Potato Beetles and July 4th fun

Farm Event:

Prepping birdhouse gourds

We had a great event on July 4th! Friendly folks and lots of kids stopped by to decorate gourds into birdhouses and to go on walking birding tours with me. The first tour met with a total of 2 male bobolinks. I was pretty confused since the upper "Conservation" field is usually chock-filled with these beautiful dramatically colored birds, all singing and making sure that their territories are well known to each other. We saw lots of other birds, from bluebirds, swallows, killdeer and more, but the bobolinks were elusive. The second tour, later in the afternoon, however, met with a literal swarm of bobolinks- males, brown females and incredible amounts of fledglings all taking wing in dramatic displays. They looped and swirled from one field to another and I felt as if I were watching flying lessons as little tufty fledglings clumsily tried to figure out what they were doing- landings were particularly clumsy and hilarious as they flopped into the tall grass or gracefully missed the tall grass foliage they were aiming for.
The gourds became beautiful birdhouses swirling with colors and design. It was such a fun craft that we will definitely be doing it again at some point this season. Baby goats are getting big fast!
Our next farm event is scheduled for August 1st, so don't miss it. We are hoping that our beekeeper (firefighter and CSA member, Scott Navaroli) will be able to join us- we will let you know. We will again have a kids craft project and "Learn to Milk a Goat" session. It will be a fun day so mark your calendars!

Farm Happenings:

We had a busy week last week! Work is continuing on the walk-in cooler thanks to our Superintendent and his team  (they also take care of all the building and grounds maintenance so that the farmers don't have to think about it- YAY!) and as soon as it is done we will open the farmstand. Hours will be limited, but regular. We will actually be open on CSA pick-up days and for the same hours for sure from here on out. We will also be open Saturdays from 9-12. Please let folks who were waiting for it know when and where it will be open- more hours will be added once the cooler is finished up.

Transplanting!

The new CSA parking area is open and ready for use!!!! We still have some work to do on the stone walls (waiting on two granite end columns) before it is completely finished, but it is open for parking!
We started using some of our new equipment this week, the Water Wheel Transplanter and the Bed-Shaper. WHOO HOO! We got done in less than two hours what would have taken us almost a full day to transplant without our new machine. This is so incredible!!! Jonathan and Allie sat on the jump seats off the back of the machine while I drove the tractor. The two yellow tanks held water and fish fertilizer which fed down to two wheels covered in spikes (each spike has a hole in the wheel above it and the water sprays down through the spike and into the hole made in the soil by the spike. J & A put a small plant in each muddy hole as we go down the row (they have to move really fast) and VIOLA!!! Transplanting is completed in a fraction of the time and into watered holes as well.

Side dressing (using composted chicken manure) using attachment on the 140

Our new bed shaper uses two low plows and a series of rollers to gather soil in and roll out a flat, perfectly shaped, even raised bed. This will hopefully help with our soil's tendency to be waterlogged all the time. Also it makes for a lovely prepped surface to seed or transplant directly on to and we have a new culivator that will float along the top of it guided by wheels running to either side of the bed.
We've also finally gotten a potato beetle invasion just as the potatoes are starting to flower and put out little baby potatoes. So we decided to jump on the tractor and use our new side-dressing attachment on the 140 to give the plants a little boost of nutrients to help them fend off the little monsters. We also used a biological insecticide called BT (a bacteria that causes the beetle larvas insides to get all gummed up and they die). It will help a little, but mostly we are going to be going out there every few days and knocking beetle larva into buckets or smushing them for the next few weeks while the plants make as many potatoes underground as possible. The potato beetles also happen to love eggplant almost more than they love potatoes, so they are getting the same treatment.

Monsters.

In Your Share this Week (maybe):

Escarole
Carrots
Salad Turnips
Kale, Curly and Tuscan
Chinese/Napa Cabbage
Arugula
Lettuce- Red Leaf and Pink Butterhead
Green Cabbage- Tendersweet

Pick Your Own:

Sugar Snap Peas
Snow Peas
Shelling Peas
Basils- light picking only! Sweet, Lemon and Thai

Vegetable of the Week and Recipes:

Escarole is one of my very favorite greens, both for eating raw (preferably on an egg salad sandwich with havarti cheese and whole grain crusty bread, but a nice salad is good too) and for cooking- where it sings when gently wilted with garlic, olive oil and lemon and then mixed with creamy white beans. It is a chicory, related to endive and italian dandelion, so expect some bitterness, but it is typically mild and tender. It is a common green in Italian cuisine- so when thinking about how to use it, it is best pared with Tuscan fare such as olive oil, olives, shaved Parmesan cheese, lemons, creamy beans, garlic, Italian sausages (both mild and spicy), eggs. Escarole has a freshness to its flavor and texture that I find more satisfying than lettuce, but not as intense as the chewiness of kale. To me it bridges both worlds perfectly. It is incredibly high in Vitamin K (a 1/2 cup serving has something like 220% of your daily recommended amount) and other nutrients, so enjoy and your  body will thank you.

Escarole salad (courtesy of Rachelraymag.com)ingredients

• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons EVOO
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 bunch  escarole, sliced
• 1/2 cup shaved parmesan
• 1/4 cup golden raisins
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds

directions

1. In bowl, whisk lemon juice, EVOO and honey. Add remaining ingredients; toss and season.

escarole with creamy white beans (courtesy of allrecipes.com)

• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 2 large heads escarole
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 (16 ounce) cans cannellini beans, undrained
• 3 sprigs fresh parsley, chopped

Directions

1. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Toss in escarole, turning to coat with oil. Season with salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes, or until tender.
2. In a separate skillet, heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Stir in garlic. Pour in beans with juices, and simmer until creamy, about 10 minutes. Stir in escarole and parsley; simmer 10 minutes more.