Building the Arches

Ken set up a frame for the arches. I came down and helped put them together.










After the arches were together, Ken put the end wall arches together.











Now once we get the sidewalls up we are ready for the arch raising

Setting the Track

One of the most difficult challenges in building the mobile high tunnel is setting the track.The two tracks need to be parallel and on a level plane - one end can be higher or one side, but it needs to be consistent.






And the foundation for any building project is crucial for its success. Ken had set up the track, a string and the transit. Loyal came by and helped. They measured various points along the track.









It is first one side, and then the other -












The covered cart is for the many tools on site.




















Job done for the day

New Chicks on the Farm

After the turkey babies hatched, I collected chicken eggs and set them in the incubator. We prefer to have hens go broody and hatch them, but this summer's weather was not very co-operative.

Well night before last Ken left me a midnight note on the bathroom mirror - chicks hatching. So I waited 24 hours and more kept hatching. Once I thought we were done, I moved them into a big box with a light, water and food.

But one more has hatched! Here is what they look like just out of the egg. I will wait a couple more days to see if more hatch.

CSA Newsletter

Greetings from the Garden! This week's box has salad and braising greens like mizuna, Tokyo bekana, pea shoots , chard, mustard, and tomatoes, pepper, leeks, winter squash, carrots, celery, grapes, and apples.

Field Notes. It has been a GREAT fruit year. From strawberries to raspberries, to melons to grapes to apples - all did well. And in spite of several weather extremes - so much heat in June and July, record rain in the second half of July, and a very dry September, many crops have done well, and we are glad to have filled boxes each week.

Work continues on the mobile high tunnel. We have a crew coming Friday for the arch raising, and more people helping with the bracing on Saturday. After that the last task is to pull the plastic over the structure.

And soon we will be digging and storing roots. We have tried coolers, but find that harvesting and quickly burying the roots in sand keeps them best. When I dig them out of sand through the winter they appear to be freshly dug and keep their flavor.

From the Kitchen. We have been eating the tomatoes with blemishes. Ken pops them in boiling water, removes skins chops and places in a pan, brings to a boil, places them in a colander over a bowl. We use the tomatoes in sauces for pasta or in Spanish rice. Ken places the juice in the bowl under the colander in a two quart jar and we drink the clear juice and use the bottom in soups.

Mizuna and arugula and endive make great zippy salads. Try making a dressing with a bit of cream and minced garlic with a blend of herbs, a bit of honey, lemon juice, olive oil. If I have cheese I add it, Chopped walnuts are nice, too.

Leeks are the smoothest, creamiest members of the onion family. To clean a leek, cut lengthwise and rinse out any soil that has washed up in between the leaves. Leeks are great in cream soups and stews. I also have been sauteing leeks and adding peppers and various Asian greens bok choy, mizuna, or chard. Once wilted I add balsamic vinegar or some interesting dressing.

A recent cooking show featured endive sauteed with onions in butter and added to a pasta dish. Looked beautiful with the green and colorful red sauce. I think it would be great with any robust green.

CSA Newsletter

Greetings form the Garden! This week's box has lettuce, salad and braising greens, mustard, tatsoi, bok choy, celery, tomatoes, onions, winter squash, cucumbers, apples, and grapes.

Field Notes. As the trees turn color, and the mornings are cooler, I think of Ken harvesting roots and me root cellaring. Ken is juggling putting up the mobile high tunnel and harvesting. He reports that this is the first week the volume of tomatoes has dropped. And he has been picking apples and grapes. He assesses which to pick based on keeping ability. We grow several types of apples, and summer apples do not keep. Later season, firm textured apples like Haralsons are the best keepers. This has been one of our best years for fruit - remarkable really.

Sunday a friend came out and helped Ken start laying the track for the mobile high tunnel. Once that is set he will start constructing the arches and components that then will be lifted into place and secured together. Like farming, building is a process. And also like farming, the care taken on the base whether it is the soil or the track is time well spent. No one wants to grow vegetables in poor, weedy soil, and no one put a building on a tipsy foundation! Our photo this week is of the heavy equipment that leveled the new field and dug an irrigation pond.

From the kitchen. Ken has been bringing in squash that has cracked or lost its stem or may be unripe. On these cool mornings it feels good to light the oven. I wash the squash, cut a jack - o - lantern top, scoop the seeds, replace the top and bake. The next meal I place some butter in a skillet and reheat the squash in the butter. Then Ken made some squash soup with sauteed onions, celery, and peppers. He put the squash in the blender with soup stock and added to the sauteed vegetables.

I have been using the cutting lettuce 50/50 with other lettuces and using a creamy garlicky dressing. It is also nice cooked - braised or grilled. Mustard is good in salad, but I prefer it braised or added to soups. Tatsoi is one of the most versatile greens we grow. Its dark green leaves and white stems add nice color contrast to a salad, and it is a bright, beautiful addition to soups or stir fry. Bok choy is great in a stir fry with onions, and either carrots or tomatoes for color. Traditionally bok choy was used in chop suey. I prefer it cooked, but many people eat it raw as well.

I dry the celery leaves and use them in winter soups and stews. And ken has been adding celery to breakfast soups. Cream of celery soup is nice served cold or hot. Saute and onion and some celery with any herbs you like - we like thyme and savory. Run through a blender with stock. Return to pan, heat, add salt and pepper to taste, and add cream, milk, or yogurt just before serving.

This week's apples are a russeted variety with good firm texture and nice flavor. We have been eating them raw as snacks and we often quarter core, and stew with apple or combinations of apple and grape or apple and raspberry juice, a cinnamon stick and a couple allspice berries for breakfast.

CSA Newsletter

Greetings from the Garden! This week's box has watermelon, grapes, tomatoes, cucumbers, salad greens, braising greens, bok choy, mizuna, celery, onions, thyme, parsley, and winter squash.

Field Notes. Frost last week means certain plants are done, but frost mellows kale and other greens. The push is on now as days shorten and the weather cools down to move into fall crops like squash and roots.

This week is a historic one here at Keppers. The heavy equipment operator arrived Monday to pull stumps and level the field for the mobile high tunnel. Once he wraps up, we will split our focus between harvest and building the mobile high tunnel. If you want to be involved in building a mobile high tunnel, send us an email or call us. We can use help, and it promises to be an interesting project. We are so excited about the possibilities this structure presents for extended season vegetables. Here is a "before" photo of the future site.

From the Kitchen. Ah winter squash - Ken pulled a couple that had cracks, and baked them - such a sweet taste of fall. We rinse, set on the counter, cut a "Jack - o - Lantern" like cap, scoop the seeds, replace the cap, and bake. I usually serve with a bit or butter and salt and pepper. Left overs can be steamed or made into squash soup.

Ken has been cooking down tomatoes so we have juice and stewed tomatoes. I have been adding the tomatoes to sauteed onions or leeks, herbs, and pasta or rice topped with some grated cheese for suppers as a side dish. Ken heats the juice for a morning warm up.

It is Asian week. Mizuna and tatsoi are mild mustard that are good in salad, braises, added at the last to soups, and just anywhere you want some green. Bok choy is not just for stir fry. It is great in a morning or evening soup as a warm up on these cooler days. I add it to clear broths or miso soups - first the stalks for about a minute and then the greens just before serving.

Celery is another flexible vegetable. I usually dry the leaves by setting them in a dry spot out of the sunlight. I use them like a herb in winter stews and soups.

Our grapes and watermelons have seeds. We have found older and hardier varieties that do well in our climate have seeds, but also the flavor is better, and the seeds are actually healthy to eat! Enjoy!

CSA Newsletter

Greetings from the Garden! This week's box has tomatoes, cucumbers, summer squash, corn, leeks, carrots, celery, greens - lettuce, cutting lettuce, mustard and mizuna, grapes, melons, and basil.

Field Notes. There is frost on the horizon. If not this week it could be up to a month away. Frost signals the end of some crops - basil and summer squash are the first to go, and the beginning of others. We will be digging potatoes and sweet potatoes and harvesting winter squash.

Work continues on the preparation for the mobile high tunnel. This weekend a young, muscular friend, Clifton came out and helped with brush and wood splitting, buzzing and stacking. This week the man with heavy equipment comes and start to set a level plane. Then Ken will begin work on putting down the track.
The sooner we can get the greenhouse up and running, the sooner the soil can start warming up! Progress!

From the Kitchen. With cooler nights I am using lots of basil - it won't take frost, so that will be the end for the season. Last night we had sauteed leeks, tomatoes, and LOTS of basil on pasta. I have also made more tomato salad with balsamic vinegar and olive oil, minced garlic and Lots of basil for a pot luck picnic.

Enjoy the summer squash, too, as that will die with frost. A friend is buying our surplus and grating it and freezing it for future zucchini bread.

With the cool nights, the greens are bouncing back, and the mustards are beautiful! I tend to saute a leek or onion, add the greens to wilt and dress with interesting vinegars. I am also getting back to morning soups as the temps drop over night.