Week 8: DROUGHT SUCKS

Chicken house getting painted!

The drought is finally making news and we are continuing to be very nervous as more days come and go and promised rain slides away with the barest whisper. It has gotten to the point where we are holding off on plantings and barely daring to weed because when and if we do, the crops beneath the weeds are left suddenly without shade with disturbed soils and they can't handle the heat and shock and die. I feel like I'm haunting the weather app on my phone as I check it, sometimes hourly, for hints of rain or cooler temps or humidity to see if baby plants I might put in the ground today might survive with morning gifts of dew or a passing shower.
We had a great big old rainy day just wash over us on Sunday- it hit 495 and swirled away from the farm. We had a tiny splattering of rain, we did, but it wasn't even enough to wet the ground underneath the big maple in the front yard (it has to rain at least 1/8 inch to get through that dense canopy) and in my book these days, that is the only thing that really counts as rain. We have officially lost the cucumbers and about half the lettuce has just given up even though we have watered it. Lettuce particularly hates temps over 90 and so do most other plants- they drop their flowers and fruit, turn bitter or tannic at the temperatures we've been having.
We harvested some beautiful eggplant last week, but the plants aren't making any more. Usually you harvest the big ones as the plants continue to make new fruits, but the plants are empty. It is a little scary. Some of our fellow CSAs are halting distributions because of the drought.  They are hoping to make it up at the end of the season, but we are also coming up against deadlines for getting fall crops in the ground. And we planted another round of kohlrabi and salad last week only to watch it shrivel and die in the heat. Hopefully our sister farms got some of the rain that swirled around the state on Sunday but passed us by.
Please be patient with us as we limit things in CSA because yields are less than half what was planned or not at all. We hate to disappoint, especially in our second year, but understand that this is not a usual season for us or anyone farming out there. Think about taking a not quite full bucket for the next few weeks and know that we will make it up to you at the end of the season when we will most likely get more rain. We thank you in advance.

honey bees and pollinator friends need water too

The bees are miserable, according to our beekeeper, the flowers are not making as much nectar as they usually do and honey production is down compared to usual amounts. A good deed for right now to help our native pollinators and our honeybee friends is to make a bee waterer by placing a shallow dish filled with glass marbles (or use a birdbath if you have one) and then fill the dish and marbles with just enough water to leave a little of the marbles showing. This provides a safe place for the bees to land and drink. You can also use flat rocks in place of marbles. I also have a soaker hose that I use in one of the house garden beds- I allow it to fill with water and run for an hour in the evening- this stays full of water and allows the bees (and other important pollinator insects!!!) to get a drink as well.

Cartera hanging in the orchard for lunch

We had one hundred volunteers join us on Monday to get a ton of work done on the farm!!!!! Thank you toCartera for all their amazing work, willing hands and incredible attitudes- we got so many projects done that we couldn't have done without you! Strawberries are weeded, almost 900lbs of potatoes harvested, all our PYO signs are done (and look AWESOME), stone walls and overgrown paddocks cleared, invasive plants removed, chicken house and picnic tables were painted and new raised beds (handicap accessible!!!) were constructed. And some very eager ladies blew apart the old deck on the apprentice cottage so that we could get in and repair it. Very nicely done everyone! My heartfelt thanks to everyone who came today (so glad it wasn't 90 degrees and instead were blessed with a beautiful day with a reasonable temp).

New in the Farmstand this Week:

Appalachian Naturals! We have their delicious Maple Balsamic Dressing back in stock! We also brought in a few more of their amazing dressings- Chipotle Ranch and Wildflower Honey Mustard. If you like things sweet or spicy- we have you covered! Roast your veggies drizzled in the honey mustard or finish them coming off the grill- you won't be disappointed. Check their website for awesome recipes (they were chefs that owned their own restaurant in Joshua Tree before moving to New England almost ten years ago to start this company). We also have their medium salsa- we love this for jarred salsa- it has a slightly smoky taste (chipotle chilis) that hits the spot and makes my Huevos Rancheros sing......(ok, that's not fair- I use a heavy cast iron skillet, pour in the salsa mixed with black beans and corn and stick it in the oven. When its hot, I make little hollows in the salsa mix and crack eggs into them, cover them with cheese and roast until the whites are firm- this doesn't take long. Meanwhile I heat up corn tortillas on the griddle. Avocado, cilantro and limes are tossed together in a bowl. Fresh tomatoes are sliced, sometimes with mango and chili powder. When the eggs are done, I layer eggs, beans/salsa with avos on the tortillas and serve with sour cream, extra cheese, avos and fresh herbs and hot sauce on the side).
Tuesday CSA Coordinator Kim Galbraith is also making the best zucchini bread I've EVER had! It is for sale in the Farmstand- $4 for small loaves and $5.50 for large. You won't regret these softly sweet and moist loaves packed with crunchy walnuts. They are just so so good.

In Your Share:

Tomatoes (still not gangbusters, but getting there)
Carrots
Swiss Chard
Scallions
New potatoes
Summer Squash
Basil- you are probably getting a whole plant (make pesto!)

PYO:
Green beans, purple beans, yellow beans and dragon beans! OH MY!!!
Flowers
Herbs (cilantro, parsley, dill, edible flowers, marjoram, oregano, thyme) are all open, please take only what you would use for a meal or two while fresh)


Recipes:
We have some incredibly creative folks in our CSA and they are rocking the recipes. If you haven't done so yet, become part of our group on Facebook- Friends of Chestnut Hill Farm- because members are constantly posting awesome recipe ideas there. I'm also going to throw a shout out to a former Berkshires CSA member of mine, Julie Golin- she and a group of friends wrote a foodie blog for years and was and still is a resource of all things amazing and delicious. Remember Elspeth's chocolate zucchini bread- yeah, Julie's was her original inspiration. The blog seems to be less active now, but it is still there, a repository of gastronomic bliss.How Does Your Garden Grow?

Zucchini Fritters

Ingredients:

1 medium/large zucchini, about 2 cups roughly grated
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup bread crumbs (or more, if things seem really soupy after you mix it up)
Scant 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon salt
Garlic powder, onion powder to taste (or real finely diced onion and garlic if you're feeling fancy!)
Oil for frying

Directions:

Coat the bottom of a large frying pan with oil (about 1/8" deep...not too deep, but more than just a splash!) Heat over medium high heat.

Mix together all the other ingredients.

Once the oil is hot, add a spoonful of the zucchini mixture to the oil. Use the back of the spoon to flatten it into a pancake shape. Repeat, leaving a small amount of room between pancakes. Flip after about 1 minute, when the bottom is browned. Fry the other side until brown (about 1 minute), then transfer to a paper towel to drain.

That's it! You can serve these plain, or with some sour cream, or with an extra sprinkle of Parmesan cheese, or some marinara sauce. However you'd like!

The following recipe was posted on the Friends of CHF page and looks incredible. Thanks Cyndi for posting it!!!!She recommends cooking a little extra longer and slicing those potatoes paper thin to get them to cook to tenderness. 

SUMMER VEGETABLE TIAN from Budgetbytes.com

 

SAVEPRINT

PREP TIME

15 mins

COOK TIME

45 mins

TOTAL TIME

1 hour

 

Serves: 6

INGREDIENTS

• 1 medium yellow onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp olive oil 
• 1 medium zucchini
• 1 medium yellow squash
• 1 medium potato
• 1 medium tomato
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• to taste salt & pepper
• 1 cup shredded Italian cheese

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Finely dice the onion and mince the garlic. Sautê the onion and garlic with olive oil over medium heat until the onions are soft and transparent (about 5 minutes).
2. While the onion and garlic are sautéing, thinly slice the remaining vegetables. Make sure the potatoes are very thin so that they soften quickly while in the oven.
3. Coat the inside of an 8x8" casserole dish with non-stick spray. Spread the sautéed onion and garlic in the bottom of the dish. Arrange the other sliced vegetables, stacked vertically like dominos, in an alternating pattern. Season the top of the vegetables generaously with salt, pepper, and dried thyme.
4. Cover the dish with foil and bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and top with the shredded cheese. Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes, or until the cheese is golden brown.

Events: 

August 6th 9a-12p Meet the Farmer this month is all about the chickens! Come and see our new mobile chicken house, get up close and personal with our hens and learn all that we know about chickens! Thinking about getting some ladies for your backyard- we will be talking about chicken housing, feeding, basic needs and more so bring your questions and we will lend you our expertise.
August 13th from 10a-2pm Honey Festival is on the horizon! We are hosting a celebration of all things Honey and Honey Bees. Please join us for a sweetness and fun-filled day of demonstrations, tastings, crafts and games. There is something for everyone in our golden, liquid sunshine day.
August 18th from 7-830pm join us for our monthly Full Moon Potluck!!!!We will be firing up the grill/campfire for the Sturgeon Moon (who knew?). Bring your favorite farm inspired dish to share and we will do the same.