Tuesday, June 30, 2020

BGF NEWS - JUNE 30, 2020 - VOL. XLV, NO. 5


In this week’s box:

Beets: Ace (red) and/or Chioggia (red/white striped)
Cabbage: Golden Acre
Green Garlic
Head Lettuce: assorted varieties
Oregano
Purslane
Summer Squash: 8 Ball (green,round), Golden Glory (bright yellow zucchini),  Patty Pan(scalloped white, green or yellow), Slik Pik (thin, yellow) or Zephyr (green & yellow)

and perhaps one of the following: (please see **NOTE  after "A Little Detail...)     
Beans: Empress
Broccoli: Gypsy
Cauliflower: Goodman
Snap or Snow Peas

For those with the Egg option [Full & Half shares]: one dozen free-range eggs
For those with the Herb option: Sweet basil, chives & parsley

What’s up on the farm?

Precipitation in the past week: 0.70"

In the world of vegetable farming, the gold standard is 1" of rain a week. These past few weeks we have been hitting pretty close to that and the growth in the fields shows it! Plants can double in size in a week and it seems like some are doing that very thing right now. The early crops are finishing up but the mid-season crops are really coming into their own, both in size and in flowering/fruiting.  
First cauliflower of the season
We harvested the very first of the beans this week and the cabbage and cauliflower suddenly put on so much growth that we needed to start harvesting them. So, lucky you, cabbage again this week, though European this time. The basil finally got big enough that we are starting weekly deliveries of Herb Share to those who signed up for it. Those folks will get basil every week (different varieties) and next week everyone else will start getting basil every other week.
We are seeing nice fruit set on the peppers and tomatoes as well as on the melons and winter squash. We were pretty aggressive with the summer squash last week so this week it took a bit of a break. We anticipate it being back in fine form next week.
Juliet tomatoes setting nice fruits
Baby watermelons are ridiculously cute








Our focus this week included more cultivating (surprise!), installing our pole bean trellis, hilling potatoes and chasing deer out of the high tunnel! But our biggest task was getting all the posts in place for our tomato trellising. The process includes placing and pounding in about 300 posts.  Then each of the 500+ tomato plants are pruned and afterwards, twine is woven through the plants and around the posts. Additional lines are added as the tomatoes grow. It isn't anyone's favorite job, but luckily it only happens once a year. As of Monday, all of the posts are in and half of the tomatoes are pruned and trellised with 2 lines. We hope to have it all completed by this Friday.

We do try to have a little fun with this annual chore!

A little detail on your produce this week:


Basil hates the cold and will turn black with exposure. Keep long stemmed basil in a glass/vase of water on your counter top (out of direct sunlight). Stems that are too short (trimmings/tops) should be placed in a plastic bag or clamshell, with a dry paper towel. Then put inside of a paper bag (for insulation) and put in the warmest part of your refrigerator (usually the door) or on the top shelf towards the front.

Beets- Cut off greens, leaving an inch of stem. Refrigerate the unwashed greens in a closed plastic bag and use with your chard mix as beets and chard are closely related. Store the beet roots, unwashed, with the rootlets (or “tails”) attached, in a plastic bag in the crisper bin of your refrigerator. They will keep for several weeks, but their sweetness diminishes with time. Just before cooking, scrub beets well and remove any scraggly leaves and rootlets. If your recipe calls for raw beets, peel them with a knife or vegetable peeler, then grate or cut according to your needs baby/young beets usually don't need to be peeled.

Broccoli & Cauliflower: Wrap broccoli loosely in a plastic bag and keep it in the vegetable bin of your refrigerator for up to a week. Immediately before cooking, soak broccoli, head down, in cold, salted water (1 teaspoon salt to a 8 cups of water) for 5 minutes. Any [organic] critters will float to the top where you can rescue them or allow them to suffer a salty death. (Note: If you soak broccoli in salt water before storing, it will become too rubbery and
wilted to enjoy.) Slice the juicy, edible stems and use them wherever florets are called for. Peel particularly thick skin before using.

Cabbage: Store dry, unwashed cabbage in the refrigerator, preferably in the vegetable bin. The outer leaves may eventually get floppy or yellowish, but you can remove and discard them to reveal fresh inner leaves. Cabbage can keep for more than a month. Once it’s cut, seal it in a plastic bag and continue to refrigerate for several weeks. Rinse the cabbage under cold running water just before use. Peel away a few of the outer leaves, then cut the cabbage according to your needs with a big, sharp knife, and then chop, sliver, or grate. Our favorite way to eat raw cabbage is as a "walking salad" which is to simply spread peanut butter over a leaf of cabbage, sprinkle with your favorite dried fruit, roll it up into a tube and enjoy. This is a kid-pleaser for sure!

Green Garlic: This is freshly harvested garlic that hasn't had time to cure yet. You will notice that the wrappers are soft and the garlic itself is very juicy. You can use it in any recipe calling for garlic. The flavor is so fresh and green that we like to use them in recipes that really highlight the flavor, like pesto or garlic butter.Store loosely wrapped in the refrigerator for best keeping quality.


Peas: best kept in a plastic bag or glass container in your refrigerator. Use within a week.

Purslane: This succulent plant is a valued green in many parts of the world, though here in the US, it is mostly known as an invasive weed. It is rich in vitamin E, vitamin C and beta carotene, and quite high in protein.  Most noteworthy of all, it is considered a better source of essential omega-3 fatty acids than any other leafy plant.  Enjoy raw or cooked in any recipe calling for greens, it is also ideal for juicing and green smoothies. Makes a terrific replacement for lettuce on tacos and tastes great cooked with eggs. Store in a paper towel (or cloth)-lined plastic bag in your crisper drawer and use within a week.


Summer Squash/Zucchini: Refrigerate unwashed zucchini and summer squash for up to a week and a half in a perforated plastic bag or in a sealed plastic container lined with a kitchen towel. These do not need to be peeled to use, just slice them up and go!

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 & Sky)


Indigo, Luci & Sky

Tuesday, June 23, 2020



BGF NEWS - JUNE 23, 2020 - VOL. XLV, NO. 4


In this week’s box:

Basil Tips: assorted varieties
Celery: Chinese Pink
Chard: Bright Lights Mix
Garlic Scapes (the curly green things)
Head Lettuce: assorted varieties
Napa Cabbage
Scallions (green onions)
Summer Squash: 8 Ball (green,round), Golden Glory (bright yellow zucchini),  Patty Pan(scalloped white, green or yellow), Slik Pik (thin, yellow) or Zephyr (green & yellow)
Strawberries: one last taste!

and perhaps one of the following: (please see **NOTE  after "A Little Detail...)     
Broccoli: Gypsy
Snap or Snow Peas

For those with the Egg option [Full shares]: one dozen free-range eggs
For those with the Herb option: Herb share will begin in a couple of weeks as herbs mature

Featured Recipes:  
Celery Leaf Pesto and other celery leaf recipes
Parmesan Summer Squash saute ** see recipe below

What’s up on the farm?

Precipitation in the past week: 0.60"

Happy Summer to you! As we pass into the official start of summer it always makes me wonder what this growing season will bring us. So far, it has been a pretty decent stretch, since those late spring freezes. We've had fairly moderate temps and somewhat normal rainfall. Crops have been sown or transplanted mostly on schedule and we're trying (as always) to stay ahead of the weeds. That has been more successful with some crops than others. Today we did "rescue weeding" of the beans, which means hand weeding because the weeds had gotten ahead of us and were too big to cultivate out. This is our least favorite kind of weeding, as it is the most time consuming and means that we've gotten behind on a crop. That said, it does happen every year to one crop or another. Besides lots of weeding and cultivating, this past week we cleared the last of the high tunnel lettuce crops and transplanted in the final crop of peppers. While cleaning up the perimeter of the big high tunnel we ran into this little guy (seriously, he was only about 12" long). I know not everyone gets as excited about snakes as I do but they play such an important role in pest control that even if one startles me, I am always happy to see them. Protecting species like this is yet another reason why it is important to us to be a chemical-free farm.
This week we also sowed the next succession of carrots, beets and beans and resowed a poorly germinated bed of butternut squash. Did I mention we also spent some time weeding and cultivating? That is the trade off to getting regular rains, it also waters the weeds! Luckily our crops too, have been enjoying those rains. The summer squashes are really putting on some nice growth and blooming like crazy! We should be be right at the edge of a bountiful squash season. The basil is finally starting to look like a solid crop and needs pinching back to encourage better growth, so you are getting the benefit of that practice. You aren't getting a lot of basil with today's delivery, really just a teaser to whet your herbal appetite, but that is all that the plants are up for right now. In a couple of weeks we expect to be sending out a bounty of basil bouquets. 
Pink celery
Another crop that has come along nicely is our Chinese pink celery. It is such a beautiful crop and tasty too! It isn't really the kind of celery that you stuff with peanut butter, as the ribs are so fine, but it is lovely sliced on a salad or sauteed in butter and cooked with eggs or other vegetables. It would also go nicely in the in the Egg Roll in a Bowl recipe. Regardless of how you use it, we hope that you enjoy it. 

A crop that hasn't been so excited about the recent weather is the Napa Cabbage. It is a challenging crop in the spring as it prefers decreasing temperatures rather than the increasing heat of summer. It was starting to look a little "peaked" so even though you just had it 2 weeks ago, we decided to send it out while it is still a quality crop rather than lose it in the field. 
European cabbage
Don't worry, our European cabbages are looking really good, so this isn't the end of cabbage season. Our main season broccoli crop is also looking great and just starting to form heads, even as the early broccoli has moved on to producing mainly side shoots. So if you get broccoli this week and wonder why you are getting a bag of florets, that's why. They are the side shoots after the main head of broccoli has been harvested. We think they are easily as desirable as the main heads as they tend to be tender and "pre-trimmed" to a smaller size.

A little detail on your produce this week:


Basil hates the cold and will turn black with exposure. Keep long stemmed basil in a glass/vase of water on your counter top (out of direct sunlight). Stems that are too short (trimmings/tops) should be placed in a plastic bag or clamshell, with a dry paper towel. Then put inside of a paper bag (for insulation) and put in the warmest part of your refrigerator (usually the door) or on the top shelf towards the front.

Broccoli: Wrap broccoli loosely in a plastic bag and keep it in the vegetable bin of your refrigerator for up to a week. Immediately before cooking, soak broccoli, head down, in cold, salted water (1 teaspoon salt to a 8 cups of water) for 5 minutes. Any [organic] critters will float to the top where you can rescue them or allow them to suffer a salty death. (Note: If you soak broccoli in salt water before storing, it will become too rubbery and
wilted to enjoy.) Slice the juicy, edible stems and use them wherever florets are called for. Peel particularly thick skin before using.

Celery: Store upright in a glass of water, loosely covered with a plastic bag, in the refrigerator.

Garlic Scapes: One of our favorite crops of the year. These curly green "springs" are the emerging flower stalk from a hardneck garlic plant. We remove them to redirect more of the plant's energy into the bulb, but it also provides us with a delightful fresh garlic treat. These keep very well in a plastic bag in your produce drawer and can be used in any recipe calling for garlic. They make a great pesto and can be minced and added to room-temperature butter, which is then stored in log shape, in the freezer for a last minute dollop of goodness for vegetables, breads or meat.

Napa Cabbage: Store Napa cabbage whole in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for a week or more. 


Peas: best kept in a plastic bag or glass container in your refrigerator. Use within a week.


Scallions (green onions): are best kept upright in a glass with about 1" of water in it. Loosely cover the tops with plastic and you will be amazed at how long they will keep. We like to throw a handful of chopped scallions into nearly any savory dish, right near the end of the cooking time.

Strawberries keep best in your refrigerator in a vented container. Use within 3-4 days.

Summer Squash/Zucchini: Refrigerate unwashed zucchini and summer squash for up to a week and a half in a perforated plastic bag or in a sealed plastic container lined with a kitchen towel. These do not need to be peeled to use, just slice them up and go!

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 & Sky)


Indigo, Luci & Sky


Parmesan Summer Squash Saute


2 tbs butter or olive oil
2-3 cups sliced summer squash (1/4” slices)
1 medium onion or several green onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3-4 tbs grated Parmesan cheese

Melt butter in sauté pan. Add onion, garlic and summer squash. Brown quickly. Sprinkle parmesan over squash slices and cover until melted. Slide cooked squash out of pan onto a serving plate.

Note: Don’t overcook squash, flavor and texture are best if squash is slightly firm.

Recipe source: Gloria Beebout (Blue Gate Farm mom)





Tuesday, June 16, 2020


BGF NEWS - JUNE 16, 2020 - VOL. XLV, NO. 3


In this week’s box:

Baby Turnips: Hakurei
Choi
Garlic Scapes (the curly green things)
Golden Oyster Mushrooms
Kale: mixed bunch 
Summer Squash id
Lemon Balm
Strawberries
Tapestry Salad Mix

and perhaps one of the following: (please see **NOTE  after "A Little Detail...)     
Broccoli: Gypsy
Snap or Snow Peas
Summer Squash: Slik Pik (light yellow)
Zucchini: 8 Ball (round, green) or Golden Glory (long, yellow)

For those with the Egg option [Full & Half shares]: one dozen free-range eggs
For those with the Herb option: Herb share will begin in a couple of weeks as herbs mature

Featured Recipes:  
Sauteed Japanese Turnips with Greens
Kale with Zucchini
Oyster Mushroom Stirfry
Grilled Zucchini "Burgers" **see recipe below

What’s up on the farm?

Precipitation in the past week: 4.0"

 We finally got our wish last week with the rain, and though four inches in 24 hours seemed like a lot at the time, it is already dusty in the fields and we are running some of the irrigation again. That rain made a huge difference for the crops though and everything has put on a serious growth spurt. For some of the early crops, that isn't a great thing. The choi we were hoping to harvest for a couple more weeks, suddenly went into overdrive and tried to go to flower. We harvested enough for today's delivery, but that is the end of the early choi. Some of the head lettuce is also wanting to do the same. Luckily we have multiple successions of lettuce planted so we should be fine there. It also means the weeds got another kick-start so we are cultivating from one end of the gardens to the other as fast as we can.  Some of our earlier transplanted crops were primed for the rain and put on a flush of blooms and fruit right afterwards. We are thrilled to start harvesting broccoli and summer squashes this week. There isn't enough for everyone yet, but it is just the beginning and we anticipate much more to come. I love the start of squash/zucchini season as it adds some nice heft to the boxes and really opens up menu options as they are SO flexible.  
My favorite thing to do with the 8 Ball zucchini is to make them into burgers for the grill. I've included the recipe at the end of the newsletter if you want to try it out.

The early broccoli is always a little on the small side, that is part of what helps it to be early. SO don't be surprised by small-ish heads. It is still tasty and would be perfect added to a nice stir-fry.

The turnips seem really slow this spring, but they have finally put on enough growth to include them in today's delivery. 
If you haven't enjoyed turnips in the past, we hope you will at least give these a try before giving them away to the neighbors. These aren't your grandma's turnips, which tended to be big and strong-flavored. These are Japanese salad turnips, developed to be enjoyed raw, though they work perfectly in cooked dishes as well. We like them straight out of the field, eaten like an apple. 

The peas too, are delicious straight out of the field. In fact, though I love them in stir-fry, they rarely make it into the kitchen. I'm not the only one who loves them. The dogs think they are a special treat and will line up for them, waiting for those that are either too mature or have too much damage to be "people food".

It's tough to be a dog on a vegetable farm!

A little detail on your produce this week:


Broccoli: Wrap broccoli loosely in a plastic bag and keep it in the vegetable bin of your refrigerator for up to a week. Immediately before cooking, soak broccoli, head down, in cold, salted water (1 teaspoon salt to a 8 cups of water) for 5 minutes. Any [organic] critters will float to the top where you can rescue them or allow them to suffer a salty death. (Note: If you soak broccoli in salt water before storing, it will become too rubbery and
wilted to enjoy.) Slice the juicy, edible stems and use them wherever florets are called for. Peel particularly thick skin before using.

Garlic Scapes: One of our favorite crops of the year. These curly green "springs" are the emerging flower stalk from a hardneck garlic plant. We remove them to redirect more of the plant's energy into the bulb, but it also provides us with a delightful fresh garlic treat. These keep very well in a plastic bag in your produce drawer and can be used in any recipe calling for garlic. They make a great pesto and can be minced and added to room-temperature butter, which is then stored in log shape, in the freezer for a last minute dollop of goodness for vegetables, breads or meat.

Lemon Balm: A lemon-flavored member of the mint family. Store upright in a glass of water, loosely covered in the refrigerator.

Oyster Mushrooms: To maximize the shelf life of raw mushrooms, refrigerate them in a paper bag; do not wrap in plastic or store in airtight container, as this will speed spoilage.  Properly stored, raw whole mushrooms will usually keep well for 4 to 7 days in the fridge. To use, trim off the stems as they are tough and either discard them or save to make a vegetable stock.

Peas

are best kept in a plastic bag or glass container in your refrigerator. Use within a week.

Strawberries keep best in your refrigerator in a vented container. Use within 3-4 days.

Summer Squash/Zucchini: Refrigerate unwashed zucchini and summer squash for up to a week and a half in a perforated plastic bag or in a sealed plastic container lined with a kitchen towel. These do not need to be peeled to use, just slice them up and go!

Turnips: keep best if separated from their greens.  Greens are stored in a plastic bag and can be cooked like mustard or collard greens (you can add them in with your Braising Greens Mix).  Trimmed roots can go into a lidded container or zip-close bag. These aren't your grandma's turnips. These are a sweet, Japanese salad variety that is particularly tasty for fresh eating. They will still work great in cooked dishes, but we love to eat them raw, often right out of hand, like an apple. One of the farm crew's favorite mid-field snacks.

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 & Sky)


Indigo, Luci & Sky
Grilled Zucchini “Burgers”
(2 servings)

Eight Ball or other zucchini, sliced in slices 1/2 to 5/8 inch thick.
1/2 cup your favorite Italian salad dressing
1 tsp. finely minced garlic
1 -2 tsp. Italian seasoning (optional)
4-6 fresh basil leaves
2-4 slices provolone cheese
Crusty bread or large rolls

Cut zucchini into slices, making sure the slices are the same thickness. Combine salad dressing with garlic and herbs, if using. Put zucchini slices into ziploc bag, pour in marinade and let zucchini marinate 4 hours or longer, can be as long as all day.

To cook zucchini, preheat grill to medium-high.

Place zucchini on grill. After about 4 minute, check for grill marks, and rotate zucchini a quarter turn. Cook 3-4 more minutes on first side.
Turn zucchini to second side, place 1-2 basil leaves on top side and cover with provolone. Cook about 4 minutes more, or until zucchini is starting to soften quite a bit, with the outside slightly charred and browned. Season with salt and fresh ground black pepper and serve hot on bread or rolls.

This recipe is also tasty with eggplant.

Recipe Source: BGF, adapted from http://kalynskitchen.blogspot.com