In the Share: Week 2

In the Share: 

TAT SOI: As deep green as can be, tat soi is mild enough for a fresh salad, a stir fry, or even a kimchi. Some of this week’s bunches have some flowertops, all of which is very edible and add color to your dish.

RED LEAF LETTUCE The lettuce is starting to size up well. The “New Red Fire” variety is both crispy and tender.

BUTTERHEAD LETTUCE: A favorite around here. Cut it into wedges and dress with shredded root vegetables, nuts, raisins and dressing.

RADISH/SALAD TURNIP BUNCH: The radish is crisp and fresh, while the turnips are sweet and juicy. These are some of our best.

SPROUTING BROCCOLI: It seems to us that the broccoli is only getting sweeter. It is good both raw and cooked when topped with mustard vinaigrette.

ASPARAGUS: The asparagus plants are starting this season strong and we are happy to be able to get a bunch to everyone. Snap off the tough, white end and enjoy this spring treat. We dusted the spears with garlic and onion powder before frying in a little oil until crisp.

CILANTRO/DILL BUNCH: A fresh garnish for most anything you cook, we like to add it to yogurt to make a dressing/dip.

SPINACH OR CHARD: These two greens are actually in the same botanical family. Only spinach is recommended for fresh eating. This week’s chard is bagged, so there is not as much stem as with the bunches. So all you have to do is rinse it, cut it up, and add it to your pasta sauce, soup or potatoes. 

Farm report: 

Greetings from the farm! Our “home office” is the great outdoors which is a lot quieter these days without the community working with us. In the evening we go indoors and catch up on the news and our hearts sink, but during the day our spirits are lifted by the natural world that surrounds us. The high tunnel has never been happier.

Turnips, red lettuce, spinach and sprouting broccoli fill the frame. All of what is in the share this week, except asparagus, is coming out of the high tunnel. After this share, the indoor pickings will be slim and we will need to rely on the outside fields to keep us fed. The freeze two weeks ago did do some damage. It may be a lighter share in two weeks as a result.

The freeze came under the covers.  Some of the strawberry flowers were lost. Any with black centers won’t bear fruit. Luckily many more healthy flowers are blooming now.

The aerial shots were from the last transmissions of our first drone-SKYBOT-1. Too lightweight for a stiff wind, we lost the little guy in the pond. The pics do a good job of showing how we have changed from a rectangular farming system to one on the contour.

 The swales are placed to move water throughout the farm, rather than letting it rush away and erode the soil. The space between the swales, (aka, the “alleys”) is where we will be growing our crops, pasturing livestock, planting perennials, and managing water. We are glad we could get a view from above of what we have been doing. It helps us better visualize our progress.

Fair Share Farm CSA---Week 1

IN THE SHARE:

SWISS CHARD: If you are new to chard be sure to chop and cook the stems first, and then the leaves. We add a quarter cup or so of vinegar while the chard is cooking, to help mellow it out. Green garlic is a nice addition too.

CABBAGE: The cabbages have been stored in our cooler since fall, awaiting their return to our tables. Grate it into a slaw, cook it with the potatoes, or add it to a soup.

POTATOES: These Kennebec potatoes were dug late last summer. We keep them cold and in the dark, fast asleep until now. We like them this time of year in a hash.

SPOUTING BROCCOLI OR BOK CHOI: The sweet taste of broccoli vs. the crunchiness of bok choi make this a tough choice.

LETTUCE:  First little heads from the high tunnel.

SPINACH OR LETTUCE:  We may have one or the other at each distribution site, farmers choice.

GREEN GARLIC: It’s great to have the chance to harvest some garlic again. Chop it fine and add to egg salad or other spreads.

CHIVES: Garnishing your meal with fresh chives connects you with the first growths of spring. Mix it with sour cream or yogurt to make a great dip, or into your morning scrambled eggs.

FARM REPORT:

The farm is in week three of hunkering down due to the virus. We are staying home and away from others as much as possible. We are hand-washing, using sanitizer, physical distancing and other measures to ensure that we keep our community safe. Face masks arrived last week. We use them during post-harvest handling and at farmers markets and CSA pickup.

Compared to most, our lives have not changed much due to the virus. We work from home, grow food, with no kids and few social engagements. We are a crew of four which can easily keep our social distance across the fields. Less cars on our little country road have meant we hear more birds and frogs instead. So far we are all healthy.  It is an embarrassment of riches during a worldwide pandemic.

We had thought perhaps that even Spring itself had gone into hiding. Bitter cold north winds blasted the farm on Easter weekend. The same storm that left a foot of snow in Wisconsin, led to 50 tornadoes across the South, gave us freezing temperatures and a relentless wind that turned our covers into tatters.

They were all patched and back on the next day, but it is too soon to tell how the crops will fare. The plants aren’t dead but they might be stunted.

Other crops are fine and happy for the moisture and cooler temps. The strawberry patch has been growing leaves, but no blossoms yet, luckily. May flowers bear June fruit, but they will probably start flowering in late April.

 The onion transplants are adjusting to their new ground. They can handle cold nights and don’t need cover. You can also see here our new farming system on the contour with berms every 40 feet.

It has been fun learning to wrap ourselves around the berms and swales that we installed this winter. They attempt to solve the problem of uneven distribution of water on our farm. The berms slow down the movement of water down our slopes, preventing erosion and allowing more moisture to stay on the land and soak in. So far, they seem to be working.

Meanwhile, the hens are enjoying the fresh Spring growth of the cover crops and whatever insects might buzz their way.

We look forward to the day when we can welcome the community back to the farm to see it all in person. Until then, let’s stay home and be well.