In the Share - Week 21

KOHLRABI P

SWEET POTATOES F/P

SWEET PEPPERS F/P

TOMATOES F/P

EGGPLANT F/P

HERB CHOICE F  Sage, cilantro or dill

GREENS CHOICE F  Swiss chard, kale, gai lan, or bok choy

LETTUCE and/or FRISEE F/P  The frisee makes a nice little salad.

GARLIC F/P  Partial shares get a choice of garlic or herbs.

ROMA GREEN BEANS F  The last week of these guys.

NEXT WEEK:  Peppers, eggplant, greens, turnips, beets, green tomatoes and sweet potatoes

FARM REPORT:
Autumn is here and we welcome its arrival.  After an especially eventful growing season, your farmers are looking forward to a winter rest.  But, we are not there yet!  Much lovely fall crops must be harvested, brought in for storage or protected outdoors.  The high tunnel is ready for its hat to go back on for the wintertime.  We planted it full of greens back in early September.  It is nice to keep the plastic off of its top and ends for as long as possible to avoid overheating the plants inside, but it needs to be buttoned up before the first frost.

Out in the fields have a nice blanket of various cover crops that Tom sowed in late July.  Sorghum Sudan grass, cowpeas, mung beans and oats cover the Spring fields.  These plants growing now are next year's fertility.

 

Speaking of out in the fields, "Outstanding in the Field" is returning to our farm on October 14th.  Chef Ted Habiger from Room 39 in KCMO will be feeding us multiple courses of local delights from our farm and others in the region.  Event details and tickets are here.

What to Do With Your Share---Week 21

What an enjoyable time the weather has been the last few weeks. We have been fortunate that the last 70 days have been so much better than the previous. At one point we did not know if we would even have any peppers or eggplant, but things turned around. It was great to see such resiliency in the plants and are further refining the varieties we grow based on what did well.

Another sign that it became a warm summer are sweet potatoes. We have harvested about half of them, and they will be in the shares starting this week. My go-to recipe for these nutritious tubers is as spiced wedges. Sweet potatoes are quite savory if you let them be.

Sage is in prime condition right now, and it is perfectly matched to the sweet potatoes. It is another example of the savory nature they have. Our post from September 2011 talks about this and many other facts about sweet potatoes.

In the Share - Week 20

GAI LAN AND BOK CHOY F/P  Bunches for stir-fry

TOMATOES F/P  The last good week of tomatoes is upon us.

ROMA BEANS F/P  Tom has a recipe for green beans and tomatoes in his post.

SWEET PEPPERS F/P  More sweet bells and horn-shaped sweeties.

EGGPLANT F

KOHLRABI F  The first of the fall crop.  Peel well and enjoy raw or lightly cooked.

CILANTRO, DILL OR ARUGULA F/P

NEXT WEEK:  Peppers, greens, eggplant, sweet potatoes, lettuce and kohlrabi. 

FARM REPORT:
First, an update from week 16 regarding our flock of 60 chicks.  They are over a month old now and have moved to a coop in the fields.  They are very energetic and healthy little girls.  They stay in a protected run when they are outside to keep them safe from hawks, etc.  Every few days we pull the coop down the bed so that they get fresh grass.  The love to eat anything green that we can throw at them.  Today they got some bok choy leaves that didn't make the cut for the CSA. 

Meanwhile the 2-yr. old flock got a new patch of weeds to work on today.  They are happily stripping off the seeds of the annual grasses that are such a nuisance for us. 

What to Do With Your Share---Week 20

There have been some glorious days over the past week. The weather has included lots of sunshine and fair conditions. Riding the weather through the year has its good days, and they are a real treat to experience.

Last week we enjoyed a wonderful dish I found on my FB feed from Seeds from Italy. It led to a recipe for Italian Flat Beans and Fresh Tomatoes. Beans, tomatoes, garlic, oil and salt are all that you need. We put them over rice we had melted some Goatsbeard cheese into. As good as it sounds.

Most of the braising greens bunches this week have some gai lan in the mix. Remember from our post of May 26 this year that you can chop the whole thing...leaves, buds and stems. We hope to learn more every year about how to grow and harvest this great vegetable. It has a lot of potential.

In the Share - Week 19

 TOMATOES F/P  We have picked the majority of the patch and many of the late summer hybrids are ripening nicely. 

LETTUCE F/P  Dainty, speckled heads.

ROMA BEANS F/P

FINGERLING POTATOES F/P  See Tom's post for these gourmet treats.

SWEET PEPPERS F/P  Tom talks potatoes and peppers this week.

GARLIC F/P  Essential for the above combo and also a star ingredient in the tomato and lettuce salad we had for dinner. 

EGGPLANT, SALSA PACK OR OKRA F

HERB CHOICE F  Cilantro, dill or arugula

STIR FRY GREENS F  A mix of bok choy, tat soi and gai lan.

NEXT WEEK:  tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, okra, salsa packs, greens and kohlrabi.

FARM REPORT:
Tom and I had a fun time at the potluck at the farm on Sunday.  The hayride was a hit,  the food was delicious, the kids played and the adults got in some good conversation over microbrews.

We were touched by the CSA's gift of a commemorative stone in memory of our dear dog, Rocky.  At the time, I was so intent on not crying that I didn't pay attention to the card attached.  Inside there was $135 to be donated to the Veggie Voucher Fund in Rocky's honor.  I can think of no better way to remember his good nature than to help our members in affording their CSA share.

A big thank you to all the folks who donated your resources and creative energy towards making the potluck a real community event.

 

With the party over, we were back to work on Monday with the planting of the high tunnel first on the list.  Lettuces, radishes, gai lan, chard, endive, arugula, bok choy, herbs and tat soi were added to the spinach and hakurei turnips that we planted earlier.  By the end of the day we were watering them all in with the drip irrigation.

What to Do With Your Share---Week 19

It seems that the idea we had three years ago to have the harvest dinner at the farm is a hit. A splendid time was had by all, and the food was so delicious. The craft beers were a nice addition too.

The sweet peppers are in full ripeness these days, and they are a treat to pick and wash. The colors are vibrant and the taste is sweet. Do as the farmworkers do, and eat them like a hand fruit.

Another peak performer is the French fingerling potatoes. Their elongated shape makes it  easy to cut into fries or wedges. The simplest of recipes is to then lightly oil them and coat with the herb rub of your choice before baking at 400 deg F for about half an hour. They are a favorite here on the farm.

This morning I captured Momma prowling the grounds near a couple buckwheat patches. These cover crops are a wonderful morning sight, and perhaps the source of a cat's breakfast.

In the Share - Week 18

 Okra season

TOMATOES F/P

YELLOW ONIONS F/P

SWEET PEPPERS F/P

GREEN BEANS F/P  By Saturday we should have some Roma (flat-pod) beans, but there are still some nice "normal" beans to pick tomorrow. 

DESIREE POTATOES F  Cream of flesh and rose of skin.

SALSA PACK, EGGPLANT OR OKRA F The stars of the late summer.

EGGPLANT P

HOT PEPPERS, DRIED HERBS, OR RADISHES F

NEXT WEEK:  tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, salsa packs, roma beans, garlic, and the first of the fall greens.

FARM REPORT:
It has been a whirlwind of a week here.  The summer harvest continues, we have begun to plant the high tunnel, the barn remodel is in full swing, and we are attempting to tidy up the farm before 100+ guests arrive on Sunday.  Along with the crabgrass and the foxtail, there are many crops to see.  The Sunday hayride will bring you past our half acre of brassica family (broccoli, cabbage, kale, etc.).

 

You may also meet some our resident wildlife.  Remember those friendly butterflies from two weeks ago?  Here's another one, by itself this time drinking nectar from a zinnia.

 

 

 

 

The monarch larvae can be found all over our farm on their favorite plant, the vining milkweed.  We started the practice of leaving this "weed" wherever we find it.  Even climbing up a tomato plant it does no harm to our crops that it uses as a trellis.  The monarch eggs will be laid on it and larvae will hatch and quickly devour every leaf.  That's what I call a win-win situation.  The butterflies eat our weeds and we in turn leave them their only food source. 

 

 

Thanks to the stellar killing power of our nation's favorite herbicide, milkweed is declining.  Keep an eye out for the vining milkweed in your gardens and protect it.  It is pretty common and is easily mistaken for it other vining cousins.  The stem is thick and upright with heart-shaped leaves.