BGF News - September 11, 2018-Vol. XL, No.15
In this week’s box:
Arugula (in bag)
Beans: Mix: Carson (yellow) & Empress (green)
Collards
Cherry Tomato Mix
Garlic: hardneck
Head Lettuce: Kiribatis (bright green), Magenta (reddish green ) or Rutilai (dark red)
Sweet Peppers: Ace or Revolution (red bells), Islander (purple to orange bell), Quadrato D'Asti
Giallo (yellow bell), Golden Marconi (long, pointed yellow) or PASS (flat, yellow)
Tomatoes: asst varieties, see descriptions on the 7/24 post
and at least one of the following:
Broccoli: side shoots (entire shoot, including leaves, is edible)
Cantaloupe: Minnesota Midget or Rocky Ford (green interior)
Cauliflower: Sicilian Purple (purple) or Goodman (white)
Eggplant: Orient Charm, Orient Express and/or Listada de Gandia
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 & half shares]: one dozen free-range eggs (asst. colors)
For those with the Herb option: sweet basil, chives & lemon thyme
Featured Recipes: ** indicates a BGF favorite
Sausage & Senposai Over Pasta (replace senposai with collards)
Sauteed Collard Greens with Garlic, Peppers and Onions
Spiced Okra
Arugula-Cherry Tomato Pizza with Feta Cheese
Arugula (in bag)
Beans: Mix: Carson (yellow) & Empress (green)
Collards
Cherry Tomato Mix
Beans: Mix: Carson (yellow) & Empress (green)
Collards
Cherry Tomato Mix
Garlic: hardneck
Head Lettuce: Kiribatis (bright green), Magenta (reddish green ) or Rutilai (dark red)
Head Lettuce: Kiribatis (bright green), Magenta (reddish green ) or Rutilai (dark red)
Sweet Peppers: Ace or Revolution (red bells), Islander (purple to orange bell), Quadrato D'Asti
Giallo (yellow bell), Golden Marconi (long, pointed yellow) or PASS (flat, yellow)
Broccoli: side shoots (entire shoot, including leaves, is edible)
Cantaloupe: Minnesota Midget or Rocky Ford (green interior)
Cauliflower: Sicilian Purple (purple) or Goodman (white)
Eggplant: Orient Charm, Orient Express and/or Listada de Gandia
Okra: Burgundy & Candle Fire
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 & half shares]: one dozen free-range eggs (asst. colors)
For those with the Herb option: sweet basil, chives & lemon thyme
Featured Recipes: ** indicates a BGF favorite
Sausage & Senposai Over Pasta (replace senposai with collards)
Sauteed Collard Greens with Garlic, Peppers and Onions
Spiced Okra
Arugula-Cherry Tomato Pizza with Feta Cheese
What’s up on the farm?
Precipitation in the past week: 2.9"
The difference on the farm in the past 2 weeks is rather remarkable. We had nearly 3 inches of rain in this past week, and about the same the week before that. The grass is green and lush, the new transplants are growing, seeds are sprouting and the farmers are much relieved! It almost looks like spring out there, except that the wild areas are fair glowing with an abundance of yellow fall blooms. Clearly the goldenrod wasn't offended by the recent drought conditions, much to the delight of the butterflies.
We spent much of the past week catching up on lots of inside tasks. We cleared most of the warm-season crops from the small high tunnel and sowed/transplanted chard, kale and beets for fall & winter harvests. The change in just 24 hrs in there is pretty remarkable. The same will happen shortly to the large tunnel.
September 5th
September 6th
We also cleaned and stored the rest of the garlic, which is a huge task! We are celebrating by sending it out in this week's delivery. You will notice that while the individual cloves are decently sized, the heads themselves are notably smaller than in the past. That is the mark of a full year of drought conditions. Since they are smaller, we are sending out extra numbers. We promise, they still taste delicious!
Once the soil dried out enough, we were able to get back into the field and clear the last of the eggplant and prep and sow that bed to fall beets. That means today will be the final delivery of eggplant for the season. We also transplanted another round of head lettuce and a bed of fennel.
Harvesting pears
Our final activity for the week was hosting friends from our "Gang of 5 Farms." While we always have fun just hanging out with this group, we usually get a bunch of things done for the host farm as well. Our accomplishments on this round included weeding the strawberry beds, removing the shade cloth from the big tunnel and harvesting pears. We also managed to celebrate the coming end of the tomato season by eating a big batch of pasta with fresh tomatoes and roasted seasonal vegetables. Huge thanks to all the friends/willing hands in the group!
Upcoming events:
Farm Crawl is Sunday, October 7th from 11am-5pm. Details can be found at www.farmcrawl.com. Every year we invite CSA members not only to come out and tour the farms, but also to be part of the BGF team. So here is your chance for 2018. In the past, individuals/families have helped out with greeting visitors, sharing information, helping out at the chickens, parking and other various tasks. And, even better, you can still "Do the Crawl"! We are asking for volunteers to come for a 2 hour shift, so there is still time to visit the other farms. If you (and/or your family) would be interested in helping out at the farm please let us know. If you join us, we will set you up with some very fine BGF gear.
Final 2018 CSA delivery: Our final delivery of the season will be Tuesday, October 16th
VegEmail sales begin: Tuesday, November 6th
Precipitation in the past week: 2.9"
We spent much of the past week catching up on lots of inside tasks. We cleared most of the warm-season crops from the small high tunnel and sowed/transplanted chard, kale and beets for fall & winter harvests. The change in just 24 hrs in there is pretty remarkable. The same will happen shortly to the large tunnel.
 |
| September 5th |
 |
| September 6th |
Once the soil dried out enough, we were able to get back into the field and clear the last of the eggplant and prep and sow that bed to fall beets. That means today will be the final delivery of eggplant for the season. We also transplanted another round of head lettuce and a bed of fennel.
 |
| Harvesting pears |
Upcoming events:
Farm Crawl is Sunday, October 7th from 11am-5pm. Details can be found at www.farmcrawl.com. Every year we invite CSA members not only to come out and tour the farms, but also to be part of the BGF team. So here is your chance for 2018. In the past, individuals/families have helped out with greeting visitors, sharing information, helping out at the chickens, parking and other various tasks. And, even better, you can still "Do the Crawl"! We are asking for volunteers to come for a 2 hour shift, so there is still time to visit the other farms. If you (and/or your family) would be interested in helping out at the farm please let us know. If you join us, we will set you up with some very fine BGF gear.
Final 2018 CSA delivery: Our final delivery of the season will be Tuesday, October 16th
VegEmail sales begin: Tuesday, November 6th
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.
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."
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.
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.
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.
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."
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.
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.
Watermelon: Handle watermelons carefully. When harvested at their peak ripeness, they can crack or split easily if bumped or roughly handled. Refrigerate watermelons right away. (Watermelons do not ripen off the vine and do not emanate a ripe smell.) Cut melon should be covered in plastic wrap, chunks or slices should be kept in an airtight container, and both should be refrigerated. Eat all melons within a week.
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.
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)
** 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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