Overlook View- New proposed trail at the farm
CSA starts this week!!!
Tuesday or Friday, whichever day you've chosen, Pick-up is from 3-6p.
A couple of first time notes:
- Please park in the trailhead parking and walk up to the CSA barn. If you have mobility challenges, please call/email us to make arrangements to park closer to the barn.
- Bring a reusable bag with you to pack your veggies into. We will provide share baskets to measure out your share, but they need to stay here.
- Ask questions! We are here to help and we want you to be happy.
- We can't wait to meet all of you!
Farm happenings
The weather has been behaving the last couple of weeks. We had a lot of desperately-needed rain (3 days of rain!) which soaked the fields just as we got the irrigation laid out and were about to hook it up, of course. Then we had to wait 3 days or so while the fields dried out enough for us to get back to work in them. This is particularly nail-biting in the beginning of June when absolutely all of your main crop veggies NEED to be in the ground on the first day of the month and you are already behind on the second day. Such is the life of a farmer. At the same time, all that water percolated into all the weed seeds that had been lounging in the heat and they started to take off. Oh boy!
If I think way back to the second week of April, all the fields were quiet under a layer of sod (a mixture of grasses, clover, vetch and other perennials). The seed of amaranth, lambs quarters, mustards, nut sedge grass, vetch and other plants had lain dormant and sleeping underneath just waiting for a little disturbance from a vole, groundhog, or scratching turkey to allow them a brief chance at growth in the vastness of open hayfield. And then I came along with my tractor and plow and opened them all up to bright sunlight, sweet air and no competition. It's like a party is going on down in the fields and only the "weeds" have been invited. Sure there are a few brightly festooned party gowns and fine suits, all neatly lined up trying to contra-dance, but this is Mardi Gras, a muddy Woodstock, a Thanksgiving Day Parade for all the weeds down in the dirt and they don't have any time to waste standing in lines! So it is for bringing a field out of sod in the
Redwing Blackbird Nest found in the fenceline around vegetable field
springtime.
I am giving thanks for a small CSA this first year as I work this new soil. It allows for a little precious time to coax some softness out of the clods of grasses. To encourage the right bacterias and fungus to get down and do their thing making the soil rich in nutrients to feed my rows of parti-colored contra dancers.
This week's share includes (hopefully):
- Radishes, red rounds and french breakfast (both are DELICIOUS in radish butter and this is from a lifelong hater of radishes)
- Salad Turnips (these are sweet! Not your grandmother's turnip! Great raw or roasted)
- Lettuce mix
- Braising mix (a mix of various greens, some mustards- very good as pesto or thrown into stir fry or salad)
- Baby bok choi
- Broccoli Raab or Spring Raab- one of my favorite vegetables, this is bitter and wonderful. Perfect in eggs, hollandaise sauce, etc.
- Arugula- this is spicy! the hot spring weather has given this usually mild green quite a kick- I recommend cooking it unless you know you like em hot.
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| Lots of baby goats |
Goat news:
The goats are on the move- with all the babes are born and mobile enough to follow their mothers most of the time- we are setting off across the farm to start working on clearing some of the brush and invasive plant species from the stone walls and in the pastures further away from the main farm yard. We will let you all know where they can be found and they love to be visited.
We have also taken horns off of some of the goat kids- you may see the marks on their heads so we just wanted to let you all know. This is because they are most likely bound for the show ring at some point in the future. Horns are not allowed in dairy goat classes in either 4-H or ADGA (American Dairy Goat Association) shows.
Farm events:
Our first "Meet the Farmer" event went really well. It was great to meet so many folks and be welcomed to the community. We are already planning our next "First Saturdays on the Farm" events for the rest of the summer. If you have any ideas for walks you'd like to see happen or talks from our Trustees specialists, let me know and I will see what we can do. Look for the schedule soon for the first Saturday in July!
Recipe:
Broccoli Raab, or Raapini is a bitter Italian vegetable commonly grown in the spring. It is one of my very favorites and I am even guilty of snapping up bunches of conventionally grown raapini from the grocery store whenever it first shows up in the spring. I chop and saute it with bacon and eggs for breakfast, I add it to quiche, I serve it as a side to pork chops. Its bitterness is perfect paired with creamy sauces such as Hollandaise or Bechamel or Alfredo so toss it with pasta or rice.
Raab with Maple and Balsamic
1 bunch of raapini
1 Tbsp of maple syrup
1 Tbsp of balsamic vinegar
Olive oil
Sea Salt & coarse ground pepper
Chop the tougher stem ends of the raab off and discard. Coarsely chop the rest of the plant, including the flowering tops. Saute in a little olive oil until just starting to wilt. Drizzle with maple and balsamic and add sea salt and coarse ground pepper to taste. Serve warm as a side to roasted meats, roast vegetables and rice.
Roasted Salad Turnips
1 bunch of salad turnips, tops removed (but eat them in salad or saute them, they are delicious!!!)
Olive oil
Sea Salt, fresh ground pepper and garlic powder
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Quarter the salad turnips and soak in ice water for 10-20 minutes. Drain and pat dry. Toss with a little olive oil and spread in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle lightly with Salt, Pepper and Garlic powder. Roast in oven for 15-25 minutes until the nips are fork tender but not mush. Don't even bother with the plate, eat them hot off the pan and try not to burn your tongue. Enjoy.
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| Jonathan working on Root Washer |
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