THE BEET: VOLUME 18; WEEK 10

 

FULL SHARE & GREEN HALF SHARE PICK UP TONIGHT

Pick up today: 5pm - 7:30pm at PS 56 on the corner of Gates and Downing

This Week's Share

  • Tomatoes

  • Sweet corn

  • Green beans

  • Redleaf lettuce

  • Dandelions

  • Kale

  • Parsley

  • Fennel

  • Eggplants or peppers

  • Cucumbers or zucchinis

  • Scallions or onions

  • Fruit: Yonder Farm's peaches

This week’s corn is from our second succession, and while it is next to the first batch - the one that was devoured by insects and birds - this one has experienced very little damage. I don’t fully understand it, but I’m happy.

We planted dandelions this year largely because of a request I found in the comments section of last year’s survey. They will be in this week’s share and then won’t be seen again until early fall. They are easy to grow, but not everyone knows what to do with them. They are a bit bitter, but can still be eaten fresh. Rinsing in cold water helps remove some of their bitterness, just as heating does. If you are a fan of escarole, you may simply substitute dandelion greens in one of your favorite recipes. Preparation can be quite simple: heat garlic in olive oil in a skillet, add the greens along with a pinch of salt and perhaps a little lemon, stir gently until the dandelions are wilted, then serve. Epicurious.com offers a recipe for “Sauteed Spicy Dandelion Greens and Onions” that looks good.    

Your fruit share will be Yonder Farm’s plums on Tuesday and peaches on Thursday. More stone fruits and blueberries are to come in the weeks ahead, and a walk through our melon field told me that our first harvest of melons is just a week or two away. 

dandelions.jpg

Delivery #10, Week of August 12, 2019

What’s new on the farm?

We planted next year’s strawberries last week. The plants arrived here as bare root cuttings from a berry farm in Quebec specializing in producing cuttings. We’ve saved our own in the past, but found them not to perform as well as the disease-free cuttings available commercially. Moreover, many of the best
strawberry varieties are patented and the growing of plant starts is restricted by the patent holder. We planted the strawberry cuttings into trays filled with a compost-based potting mix and set them out under a mister and shade cloth. They’ll sit in the greenhouse for three or four weeks, during which time they’ll produce a good root system, or so we hope, and then, in the first week of September, we’ll plant them in the field. And there they will sit, covered with a heavy white fabric when temperatures become cold, and then uncovered in spring to be pollinated, until we harvest them in June.

This morning, I seeded arugula, spinach and salad greens. It rained yesterday, and the ground, previously very dry, had become mellow and workable. Tomorrow, the farm crew and I will cover them with floating row covers to keep the insects away (flea beetles are still feeding on Brassicas). Bunches of arugula from this planting should be in shares in the beginning of September. I plan to make weekly plantings of both arugula and mixed salad greens throughout the late summer for harvests throughout the fall.

This afternoon, our neighbors Bob and Debbie will be dropping by to show me some of their garlic. They are part time farmers who produce berries, all of which they turn into jellies, and garlic that they sell as “seed” garlic to farmers like me. We won’t plant our garlic until mid-October, but it’s a good idea to secure our new seed stock now. And theirs is the best. We harvested our own garlic crop a month ago, and it’s been cured (which is to say dried until the outer skin turns papery and dry) and tucked away in the barn. Look for it to be included it in your shares very soon.
 

Open house on the farm - September 7-8th

You are invited to our annual open house on the farm. The weekend will include tours of Windflower Farm on Saturday afternoon, followed by a wine and cheese social hour, a potluck dinner, music and a bonfire. Sunday’s activities include a hearty farm breakfast provided by your hosts, farm tours for latecomers, and local activities. You might go on the Washington County cheese tour, visit one of three wineries in the neighborhood or the Argyle Brewery, swim in the Battenkill River, hike Mt. Equinox or visit the Battenkill Creamery. Camping on the farm is encouraged, but B&Bs can be found throughout the Saratoga Springs-Manchester, VT region. Kids, friends and friendly pets are welcome. Please bring a dish to pass for the Saturday evening meal. More details to come. 

Because we prepare quite a bit of food, it is important for us to know who is coming. Please RSVP by August 25th. 

Have a wonderful week, Ted

Veronica