Category Archives: beans

In the Share – Week 17

beans, cover crops, flowers, peppers

SWEET PEPPERS F/P  Our sweet yellow bells and red horn peppers are ripening nicely in the heat.

PURPLE VIKING POTATOES F/P  Last of these fluffy ones.  They aren’t as brilliantly pretty purple as when we first dug them, but they still make the best mashed potatoes.

GARLIC F/P  Add some garlic to those fluffy taters!

GREEN BEANS F  We are going to give the full shares a bigger share and get the partials next week since we were able to give everyone a taste last week.

TOMATOES F/P  The late planting of hybrids and Romas are keeping us in tomatoes in September.

SALSA PACK OR OKRA F/P  Most of this choice will be salsa packs, with hopefully enough of the other for the okra-lovers.

EGGPLANT F  I hope you all enjoy your eggplant.  I didn’t grow up eating it much, but I am completely hooked. 

HERBS, HOT PEPPERS OR RADISHES F  A choice of spicy options.

NEXT WEEK:  Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, salsa packs, potatoes, beans, radishes and onions. 

FARM REPORT: 
September is one of my favorite months of the year, closely followed by October, November and December.  Yes, I am fully in love with fall and I think I am not alone amongst farmers. The weather is pleasant, the crops are all planted and the weeds are less threatening.  It has definitely been nice weather for the bean-pickers. 

The past several CSA mornings, we have heard the comment, “I lucked out picking a day in August to come to the farm.”  And, its true.  If you came in June, you likely got pretty wet and muddy.  It all goes to show you just can’t ever tell with Missouri weather.

After waiting for many weeks/months for the ground to settle after all that mud, we managed to plant quite a few cover crops.  They are all coming up nicely.  Buckwheat is growing where many of the Spring crops were.  We planted a few beds with oats and mung beans which is a new combination for us.

If you come out to join in the bean picking, you have the opportunity to pick yourself a free bouquet from the zinnia patch.

In the Share – Week 16

beans, chickens, chicks

 

BEANS  ?  We will pick the patch tomorrow for the first time and we may only have enough for either full or partial.  Whoever misses this week will get some next week.  We planted beans four times this summer and are happy to get some finally to grow and fruit!

TOMATOES F/P  Roma tomatoes, cherry tomatoes and heirloom and hybrid slicers make up the mix.

DESIREE POTATOES F  Creamy yellow inside and blushing pink outside.  All delicious.

SWEET PEPPERS F/P  The peppers are ripening now.  Their are Carmen horn-shaped red ones, yellow and purple bells.

EGGPLANT P

RED ONIONS F/P  An assortment of three types including the Tropea onion, from the Ruggieris ancestral homeland.

SALSA PACK OR EGGPLANT F

HERBS OR HOT PEPPERS F/P  We are sending in dried herbs, dried cayenne peppers and fresh hot peppers.  The basil may be gone for the season.

NEXT WEEK:  Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, beans, salsa packs and garlic

FARM REPORT:
Thursday morning we welcomed 62 new residents to the farm.

 Day-old chicks were shipped overnight in a cardboard box from Cackle hatchery in Lebanon, MO to the post office in Kearney where we picked them up and quickly got them to their new home.  For now they live in the brooder, a large box in the barn where we can keep them safe and warm.  Their first food from us goes on paper towels to get them started eating.

The chicks are Americaunas which lay blue, green or pink eggs, Dominiques that lay brown eggs, and Brown Leghorns that lay white eggs but don’t expect any eggs from these little girls until sometime in February.  For now we check on them several times a day and make sure they are staying warm and well-fed and to get some free entertainment.  Kitten videos are okay, but these little girls (and 2 boys) are pretty darn cute.

Since they have arrived their downy coats have gained the first feathers on their wings.  Once they have all of their feathers we can begin to let them out for short runs in the grass.  By the Harvest dinner (Sept. 13!) they should be out in our little coop with a yard to explore.

And we saw this in the field – mating monarchs! 

In the Share – Week 17

beans, potatoes, rocky, SARE

POTATOES F/P  Desiree pink-skinned potatoes.  See Tom’s post for combining with the garlic chive flowers.

TOMATOES F/P  A few of our late-season Bella Rosa hybrid reds are ripening now along with a few of the heirlooms.  Give them a few days on the counter to ripen completely. 

GARLIC F2/P1 Artichoke type

GREENS CHOICE F/P  We are hoping it stays dry tonight so that we can get the greens out in the morning.  We’ll have the first harvest of the fall arugula, kale and turnip greens to choose from.

CHERRY TOMATOES F 

GREEN BEANS F  The last of the bush beans and more Rattlesnake pole beans.

SALSA PACK/EGGPLANT/GROUND CHERRY CHOICE F/P  Full shares get a choice of salsa or eggplant, while the partial shares get their chance at the ground cherries.  See Tom’s post from last week for more info. on them.

SWEET PEPPERS F

HOT PEPPERS F/P

GARLIC CHIVE FLOWERS F/P  Pretty and garlicky flowers to garnish any dish. 

NEXT WEEK:  More tomatoes, peppers, beans, salsa packs, and eggplant.  Carrots and onions return.

FARM REPORT:
Damp weather has returned to the farm.  The three inches of rain in the last week led to a few very foggy mornings. 

On Thursday we hosted a small tour of farmers to show off our SARE trial. It is a two-year study and still very much a work in progress.  Tom did get to show off the NTPA (no-till planting aid) he built.  It worked like a charm.  Now we just need to find a spot on the farm without bindweed!  For more details on the project, read this.

We wanted to thank all of you who have been showing up at the farm to pick beans.  We couldn’t have gotten the harvest in without you.  Thank you. And do you see what I see in the photo of our bean pickers?

See it?  That’s the heart of the farm, right there!  … although there is one in the foggy Rocky photo too!  What is going on at this groovy farm of ours?  Hearts everywhere!

In the Share – Week 14

beans, wildlife

GREEN BEANS F/P  We should have these for several weeks now.  We have another planting about to start and the first one still going.

TOMATOES F/P  It is getting harder to find fruit free of blemishes with all these damp, cool weather but the flip side is you aren’t eating fungicides!

CARROTS F/P  Sweet and crisp roots from cold storage. 

EGGPLANT F 

SWEET PEPPER F/P  Another one for all.  They are ripening slowly in these cool temps.

RED ONIONS F/P  These are an assortment of Rossa di Milano (big shouldered), Tropea (torpedo) and Cabernet (round and wine-colored).

SALSA PACK F 

CUCUMBERS F  We will have a break in cucumbers for a while now that the pickling cucumbers are dwindling.

SUMMER SQUASH F  Mostly Zephyr, our yellow and green nutty squash.

CHERRY TOMATOES P 

NEXT WEEK:  More tomatoes, beans, squash, eggplant and peppers.  Potatoes and garlic return.

FARM REPORT:
The first week of the bean harvest went well with well over 200 lbs. picked.  Together the farm crew and the CSA members got the patch picked and bagged for the shares in good time.  Bean picking is pretty repetitive as you methodically frisk each plant and pull off its fruit, but every once in a while your focus comes across something else entirely, like this tree frog. 

These little guys are all over the fields at the moment.  They are about the size of your thumb but exhibit human-like agility when they climb up the foliage.  Watching them reminds me of how closely related, how much DNA we share with our fellow creatures on this planet.  Frogs are sensitive to chemicals in the environment due to their porous skin and you just don’t see them in places that are sprayed for weeds and bugs.  When did we decide that it was better to not have mosquitos and dandelions than to have these beautiful creatures? 

In the Share – Week 13

beans, onions

SWEET PEPPER F  Just one ripe pepper for the full shares this week, but there should be many more in the coming weeks.  One of our favorite sweet peppers is horn-shaped and is not a hot pepper (bucket on the right above).

EGGPLANT P  Broiled in our toaster oven, it makes an easy addition to later meals or a mid-afternoon snack by itself.

BINTJE POTATOES F/P  Pronounced like the dog, “Benji”, it is known for making great french fries.

TOMATOES F/P  Another decent harvest, although nothing like in year’s past.  Enjoy them while they last!

GREEN BEANS F/P The first picking is tomorrow morning – come join us if you can!

CUCUMBERS F  The pickling varieties are still hanging on, so we are including some of them.  Eat them as you would the others.

WALLA WALLA ONIONS F  We are intentionally stocking you all up on these sweets.  Eat them now, they are not for storage.

CHERRY TOMATOES F  We hope to have enough for everyone, but can’t know until we pick them tomorrow.

ROMA TOMATOES F Make sure you let your tomatoes ripen before using them.  Our Roma varieties are very sturdy and need to sit around awhile to fully ripen.  See Tom’s post for more info. on using your Romas.

SALSA PACK F/P  Chile verde is another option with the pack.

GARLIC F/P  More hardneck from the drying barn.

NEXT WEEK:  More tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, onions, salsa and beans.  Carrots return.

FARM REPORT:
It has been a week since we posted the photo of the delivery van being towed away.  Unfortunately the problem was not fixed as reported.  Our former optimism has been replaced with the idea that it may be time for a more modern option.  The gears are churning in the farm office to research the situation.  We’ll keep you posted.

Meanwhile, we have a ton of beans to pick.  Finally the crop is in and it looks great.  If anyone reading this is able to help with the harvest on any given Wednesday or Saturday morning (8am – noon for at least the next two weeks if not the next month) your farmers will thank you.  If we can’t get them picked, that means less beans in the shares.  They are yours for the picking!

 bean rows

Speaking of picking.  The onion harvest has been pretty fantastic.  For the last month if we ever had a spare moment we could always grab some crates and haul onions from the field.  On Saturday the CSA members joined us in pulling many yellow onions.

In the Share – Week 15

beans, cantaloupe, chickens, csa harvest, wildlife
cantaloupe

GREEN BEANS (F/P)  Choices this week:  standard, Roma or Rattlesnake (purple-streaked pole bean).

TOMATOES (F/P)  Lots more tomatoes are coming to you this week.  Heirlooms, Amana Orange and Hungarian Heart, are especially lovely plus there are lots of red hybrids.

RADISHES (F/P)  Tender, pink radishes for something different.

ARUGULA (F/P)  Bagged baby leaves from the first of our mid-summer plantings.

SWEET PEPPERS (F)  Ripe reds and yellows this week.

MELONS (F/P)  Full shares get the cantaloupes this time, partial shares get the watermelon.  There are 2 types of cantaloupe in the shares this week.  One we love and plan to grow more of, the other not so much.  If your cantaloupe lacks sweetness, consider making a Liquado.  Blend crushed ice, milk, honey and melon for a real treat.

CHERRY TOMATOES (F/P)  at least a pint for all.

SUMMER SQUASH (P)  Squash bugs have devastated the plants, so this is it.

OKRA OR SALSA PACK (F)  The okra is loving this hot weather.  Get it while it is at its peak.

NEXT WEEK:  More tomatoes, peppers, beans, okra and salsa packs.  We hope to have time to pack the carrots and onions that we have been meaning to get out but haven’t had the time for.

FARM REPORT:  The late summer harvest has been particularly bountiful this year.  The tomatoes have continued their steady onslaught of fruits.  The peppers are loaded and ripening in increasing speed.  The melons have given us a respectable harvest, despite the heavy pest pressure usual for the Cucurbitae family.  And then there are the beans…  The farm crew of five is spending most of its time with the harvest and barely keeping up even with a full crew of CSA workers on Weds. and Sat. mornings. 

 
Saturday bean harvest

And we added some new items to the harvest list this week:  a taste of spice to go with the summer fruits.  We usually bunch the arugula, but we are experimenting with bagging it instead. The farm crew of five made the first run at it today.

arugula cut

You never know what you will find when you are elbow deep in the plants.  Tom found this beautiful monarch chrysalis in the bush beans.  You would think someone had come along with their bedazzler, but no they manufacture the gold accents themselves.

monarch chrysalis
 
Oh, and how could I forget the baby chicks!?  One-day-old Rhode Island Reds and Barred Rocks arrived in the mail Thursday morning.  All 50 are now settled in their brooding box in the upper barn.  In six months time if all goes well (right!?) they should start laying eggs. 
 
 
First moments at the farm

In the Share – Week 14

beans, csa, flowers, watermelon

 

MELONS (F/P)  Full shares get the yellow-fleshed variety called Peace.  Please don’t dismay at the color, it is our best melon year after year.  The partial shares will get cantaloupe instead. We hope to switch the options next week as more fruits ripen in the fields.

TOMATOES (F/P) Another fine week in the tomato patch. 

GREEN BEANS (F/P)  The first tender picking of our late planting.  You’ll have the choice of standard type or Roma flat-podded beans. 

HERB CHOICE (F)  Basil or hot peppers.

SUMMER SQUASH OR CUCUMBERS (F)  A first sampling from the last planting of the season.  Welcome back summer squash!

EGGPLANT (F/P) Just one or two this week.

SWEET PEPPERS (F/P)

ONIONS (F/P)  Yellow onions this week.

SALSA PACK OR OKRA (P) 

NEXT WEEK:  More tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, beans and summer squash.  Garlic and carrots return.

FARM REPORT:

It has been an eventful week, as it always is during the peak of the summer harvest.  Friends and family have joined in the work and we have covered a lot of ground.  On Saturday, the CSA members spruced up the low till beds in preparation for the Harvest dinner in September. 

More folks are headed here tomorrow after answering the call for bean-pickers.  Thanks to all who signed-up.  We should have enough pickers to cover the 1400 feet we planted back in July.  The plants are beautiful and covered with fruit and flowers. 

Meanwhile, the laptop with the email program we use is down and so I’ll be brief and leave you with one of the many monstrous sunflowers towering next to the farm house.

In the Share – Week 18

beans, high tunnel construction, rain
 

TOMATOES (F/P) Five inches of rain bursts a ripe tomato like a balloon, so good “share-worthy” tomatoes are in short supply this week. Not that we are complaining, the rain was most welcome.

RATTLESNAKE BEANS (F/P) The snakes are coming on well now. A big THANK YOU goes to the Saturday crew which picked in the rain and mud with us – we couldn’t have done it without you all!

PINK BEAUTY RADISHES (F/P) The first fresh roots of the fall. I like their light mustardy kick, but if you aren’t so enchanted give them a quick fry to mellow their heat.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH (F/P) The last of the cucurbitae family for the year, unfortunately. Their early demise we think is due to a combination of record heat, record drought and the bugs who didn’t seem to mind either. Thankfully, the drought appears to be over.  See Tom’s post for a great curried butternut squash soup recipe.

EGGPLANT, OKRA OR SWEET PEPPERS (F) These three summer fruits will escort us into the fall season and stay with us until first frost.

ARUGULA (F) the plants were beaten up a bit by the strong wind and rain last night, but they are still very nice for a fresh salad. A common (and tasty!) arugula salad is with a red wine vinaigrette, roasted beets and walnuts. Yum! Add a bit of goat cheese and wow! Partial shares get a choice of arugula with their herb choice.

KALE OR COLLARDS (P) The greens are so juicy right now with all of the rain which is just what is needed after a hot, sweaty day in the fields.

HERB CHOICE (F/P) Parsley, basil or a dried herb.

GARLIC (F/P)  Honestly, with every thing else going on this week we haven’t looked at it lately.  Tomorrow we will clean and grade it and we think we should have garlic for all.

ALSO THIS WEEK: Parker Farms CSA shares

NEXT WEEK: More tomatoes, peppers, okra, eggplant, radishes and greens. Lettuce returns! More onions.

FARM REPORT:

It is wrong to appreciate a hurricane that caused the suffering of our neighbors to the south, but we were very happy to receive Isaac’s leftovers. Our rain gauge tops out at 5 inches, so we are guessing we got a bit over that in the last four days. Besides the cracked tomatoes and a few broken arugula leaves we seem to have survived the deluge in good shape. The rain cannot undo all of the damage from a summer of drought and extreme temperatures, but we can already see results in the field. Our young green plants for fall are growing fast and well. The summer fruits have a new batch of flowers and all of the cover crop seeds that wouldn’t sprout without rain all summer are sprouting now.

 

The farm crew continues on the high tunnel project. Both side walls with their drop curtains are up and finished. The last step for the curtain is to run a rope in zig-zag fashion down the length. Tom caught farm apprentices, Dani Hurst and Ryan Stubby, making shadow puppets as they secured the rope.