly away. But we’ve learned that having backups are a key to sanity in farming and have tried to incorporate enough redundancy in our tool kit so that we can handle the bumps in the road.
Nick and Sophie plant the first sweet corn while James drives.
We hope that you will stay tuned to the Farm News to see what’s happening at the farm. Rebecca and I try to keep it brief, trying to give you a quick summary of the week’s news, an overview of the week’s harvest, and a peek at what’s (possibly…) on the way, and a few photos to illustrate it all. We're trying something new this year (everything old is new) by putting the newsletter directly in the email. Our hope is that this reaches more folks in their busy lives and helps them get a better feel for the day-to-day happenings at the farm.
We hope you enjoy the harvest.
Paul, Rebecca, and the Fort Hill Farm crew
Faye gives and little TLC to the plants in the cold frame.
Featured this week:
Spring carrots: These beauties are months in the making (think way back to February), but we think they are worth the time and effort. Tender, sweet, and crunchy – just the thing to chase away lingering tastes of winter, store-bought veggies. These are greenhouse grown, and because we have to hand dig them, they are cost a bit more to grow.
Sprouting Broccoli (broccolini): This has become a favorite of ours because of its deep flavor, satisfying meaty texture, and ease of preparation. No washing, no chopping – nothing to do at all but braise and add a bit of olive oil and salt. If you want to add some flair, give the recipe below a try. We crisped up the topping separate from the veg and skipped the oven for the stovetop.
Also available:
Head lettuce; salad mix; pea shoots; curly and lacinato kale (just coming in); rainbow chard; red and French Breakfast radish; basil; dill cilantro, parsley, red beets (limited); baby bok choy; hand-dug spring carrots; garlic greens; scallions; celery; radicchio; kohlrabi; fennel; Italian dandelion; sprouting broccoli; red and sun gold cherry tomatoes, and the first slicing tomatoes from the greenhouses
Pick Your Own:
Stay tuned for PYO Strawberries!
Recipes:
Suggested by Rebecca Batchie
– Not into this particular recipe? For more recipes arranged by crop, check out the Fort Hill Farm Recipe Database.
Roasted Broccolini with Parmesan-Pine Nut Breadcrumbs
Recipe by ParselyandParm
Perfectly roasted, crisp-tender broccolini with parmy, crunchy Italian breadcrumbs, also known as pangritata. A beautiful and delicious spring side dish! Servings: 6
Ingredients:
· 2 bunches broccolini (purple sprouted broccoli or regular broccoli may be substituted, see notes)
· 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
· 1 teaspoon kosher salt
· ⅛ teaspoon white or black pepper, or to taste
For the pangritata:
· ¼ cup pine nuts, finely chopped or pulsed 3-4 times in a mini food processor
· ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
· ¼ cup bread crumbs
· 1 teaspoon dried oregano
· 1-2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
· Preheat the oven to 425°.
· Lay the broccolini out on a sheet pan in a single layer. Drizzle the olive oil all over and toss with the broccolini to coat. Season them with salt and pepper, and give them one more toss. Roast in the oven for 15 minutes (20 minutes for thicker stems).
· While the broccolini is roasting, mix together all of the ingredients for the topping. When the 20 minutes is up, pull out the sheet pan (close the oven to preserve the heat) and sprinkle the broccolini with the topping. Place back in the oven for 4-5 minutes, until the bread cribs are crisp and nicely browned.
· Use a spatula to transfer the broccolini to a serving platter. Scoop the remaining toasted bread crumbs from the pan and sprinkle on top of the broccoli. Finish with a few cranks from your pepper grinder.
Notes
· This recipe works with broccolini, sprouted broccoli, regular broccoli, or even asparagus.
· If you use regular broccoli, try to find bunches with longer stems. Trim the stem end and cut all the way down as you separate the florets to create a “trunk” on each piece. Broccoli stem is delicious! It’ll cook up crisp-tender and sweet.
· If you only have shredded parmesan cheese on hand, finely chop it on your cutting board so it mixes in better with the breadcrumbs and chopped pine nuts.
· Pine mouth is a condition caused by pine nuts that causes everything you eat to taste metallic for a short period of time. It is rare, but it is a concern, so I recommend looking for pine nuts that are either domestic or imported from Europe or the Middle East.
FARMSTAND SUMMER SCHEDULE:
Tuesday, Thursday & Friday: 2 - 6:30 PM
Saturday: 8am - 12:30 pm
FARMERS' MARKETS
Come see us on Thursdays from 10-2 at the
Westport Farmers' Market
50 Imperial Ave, Westport
and on the Green at the
New Milford Market
Saturdays from 9 - Noon
