In this week’s box:
Basil: Genovese or Italian Large Leaf
Beans: Empress, Fortex and Golden Goal
Carrots: asst.
Head Lettuce: asst
Jubilee Cherry Tomato Mix (see 7/21 newsletter for details)
Peppers: asst. (see 8/11 newsletter for details)
Summer Squash: see descriptions in "A little detail"
Sweet Onion: Candy
Tomato: Slicers (see 7/28 newsletter for details)
and at least one of the following: (please see **NOTE after "A Little Detail...)
Broccoli: Gypsy
Cantaloupe: Minnesota Midget
Cucumbers: Suyo Long, Lemon, Marketmore or Striped Armenian
Eggplant: Orient Express
Mini Bell Peppers: bite-sized, sweet red, yellow & orange peppers
Okra: Bowling Red & Candle Fire
Snap or Snow Peas
For those with the Egg option [Full Shares]: one dozen free-range eggs
For those with the Herb option: sweet basil, oregano & garlic chives
Basil: Genovese or Italian Large Leaf
Beans: Empress, Fortex and Golden Goal
Carrots: asst.
Head Lettuce: asst
Carrots: asst.
Head Lettuce: asst
Jubilee Cherry Tomato Mix (see 7/21 newsletter for details)
Peppers: asst. (see 8/11 newsletter for details)
Summer Squash: see descriptions in "A little detail"
Sweet Onion: Candy
Tomato: Slicers (see 7/28 newsletter for details)
and at least one of the following: (please see **NOTE after "A Little Detail...)
Broccoli: Gypsy
Cantaloupe: Minnesota Midget
Cucumbers: Suyo Long, Lemon, Marketmore or Striped Armenian
Eggplant: Orient Express
Mini Bell Peppers: bite-sized, sweet red, yellow & orange peppers
Okra: Bowling Red & Candle Fire
Okra: Bowling Red & Candle Fire
Snap or Snow Peas
For those with the Egg option [Full Shares]: one dozen free-range eggs
For those with the Herb option: sweet basil, oregano & garlic chives
What’s up on the farm?
Precipitation in the past week: 0.00"
A dewy dawn offers a change
in perspective
While people across the state are trying to recover from last week's crazy storm we're continuing to count our blessings (and hope for a nice soaking rain). So today instead of grumping about how dry it is and how challenging it is to get the fall crops in with these conditions, we're going to take a little tour around the farm to remind ourselves how lucky we are.
The crew harvesting carrots
Our weeding "supervisor"
The tomato patch. If you look closely you'll see
the army of swallows that helps control our insects
The guardian of the beans
The tomato cage. Each crate holds
25-45 lbs of tomatoes!
So besides wandering around the farm taking pictures, what else have we been up to? The theme of the week continues to be crop turnover. We are making progress clearing the retired crops and getting the fall crops in, though we still have a ways to go. The extra dry conditions are just complicating everything. We have cleared the first plantings of beans, patty pan squash and carrots and have most of the beds ready for replanting. Cabbage, cauliflower and kale have all been replanted. Direct sown crops are coming more slowly, but the first sowing of turnips are just coming up. More recent sowings of additional turnips, daikon and watermelon radish need a couple more days of irrigation to germinate. Still to sow are salad mix, spinach, kohlrabi, arugula and other greens. More broccoli and chard are ready to transplant later this week.
I've been warning for several weeks now that the end of the cucumber season is here, and then the few remaining vines keep eking out a few fruits so we kept them around. This week is the formal end. The field vines (down to just a couple of sad vines) have to go to make way for fall crops. There are still a few vines living in the high tunnel, but those are soon to go as well. This year was a bumper season for the cucumber beetles and as they have slowly killed the cukes, they have moved on to other crops in the same family. We are sad to say that the summer squash and cantaloupes are failing fast and many of the winter squash plants and watermelons have died as well. After last year's bumper crop of winter squash and melons, we were hoping for a repeat this season, but sadly it just isn't going to happen. There are still some summer squash, cantaloupe and winter squash to come, but it won't be many and their season will end before we are ready.
Meet the Crew: Hannah
I have really enjoyed working for Jill over the past 5 years; walking in her footsteps and gleaning all I can from her tremendous knowledge of vegetables, herbs, fruits, mushrooms and yarn spinning. (The fiber kind-there is no way I could every spin a tale like she can! Which is one of my favorite things about the farm: all of her funny life stories she tells us to pass the time.)
Each day at BGF is an adventure that I look forward to. I enjoy planting garlic and my favorite veggies to harvest are okra, roselle and winter squash. I also enjoy packaging fruits and vegetables each week for CSA and VegEmail.
Harvesting tomato hornworms is the WORST job on the farm!! They squeak when picked up, arch their bodies toward your fingers and create a loud POP underfoot. Even so, I do find some small satisfaction by their riddance so that those who look forward to beautiful, chemical-free tomatoes will have more of an abundance!
A little detail on your produce this week:
Precipitation in the past week: 0.00"
 |
| A dewy dawn offers a change in perspective |
 |
| The crew harvesting carrots |
 |
| Our weeding "supervisor" |
 |
| The tomato patch. If you look closely you'll see the army of swallows that helps control our insects |
 |
| The guardian of the beans |
 |
| The tomato cage. Each crate holds 25-45 lbs of tomatoes! |
So besides wandering around the farm taking pictures, what else have we been up to? The theme of the week continues to be crop turnover. We are making progress clearing the retired crops and getting the fall crops in, though we still have a ways to go. The extra dry conditions are just complicating everything. We have cleared the first plantings of beans, patty pan squash and carrots and have most of the beds ready for replanting. Cabbage, cauliflower and kale have all been replanted. Direct sown crops are coming more slowly, but the first sowing of turnips are just coming up. More recent sowings of additional turnips, daikon and watermelon radish need a couple more days of irrigation to germinate. Still to sow are salad mix, spinach, kohlrabi, arugula and other greens. More broccoli and chard are ready to transplant later this week.
I've been warning for several weeks now that the end of the cucumber season is here, and then the few remaining vines keep eking out a few fruits so we kept them around. This week is the formal end. The field vines (down to just a couple of sad vines) have to go to make way for fall crops. There are still a few vines living in the high tunnel, but those are soon to go as well. This year was a bumper season for the cucumber beetles and as they have slowly killed the cukes, they have moved on to other crops in the same family. We are sad to say that the summer squash and cantaloupes are failing fast and many of the winter squash plants and watermelons have died as well. After last year's bumper crop of winter squash and melons, we were hoping for a repeat this season, but sadly it just isn't going to happen. There are still some summer squash, cantaloupe and winter squash to come, but it won't be many and their season will end before we are ready.
Meet the Crew: Hannah
I have really enjoyed working for Jill over the past 5 years; walking in her footsteps and gleaning all I can from her tremendous knowledge of vegetables, herbs, fruits, mushrooms and yarn spinning. (The fiber kind-there is no way I could every spin a tale like she can! Which is one of my favorite things about the farm: all of her funny life stories she tells us to pass the time.)
Each day at BGF is an adventure that I look forward to. I enjoy planting garlic and my favorite veggies to harvest are okra, roselle and winter squash. I also enjoy packaging fruits and vegetables each week for CSA and VegEmail.
Harvesting tomato hornworms is the WORST job on the farm!! They squeak when picked up, arch their bodies toward your fingers and create a loud POP underfoot. Even so, I do find some small satisfaction by their riddance so that those who look forward to beautiful, chemical-free tomatoes will have more of an abundance!
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.
Beans:Fresh beans are an easy "store." Just leave them in their plastic bag and keep them in the produce drawer. Can last up to 2 weeks.
Broccoli & Cauliflower: Wrap loosely in a plastic bag and keep it in the vegetable bin of your refrigerator for up to a week. Immediately before cooking, soak, 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/cauliflower in salt water before storing, it will become too rubbery and too wilted to enjoy.) Slice the juicy, edible stems and use them wherever florets are called for. Peel particularly thick skin before using.
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.
Eggplant: Eggplant prefers to be kept at about 50° F, which is warmer than most refrigerators and cooler than most kitchen counters. Wrap unwashed eggplant in a towel (not in plastic) to absorb any moisture and keep it in the vegetable bin of your refrigerator. Used within a week, it should still be fresh and mild. The shape of an eggplant determines how it is best prepared. Slice a straight, narrow eggplant into rounds for grilling or broiling, and cut a rounded, bulbous eggplant into cubes for stews and stir-fries.
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."
Peas: best kept in a plastic bag or glass container in your refrigerator. Use within a week.
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.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! Our varieties: 8 Ball (green,round), Golden Glory (bright yellow zucchini), Patty Pan(scalloped white, green or yellow), Slik Pik (thin, yellow) or Zephyr (green & yellow)
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.
Beans:Fresh beans are an easy "store." Just leave them in their plastic bag and keep them in the produce drawer. Can last up to 2 weeks.
Broccoli & Cauliflower: Wrap loosely in a plastic bag and keep it in the vegetable bin of your refrigerator for up to a week. Immediately before cooking, soak, 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/cauliflower in salt water before storing, it will become too rubbery and too wilted to enjoy.) Slice the juicy, edible stems and use them wherever florets are called for. Peel particularly thick skin before using.
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.
Eggplant: Eggplant prefers to be kept at about 50° F, which is warmer than most refrigerators and cooler than most kitchen counters. Wrap unwashed eggplant in a towel (not in plastic) to absorb any moisture and keep it in the vegetable bin of your refrigerator. Used within a week, it should still be fresh and mild. The shape of an eggplant determines how it is best prepared. Slice a straight, narrow eggplant into rounds for grilling or broiling, and cut a rounded, bulbous eggplant into cubes for stews and stir-fries.
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."
Peas: best kept in a plastic bag or glass container in your refrigerator. Use within a week.
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.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! Our varieties: 8 Ball (green,round), Golden Glory (bright yellow zucchini), Patty Pan(scalloped white, green or yellow), Slik Pik (thin, yellow) or Zephyr (green & yellow)
Tomatoes: always store whole tomatoes at room temperature, out of direct sunlight. Once cut, store in a sealed container in the 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 & Sky)
Tomatoes: always store whole tomatoes at room temperature, out of direct sunlight. Once cut, store in a sealed container in the 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 & Sky)
 |
| Indigo, Luci & Sky |
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