BGF NEWS - June 11, 2024 - VOL. 52, NO. 2

In this week’s box:

Choi-Beijing Express
Daikon
Garlic Scapes (the green, curly things)
Golden Oyster Mushrooms
Head Lettuce, assorted varieties
Lemon Balm
Peas- Snow or Sugar Snap

Swiss "Cheese" Chard
Tapestry Popcorn

and perhaps one of the following: (see **NOTE below)
Broccoli
Cauliflower: Japanese

Herb It! option: will start in a few weeks as the annual herbs mature

Featured Recipes:  

Napa Cabbage & Mushrooms (use Beijing Express & oysters)

Garlic Scape Refrigerator Pickles

Vietnamese Pickled Carrots and Daikon 

The Great Chard E'Scape **see recipe below**

What’s up on the farm?
Precipitation in the past week: Trace

It's been a week of progress on the farm! 

I feel like we touched every inch of crop soil that is under cultivation this year.  On Wednesday the crew cleared the big high tunnel of early season crops and replanted to warm weather crops like cucumbers, basil, peppers and celery. 

We also got the last of more than 400 dahlia tubers planted, plus sowed more beans, edamame and fennel. After that we grabbed our cultivating tools and hit all the planted fields. Thousands of weeds were evicted from the crop ground (insert villainous laugh here). We finally look more like a vegetable farm again and less of a weed farm. We even managed to get the potatoes hilled twice.

Hopefully we will get at least one more hilling before they get too tall. Speaking of potatoes, we've also been scouting the potato plot every few days for the dreaded potato beetle larva, and boy, have we found them! This is about the worst that we've had them in recent years. Since we are chemical-free, the way we manage them is to pick them off by hand and drop them into soapy water. We have about 3,500 row feet of potatoes, so it takes some time to inspect every plant, but it's worth it!

Gross, nasty things!

They ate every leaf off this plant

We managed to miss all the rain last week, which is how we were able to get so much field work done, but it also means we had to start irrigating our crops. We only have part of the system in, since we hadn't needed it earlier, and the unirrigated crops are getting jealous and threatening a walk out. So we'll spend some time later this week getting the rest of the lines run and giving everyone a good soak. Maybe we'll also get lucky and it will rain!

A couple of notes about things in your box this week. You may have noticed in the box contents list above that we included Swiss" Cheese" Chard. No, it isn't an actual cheesy vegetable, our chard plants were damaged in a hail storm earlier this season. The leaves are perfectly good, they just have cosmetic damage (hail holes) so we hated to just compost them so we decided to send them out and hope you can forgive their "holiness". 

On a more fun note, we are also sending out popcorn this week. This is the first time we've included our Tapestry Popcorn in the CSA delivery, but we had a record-breaking harvest last fall and wanted to share the bounty. It's been in cold storage all this time, so it pops beautifully. It's one of our favorite crops (and treats) and we hope you enjoy it! 

And finally we are sending out the first of the broccoli and cauliflower in some boxes this week. The early season weather was hard on the plants and they are heading out while the plants are still too small. This means the heads are also small, especially on the broccoli. Never fear, there should be more to come.  We grow a variety of cauliflower that may be unfamiliar to some of you, it's a Japanese variety and it's form is more open than traditional cauliflower, making it a cinch to cut into small florets. It's also extra tender and sweeter than other varieties. We love it and hope you do too!

A little detail on your produce this week:

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 soaked 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.

Daikon: Trim the tops and roots. Peel if you like (though not necessary). Daikon will last up to 2 weeks stored in the fridge in plastic bag or wrapped in damp towel in fridge. 

Garlic Scapes: One of our favorite crops of the year. These curly green things 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 would be perfect in last week's garlic salt recipe, 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.

Herbs: Generally, except for basil, set unwashed bunches of fresh herbs (with stems) upright into small jars filled with 1 to 2 inches of water, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for up to two weeks. Rinse fresh herbs right before use. To release their scents and flavors, rub them between your hands before mincing or chopping. If you have no idea what to do with fresh herbs, there is one great default answer "compound butter." Finely mince leaves and knead them into a stick of room temperature butter. Roll the butter into a log in plastic wrap and store in the freezer. Then simply slice off the amount you need to add delicious, ready-to-use flavor to vegetables, bread or meats.

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. Please be sure to cook all mushrooms before consuming.

Peas: We grow snow peas (flat pod with little bumps showing immature peas inside) and sugar snap peas (rounded pods with mature peas inside). Both have edible pods and can be used interchangeably in recipes. They are particularly good in stir-fries and salads, though we tend to eat them fresh as a snack. Peas keep best in their plastic container in the produce drawer of your refrigerator.

Popcorn: Good for microwave, stovetop or air popper (stovetop is our favorite). Store at room temperature in an airtight container for 3-6 months or in the freezer for up to a year.


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? Do you want to read more about our life on the farm and see more pictures? Follow us on Facebook at Blue Gate Farm or on Instagram at bluegatefarmfresh. CSA members can also connect with other BGF members to share recipes, photos or ask questions on our FB community page at Blue Gate Farm Community.
That's about it for now.
If you have any questions or comments, be sure to let us know.
Best from the farm,
Jill & Sean (and the whole BGF crew)






The Great Chard E’Scape
1 big bunch Swiss chard
1 tbs olive oil
5-6 fresh garlic scapes (or more to taste) or 1-3 cloves minced garlic
Sea salt
Optional: Seasoned Rice Vinegar

Cut garlic scapes into bite-sized pieces. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic scapes. Trim large stems from chard leaves. Cut stems into 1” pieces. Add stems to skillet. Stack chard leaves and roll into a tube. Cut into ½” strips. As scapes and stems just begin to soften, add leaves to skillet. Cook until leaves wilt. Sprinkle with salt to taste. A little shake of seasoned rice vinegar over the top is very tasty!

Great served over pasta with red sauce or as a side dish. Leftovers are tasty in eggs the next day.

Recipe Source: Blue Gate Farm