More on Water & Soil . . .
We
get a lot of questions about how to grow vegetables, or how to help a home
gardener figure out what might be going on with their tomato plants. Last week we barely scratched the surface on
water management in soil, so this week is devoted to helping you help the piece
of earth you are the caretaker of. To
give us a frame of reference, realize that it took eons for soil to develop
from the underlayment of limestone.
Then in a relative nano-second of time, people came in, shoved trees out
of the way, and built houses and roads.
In Central Kentucky, we focus our energy on improving tight clay soils,
not sandy porous soils. Soil is the
backbone of a plant’s lifecycle, so building good soil and taking care of it,
is the key to being successful in whatever food plants, grass, flowers, or
trees you might want to grow.
How
old your house is, helps to determine where all the clay soil went from what is
now your basement or foundation - it depends on the building practices at the
time of construction. Once you figure
out where that soil is, it will have special needs. Some of you may have clayey soils from years of erosion or a
location relative to streams, long before heavy equipment showed up. Or, perhaps your topsoil was not put back
into place after construction was complete.
Take a spade into your yard and sample how easy it is to dig when it is
wet and again when it is dry, to learn for yourself where and when is the right
time to work your soil. Basically, you
should never work soil when it is wet – it will compact. And also not when it’s too dry – it will
turn into dust and blow away. Some
sites can be improved with compost and plant material, others will benefit
greatly from a more aggressive jumpstarting of the repair.
If
it is really tight clay, use shovels, picks, post hole diggers, iron digger,
whatever it takes to chunk up the area so you can mix compost, good dirt, peat
moss, horse muck, neighbors’ grass clippings, etc. into the area as deep as you
can. It may have to sit and rest for a
while for the biology to start working.
Remember air in the soil is important for the microbes to thrive, and
heavy clay soil just doesn’t have enough air pockets. At some point, you can begin to work the soil into a smoother
surface for planting. For locations
where annuals are planted each year, perform some version of this soil
amendment process every time you work your
soil. Take a soil sample to the UK
Extension office for a free or low-cost analysis. Adjusting the pH with natural limestone will give the microbes
better living conditions to mineralize the rest of what they need.
For perennial foundation plantings, ornamental
gardens, and edible landscape plantings, mulching is the most powerful tool for
you to use. Since you don’t want to
disturb the roots by working the soil, topdressing of compost on the surface
will provide an inoculation of new beneficial microbes to your soil mix. You don’t need to cover the entire surface
until it looks black, maybe 50% of the surface will suffice. The feeder roots are often at the drip line,
not near the base of the plant, depending on size and age, so make sure you
address enough of the plant area.
Water, and cover with mulch after application as the sun and desiccating
winds must be kept off. Mulching around
perennials and annuals not only protects the plants from the direct sun, it
slows the capillary action of soil water movement. On a bare soil, the wind and open air creates a zillion chimney
effects, pulling moisture up into the air from each little cavity and
crevice. Sometimes you may need to use
this phenomenon to dry out your soil for planting purposes. Mulching with a biologically active plant
material will spur microbial activity, making its own compost all year
long. Bed the area 4 or 5 or 6 or more
inches deep with organic hay around established plants. This will suppress weed growth, hold
moisture, and become a beneficial insect haven. If you use non-glossy paper or plastic under a shallow layer of
mulch, it will lessen the benefits, but is still better than nothing. Remember, your soil is a live culture of
organisms. It will feel so nice to look
out at your plants and know they have just the right amount of air and water in
their roots, and the best possible soil that you can give them. Finally, let us know if you need some hay or
some compost, we can help!
In Your Share
Broccoli
– organic If you have too much on hand, blanch for 1 min.
in hot water, plunge into ice water, then pop into a freezer bag for later
Fennel – organic Use the fern ends as a fresh herb. Sauté or ovenroast the bulb. Stalks can be used in a veggie or fish stock, then discarded.
Kohlrabi
– organic
Sugar
Snap Peas – organic Fatter peas will develop a string; break
the end and remove it before preparing peas
Yellow
Squash and/or Green Zucchini
Lettuce –
organic
Green Onions -
organic
Recipes to Enjoy
Summer Squash and Ricotta Galette, Thanks to a CSA member for sharing this
recipe adapted from Cooking Light magazine, July 2012
Dough for single-crust pie
1 medium zucchini
1 large yellow squash
1T olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ C grated Parmesan
2 tsp chopped fresh thyme
½ tsp grated lemon rind
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
¼ tsp black pepper
1 large egg, lightly beaten
¼ tsp kosher salt
1 tsp water
1 large egg white
¼ C fresh
basil leaves
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice squashes crosswise into ¼ -inch-thick
slices; combine with olive oil and minced garlic, and set aside. Combine ricotta with next 6 ingredients
(through egg) in a medium bowl. Roll
dough out into 14” circle and place on baking sheet lined with parchment
paper. Spread ricotta mixture over
dough, leaving a 2-inch border. Arrange
squash slices over ricotta mixture and sprinkle with kosher salt. Fold edges of dough toward center, pressing
gently to seal (dough will not completely cover squash). Whisk egg white and water together and brush
dough edges with mixture. Bake 40
minutes or until golden brown. Cool 5
minutes and sprinkle with basil. Cut
into wedges to serve.
Broccoli Parmesan Fritters, On her website, Smitten
Kitchen, Deb Perelman has several photos taken while making the fritters that
you may enjoy seeing before you prepare this.
Her recipe uses a lot of broccoli and little “breading” and is a
fantastic way to include broccoli or many other vegetables to make them
appetizing for small children or so called “broccoli haters”. No one can pass
up fritters!
8 oz (1
small-to-medium bundle) fresh broccoli (3 C chopped)
1 large egg
½ C all-purpose flour
1/3 C finely grated parmesan cheese
1 small clove garlic, minced
½ tsp Kosher salt, plus more to taste
A pinch of red pepper flakes or several grinds of black pepper
Olive or vegetable oil for frying
1 large egg
½ C all-purpose flour
1/3 C finely grated parmesan cheese
1 small clove garlic, minced
½ tsp Kosher salt, plus more to taste
A pinch of red pepper flakes or several grinds of black pepper
Olive or vegetable oil for frying
Separate the broccoli florets from the big stem.
Cut the florets into 1-inch chunks. Peel the stem, then slice them into
1/2-inch lengths. You want a total of about 3 C of chopped broccoli.
Steam your broccoli until tender but not
mushy. One method is to bring a ½ -inch
or so of water to a boil in a small saucepan, then add the broccoli, place a
lid on it and simmer it for 5 to 6 minutes. Drain the broccoli, and set aside
to cool slightly.
Heat a large, heavy skillet over moderate heat.
Once hot, add about 2 to 3 T oil (try a mix of olive and vegetable oil). Once
the oil is hot, scoop a 2 T-size mound of the batter and drop it into the pan,
then flatten it slightly with your spoon or spatula. Repeat with additional
batter, leaving a couple inches between each. Once the bottom side is browned,
about 2 to 3 minutes, flip each fritter and cook on the other side until
equally golden, another 1 to 2 minutes.
Transfer to paper towels to drain, then to a
serving plate if you’ll be eating them shortly or a baking sheet in a 200° oven
if you’d like to keep them warm for a while until needed. Repeat with remaining
batter, adding more oil as needed. Serve with a dollop of garlicky lemon yogurt
(1C plain yogurt, 2 T lemon juice, 1 tiny minced clove of garlic, a bit of zest
and salt), or ricotta, or a squeeze of lemon juice. Yield: 9 fritters 2- 2 ½ inch each.
Kohlrabi, Fennel and Blueberry Salad,
a Stephanie Izard recipe found in Food & Wine, July 2011, and shared by
a friend of the farm with high recommendation
½ C sliced almonds
2 T minced peeled fresh ginger
2 T minced shallot
1 T white balsamic vinegar
1 T mayonnaise
1 ½ tsp Dijon-type mustard
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp maple syrup
¼ C grape seed oil
salt and pepper
1 ¼ pound kohlrabi, peeled and very thinly sliced,
then cut again into bite-sized slivers.
1 fennel bulb, trimmed and thinly sliced
2 oz goat cheese, semi firm, shaved
1 C blueberries
2 T torn mint leaves
Preheat oven to 350° and spread the almonds on a
pie plate and toast until golden, about 7 minutes. Let cool.
In a processor or blender, combine the ginger,
shallot, vinegar, mayo, mustard, soy, and maple syrup. Puree.
With the processor on, add the grape seed oil in a thin stream and blend
until creamy. Season with salt and
pepper.
In a large bowl, toss the kohlrabi with the
fennel, cheese toasted almonds, and dressing.
Season with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Add blueberries and mint and toss gently.
