Bulk List---Week 8

Beets: $3.00/quart
Kohlrabi: $1.00/lb
Swiss chard: $3.00/bunch
Carrots: $3.00/bunch
Herbs (summer savory, tarragon, thai basil): $2.50/bunch
Large basil bunch: $3.00/bunch
Walla Walla onions: $3.00/bunch

Pickling packs are available in a limited quantity this week. If we cannot fill your order this week you will be put on a wait list for next week.

When placing your order, be sure to specify what types of aromatics you want. Choices are:
cornichon (tarragon, thyme, garlic, onion, hot peppers, grape leaves)
dill (dill flowers, onion, hot peppers, grape leaves)
garlic (garlic, hot peppers, grape leaves)

Pickle pack (small cukes): $18/pack
Pickle pack (medium cukes): $14/pack
Pickle pack (large cukes): $12/pack

In the Share - Week 7

pepper trellis

LETTUCE (F/P) the crisp heads are hopefully holding for this week and then it’s goodbye lettuce until fall.
GREEN GARLIC (F/P) two heads for the full shares, one for the partials, from the beginnings of the garlic harvest. These are full size but not cured. Read Tom’s post for more on use and storage.
NEW POTATOES (F/P) freshly dug new potatoes are like nothing else. Enjoy them soon or refrigerate.
SUMMER SQUASH (F/P) slice and put them on the grill for a tasty Independence Day treat.
GREEN ONIONS (F) Every dish begins with onions so we try to include them in the shares every other week from now through fall.
CHOICE: EGGPLANT, GREEN PEPPERS, CUCUMBERS OR SNOW PEAS (F) this is the last of the spring peas (peas only for the Weds. shares) and the first of the fruits of summer.
BEETS OR KOHLRABI (F) Both crops are to be harvested in bulk this week before the heat takes them out. The extra beets will store beautifully in the walk-in cooler and will be available in bulk for a while longer.
CABBAGE (P) partial shares get their chance to make coleslaw. More for the full shares next week.
KALE OR CHARD (F) grin if you love your greens!
HERB CHOICE (F/P) summer savory, parsley or basil
ALSO THIS WEEK: Bread of Life Bakery shares
NEXT WEEK: More squash, cucumbers and cabbage. Carrots and perhaps beans and cherry tomatoes.
HELLO SUMMER
You can tell it is summer on the farm by how we spend our time. For one thing everything green is growing new leaves, branches, flowers and fruit exponentially. If we ever stood still long enough we could probably perceive the growth of the tomato plants. Once a week we spend several hours trellising the tomato crop. We put our strings about every six inches along the stakes, weaving a new one in and out of the crop about every seven to ten days. For the determinate varieties some are approaching the tops of their cages. After the cold, wet spring of 2010 put a damper on the tomato crop, we are really hoping for a good harvest. We are looking forward to the hot weather forecasted for later this week which sounds like tomato-ripening weather to us. In the meantime we have the beginnings of the cherry tomatoes. If you are lucky there may be one cherry tomato per share this week, just enough to wet your whistle.

Another telltale sign that it is summer is the exuberant growth of plants that we do not want growing on the farm, i.e. weeds. The FSF farm crew has made good headway in this area but there is still a bit more to do. Every so often we get done with harvesting early on a CSA morning and get some extra help from the membership, but for the most part it is the four-person farm crew out on the six acres. Some weeds we can get with the tractor’s cultivators, some we can get with our hoes, but the ones right around the plants have to be pulled by hand. If your idea of a fun Sunday is pulling weeds with your farmers, come on out on the volunteer day on July 10th .

And it wouldn’t be summer in Missouri without a feisty thunderstorm which we awoke to 1 am Monday morning. Small hail, strong winds and three inches of rain.



There is nothing to keep you up at night quite like hearing the wind howl and visualizing entire plants snapping under the pressure of wind, hail and torrential downpours. Happily all but a couple plants survived, some crates were blown around and we spent the better part of the day shoring up more plants. This is the first time we have staked the peppers and so far we are happy with the result.

What to Do With Your Share---Week 7

Fresh Garlic
We feel we are off to a good start with this year’s garlic. The hardneck variety Musik is the plump, 4 to 6 clove garlic in your share this week. We leave the neck on in case you want to hang it up and let it cure some.

You can also use it now. To get at the cloves cut the neck off, and then use a paring knife to slit the outer papers. Once you peel it back you can get to the cloves.



This week we recommend a recipe from last year to go with this week’s veggies. The Grilled Pasta Primavera is a great way to christen the grill for the season. Or, you can use your broiler.

Another good recipe that will take care of this week’s beets, and any others you have in the fridge, is pickled beets (from our July 6, 2005 newsletter). If you like beets, this is a nice way to have them on hand to top a salad, or have on the side. An added bonus is that you can use the pickle juice when you are done just like you would vinegar, and stretch that wonderful flavor even farther.

Bulk List---Week 7

Order some extra goodies for your week.

Cabbage (small head): $2.50/hd
Onions: $3.00/bunch
Garlic (fresh hardneck): $1.00/head
Kale or Chard: $3.00/bunch
Herbs (tarragon, basil, summer savory): $2.50/bunch
Beets: $3.00/quart

What to Do With Your Share---Week 6

The roots are taking over from the fruits and leafy greens of the early shares. Turnips, kohlrabi, beets, carrots and onions are now in the majority. Their heartiness is good for you, and if you cook them right, the taste is too.

A week ago we trialed the beets. The trial was a success. We utilized an Asian dressing to test them out.

Beet Salad with Asian Dressing
Ingredients
1 bunch of beets
2 scallions or ¼ cup chopped fresh onion
1 to 2 medium carrots

Dressing
1/8 cup sesame oil
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp fish sauce
Juice of ½ lime
1 squirt Sriracha hot sauce
1 tsp honey
1/8 tsp salt

Method
Top the beets and boil until tender
Quickly cool beets and peel off skin when cool
Mix all dressing ingredients together
Cut into desired size, add chopped onion, grated carrots and dressing



We were recently persuaded to try kohlrabi in a new way, by using it like jicama. Jicama is the root of a plant cultivated more in Central and South America than here, that is similar to kohlrabi. Rebecca modified the Clementine Jicama Salad recipe from epicurious.com. I thought the grated kohlrabi in this salad was shredded coconut. It was delicious.

Kohlrabi and Orange Salad
Ingredients
1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic or garlic scape
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon honey
2 oranges, peeled, separated, and cut crosswise into chunks
1 kohlrabi, peeled and shredded
2 scallions, chopped
1/4 cup crumbled fresh cheese
1/3 cup toasted pumpkin seeds (try Al Habashi in the River Market)

Method
Whisk together garlic, salt, lime juice, oil, honey, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl.
Add oranges, kohlrabi, onion, and gently toss.
Season with salt and sprinkle with cheese and pumpkin seeds.

In the Share - Week 6

The first carrots

LETTUCE (F/P) The first day of summer marks the beginning of the end of the spring lettuce crop. We are hoping for another couple of weeks with the more heat-tolerant crispheads.
SUMMER SQUASH (F) Good, reliable zucchini and yellow squash. This is the kind of food civilizations were founded upon.
CARROTS (F/P) The first harvest of the season. They’re still growing but are oh so tender at this stage.
GREEN ONIONS (F/P) No more slender scallions, these have some heft. They still need to be refrigerated as long as they have the green tops.
CABBAGE (F) Petite spring cabbages. There will be more and for the partials too next week.
KOHLRABI OR TURNIPS (F) These are most likely the end of both until fall.
SUGARSNAP OR SNOW PEAS (F/P) It was a good harvest (over 300 lbs.) but this is the last of them.
HERB CHOICE (F/P) Summer savory and basil. All combo bunches this week.

ALSO THIS WEEK: Parker Farms shares

NEXT WEEK: More squash, cabbage, and lettuce. Beets, chard and kale. Perhaps a sprinkling of peppers and cucumbers.

FARM REPORT
The longest day of the year is today and the farm crew has been making full use of the extra daylight hours. Most of Monday was spent in the tomato patch, trellising and pruning. The plants looking great. They are growing fast and have lots of flowers and green fruit.





Irrigation has been a top priority for the past two weeks as we continue to miss the big downpours that are all around us. Here you can see some of the tools that help us get the irrigation system in place. The wooden cradle holds the old electrical spools repurposed to hold our irrigation tape. The tape runs down each row of crop and connects to the supply line with a small valve.

With the tomatoes tended, we tackled the Family Cucurbitae. 6 rows of winter squash, 4 of summer squash, 3 of melon and 4 of cucumbers is enough to keep the four of us (me, Tom, Luke and Kim)occupied for awhile. Hand weeding around each plant is a meditation in orange blossom, scratchy leaf and squash bug.

Bulk List---Week 6

The Spring crops are waning, but we still have some bulk available.

Beets: $3.00/bunch
Swiss chard: $3.00/bunch
Lettuce: $3.00/head
Carrots: $3.00/bunch
Herbs (oregano, tarragon, fennel): $2.50/bunch
Onions: $3.00/bunch