Hello Members to a lovely RAINY Friday!  It has finally rained enough to make a difference to the parched fields!

This week’s share has the following items:

Cucumbers-  Mostly Japanese Spineless and the Boothby Blond again.

Dill- Make pickles or a tasty cucumber salad with this.

Cilantro- Also great with the cucumbers.

Summer Squash-  We picked several times this week but are still struggling to keep up with these plants. You can make a great soup base for the freezer with these.  Cube them and cook down in a large soup pot with water and onion.  Once they are soft turn the heat off and season them to taste, then puree with a hand held blender or a counter top blender.  You can freeze this and use it whenever as a base to add other ingredients to.  We like to add fresh cilantro and garlic with a bit of sour cream on top.

Garlic

Kale

Potatoes- Nicola again this week.  Nico helped to make some yummy baked fries with these last night.

Eggplants- Japanese

Pumpkins-  (Thank you climate changes)  We were thinking maybe we could move Halloween up to the end of July this year since all of our pumpkins seem to think it is time to ripen now…think of the costume possibilities!  These are sugar pumpkins so try to cook them up into something delicious.  Leave them somewhere you can enjoy them for one week so they can cure a bit as we just picked these today.   Pumpkin cookies, pumpkin soup?  I know it’s hard, we aren’t really having weather that makes you want to slave over the stove top with warm pumpkin stew, maybe on one of these rainier days…

Cabbage

Beets- After this round beets are on hiatus until the second planting comes in.

Farm Activities:  We have pretty much wrapped up all of the planting for this season, hooray!  The field on Tower Rd is getting pretty weedy so we are preparing to plant it to cover crops for the fall.  Our field at the Charlemont Academy is doing great, see the picture.  About a quarter of the space was cover cropped and our fall planting is fresh in the ground.  The tomatoes are looking beautiful.  As is evidenced by the pumpkins in your share this week, the winter squash is moving right along too.

If anyone has forgotten to bring a tote back lately it is okay, but our pile is starting to look a little scarce…:)

We are teaming up with the bag share project, http://www.thebagshare.org to bring you a supply of reusable produce bags at the Berkshire Market.  These bags were sewn from fabric waste at the cushion shop I work at.  Volunteers sewed bags out of the scrap and they will be available for all to use at the Berkshire market in case they forget their own bag.  This is an AWESOME program, visit their site to find out more.  Not only are we keeping the scraps out of the landfill but we are forgoing the use of a plastic bag!  I read something recently that said part of a revolution can be unplugging from the systems you don’t believe in, this is a great way to do that.

I hope everyone enjoyed the cloudier, cooler week!

This week’s share has the following in it to look forward to:

Beets- A mix of our three varieties, Red Ace, Touchstone Gold and Chioggia.  roast these in the oven in the evening when its cooler and save them in your fridge for cold beet salads with nuts and gorgonzola all week. 

Cabbage

Swiss Chard

Cucumbers-  The yellow picklers are an heirloom variety called the Booth Bee Blond.  This is the most flavorful cucumber we have encountered.  It is so important for growers to preserve these older varieties that are disappearing at an alarming rate.  Once they are gone we can’t get these heritage cultivars back!

Summer Squash- Dust off that zucchini bread recipe!  Also stuffed squash is another wonderful dish if you are scratching your head about what to do with these.

Potatoes-  The Nicola variety this week. This yellow fleshed variety is also high flavor and makes great roasted potato wedges and potato salad. 

Parsley

Kale- Don’t be afraid to juice your kale if you are having trouble eating it all.  (Or, you can find a neighbor to share with perhaps.)

Farm Activities-  

This week our fields saw a touch of rain but not enough.  We have lost some squash, chard and a few direct seeded items to the lack of rain.  We have done a tiny bit of irrigating, but this generally goes against our farms philosophical practices to water during a drought.  We are using our stored water from the greenhouse that gave us warm thermal mass back in early spring so we don’t feel too bad. 

       Some members may recall our total crop failure of leeks last year.  Unfortunately it is looking like this season’s leeks may be suffering the same fate.  We faithfully weeded the leeks last week.  Then the 100 degree days and lack of shade from the weeds ended up killing most of them…oops!   We have a few that survived so keep your eyes peeled for a few of them in your shares this fall. 

        The last of this year’s garlic has been picked.  The greenhouse and barn are both filled to the brim with curing garlic so this will be a share  staple throughout the fall.  For those of you with gardens, don’t forget to save a few heads to plant in your own plot for garlic next season.  These hard neck varieties have all been grown in Worthington for several years now and are well adapted to the climate. 

       We hope you are enjoying the changing flavors of this year’s harvest as much as we are!

 

Here are your share contents for this weekend:

New Potatoes- The versatile and delicious potatoes are back for this season!  They would be bigger if we got a bit more rain but this is my favorite time of year for potatoes.  The skin on these will rub off easily so they will not store well.  Put them in a potato salad! 

Broccoli- This is the end of what was a great broccoli crop this season.  Broccoli will make a return appearance in the fall…if it rains. 

Hakurei Turnips-  This will be the last week for these as well until the fall. we are still eating ours without peeling them but you could peel the rougher ones in the bunch if you like. 

Radicchio- for a salad or for braising.  I find the Radicchio to have a bit of a bite when raw, but lightly braised or steamed it is amazing, just make sure you leave it with a bit of crispiness when you cook it. 

Summer Squash-  One of our favorite summer squash meals is a honey ginger squash and greens.   Saute onions and minced ginger in butter or oil.  Add thinly sliced squash after onions have yellowed.  Once the squash is almost cooked to your preference add in the greens, a tablespoon or so of honey, a splash of tamari, crushed coriander seed and pepper.  Cook until your greens have wilted. 

Cabbage- COLESLAW for the heat!  You can also quarter these and roast them on a baking sheet with olive oil and salt and pepper if you are cooking during the cooler evenings.  

Parsley- for your potato salad or your coleslaw. 

Cucumbers Tasty Jade-  a crispy Japanese cucumber variety. 

Swiss Chard-  The swiss chard plants have been providing amazing bounty this year.  Our fall planting in the greenhouse is also looking good.  

Garlic- Fresh

Kale – Winterbor variety this week. 

Farm Activities: 

July is quite the month to be an annual vegetable farmer.  The greenhouse is alive and full with baby plants for fall crops that need water, food and maintenance.  The weeds are in full force fighting to take over every last carrot.  Harvesting has become some kind of three day a week marathon sport that involves lots of heavy lifting.  Seeding and planting continue almost at the same rate as June and every last cucumber and tomato plant on the farm begs to be trellised and pruned.  Also, if it doesn’t rain you can lose it all.  By August things settle down as the final plantings are put into the ground and the weeds let up a bit. 

          Our farm is at an interesting scale, Alex and I have one helper, Tyler, and two small children who find destroying plants hilarious.  We continue to try to fine tune our relationship with commercial agriculture each year.   July is the month we find ourselves fantasizing about cover cropping the entire farm for a season and hiding somewhere cool for the summer in a tent. 

          Why are we doing this to ourselves you ask?  Well, a big part of it is our children.  There is a large amount of processed products sold as “foods” that have rocked our country and the world with a global epidemic of self inflicted diseases.  Even some vegetables are grown with pesticides and fertilizers that not only damage the ground that they were grown in but have untold and insufficiently researched long term effects on our bodies.  As organic, bio-dynamic growers we feel obligated to make sure untainted food is available to people in our community, especially our children.  Last night we ate marinara sauce that was processed and stored last summer from our tomatoes.  I have no idea when we last purchased tomato sauce at the store.  Sometimes we forget to go shopping for over a month and don’t notice, we like that.  I think our bodies thank us for choosing to grow and eat amazing food that is ALIVE and has never seen the inside of a store.   We live in an amazing area full of similarly minded people like you who are aware of these things.  We happen to be crazy enough to want to grow amazing, healthy food for you. 

        Thank you, if you made it to the end of my rant and EAT YOUR KALE.:)

This week’s basket contents are coming in late as we were out until after dark harvesting for you!

Swiss Chard

Salad Mix

Scarlet Queen salad turnips- This will be the final week for this variety so enjoy them.  We have been roasting these sliced with beets in the oven.  They soften quicker than the beets so it makes for a nice variance in texture.

Chioggia Beets with greens-  So yummy and sweet!  If you are confused about who is a beet and who is a turnip this week look at the roots, the Chioggia beet has a very complex, hairy root system.

Red Russian Kale- This is the last week for this variety of kale as well.  (Thank you summer heat)

Summer Squash- The first of the season!  Out with the spring turnips and greens and in with thickly sliced squash on the grill.

Cucumbers-  The Adam Gherkin pickling cucumber again this week.

Fresh Garlic

Farm Activities:

Transplanting continued of the fall brassica crops this week.  We also did some cover crop seeding at the Charlemont Academy field.  We also managed to escape the farm for an overnight camping trip, a rare treat during the busy growing season.

The Raspberries are ripe in Worthington at the old farmstead on Starkweather.  CSA members are welcome to PYO organic raspberries.  Call us before you come over if you don’t know where to go.

Now it’s off to bed for the 5AM wake up for market and CSA distribution.  Enjoy this week’s harvest!

Things are staying busy here at the farm!  Here is this week’s harvest for you:

Broccoli- Lots and lots of broccoli.  Cook with a bit of water then puree with salt and pepper for a simple soup that is great warm or cold.  You can use this as a base as well for more complex dishes.  Add your favorite seasonings with  milk and cheese. (and beer for Cheddar Ale Soup!)

Kale- Curly kale this week, I find this variety to work best for Kale Chips. Rub EVOO on a baking sheet.  De-stem the kale and spread on sheet.  Sprinkle with Salt or any other desired seasoning.  Bake at 350 just until crisped. 

Collards- One of my favorite greens, so beautiful this time of year. Don’t forget to add Lemon, Garlic and Sesame Oil.

Salad Mix  

Garlic Scapes

Fresh Garlic-  Use the freshly picked bulbs as you would garlic.  The skin will come off all at once as it is not cured yet. 

Radishes- Easter Egg Mix

Salad Turnips- Once again, you can cook these in a stir fry etc or you can eat them raw.  They seem to retain more of their great flavor when you leave them raw. 

Pickling Cucumbers- The “Adam Gherkin” Pickling cuke from our hoop house.  These little cucumbers are spiny and full of that moist, crispy flavor experience that happens only when you eat a fresh picked cucumber. Enjoy these as a snack just as they are.

Parsley-  Add to your Broccoli Soups and salads!

Coming Soon- Summer squash, more beets and Radicchio!  Maybe new potatoes next week?  

Farm Activities:  More Sweet Basil, Rosemary and Parsley went into the ground this week.  We also seeded more Salad mix.  The fall planting of brassicas is sizing up in the greenhouse and will be put out in a few short weeks.

  Our flock of 28 chickens is in full egg production mode.  If anyone would ever like to purchase eggs for their share let us know and we will add them to your box.   Eggs are $5/dozen.   These Rhode Island Reds are free range and fed only certified organic grains.  Our boys love the daily egg hunt at the farm! 

Enjoy your harvest for the week.  We love to hear about any new recipes you come up with for all of these veggies so let us know when you discover something delicious!   Don’t be afraid to use the internet to eat.  There are an incredible amount of online recipe databases so don’t let your summer cooking fall into a rut.  Now we just need to stop laboring on the farm before dark so our family can eat something more complicated than salad for dinner.  🙂 

This week’s produce pickup will have the following delights:

Garlic Scapes– Don’t forget about pureeing these in the food processor with olive oil and your favorite pesto seasoning for a zesty scape pesto.

Kale- Steam it with rice and onion.  Add butter or oil and soy sauce or miso at the end, yum!

Broccoli- So tender and sweet this time of year.  Steam lightly and add to the top of the rice dish above with some cheese. 

Salad Mix

Radishes

Hakurei Turnips- The Turnip for people who don’t like turnips!  These beautiful white turnips are so light and sweet and crunchy.  We eat them whole on salad.  You can also cook them, but they really are so nice to eat raw in this warm weather. 

Swiss Chard

Cabbage

Lavendar Plant- Don’t over water them.  

 

Farm Activities

This week on the farm has been as busy one as we madly pulled weeds while we have this dry weather.  The potatoes were hilled again and the early varieties are blossoming.  The mid season crop of beets was planted and the cucumbers in the hoop house are loving the heat.  We have already eaten some of the Adam Gherkin pickling cukes.  Our walk in cooler construction was completed by the talented Alex (not a moment too soon as we filled it today.

For those of you who can’t get enough of eating our produce at home (I know some of you just snorted at that), you can get our lovely veggies out in the greater world at the following fine establishments:

The Old Creamery in Cummington

The Blackburn Inn in Worthington

Bread Euphoria in Haydenville

The Dreamaway Lodge in Becket

Enjoy the harvest this week, we have been eating many LARGE salads for dinner!