All posts by Farmer Rebecca

What to Do With Your Share—Week 14

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This point in August is usually a blur, with a little bit of everything going on; harvesting, planting, weeding, mowing, irrigating, chickening and maintaining. Luckily eating makes the list too.

One crop that is coming on strong right now is the hot peppers. This harvest is timed well with the results of a recent study that concludes spicy food may help you live longer. It’s only a maybe, but if you read the article you will find that hot peppers have plenty of nutritional and  anti-inflammatory benefits, while stimulating the kidneys, lungs and heart.

Our blog from August 3, 2010 has a good description of what your choices might be this week (partials shares  next week). The NuMex, hot wax and jalapenos all have similar medium hotness that doesn’t last too long. Some may find them spicier, but they are more mid-scale hotness peppers.

When you cut them open it is the seeds and inner memberane that have the most heat, so stay clear of them if you don’t want you hands to burn. Half of a jalapeno chopped up provides a nice kick to any dish.

In the Share – Week 14

Allis Chalmers G, eggplant, potatoes

EGGPLANT OR SQUASH F/P  Mostly eggplant with just a few squash coming in.  If you haven’t tried the marinated eggplant recipe yet, I highly recommend it.

DESIREE POTATOES F  We have been leaning heavily on the bountiful potato crop for the shares.  They add some heft to what has been a difficult growing season. 

TOMATOES F/P  More heirlooms than hybrids this week including many green-when-ripe varieties like Aunt Ruby’s, Green Zebra and Emerald Evergreen.

YELLOW ONIONS F/P 

CHERRY TOMATOES P

SALSA OR HOT PEPPERS F  See Tom’s post for info. on our hot pepper varieties.

HERB CHOICE F/P  Basil, lemon bail or summer savory

NEXT WEEK:  tomatoes, eggplant, salsa packs, hot peppers, herbs and garlic. 

FARM REPORT:

A cold front has dipped down from the North and we were glad for it.  It has stayed dry which is a benefit to us as we work to complete the fall planting.  Almost all is in and with drip tape on each row.  Farm apprentice, Semra, used the discs on the electric Allis  Chalmers G to  “gutter” the beds today. 

It is so nice to be able to do this work after two months of flooding rains.  For quite awhile attempting tractor work was a good way to get stuck in the mud.  If we have wet times in the future, this work will give a place for the water to drain away.

The CSA member job right now is harvesting the potato crop. They have sized up nicely and are plentiful too.  We have brought in over a ton so far this year and there’s still more to dig.

In the Share – Week 13

cherry tomatoes, rocky

CHERRY TOMATOES F

TOMATOES F/P

DESIREE POTATOES F/P  Pink on the outside, creamy yellow in the inside. 

EGGPLANT P  The eggplants and pepper plants are doing well in an area where the chickens were last fall.  Thanks, chickens!

SUMMER SQUASH OR SALSA PACK F

SWEET PEPPERS F

HERBS F/P  Basil or summer savory

HOT PEPPERS F/P  A couple of jalapenos or hot wax peppers to spice up your week.

GARLIC F/P

NEXT WEEK:  Tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, salsa pack, peppers, herbs and onions.

FARM REPORT:
We had already started declaring 2015 the worst year ever before the dog died. 

Our dear boy, Rocky, left us on Friday, the victim of cancer.   Born in October of 2007, he came to the farm as a pup in January 2008. 

Rocky’s first day on the farm

He grew into a 120 lb. sweetheart that was always game for a head scratch from a stranger.  Each CSA morning that day’s crew would have to go through what we dubbed “the security check”, which consisted of a friendly sniffing then he’d find some sucker to pet him down while the safety talk went on.  He was a Great Pyrenees/Anatolian shepherd mix, both breeds are meant to guard livestock from predators, in our case he guarded our crops and chickens.

Tom and I were very attached to our gentle giant.  He was an important member of the farm crew and he will be sorely missed.  A memorial to our lost pal has taken up a blank chalkboard in the packing room so that we can remember him as we work. 

What to Do With Your Share—Week 13

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Losing Rocky has been a tough one for us. We can already see the change in wildlife habits on the farm. Raccoons are on the back porch. Who knows what’s next.

Rocky was quite literally a presence in the area. We would see him wander in every direction of the compass. His influence was significant. We get tired just thinking of the effort he expended walking the hills of northeast Clay County, keeping the farm secure.

Watching him work was one of the great things about having him on the farm team. Sleeping, galloping or being petted by the kids, he was one of the finest specimens of a dog you could ever meet. His barking skills were second to none. RIP.

Happy dog in his element

Through all of this we still have to eat. At lunch the other day we hooked farm volunteer Joy on a favorite recipe of ours, marinated eggplant.  We are hoping that these beauties start kicking in for good soon, as the summer won’t last forever. Her version is pictured below.

And the high tunnel has been eating too. On Sunday the cover crop of sorghum sudan grass and sunn hemp were mowed down, and then spaded into the soil on Monday. Happy eating.

 7 foot high cover crops

In the Share – Week 12

basil, broccoli, onion trimming, shade structure
 
Basil

TOMATOES F/P  It is tasting like summer now!

CHERRY TOMATOES F/P  The perfect summertime snack.

CARROTS F/P  The last of the Spring harvest, sadly.  Enjoy them now, we won’t have more until Fall.

BASIL, MINT OR HOT PEPPERS F/P  We grow jalapenos,  Anaheim and banana hot peppers which will be a choice with the mint and the lemon and Genovese basil this week.

SQUASH OR CUCUMBERS F  Still not much of either.  The second planting is succumbing to bacterial wilt spread by the cucumber beetles.

SALSA PACK OR SWEET PEPPERS P  The tomatillos have started to really kick in so expect more salsa packs in your future.

ONIONS F  An assortment of some of our sweet varieties.  The onion harvest is in full swing now. 

SWEET PEPPERS F  The peppers survived the wet weather in good shape and making some nice early peppers. 

EGGPLANT F  Ditto on the eggplant.  Our black Italian variety is putting out lovely fruit right now.

NEXT WEEK:  tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, eggplant, peppers and potatoes and garlic.

FARM REPORT:
Finally it is starting to feel like a normal summer on the farm.  The heat is high, the tomatoes are ripening and we are in the middle of the fall transplanting.  

 
With nothing but sun and heat in the forecast the broccolis got irrigation tape laid next to each row as soon as they went in the ground on Friday.  For the first time this year, the irrigation pond is put to work.
 
Back at the greenhouse shade structure, there are many more plants awaiting the same treatment.
 


What to Do With Your Share—Week 12

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My records show that in the last 8 days we have received but 0.3 inches of rain. The dryness, along with 90 degree days and 70 degree nights have made it finally feel like a real stretch of summer. Hoping that this halfway point of the season marks a change.  One never knows.

Today for lunch I made roasted salsa for the apprentices. Megan noted that she liked the natural sweetness of the tomatillos, and that store-bought salsas have added sugar. I looked it up, and even Newman’s Own is sweetened. So we hope that you enjoy the natural flavors that you get from the farm.

BBT sandwich

On Sunday Rebecca and I treated ourselves to that summer-time specialty, a bacon, basil and tomato sandwich. Our version was especially good, as the bacon was from Parker Farms, and the bread was my favorite Companionship Bread, fennel and golden raisin. A side of Fair Share Farm Summer Kimchi rounded out the lunch. Yum yum.
 


A nice shady job, cleaning red onions

In the Share – Week 11

rocky, tomatoes, transplanter

TOMATOES F/P  The hot weather has finally kicked the tomatoes into ripening.  Everyone will get a few heirlooms and hybrids this week.  The heirlooms come in a rainbow of colors, even green when ripe.  Their flavors are as diverse as their colors, shapes and sizes.  We grow Cherokee Purple, Rose, Goldie, Aunt Ruby’s German Green, Black Krim, Green Zebra, Amana Orange to name a few.  The hybrids we grow are red and a bit thicker-skinned than the heirlooms, which is a good quality during a wet weather pattern.  We are trying a new orange hybrid variety, Sunkist, thanks to my mom’s advice.  Let us know what tomato is your favorite!

RED ONIONS F/P  Not as big and beautiful as last year’s crop, but they did survive the wet unlike some other crops I hate to mention (carrots)

PURPLE VIKING POTATOES F  We are very grateful for the good potato harvest that continues to feed us as we recover from the deluge of the last two months.  And they are high in Vitamin C.

SQUASH OR CUCUMBERS P  The cucurbit family is struggling in the fields.  Last year at this time we were swimming in zucchini and cucumbers.  Same number of plants in the ground, same fertility program, very different result.  Only variable:  weather.

GENOVESE BASIL F/P  A nice bunch for pesto-making.

SWEET PEPPERS, EGGPLANT OR SALSA PACK F  The first of these three with many more to come.  The salsa packs are in limited quantities this week.  See Tom’s post for the rundown on this member favorite.

GARLIC F/P  There is nothing like fresh, juicy garlic in the summertime.

CHERRY TOMATOES F We grow cherry tomatoes in every color of the rainbow too.  Some are heirloom, some hybrid.  Tomatoes are ripe when they are brightly colored and fleshy to the touch.

NEXT WEEK:  Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, salsa packs, squash, cucumbers, garlic, herbs, onions and potatoes. 

FARM REPORT: 
Yes, the spring carrot crop is a big bust.  Rot set in like we have never seen before.  Our second planting has succumbed as well as most of the first.  That’s 1800 ft. of carrots gone.  But no time to linger on that sad note, the fall planting get going.  So far we have planted cauliflower, cabbage, carrots and beets.  Tomorrow we hope to plant broccoli, turnips and radishes.  The rain has held off just enough to work the soil and plant.

While the humans dart across the fields at the farm, we are missing one of our crew.  Rocky, our canine companion and co-worker, has been boarded at the vet these past two nights.  He either stepped on a thorn or has a spider bite on his paw.  The medication has been unpalatable to him and we had to resort to kenneling him at our vet in Lawson, MO to manage to get him to take the pills.  We hope to pick him up just as soon as we can.   Not only do we miss him but the crops are unguarded without him.   Already some critter is going after the tomatoes in the field.  Yesterday morning we found many half-eaten tomatoes on the ground likely the leftovers of a possum or raccoon party the night before.  We cleared the plants of ripening fruit, but what we really need is our Rocky back on patrol.

What to Do With Your Share—Week 11

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Missing Rocky here at the farm tonight, but reunite tomorrow at the vet’s. Stubborn dog can smell medicine coming.

It is nice to see some crops coming on. The 90 degree days were a shot in the arm. Because of it the tomatillos began filling out and salsa packs will be a choice in the coming weeks and months. The fresh salsa recipe is here, and the roasted one here.

Such an easy treat

The partner vendor shares continue to delight. We get them all and find that they really round out our stock. It is nice to be able to regularly eat such high quality bread, cheese and meat. On Sunday I did some quick cooking—Companionship Bread semolina loaf, Goatsbeard feta, farm lemon basil, some salt and olive oil and a toaster oven. Real flavor.

Digging potatoes on a rainy day

In the Share – Week 10

lettuce, rainbow

 spider guarding the lettuce crop

LETTUCE F/P  Crispheads that are heat-tolerant this week only.

SQUASH OR CUCUMBER F/P  Its been a paltry harvest so far but the second planting is just beginning to fruit, so hopefully more soon.

PURPLE VIKING POTATOES F  These are especially good for mashing or baking.

GARLIC F/P  The 2015 garlic harvest is all in the barn to dry.  Big thanks to all who participated in the mud-slinging!

HERB CHOICE F/P  Basil, lemon basil, or summer savory.  The lemon basil is a new one for us.  It is resistant to the mildew that took out our entire crop last year.  So far all of the basil shows no signs of trouble this season.  Fingers crossed!

CABBAGE, KALE OR CHARD F  The weather has been very Irish up until the last few days and so has the harvest.  Cabbage and potatoes have sustained us through the dreary days.  This is the last of the cabbage until fall.  See Tom’s posts for some thoughts on fermentation.

TOMATO/EGGPLANT OR PEPPERS F/P  The tomatoes are producing a bit more with the heat.  We hope to get them to all of you that we can this week even if it is just one.   The peppers and eggplant are in pretty limited quantities.

NEXT WEEK:  Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, squash, cucumbers, herbs, onions.

FARM REPORT:
Summer has finally arrived in all its sweaty glory.  The farm crew had to take the mental leap from cursing the rain to laying irrigation tape.  The air may be steamy, but it doesn’t take long for the ground to dry when it is 100 deg. F.  The irrigation pond has been full and overflowing since September; the solar panels are catching the sun’s energy and the pump is good-to-go, so by Friday we will be irrigating (baring unexpected circumstances, of course).  The plan is to transplant the cabbages and cauliflower and seed the fall roots late this week.   A good omen for the plantings to come was seen on the farm on Monday afternoon.  The rain stayed away but a rainbow appeared.

What to Do With Your Share—Week 10

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A change has entered the air lately, it’s the sun and heat that make a Missouri tomato so good . We are hoping this taste of summer continues.

As it does, we are working on fermenting the last of the spring storage crops. We slated extra vegetables and time at the beginning of the year to scale up our fermenting business. We appreciate the support of the CSA in helping us progress into the trade of food processing and look forward to your feedback.

 The CSA is not just another market for us. Sending bulk shipments of ferments to distribution sites is convenient for us, and allows us to reduce the cost to members. As things proceed into next year we are hoping to design a once a month “ferment share.”

Tasting booth
Right now we have two products for sale—Spring and Summer Kimchi. While both contain similar ingredients (Chinese cabbage, daikon radish, kohlrabi, ginger, paprika, cayenne and salt), the differences (garlic scapes v. garlic cloves;  carrots v. red radish, onion) show that it is hard to go wrong when you have good ingredients.

2 gallon test batch in the kitchen

 And while you may not have all of these in your fridge right now, you will notice most every ingredient is from the farm. So if you are so inclined, you can look into fermenting yourself. We suggest that you park yourself at the Fermentation on Wheels website to get started.