CSA Newsletter

Greetings from the Garden!  This box has lettuce, salad greens, kohlrabi and other braising greens, celery, cabbage, snap peas, garlic scapes, green onions, carrots or beets, parsley, mint, and asparagus

Field Notes.  We are so grateful for the rain on Tuesday (and so are the plants).   We watched the water levels of the irrigation ponds drop, rain barrels become empty, and wondered how long it would be.  Ken has read that the first rain brings not only water, but the droplets surround particles in the atmosphere and bring nutrients with them.  Because of this it is really important to keep soil ready to absorb that first rain.  Ken keeps the soil cultivated so it is not hard and crusty.  This helps.  And the rain Tuesday started slowly, so the moisture could soak into the soil rather than running off.

Ken has been mowing and weeding and cultivating.  He is less inclined to mow everything and trim edges as years ago when he did that the cucumber beetles, having lost their habitat in the tall grass outside the field, moved into the crops!  HE has also worked to leave some blooming plants for the bees .  During the hot summer days he works outside early and late.  During the heat of the day he finds either jobs in the shade or those that require a slower pace.  

Previous farm tour

Farm Tour at Keppers is Sunday, July 14th 2 - 4 p.m.  A tour of garden, fields, and greenhouses followed by a snack from the garden.  Please let me know if you plan to attend so I know numbers for food. 

From the Kitchen.  Enjoy the asparagus as we are at the end of the season.  The plants need to grow and save energy for next year's harvest.  Asparagus looks like tall ferns once Ken stops harvesting.  We have been adding asparagus to pasta salads, served as a cold salad with Asian dressing, and I actually cooked some in a hot heavy cast iron skillet in bacon fat.  It was delicious.

Last week a woman bought a large quantity of garlic scapes to make pesto - what a great idea.  Her green garlic pesto would be a great addition to sauces, chicken, pasta.  I have been mincing and adding scapes to salad dressing and I added sliced scapes to chicken breasts with Ken's Asian plum sauce.

Our summer cabbage should have a different name.  When one says cabbage, most people think of a big light colored dense head that is best used for sauerkraut.  This early season cabbage has a mild, green flavor.  Summer cabbage is GREAT in salads, slaw or cut into quarters lengthwise and lightly steamed.  Ken adds butter or umeboshi paste - a pickled plum sauce available at natural food stores.

'Til Next Week - or better yet see you Sunday for the Farm Tour, 
Judith

CSA Newsletter

baby beet and turnips to be thinned

Greetings from the Garden!  This box has lettuce, salad greens, spinach, turnip and beet thins, braising greens like kohlrabi tops, green onions, garlic scapes, radishes, baby carrots or baby beets, celery, asparagus, and snap peas.

Field Notes.  Ken remains busy, but did take some time to see family in Wadena last weekend.  Even when we are busy, it is really crucial to schedule some time off or away from the farm work.  Ken has been planting more full season crops - later than usual as a result of the cool and wet spring.  Soon I will help him with the cucumber fence in the garden.  Fences make sense for certain crops as it keeps the fruit off the ground to avoid bent or rotting cucumbers.  

Pea plant

Tuesday I picked the first snap peas.  Every few years I get excited by reading in a seed catalog there is a new, delicious variety that does not need fencing.  Peas are a short season crop, so it is tough to justify the time spent on fencing.  This year I tried a new variety, and the peas ARE delicious, but this variety would have done better with a fence - duped again!  

Green tomatoes

The tomatoes and peppers are growing and there are some green tomatoes - that is pretty exciting for most people. 

Cayenne?

 Peppers are blooming and have tiny fruit.  

Some of the full season crops like Brussels sprouts are really taking off out in the field.  I should have sequential shots of the same spot to highlight plant growth.  It is so satisfying when I actually take note!



FARM TOUR JULY 14th 2 - 4 p.m.  Here at Keppers.  RSVP so I know quantity of snacks from the garden to prepare.  It is a good time to see food growing and ask Ken why he does things the way he does.  Dress for the weather and a walk in the woods (mosquitoes, ticks, etc.)

From the Kitchen.  So many exciting new things this week!  First we have garlic scapes - the first taste of fresh garlic since last year.  I chop scapes and stem and use wherever I would use fresh garlic cloves.  Time for a Caesar salad!

This week we also have the first beets or carrots, and we will rotate beets or carrots through the crop.  The early beets have tasty tops.  The carrots and beets early in the season require less cooking time than the late season varieties.

Snap peas are one of the edible pod pea varieties.  Just snap off the cap at the stem end and "unzip" any strings there may be.  I usually blanch snap peas and either serve hot or in cold summer salads.  I make a pasta salad with salmon, snap peas, green onions, and a dressing of homemade mayonnaise, mustard, yogurt or sour cream and chopped herbs like parsley or dill.

I also like snap peas in an Asian style dressing with toasted sesame oil, sesame oil, toasted sesame seeds, mild vinegar, a bit of honey and organic no wheat tamari.

'Til Next Week!
Judith

Bees are buzzing

Ken tells me of photo opportunities he sees.  A couple days ago he told me the bees were busy in the clover in the garden.  Ken plants flowers in garden and field to attract pollinators and beneficial insects.

The clover was a buzz with bees.  It was a challenge to get a good photo as they are in nearly constant motion.

The bumblebees were out, too.

And the best shot was of a wild bee in one of our blooming brassicas.  Ken is going to save the seed.

Green Manures

For years Ken has been planting green manures.  Green manures are various crops that are planted to keep the soil covered to prevent erosion and moderate soil temperatures to promote microbial life.  Hot dry soil blows away, and the micro organisms in the soil head deeper to cooler soil,  Mulching crops also works, but green manures can add nutrients - like peas fixing nitrogen.  And green manures add root mass that remains organic matter in the soil for years.

Years ago when we participated in a three year farm study for the Center for Integrated Agriculture in Madison, the leader of the study did farm visits.  He was amazed at how little soil is exposed here.

Ken plants many different green manures: rye, peas and oats, buckwheat, clover.  All have their advantages.

Crop Update

With the long days and a bit of heat, plants are growing at an amazing rate.  

The Brussels sprouts are growing with marigolds in the middle

The corn should be knee high by the fourth of July

 

Ken has been tying up tomatoes - three times now. 

Many plants are taller than I am!

And the peppers and tomatoes are blooming.

Snap peas are nearly ready to pick

There are even green tomatoes - soon we will have ripe tomatoes  a real summer treat!

What is a Garlic Scape?

Garlic is related to lilies.  Some varieties of garlic send up a shoot with a seed head with bulbils.  The grower has a choice: leave the seed head called a scape to get big or cut it when small to stimulate the bulb growth.  Scapes are delicious - use them as you would garlic.  

In Europe people let the scapes get larger and pickle them.  I usually chop them up for that fresh garlic flavor before the bulbs are ready to harvest and cure.

Summer Flowers

With July nearly here, there is a burst of beautiful flowers.

We still have a few irises - the Siberian iris blooms later than most.

The peonies have created quite a show. They always make think of my mother - some she sent me.  There is the traditional angel cheeks - nearly white, 

...and the bright pink

...and the single called Fancy Nancy - one of the ones from my mother.

Ken usually focuses on annual flowers, but he had poppies before we met.

I always hear the Wicked Witch of the West's voice (well Margaret Hamilton the actress who played her) saying poppies whenever I see them.

And of course I think of Georgia O'Keeffe, too.

Ken likes several old fashioned flowers - marigolds, snap dragons, and of course pinks...

...and Sweet Williams.

In addition to the color, beauty, and fragrance, the bees and butterflies are also attracted to all the flowers.  We work to encourage the pollinators.