If you like Spring vegetables, take advantage while they are still around.
Lettuce: $3.00/head
– you can specify butterhead, romaine or leaf lettuce
Tat soi: $2.50/head
Hakurei turnips: $3.00/bunch
Radishes: $2.00/bunch
Herbs (cilantro, dill, mint, oregano): $2.50/bunch
Green garlic (last week): $3.00/bunch
Week 1 bok choi harvest
Good news for all those honey lovers out there (Farmer Tom being one of the biggest), we have some happy bees. For the last two years we have struggled to have sucessful bee hives. Out of eight colonies that we have brought in, there are just two remaining. But boy are those two looking good. Since they had filled up most of the space, we put two additional boxes on each hive. That will give them plenty of room to spread out and make even more honey.
Still lots of extra greens, alliums and herbs out there. Get them while you can.
Bok Choi—$2.50/head
Tat soi—$2.50/head
Lettuce—$3.00/head
Radish—$2.00/bunch
Hakurei turnips—$3.00/bunch
Herbs (mint, cilantor, dill, fennel, lovage)—$2.50/bunch
NEXT WEEK: More lettuces, arugula, radishes and herbs. Green onions and Hakurei turnips. Tatsoi and kale.
Welcome one and all to the 2011 Fair Share Farm CSA. The fields are in great shape this Spring and we are hoping for a bountiful season. For those of you who don’t know, this part of the blog is written by me, Tom the Farmer. It is the spot you can go to get ideas for cooking each week’s share.
Depending on time and personal energy, you may find a recipe from a recent meal here at the farm, a list of tried and true favorites, or other suggestions for cooking up your veggies (or all of the above). You can also search the blog, or go to our website and; a) search the Recipe page or b) check out our 2004 – 2007 Newsletter archive. In all cases you will find recipes that we have tested and tasted, and that each use a large array of share items.
Since the 2005 CSA seaon we have had leeks in the first week’s share. This week’s amount is heftier than normal, since we have to dig an entire bed before they flower, and want to get them to you while they are still fresh.
Once we made leeks as staple of our shares we found that those unfamiliar with this noble allium quickly fell in love with it. Part of the reason has been our suggested recipe. If you are new to leeks be sure to try Angel Hair Paste with Leeks and Garlic Saute. Last year’s Asparagus and Leek Fritatta is also a winner. It is a good way to use the small bunch of asparagus. In future years, when our new patch is producing we plan on this item being a larger share.
Stir Fry Season
This week’s recipe is a variation on the stir fry recipe in last years Week 2 blog. I recommend reading that blog post, as it references an excellent article on the basics of stir frying. We received lots of comments last year on how stir fry’s became a delicious “go to” meal for many members.
On Saturday we had a hankering for just such a meal, especially after staring at these prime vegetables in the fields all week long. But as we pulled the ingredients together we realized that we had no ginger root in the house. We did find some candied ginger in the freezer though, and substituted it with great results.
Spring Stir Fry 2011
While suspiciously similar to last year’s recipe I hope that it serves to illustrate that for many CSA share recipes you simply use what you have.
Ingredients
2 tbsp sesame oil
1-1/2 tbsp chopped candied ginger (or ginger root)
2 green garlic (bottom half) You can also add green onions
3 to 5 radishes
1 to 2 bok choi
6 to 8 lovage leaves (optional)
Cilantro for garnish
Sauce:
You can use the sauce from last year’s recipe, or as we did, simply look in your fridge and find all of those Asian sauces that may be in there. We used a combination of oyster sauce, rice wine vinegar, chili garlic sauce and fish sauce.
Method
First step is to ready the ingredients. For the bok choi you will want to chop the stems and the leaves separate. Likewise with the radishes, chop the root and the tops separate
Combine the sauce ingredients in a bowl and set aside
Heat a wok or large skillet, add the sesame oil
Add the candied ginger, stir and cook for 30 seconds
Add the radishes and green garlic, stir and cook for 2 minutes
Add the bok choi stems, cook for 1 minute
Add the greens from the bok choi, and radish, and the lovage, cook 1 minute
Add the sauce and cook for 1 more minute
Serve immediately over hot rice and garnish with cilantro if desired
We have a bulk list this year before the season even starts! For those newbies out there, each week we post a list of those vegetables we have extra of and sell to the membership. If you would like to purchase items simply email me (Tom) at my farm email of tom(@)fairsharefarm.com. Your order and a bill will be sent into distribution. You can pay the distribution coordinator and they will see that we recieve your payment.
Leeks—$3.50/lb
Lettuce—$3.50/hd
Green garlic—$3.00/bunch
Cilantro, dill, fennel, garlic chives or mint—$3.00/bunch
The weather, the day length and the crops all say it is time to start the Fair Share Farm CSA season next week. For the past several weeks we have been sampling the fare and eating well here at the farm. Now it is time to start getting those fresh veggies to you.
Rebecca’s recent email includes the details you need to know for picking up your vegetables and planning for your work days at the farm. We look forward to serving up a nice share next week.
In preparation, we have been uncovering many of the crops that were shrouded in row cover during the early Spring. The lettuce and broccoli are now out in the open air. Lettuce is doing great—beautiful multi-colored heads of leaf, butterhead and romaines still growing. The broccoli looks good too, though we have hade some loss due to voles and crown rot.
Over the last week we have had a lot of help from the Spring 2011 William Jewell College Ecology of Food class. Their professor and friend, Paul Klawinski, requires that the students put in service learning hours as a part of this exceptional class. On Monday a crew of 5 helped us wash and sanitize all of our crates. On Tuesday they helped us harvest, trim and clean 400 row feet of leeks. Thanks to all.
Monday also heralded what might be known as leek week here. Each year we plant leeks for harvest the following Spring. This year’s crop, started in the greenhouse in February 2010, braved last years wet Spring and Summer, as well as a very cold winter with little dieback. As it starts its second year of growth it wants to flower, requiring that we harvest the leeks now instead of next week. You can expect a generous size share of this elegant and flavorful vegetable next week.
Leek week continued with the planting of this year’s Fall crop. Over 1,600 leek transplants were trimmed and planted in a matter of hours thanks to our electric tractor and our transplanter. They will be ready in October and for the annual Thanksgiving shares. Next year’s Spring leeks are still in the greenhouse and will go out soon.
Leek transplants
As farmers, we try to spend a lot of our time listening. Listening to the plants, the soil, the weather forecast, to better manage the farm. Since 2008, arguably our wettest and toughest year, we have modified our growing practices to alleviate the distress caused by too much rain.
From taking some areas out of production, to guttering our beds with our electric tractor, to using more mulch, these changes paid off in the likewise wet years of 2009 and 2010.
Last year we learned what we should have already known about planting summer crops like tomatoes—wait until it is warm. In 2010 late April and early May saw cold, wet days and nights that killed the feeder roots of three beds (about 300 plants) worth of plants and lead to a harvest at less than 50% of what we should expect.
This year we have been more patient, waiting for what looks like the beginning of day and night temps over 50 degrees. Tomatoes are heat loving plants, and plants that are warm and happy for their whole life grow just as fast, if not faster, than ones put out in the cold to start.
So Wednesday the farm crew set out 100 cherry tomato plants and 100 hybrid determinate plants. Yet to come are 100 hybrid determinates, 300 heirloom, and 200 paste tomatoes. We finish off our tomato planting in about a month with a final bed of summer (heat tolerant) tomatoes.
Tomato planting
Other goings on include walking by the strawberries every day and marveling at their lush green growth and many flowers. At the moment things look right for another successful strawberry season. Keep your fingers crossed.
Elsewhere in the field the broccoli and cabbage planted under the warmth of the row cover are growing as well as in any Spring. As they size up they make thier presence more obvious behind the shear fabric. Other crops are growing well too, as can be seen in the photo of this year’s garlic crop.
Meanwhile, in the greenhouse, we are finishing up most of our seeding and moving plants from the greenhouse, to the cold frame, to the field. It is interesting to watch the cucurbit seeds germinate in the soil blocks, as their large seeds seem to explode through the soil surface and unfurl thier leaves.
