Holy Hot Tamales! We are WAY ahead of schedule. I just looked back at old week #4 newsletters from the last 6+ years. There is nothing to compare with what we are experiencing this season as far as harvest goes. Normally, you would still be receiving beet greens not Full Sized Beets in your share. You would be receiving head lettuce not Eggplant and Zucchini. For what it's worth, enjoy this true summer...we might not have another one like it for a while...or this might just become the new normal. Either way, this week, there will be eggplant in the boxes....and zucchini....and basil. Technically, you are receiving all of this bounty in July, but we all know that the first day of July might as well be June when it comes to produce.
So, we've all noticed that is is kind of hot outside. Because of this, Willy has been trying to get to the farm by about 5 in the morning. Needless to say, if you run into him in the afternoon or evening he may be a little bit loopy with sleep deprivation. Pretty soon, he will find a little time to nap in the early afternoon but right now (June and July) he is in crunch-mode. It is all out warfare as he works to plant, weed, harvest, re-plant, re-weed and repeat.....It looks like he is going to go for a a second sowing of beans and peas this year since both seem to be finishing with plenty of summer left to come. With any luck, we will have a 2 harvest year for both of these crops.
The shell peas are nearly ready. By next week, you should start to see these in the boxes. My traditional warning is to 'get ready' since these require a little extra work. We won't overwhelm you with them but just realize that you may need to spend a few more minutes with this crop before it is edible. Fortunately, little hands are good at this job and often you can pass the work on to the younger members of your family.
AND...Willy started to pull the garlic. This is usually a job that is saved for the end of July, not June 30th. However, the heads look beautiful and full and they are ready to come out of the ground. We will start putting them in the boxes as soon as they have cured.
Looks like a bumper onion crop and the carrots will start coming out of the ground next week. The peppers are looking great and the Hungarian Wax variety already is showing a few mature peppers. These are from OUTSIDE beds, not high tunnel beds. Maybe you aren't impressed by this, but I am constantly amazed by what a few warm nights can do for our heat-loving plants.
I think that is enough gushing for now....enjoy the fruits of summer....it is a bountiful time of the year!
Also, we just cut the hay fields...woohoo! If you need bales for mulch etc...let us know.
In Your Share This Week:
Kale/Collards/Chard, Beets (either traditional red or Italian), Broccoli, Basil, Eggplant, Zucchini/Patipan, Head Lettuce, Kohlrabi, Garlic
Recipes:
Penne with Creamy Zucchini and Basil Sauce http://joanne-eatswellwithothers.com/2011/07/marcella-hazans-penne-with-creamy-zucchini-and-basil-sauce.html
Basic Roasted Beets http://joanne-eatswellwithothers.com/2011/07/marcella-hazans-penne-with-creamy-zucchini-and-basil-sauce.html
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Monday, June 22, 2015
Tierra Garden 2015 CSA Week 3
The weather is unbelievable! Thanks to Willy's tenacity and all of the hard work from both our family and our friends (including all of the new work-trade help) we are, in a sense, ahead of schedule.
This last weekend, I found 3 ripe eggplant OUTSIDE. This never happens in Leavenworth in mid-June. All of these eggplant were from a new Asian variety that we are trialing this summer. It seems to be a good one and is well ahead of the Italian varieties we have been growing (and continue to grow). We also pulled 2 cucumbers out of the glass house with more coming. It is difficult to say when there will be enough for all the boxes but at least they are starting to make an appearance. There are tomatoes on the vine as big as my fist and the cherry tomatoes outside are starting to be covered in hundreds of little green globes. As long as we continue to have favorable evening temperatures, it looks like we could have an early start to some of summer's favorite crops.
It looks like we get to add another member to our farming A-Team. Our friend Malerie has left her position at Cloudview Ecofarm and will be starting up at Tierra sometime over the next week or so. This is incredibly good news and adds one more amazing young farmer to our arsenal of outstanding help. Willy is toying with the idea of opening up even more ground since the farm crew seems to be having no problem staying on the weeding in all of our traditional gardens as well as the new beds that were added this season.
We have added a new helper on the animal front as well....there is a weasel that has made its home inside the high tunnel. Apparently, it must have moved in over the winter and made a little den for itself underneath the strawberry bed. It seems to be very friendly and social and its presence explains the lack of predation our strawberries have experienced this spring....I think our new weasel friend has been gobbling up all of the voles, mice and gophers (and maybe birds) that have come to nibble on the berries. For the time being, no harm is coming from having this little guy around so we are letting it be. Even Comet, our dog, doesn't seem to mind. We are still thinking of a good name for the Weasel and are toying with the name 'Despareaux'.
There have also been some challenges over the last couple of months. Several plantings came in 'spotty' due to the flux in weather a few weeks ago...primarily the squash and zucchini. These beds have all been re-sown and by mid-summer the new babies should catch up to their older counterparts. I don't anticipate you as CSA members will notice this delay much since we tend to put items into the boxes before we commit to market each week. It will be our market stands that will feel a little bit of a pinch but will re-bound as the new plantings begin to mature.
I am also concerned about the stretch of VERY hot weather that is coming our way. That kind of weather can be a curse when growing produce. The plants can get pushed too hard and it can cause problems with fruit set and rapid growth. Fortunately, at this point, Willy has many years of farming experience under his belt and I am sure we will be able to mitigate our way through this heat spell like we have done in the past.
Have a great week!
In Your Share This Week: Looks like there will be Kale, Collards, Turnips, Peas, Garlic Scapes, Beets, Cilantro, Head Lettuce and a couple other surprises.
Recipes:
Glazed Turnips- http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/glazed-turnips-104647
Kickin' Collards Recipe-/http://allrecipes.com/recipe/kickin-collard-greens/
More on Garlic Scapes-http://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/garlic-scapes.aspx?PageId=2#ArticleContent
This last weekend, I found 3 ripe eggplant OUTSIDE. This never happens in Leavenworth in mid-June. All of these eggplant were from a new Asian variety that we are trialing this summer. It seems to be a good one and is well ahead of the Italian varieties we have been growing (and continue to grow). We also pulled 2 cucumbers out of the glass house with more coming. It is difficult to say when there will be enough for all the boxes but at least they are starting to make an appearance. There are tomatoes on the vine as big as my fist and the cherry tomatoes outside are starting to be covered in hundreds of little green globes. As long as we continue to have favorable evening temperatures, it looks like we could have an early start to some of summer's favorite crops.
It looks like we get to add another member to our farming A-Team. Our friend Malerie has left her position at Cloudview Ecofarm and will be starting up at Tierra sometime over the next week or so. This is incredibly good news and adds one more amazing young farmer to our arsenal of outstanding help. Willy is toying with the idea of opening up even more ground since the farm crew seems to be having no problem staying on the weeding in all of our traditional gardens as well as the new beds that were added this season.
We have added a new helper on the animal front as well....there is a weasel that has made its home inside the high tunnel. Apparently, it must have moved in over the winter and made a little den for itself underneath the strawberry bed. It seems to be very friendly and social and its presence explains the lack of predation our strawberries have experienced this spring....I think our new weasel friend has been gobbling up all of the voles, mice and gophers (and maybe birds) that have come to nibble on the berries. For the time being, no harm is coming from having this little guy around so we are letting it be. Even Comet, our dog, doesn't seem to mind. We are still thinking of a good name for the Weasel and are toying with the name 'Despareaux'.
There have also been some challenges over the last couple of months. Several plantings came in 'spotty' due to the flux in weather a few weeks ago...primarily the squash and zucchini. These beds have all been re-sown and by mid-summer the new babies should catch up to their older counterparts. I don't anticipate you as CSA members will notice this delay much since we tend to put items into the boxes before we commit to market each week. It will be our market stands that will feel a little bit of a pinch but will re-bound as the new plantings begin to mature.
I am also concerned about the stretch of VERY hot weather that is coming our way. That kind of weather can be a curse when growing produce. The plants can get pushed too hard and it can cause problems with fruit set and rapid growth. Fortunately, at this point, Willy has many years of farming experience under his belt and I am sure we will be able to mitigate our way through this heat spell like we have done in the past.
Have a great week!
In Your Share This Week: Looks like there will be Kale, Collards, Turnips, Peas, Garlic Scapes, Beets, Cilantro, Head Lettuce and a couple other surprises.
Ellie Holm Collecting Garlic Scapes
Glazed Turnips- http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/glazed-turnips-104647
Kickin' Collards Recipe-/http://allrecipes.com/recipe/kickin-collard-greens/
More on Garlic Scapes-http://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/garlic-scapes.aspx?PageId=2#ArticleContent
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Tierra Garden 2015 CSA Week 2
Hello Everyone!
I hope you enjoyed the first box of produce. True to form, it varied from what we had expected it to be. The nice part was the added bonus of the Arugula. If you haven't spent much time using Arugula before, it can make a great pesto. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/michael-chiarello/arugula-pesto-recipe.html This recipe calls for pine nuts, but that is not necessary. Pine nuts can be very expensive. Sunflower seeds or cashews make an acceptable substitution for most pestos.
The farm is looking absolutely beautiful these days. If you have not been out there, sometime you should drive through for a visit. This season we have hired our first ever employee. Laura Lentz has worked on many farms now, including the Sleeping Lady Organic Garden and at Gibbs Farm. She spent some time working on a 900 person CSA farm in Minnesota before she moved out to Washington. Needless to say, she is an incredibly hard worker and knows her way around a tractor. She has been helping Willy with the field work about 20-30 hrs/wk. This has been a big transition for us as we move into the realm of becoming an employer. We could not have asked for a better employee to get us started down this road. With any luck, we will have the capacity to continue to expand as demand for local produce continues to grow.
We also seem to have a great crew of work-trades at the farm this season. Some veterans keep returning again and again. Jeanne Miller is going to receive a trophy for her service as #1 Salad Weeder. I have lost track of the number of seasons that she has helped to keep the salad and spinach from getting swallowed up by the 'green carpet of death'. There are a number of new faces as well. There is good mojo at the farm.
The veggies are growing quickly but we are having a couple of trouble spots. The flea beetles are hammering the mustard greens. Flea beetles are usually only a problem in the spring but this year they are determined to stick around. Every year there is a pest of particular note....this is the year of the flea beetle. Also, we ended up with a bad seed lot on some of our broccoli so we will be missing a bed of it in the early part of the season. It simply did not germinate. Willy has re-sown with new seed in a new location.
As with every season, the first 3 weeks or so of the CSA are pretty heavy on the greens. This year, we decided to surprise you by growing a 'bonus' bed of carrots in the high tunnel. These were grown specifically for the CSA.....we hope you enjoy them. Also, the peas are starting to ripen. This is earlier than usual. It will help to break up the monotony of leafy greens. Overall, I think that this year has had the most variety available the earliest for our boxes.
We are trying to keep from overloading your fridges so we decided to withhold putting in another napa cabbage this week. They are delicious and one of my favorites (I like to finely chop them and add lime juice and the use them for tacos or burritos) but they are very large. We are thinking that another head of napa will go into the boxes next week. Willy has already made (and started to devour) his first batch of kimchi at home.
Have a great week!
In Your Box This Week:
Salad Mix, Snap Peas, Pak Choi, Swiss Chard, Carrots, Green Garlic, Garlic Scapes, Radishes, Cilantro!
Recipes:
Stir-Fried Bok Choy with Ginger http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/robin-miller/stir-fried-bok-choy-with-ginger-and-garlic-recipe.html
Sauteed Swiss Chard with Parmesan Cheese http://allrecipes.com/recipe/sauteed-swiss-chard-with-parmesan-cheese/
How To Cook With Greeen Garlic http://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/inside-our-kitchen/article/how-to-cook-with-green-garlic
I hope you enjoyed the first box of produce. True to form, it varied from what we had expected it to be. The nice part was the added bonus of the Arugula. If you haven't spent much time using Arugula before, it can make a great pesto. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/michael-chiarello/arugula-pesto-recipe.html This recipe calls for pine nuts, but that is not necessary. Pine nuts can be very expensive. Sunflower seeds or cashews make an acceptable substitution for most pestos.
The farm is looking absolutely beautiful these days. If you have not been out there, sometime you should drive through for a visit. This season we have hired our first ever employee. Laura Lentz has worked on many farms now, including the Sleeping Lady Organic Garden and at Gibbs Farm. She spent some time working on a 900 person CSA farm in Minnesota before she moved out to Washington. Needless to say, she is an incredibly hard worker and knows her way around a tractor. She has been helping Willy with the field work about 20-30 hrs/wk. This has been a big transition for us as we move into the realm of becoming an employer. We could not have asked for a better employee to get us started down this road. With any luck, we will have the capacity to continue to expand as demand for local produce continues to grow.
We also seem to have a great crew of work-trades at the farm this season. Some veterans keep returning again and again. Jeanne Miller is going to receive a trophy for her service as #1 Salad Weeder. I have lost track of the number of seasons that she has helped to keep the salad and spinach from getting swallowed up by the 'green carpet of death'. There are a number of new faces as well. There is good mojo at the farm.
The veggies are growing quickly but we are having a couple of trouble spots. The flea beetles are hammering the mustard greens. Flea beetles are usually only a problem in the spring but this year they are determined to stick around. Every year there is a pest of particular note....this is the year of the flea beetle. Also, we ended up with a bad seed lot on some of our broccoli so we will be missing a bed of it in the early part of the season. It simply did not germinate. Willy has re-sown with new seed in a new location.
As with every season, the first 3 weeks or so of the CSA are pretty heavy on the greens. This year, we decided to surprise you by growing a 'bonus' bed of carrots in the high tunnel. These were grown specifically for the CSA.....we hope you enjoy them. Also, the peas are starting to ripen. This is earlier than usual. It will help to break up the monotony of leafy greens. Overall, I think that this year has had the most variety available the earliest for our boxes.
We are trying to keep from overloading your fridges so we decided to withhold putting in another napa cabbage this week. They are delicious and one of my favorites (I like to finely chop them and add lime juice and the use them for tacos or burritos) but they are very large. We are thinking that another head of napa will go into the boxes next week. Willy has already made (and started to devour) his first batch of kimchi at home.
Have a great week!
In Your Box This Week:
Salad Mix, Snap Peas, Pak Choi, Swiss Chard, Carrots, Green Garlic, Garlic Scapes, Radishes, Cilantro!
Recipes:
Stir-Fried Bok Choy with Ginger http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/robin-miller/stir-fried-bok-choy-with-ginger-and-garlic-recipe.html
Sauteed Swiss Chard with Parmesan Cheese http://allrecipes.com/recipe/sauteed-swiss-chard-with-parmesan-cheese/
How To Cook With Greeen Garlic http://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/inside-our-kitchen/article/how-to-cook-with-green-garlic
Wednesday, June 10, 2015
Tierra Garden 2015 CSA Week 1
Hi everyone!
I thought I would try a blog format this season for our newsletter. That way, it will be easily accessible even if you lose the email or are really curious about what happened at the farm this week but aren't involved in the CSA program.
Over the next couple of weeks, I think I will also start to post past blogs from the last few seasons. For me, it is really interesting to look back at these little windows of time and see what life was like during a certain week in a certain year and to note the similarities and differences in what was harvested.
I know that this season is very different from other years. We are starting off with strawberries in the first box, which has never happened before. This is in part due to the fact that this batch of berries was planted in our high tunnel but also because the weather has been so warm for so long now. As I mentioned in the email I sent earlier this week, the spinach has already come and gone and so have the radishes! These were planted on their usual schedule and were intended to be harvested for the first 2 weeks of the CSA. Well, again, the weather rules over all and they reached maturity quickly and had to be harvested....there was just no way to slow down their growth....the soil temperature dictates that, not us.
So Welcome! If you are new to the CSA, please feel free to contact me with any questions at eron@tierralearningcenter org. Your job will be to return your bins to their weekly pick up location so that we can re-fill them with fresh produce. Certainly, you will forget from time to time. I have a large back stock of waxed produce boxes that I acquired from Sage Mountain all winter long. I will use these in the event that you forgot your bin. However, if the forgetting becomes chronic, I will send you a little reminder email.
Drop Off times for Sage Mountain and Just Plain Grocery is by 4 PM on Wednesday. Some days it may arrive sooner but it won't arrive later. Plan on 4 PM. Both locations have a cool place where we can store the produce. However, please pick up your box within 24 hrs since they are busy establishments and need the space for other things. Both locations have worked with us for at least 8 seasons. They are both run by wonderful, friendly people and we feel fortunate to be able to offer this drop off service.
In Your Share This Week:
This is a weekly section of the newsletter. This is our 'Best Guess'. Please, if the contents of the box is different from the newsletter, Don't Panic. This just means we had to make some last minute decisions based off of what we observed in the field. All boxes are packed at the same time with the same contents. Everything is counted out in bunches in the field so it everyone receives the same number of items.
In the 'In Your Share' section, there is usually a note that looks like this:
Kale/Collards/Chard
This means that you will be receiving one of those items but not all 3.We try and rotate through the leafy greens so you do not get bored or overwhelmed with one specific kind. If there is a (/) between two items it means either/or.
So, for this week, it will look like this......
In Your Share This Week: Salad Mix, Pak Choi, Kale/Collards/Chard, Fresh Garlic, Garlic Scapes, Strawberries, Napa Cabbage and maybe a surprise or two....
Recipes:
For the time being, I am going to include them as links that you can click on and follow to the referring sites. That will save space.
Garlic Scape Pesto: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/pasta-with-garlic-scape-pesto-395769
Roasted Napa Cabbage: http://www.food.com/recipe/roasted-napa-cabbage-283763
I think that should get us all going and ease us back into life with fresh veggies.
Thanks again for being a part of our farm. It should be a great year.
Enjoy the week!
Eron
I thought I would try a blog format this season for our newsletter. That way, it will be easily accessible even if you lose the email or are really curious about what happened at the farm this week but aren't involved in the CSA program.
Over the next couple of weeks, I think I will also start to post past blogs from the last few seasons. For me, it is really interesting to look back at these little windows of time and see what life was like during a certain week in a certain year and to note the similarities and differences in what was harvested.
I know that this season is very different from other years. We are starting off with strawberries in the first box, which has never happened before. This is in part due to the fact that this batch of berries was planted in our high tunnel but also because the weather has been so warm for so long now. As I mentioned in the email I sent earlier this week, the spinach has already come and gone and so have the radishes! These were planted on their usual schedule and were intended to be harvested for the first 2 weeks of the CSA. Well, again, the weather rules over all and they reached maturity quickly and had to be harvested....there was just no way to slow down their growth....the soil temperature dictates that, not us.
So Welcome! If you are new to the CSA, please feel free to contact me with any questions at eron@tierralearningcenter org. Your job will be to return your bins to their weekly pick up location so that we can re-fill them with fresh produce. Certainly, you will forget from time to time. I have a large back stock of waxed produce boxes that I acquired from Sage Mountain all winter long. I will use these in the event that you forgot your bin. However, if the forgetting becomes chronic, I will send you a little reminder email.
Drop Off times for Sage Mountain and Just Plain Grocery is by 4 PM on Wednesday. Some days it may arrive sooner but it won't arrive later. Plan on 4 PM. Both locations have a cool place where we can store the produce. However, please pick up your box within 24 hrs since they are busy establishments and need the space for other things. Both locations have worked with us for at least 8 seasons. They are both run by wonderful, friendly people and we feel fortunate to be able to offer this drop off service.
In Your Share This Week:
This is a weekly section of the newsletter. This is our 'Best Guess'. Please, if the contents of the box is different from the newsletter, Don't Panic. This just means we had to make some last minute decisions based off of what we observed in the field. All boxes are packed at the same time with the same contents. Everything is counted out in bunches in the field so it everyone receives the same number of items.
In the 'In Your Share' section, there is usually a note that looks like this:
Kale/Collards/Chard
This means that you will be receiving one of those items but not all 3.We try and rotate through the leafy greens so you do not get bored or overwhelmed with one specific kind. If there is a (/) between two items it means either/or.
So, for this week, it will look like this......
In Your Share This Week: Salad Mix, Pak Choi, Kale/Collards/Chard, Fresh Garlic, Garlic Scapes, Strawberries, Napa Cabbage and maybe a surprise or two....
Recipes:
For the time being, I am going to include them as links that you can click on and follow to the referring sites. That will save space.
Garlic Scape Pesto: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/pasta-with-garlic-scape-pesto-395769
Roasted Napa Cabbage: http://www.food.com/recipe/roasted-napa-cabbage-283763
I think that should get us all going and ease us back into life with fresh veggies.
Thanks again for being a part of our farm. It should be a great year.
Enjoy the week!
Eron
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