BGF News - August 21, 2018-Vol. XL, No.12
In this week’s box:
Basil: Red Rubin
Beans: Mix: Carson (yellow) & Empress (green)
Cherry Tomato Mix
Cucumber: Diva/Marketmore (green, English), Suyo Long (long green, Asian)
or Lemon (round, yellow) final delivery
Head Lettuce: Concept (dk green), Magenta (red) or Nevada (bright green)
Peppers: Ace or Revolution (red bells), Islander (purple to orange bell), Quadrato D'Asti Giallo
(yellow bell), Golden Marconi (long, pointed yellow) or PASS (small, yellow)
Spaghetti Squash
Sweet Onions: Ailsa Craig
Tomatoes: asst varieties, see descriptions on the 7/24 post
and perhaps one of the following:
Broccoli: side shoots
Cantaloupe: Minnesota Midget or Rocky Ford (green interior)
Cauliflower: Sicilian Purple (purple) or Goodman (white)
Okra: Burgundy & Candle Fire
Watermelon: Sugar Baby (dk green stripe w/ red interior) or Cream of Saskatchewan (lt green,
striped with white interior)
For those with the Egg option [full shares]: one dozen free-range eggs
For those with the Herb option: sweet basil, oregano, lemon balm
Featured Recipes: ** indicates a BGF favorite
Basil: Red Rubin
Beans: Mix: Carson (yellow) & Empress (green)
Cherry Tomato Mix
Cucumber: Diva/Marketmore (green, English), Suyo Long (long green, Asian)
Cucumber: Diva/Marketmore (green, English), Suyo Long (long green, Asian)
Head Lettuce: Concept (dk green), Magenta (red) or Nevada (bright green)
Peppers: Ace or Revolution (red bells), Islander (purple to orange bell), Quadrato D'Asti Giallo
(yellow bell), Golden Marconi (long, pointed yellow) or PASS (small, yellow)
(yellow bell), Golden Marconi (long, pointed yellow) or PASS (small, yellow)
Spaghetti Squash
Sweet Onions: Ailsa Craig
Sweet Onions: Ailsa Craig
Broccoli: side shoots
Cantaloupe: Minnesota Midget or Rocky Ford (green interior)
Cauliflower: Sicilian Purple (purple) or Goodman (white)
Okra: Burgundy & Candle Fire
Watermelon: Sugar Baby (dk green stripe w/ red interior) or Cream of Saskatchewan (lt green,
striped with white interior)
For those with the Egg option [full shares]: one dozen free-range eggs
For those with the Herb option: sweet basil, oregano, lemon balm
Featured Recipes: ** indicates a BGF favorite
What’s up on the farm?
Precipitation in the past week: 0.8"
A rainy Monday morning on the farm
The above photo is the most important thing that happened on the farm this week...it rained! Not a lot, but more rain than we have seen since June (.2" late last week and .6" on Monday.) It came slow and soft and while we would like much more, it was most welcome! This will help the fall crops more than anything else we can do though we will have to turn the irrigation lines back on tomorrow.
I'm not sure I have done an adequate job of sharing how very dry it is here (and in areas south of us). We hope you haven't felt the reality of the drought in your weekly deliveries. We've tried to keep the boxes as full and varied as possible, but it is getting harder and harder to do so, especially with crops like cucumbers and summer squash finishing up for the season. There isn't much new yet to give you. We are seeing the greatest shortages in leafy greens and tomato volume, though the tomatoes seem to be ratcheting up their production this week. The greens front is really a struggle for us right now. We had nearly 300 heads of lettuce bolt far sooner than we were expecting, which means only a small percentage of them are usable. We do have more lettuce coming, but it has been slowed by the weather and may not be ready for next week's delivery. The replacement chard crop is struggling as well, but we hope to see it start to size up in the next couple of weeks. New kale is growing nicely in flats, but still has to be transplanted and grow out for about 4 weeks. It isn't all bad, as I said, the tomatoes seems to be speeding up and the peppers look pretty good, though they too are slow to color.
We are sending out something new and fun this week that we hope you will enjoy. It is the first time we've grown spaghetti squash and the crop was pretty good in the field. We hope you enjoy it, whether it is an old favorite or a new adventure for you!
Spaghetti squash, sunflowers and smiles!
More seasonal progress around the farm this week. We cleared the high tunnel cucumbers and spent lettuce, plus the unusable lettuce from the field. Beds are prepped and ready to be resown. We have some surprisingly good germination in our late carrots and the choi and turnips are looking pretty good. A few things will need some remedial sowing, but hopefully not too many. Let's keep hoping for more rain soon!
Precipitation in the past week: 0.8"
 |
| A rainy Monday morning on the farm |
The above photo is the most important thing that happened on the farm this week...it rained! Not a lot, but more rain than we have seen since June (.2" late last week and .6" on Monday.) It came slow and soft and while we would like much more, it was most welcome! This will help the fall crops more than anything else we can do though we will have to turn the irrigation lines back on tomorrow.
We are sending out something new and fun this week that we hope you will enjoy. It is the first time we've grown spaghetti squash and the crop was pretty good in the field. We hope you enjoy it, whether it is an old favorite or a new adventure for you!
 |
| Spaghetti squash, sunflowers and smiles! |
A little detail on your produce this week:
Cantaloupe: If your cantaloupe seems a bit short of ripe, keep it at room temperature for a few days or until there is a sweet smell coming from the stem end. Once the melon ripens, store it in the refrigerator. It is best not to cut a cantaloupe until you are ready to eat it. If you need to return cut melon to the refrigerator, do not remove the seeds from the remaining sections as they keep the flesh from drying out. Use within 3-5 days.
Cucumber: Store unwashed cucumbers in a sealed plastic bag in the vegetable crisper bin for about a week. Keep cucumbers tucked far away from tomatoes, apples, and citrus—these give off ethylene gas that accelerates cucumber deterioration. You can do a lot of fancy things to the skin of a cucumber, but when it is young, fresh (and unwaxed), it really only needs to be thoroughly washed. However, if the skin seems tough or bitter you can remove it; if the seeds are bulky, slice the cucumber lengthwise and scoop them out.
Okra: These lovely, dark red, horn-shaped vegetables are a warm weather treat. Extremely cold sensitive, store in their plastic bag in the warmest part of your fridge, or place the plastic bag in a small paper sack and store in the crisper drawer and use within the week. Traditional southerners will cut into rounds, bread in cornmeal and fry, but our favorite version is our dear friend Annie's method, "All I do is rinse off the pods and lay them in a saucepan with a little water in the bottom. Ten to fifteen minutes is all it takes...twenty if the pods are really big and "woody" feeling. I put salt on them and eat as finger food. It reminds me of young sweet corn."
Onions: cured and ready to use or store at room temperature or a bit cooler (basement) with good air circulation. Once cut, store in a sealed container in the refrigerator. Sweet onions don't store as long as other types, so be sure to use them in the next few weeks.
Peppers: Place whole, unwashed peppers in a plastic bag, seal, and refrigerate for a week or more. Rinse peppers just before use. For sweet peppers, cut around the stem with a small knife and lift out the core. Slice down the side to open it up and then cut out the inner membranes. Store unused portions in a sealed bag or container in the refrigerator.
Spaghetti Squash: A true winter squash, store spaghetti squash like you would an acorn or butternut squash, at room temperature or a bit cooler (basement) with good air circulation. To prepare, bake in the oven or the quicker version is to microwave 5mins/1lb until fork goes through. Cut squash in half and scope out the seeds. Scoop out seeds, then scoop out the flesh of the squash and flake off “spaghetti” into strands and use as a pasta replacement or as a vegetable side dish.
Cantaloupe: If your cantaloupe seems a bit short of ripe, keep it at room temperature for a few days or until there is a sweet smell coming from the stem end. Once the melon ripens, store it in the refrigerator. It is best not to cut a cantaloupe until you are ready to eat it. If you need to return cut melon to the refrigerator, do not remove the seeds from the remaining sections as they keep the flesh from drying out. Use within 3-5 days.
Cucumber: Store unwashed cucumbers in a sealed plastic bag in the vegetable crisper bin for about a week. Keep cucumbers tucked far away from tomatoes, apples, and citrus—these give off ethylene gas that accelerates cucumber deterioration. You can do a lot of fancy things to the skin of a cucumber, but when it is young, fresh (and unwaxed), it really only needs to be thoroughly washed. However, if the skin seems tough or bitter you can remove it; if the seeds are bulky, slice the cucumber lengthwise and scoop them out.
Okra: These lovely, dark red, horn-shaped vegetables are a warm weather treat. Extremely cold sensitive, store in their plastic bag in the warmest part of your fridge, or place the plastic bag in a small paper sack and store in the crisper drawer and use within the week. Traditional southerners will cut into rounds, bread in cornmeal and fry, but our favorite version is our dear friend Annie's method, "All I do is rinse off the pods and lay them in a saucepan with a little water in the bottom. Ten to fifteen minutes is all it takes...twenty if the pods are really big and "woody" feeling. I put salt on them and eat as finger food. It reminds me of young sweet corn."
Onions: cured and ready to use or store at room temperature or a bit cooler (basement) with good air circulation. Once cut, store in a sealed container in the refrigerator. Sweet onions don't store as long as other types, so be sure to use them in the next few weeks.
Peppers: Place whole, unwashed peppers in a plastic bag, seal, and refrigerate for a week or more. Rinse peppers just before use. For sweet peppers, cut around the stem with a small knife and lift out the core. Slice down the side to open it up and then cut out the inner membranes. Store unused portions in a sealed bag or container in the refrigerator.
Spaghetti Squash: A true winter squash, store spaghetti squash like you would an acorn or butternut squash, at room temperature or a bit cooler (basement) with good air circulation. To prepare, bake in the oven or the quicker version is to microwave 5mins/1lb until fork goes through. Cut squash in half and scope out the seeds. Scoop out seeds, then scoop out the flesh of the squash and flake off “spaghetti” into strands and use as a pasta replacement or as a vegetable side dish.
Tomatoes: prefer to reside on your counter and not in the refrigerator unless they have been sliced. A light "squeeze" is the best test for ripeness.
A few other details: All of your GREENS will keep best if stored in a plastic bag, with the top folded over and placed in the produce drawer of your refrigerator.
** NOTE: You will notice over the course of the season that some box contents listed above say "Perhaps one of the following..." These are items that we can’t harvest in sufficient quantities for the whole CSA to receive at one time. We do track who gets what and we will do our best to ensure that everyone eventually receives each item. On some items this may take several weeks, so please be patient.
Is a weekly newsletter not enough for you and you want to read more about our daily adventures or see pictures of the farm? Follow us on Facebook at Blue Gate Farm and/or share your recipes, experiences and questions with other BGF members at Blue Gate Farm Community.
That’s about it this week, if you have any questions or comments be sure to let us know.
Best from the farm,
Jill & Sean (and Luci & Indigo)
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