We’ve used a little different focus on our CSA
News this season, more general interest essays and less farm reports specific
to the growing season. Why you may ask?
A little bit in response to your end-of-season survey comments, a little bit
due to seeking improvement, and a little bit due to just changing it up. After many years of CSA newsletter
generation, Ann has welcomed help from Mac in writing this season, and Mac’s
knowledge and experience allows a treasure trove of thoughts, views, and
technical descriptions of organic farming systems to be shared.
We seem to share more about the weather-production-crop-yield
connection during a dry, droughty growing season than we do during a regular
rainfall year. Actually, we’ve not had
a regular rainfall year in so long; we are holding our collective breath as
acknowledging it might somehow stop it. And we don’t want that to happen. Due to all the early rainfall,
we have experienced a fair amount of crop loss, delayed harvests, or shorter
seasons on various vegetables.
Hopefully, the good production of a few of the veggies has helped to
offset the scarcity of a few others.
Some of you may miss the fennel, jalapenos, and parsnips and we do
too! We are just thankful that the most
popular items like asparagus, berries, tomatoes and potatoes were not wiped out
by the growing challenges that so much rainfall brings. Many of you have commented that this
season’s produce variety is your favorite yet!
Farmers have conflicting views on rainy versus
dry weather. Those experiencing flooded
fields wish for dryer weather. Those in
dry conditions, with the only moisture a seed ever sees coming from the
farmer’s irrigation, wish for at least one good rain. We’ve been on both ends of it and probably weigh in on the wet is
better than drought. In the mid-80s
there was a drought for over two years.
Elmwood’s only water supply in those days was from a spring-fed
well. Ponds went dry, small streams
stopped flowing, and the underground water table dropped enough that our well
went dry for one long summer – it was the farm’s only water supply. Each day, Cecil hauled over 2000 gallons of water
in tanks on a trailer from downtown Georgetown back to the farm for the family
and all the livestock. Recall our recent newsletter on work vs.
chores – clearly this daily chore was a lot of work!
A few years later when the Toyota factory was
constructed in Scott County, the plant’s water demands necessitated municipal
water lines being run from Lexington.
Elmwood and other farms along our road had access to “city” water for
the first time. City water is really convenient in our homes, barns and
greenhouses although all that chlorine is tough on our beneficial microbes.
Most, if not all, the crop field irrigation water is from the North Fork of
Elkhorn Creek. The deep water behind an historic mill dam gives us a nice pool
to draw from. When tobacco production was more prevalent along the creek, the
neighborly competition for this water was considerable. Today, we are one of
the few remaining growers pulling from the creek. Drought is serious and can
put farms out of business. Wet seasons make for more work and chores and weeds,
but most crops make something.
A word about our help with all the work we do. In the winter, when it is mostly chores and
office work, the family pretty much holds down the fort. As production and
marketing ramp up in the spring, so does our need for willing workers to get it
all done in a timely manner. Usually there are a few seasoned folks that can
show and explain the nuances of handling produce, working the booth at market,
or ensuring the CSA deliveries are accurately done. Alas, this year for various
good reasons, all our trained people followed pursuits on their own.
package, they elevated their game to meet the
challenge. But those first few weeks of the season were tough. One of us had to
show each one of them how to do EVERYTHING!
Are you signed up for the Fall Season CSA? If not, visit our website here for the on-line signup. Enter your email address to find your account and add a Fall Season share. You have 3 more weeks of Summer Season after this one, then the Fall Season starts the next week. Distribution is every-other-week.
In Your Share
Savoy Cabbage – organic
Leeks - organic
Sweet Candy Onions –
organic
Bell Peppers - organic
Potatoes – organic
Tomatoes – organic
Green Beans – organic
Sweet Corn - organic
Garlic – organic
Okra - organic
Recipes to Enjoy
Vegetable
Wontons, thanks to a
CSA member for sharing this recipe, you can use a processor to make quick work
of chopping the veggies. Makes about 70.
2 C finely minced
cabbage
1 bunch green
onions, green parts only, minced
1 medium carrot,
peeled and finely minced
3 large white
button mushrooms, finely minced
1 clove garlic,
minced
1-inch piece of
fresh ginger, peeled and finely minced
salt and freshly
ground pepper, to taste
wonton wrappers
Combine the
cabbage, green onions, carrot, mushrooms, ginger and garlic in a deep bowl.
Toss to mix, and season with salt and pepper.
Place a scant ½ teaspoon
of filling in the center of a wonton wrapper. Wipe outer edges of the wrapper with a dab of water. Fold the
wrapper over to form a triangle. Fold the 2 outer points together so that one
tucks under the other. Set on a parchment-lined baking sheet and repeat with
remaining wrappers and filling.
Fry wontons in
vegetable oil for a few minutes on each side until crisp and serve with your
favorite Asian dipping sauce, or make soup by combining chicken stock, spinach,
mushrooms and Asian seasonings and adding wontons for the last few minutes of
cooking.
If freezing,
store tray in freezer for 10 minutes, or until the wontons are firm and set. Transfer to a zip top bag.
Leek and
Tomato Casserole
, a Harmony Valley
recipe shared by a friend of the farm
¼ C crushed
buttery round crackers
¼
tsp dried rosemary
¼
tsp dried thyme
¼
tsp dried sage
4
leeks, sliced
2
med to large tomatoes, sliced
¼
C shredded mozzarella cheese
¼
C butter, melted
Preheat
oven to 350°F. In a small bowl, mix crushed
crackers, rosemary, thyme and sage.
Place leeks in the bottom of a medium baking
dish. Layer with
tomatoes
and mozzarella cheese. Top with the crushed crackers and drizzle with
melted butter.
Bake 30 minutes or until golden brown
.
Grilled Salt and Vinegar Potatoes, a Martha Stewart recipe adapted by 101 cookbooks dot com. Serves 4
.
2 C white wine or apple cider vinegar
1 lb waxy potatoes, cut into ¼-inch slices
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp
¼ tsp freshly ground pepper
Pour the vinegar into a medium saucepan, then stack or arrange the
potatoes so the vinegar covers them
completely. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about
5 minutes, or un
til the potatoes
are just fork tender. You want them
to hold their shape, so they don’t
fall apart on the grill later.
Let the potatoes cool in the vinegar
for 30 minutes. Drain well, then
very gently toss with olive oil, salt
and pepper.
Heat the grill to medium high. Grill
potatoes, covered if possible, un
til golden on one side, then
fl
ip and
grill the other side, roughly 3-5
minutes per side. Serve sprinkled
with salt.
Potato
and Sweet Onion Salad with Smoked Fish, adapted from a Deborah Madison
recipe.
1½
lb waxy boiling type potatoes
salt
and freshly ground black pepper
1
C sweet onion, sliced into rounds
3
T champagne vinegar
1/3
C olive oil
16
black or green olives, pitted and halved
6
oz smoked fish, flaked (albacore, salmon, etc)
2
good handfuls coarsely chopped bitter greens (arugula, purslane, endive) -
optional
2
hard-boiled farm fresh eggs
Cover
the potatoes with cold salted water and bring to a boil. While cooking, toss the onion with the
vinegar, oil, olives, fish, and ½ tsp salt.
When
the potatoes are fork-tender, drain them, then cut in half lengthwise. While still hot, add them to the bowl along
with the bitter greens. Turn gently
with a rubber scraper or spoon. Taste
for sale and season with pepper. Serve
garnished with the hard-boiled egg, cut into quarters.
