CSA Week 3: What's happening under our feet.

Bagged fertility arrives

It really is Summer. It is muggy and hot, but not actually too hot most of the time. The veggies are LOVING it. The soil is warming up and the veggies are singing in the fields. We have a whole new soil fertility program that we are working with and are already starting to see the results. This isn’t just about adding some fertilizer to the soil and standing back while the chemistry works to make plants grow, instead we are trying to wake up the whole living system that makes up the soil we depend on every day. Our soil tests show that our fields are full of nutrients, rich in organic matter and lots of things that should make for incredible crops, but there are a lot of things missing- a key one being the essential soil biology of bacteria and fungi that make all growth possible. I’ll bet you didn’t know that the roots of all plants intertwine with bacteria and fungi to the point where scientists can’t even see under the most powerful microscopes where the root stops and the fungi start? The roots depend upon them to turn take up nutrients and turn them into food for the plants…it’s sort of a whole universe happening under our feet. So that soil biology is what we are trying to wake back up (at least to higher levels). So we are doing a number of things- we are adding fertility, mixed with all kinds of minerals, in a complicated combination with kelp and microbiology. This is in a dry form that we spread on the fields, both before and after the plants are in the ground. This is the jumpstart for the soil. Then when we are transplanting, we are adding a magic potion, or at least that’s what it feels like we are doing when we are mixing it in the tanks, of humates (basically, this is a by-product

basil and lettuce intercropped (ignore weedlings)

of soft coal, it is mostly carbon in the form of humic and fulvic acids- we call it dinosaur blood), enzymes, a liquid limestone (smells like sulfur and is foul) and two types of liquid biology. This is the jumpstart for the plants. And I’ve got to tell you…it totally works. We are definitely watching our plants recover from transplanting faster. I also did a little test on some recently transplanted lettuce and basil with leftover potion and the results were nearly immediate and impressive. The lettuce and basil had been languishing in the bed for a few days, looking yellow with brown crinkled edges and I was worried we would lose the lettuce planting completely. I watered it with the potion and by the time I had done ½ bed and was starting on the second half I could already see the perking up of the basil happening on the first half. Three days later, the lettuce was not only fully recovered, but was doubled in size, dark green leaves and practically glowing. So. I’m feeling pretty confident in the process and I’m excited to watch our fields actually wake up, especially since we can’t use compost in most of them due to the very high levels of phosphorus already present (we can’t really add more and compost and most common fertilizers have phosphorus).

So, I was wrong about the fruit share being every other week: doh, sorry about that! I really need to pay better attention to the details in some of my emails. So we have fruit again this week! More gorgeous strawberries, this time from the original fruit grower we had signed up with. Turns out it was just his early strawberries that languished, but his later varieties are going strong, so we will take advantage of this glorious fruit while it lasts.

What’s in Your Share this Week (maybe):

·         Kale

·         Napa Cabbage

·         Salad Turnips

·         Escarole

·         Spinach

·         Salad mix

·         Lettuce

·         Chard

·         Garlic scapes!!!!!

Pick Your Own:

It’s time to pinch the basil! Please be gentle and look at the diagram before going to the field, we want the basil to bush out and be lush for as long as possible, but we need to pinch it properly for that to happen and we are relying on you to help.

Get the cilantro while it is still small and leafy and before it bolts to the sky (cause it is trying!!). We will have this fragrant herb again in the fall when it is cool enough for it to grow big without flowering, but that is a whole two months from now!

Animal news and Meat CSA blog info: Trusteesmeat.blogspot.com. Jesse is writing a fun, short blog every week about what the cattle and hogs are doing at each of the farms. He also includes some yummy recipes for meats and how to cook them, so it is interesting even for those of you who aren’t in the meat CSA.

The goats are still in the Gore at the back side of the hill behind the hangar barn. It is a nice walk (watch out for poison ivy- I will personally attest that it is there and works). And you can see the bobolinks really well from that side of the hill. They will only be in residence for a couple more weeks, so see them while they are still raising babies! 

Events:

We can sign you up for the Friday Farm Dinner happening on July 7^th in the farmstand! This is going to be super fun, the beautiful new tent went up in the orchard last week (just in case it rains), we will have the campfire going and eat delicious food. We are working with Didi Emmons!!! She is responsible for a great many of the gorgeous recipes that you see in my many blogs over the years. Her book, The Vegetarian Planet, is one of my go-to books for most of the basics (try the perfect pizza crust and BEST dumpling recipe) and for anything and everything vegetarian. It isn't quite falling apart, but it certainly looks like it will- I bought it as a young farm apprentice working for my first CSA twenty-five years ago now. Many of her recipes are my family's favorites, so we are super excited that she will be catering our Farm Dinners! Rumors have it that our musical entertainment will be the Railroad House Band (just waiting on final confirm).

Our new tent!!! Bring on the rain, we can handle it!!!

Our Little Sprouts program is happening on Thursday mornings from 9:30a-10:30a starting in July! Come and bring the kids for an early morning program on the farm and then hang out in the cool of the orchard while they climb trees or go for a hike to see the goats and explore our 3 miles of hiking trails before coming back to picnic in the orchard once again. Our picnic tables are longing for visitors to use them and they are open to you anytime.

Vegetable(s) of the Week: The garlic scape and escarole

So we are still in the time of cleansing vegetables, adding allia to chicories. So again, I LOVE escarole, maybe it is just the French Canadian in me, but I long for these in the spring and fall. Adding the glory of garlic scapes, which happen just this time of year and I’m in heaven. I love garlic too, but raw garlic does a job on my stomach that doesn’t happen when I eat the sweet tender flower heads of the garlic. Anything you can do with a scallion, you can do with scapes and it will be a delight of garlicky flavor. I’m planning on trying the scallion pancake recipe from a preseason blog with them. Also, scapes make an amazing pesto (or you can just grind them up with olive oil in a food processor and freeze it and use it in every batch of spaghetti sauce or replace the garlic in any recipe all winter long.

Garlic Scape Pesto with toasted walnuts

·         1 cup garlic scapes

·         ½ cup fresh basil leaves

·         1/3 cup toasted walnuts (or cashews or pine nuts)

·         ½ cup EVOO

·         ½ cup grated parmesan

·         ½ tsp lemon juice

·         2 Tbsp butter, softened

·         Sea salt and pepper to taste.

In a food processor, process the scapes and basil for 30 seconds. Add the nuts and process for another 30 seconds. Add the butter and slowly drizzle in the EVOO as the processor runs. Add the parm, lemon juice and then the salt and pepper to taste. Use immediately or freeze in ice cube tray for handy individual serving sized pieces.

Smitten Kitchen’s Perfect Strawberry Shortcake recipe

I made these the other day for a special dessert…and they were perfectly delicious. This calls for a drop biscuit type shortcake that is rich, delicious and easy- my only advice is that you don’t have to make just 6 cakes with the recipe below. I felt like they were a great adult size, but a smaller size would be fine for a younger child.  You can see handy photos on the Smitten Kitchen blog- https://smittenkitchen.com/2017/06/easy-drop-berry-shortcakes/

Shortcakes

• 2 1/4 cups (295 grams) all-purpose flour
• 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 tablespoons (40 grams) granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea or table salt
• 6 tablespoons (85 grams or 3 ounces) unsalted butter, cold, cut into chunks
• 2 large egg yolks
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (205 ml) heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons (35 grams) raw or turbinado sugar

To finish

• 1 pound (455 grams) strawberries or mixed berries, hulled and halved if large
• 2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated sugar, or more to taste
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) fresh lemon juice (optional)
• 1 cup (235 ml) heavy or whipping cream

Make shortcakes: Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, granulated sugar, and salt until thoroughly combined. Add butter and using your fingertips or a pastry blender, break it into small bits, the largest should be no bigger than a small pea. In a small bowl, whisk yolks with a splash of cream, then pour rest of cream in and whisk to combine. Pour into butter-flour mixture and use a rubber spatula to mix and mash it together into one cohesive dough.

Divide dough into 6 (for large, 3 1/2 to 3 3/4-inch wide and up to 2-inch tall) shortcakes or 8 smaller ones. I do this by pressing the dough somewhat flat into the bottom of the bowl (to form a circle) and using a knife to divide it into pie-like wedges. Place raw or turbinado sugar in a small bowl. Roll each wedge of shortcake into a ball in your hands and roll it through the raw/turbinado sugar, coating it in all but a small area that you should leave bare. (I found that the sugar underneath the shortcakes would burn, so better to leave it off.)

Place it, bare spot down, on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining wedges of dough. Bake for 15 minutes, until lightly golden all over. Let cool completely on tray or on a cooling rack.

While cooling, prepare fruit and cream: Mix berries, 2 tablespoons sugar (more or less to taste), and lemon juice, if desired, in a bowl and let macerate so that the juices run out.

In a larger bowl, beat cream until soft peaks form. Add sugar to taste, or leave unsweetened, if that’s your preference.

To serve: Carefully split each cooled shortcake with a serrated knife. Spoon berries and their juices over bottom half. Heap generously with whipped cream. Place shortcake “lid” on top. Eat immediately and don’t forget to share.

New store items this week!

We have jam from Peter's Farm here in Eastern Mass. It is gorgeous jam, full of real chunky fruit. We also have locally made cards- they are beautiful and inspirational- definitely a better choice than your regular run o'the mill hallmark type cards. These are lovely, bright photos on heavy card-stock. Check them out!

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