BGF NEWS - July 2, 2024 - VOL. 52, NO. 5

In this week’s box:

Arugula or Tapestry Salad Mix

Beans: Yellow & Green Mix

Collards

Daikon

Garlic: Music

Ginger Mint

Head Lettuce, assorted varieties

Summer Squash: Golden Glory, Patty Pan, Safari, Slik Pik, or Zephyr

and at least one of the following: (see **NOTE below)

Broccoli: some heads, some florets with edible leaves
Cauliflower: Japanese
Cucumbers: Corinto, Marketmore or Dragon

Eggplant: Orient Express

Peas: Snow

Herb It! option: Sweet Basil, Peppermint, Sage

Jam It! option: Apple Pie Jam & Ginger Peach Jam
Spice It Up! option: Nasturtium Salt

Featured Recipes:

Daikon Salad

Mint Simple Syrup
Zippy Sesame Beans **BGF Favorite, see recipe below

What’s up on the farm?
Precipitation in the past week: 1.6"

On July 1st I got up as the sun rose, got dressed, pulled on a sweatshirt and got to work. In a sweatshirt...in July! The temperatures this week are spoiling us (it's delightful). We're going to forget all our hard-earned acclimation to the heat. All it takes is one cool day and we'll have to relearn it all over again. That's ok, we'll take it! 

In the window between rains last week we were able to cultivate both high tunnels, the big east plots and do some touch up hand weeding. It's amazing how fast crops (and weeds) grow at this time of the year with warm soil and adequate moisture. The beans put on some great growth this week and we were able to start harvesting the first succession. The eggplant, cucumbers and squashes also came along nicely and we are starting to harvest those as well. The cooler temps will slow them down just a bit but we anticipate good harvests of them going forward.

Our big task was getting the tomatoes pruned. We've got a little less than 700 plants and they were looking really good. Once the pruning is done, the plants always look a little forlorn until they grow into their new haircuts, but it's a critical step. It makes trellising much easier but more importantly it helps prevent disease by increasing air flow and decreasing the chance of soil splashing up on the plant.

It's hard to believe that as we just get rolling into summer, it's time to start thinking about fall crops already. This weekend we sowed fall broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kohlrabi and head lettuce. We'll start sowing more fall leafy greens later this week. 

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 glass or plastic container 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 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.

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.

Daikon: 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.

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. Many people like to peel, salt, and drain their eggplant to draw out any bitter flavor; however, bitterness develops only in eggplant that has been stored for a while, so with farm-fresh specimens this is generally not necessary. Many recipes call for salting in order to make the vegetable less watery and more absorbent—much like draining tofu. Salting is not an essential step, but it can greatly enhance the taste and texture of your dish and is well worth the extra effort. 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.

Green Garlic: This is garlic that hasn't had time to fully 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 in a jar or other glass container in the refrigerator if you want to maintain the fresh quality or store on the counter to allow it to dry down. 

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.

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.

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? 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)

Zippy Sesame Beans

1 lb fresh green beans (whole)

2 tbs olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced (or green garlic)

1 tsp sea salt

fresh ground pepper, to taste

2 tbs seasoned rice vinegar

¼ c. sesame seeds, toasted

Place beans in a large pot of boiling water for 3-5 minutes. You don’t want to cook them, they should still crunch, just blanch until bright green. Drain and allow to cool to room temperature or slightly warm. While beans are cooking, mix garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper in a small bowl, and allow to sit at room temperature until beans are cooled. Place beans in a large bowl and toss with garlic/olive oil mixture. Add vinegar and half of sesame seeds, toss again. Place beans in serving dish and sprinkle with remaining sesame seeds. We like this dish served at room temperature as a salad or as a somewhat messy appetizer, but it is also good served warm or chilled. This is a great party or potluck dish. If you have leftovers, you might want to add another splash of rice vinegar before serving them again, just to liven up the flavor a bit.

Recipe Source: Blue Gate Farm

BGF NEWS - June 6, 2023 - VOL. 50, NO. 1

In this week’s box:

Asparagus

Baby Choi

Garlic Scapes (the green, curly things)

Head Lettuce, assorted varieties

Kale Bouquet, assorted varieties

Lemon Thyme

Misome (small, dark green bunched leaves)

Spinruts: Hakurei (baby Japanese salad turnips)

Tapestry Salad Mix

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

Snow Peas

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

Jam It! option: Apple Jam & Lime Berry Jam

Spice it Up! option: Nunum Salt

Bread Share: Italian Herb

Featured Recipes:  

Microwave Asparagus and Lemon Risotto

Roasted Sweet Turnips with Thyme

Super Green Stir-fry

BGF Favorite Kale Salad (see recipe below)

What’s up on the farm?

Precipitation in the past week: 0.2"

Welcome to the first delivery of the 2023 CSA season and the start of weekly newsletters!

The boxes feel a little light at this time of the season and you will notice the abundance of greens and not quite as much variety as we expect later in the season. This is part of the joy of eating fresh, seasonal foods. As the season continues the weight and variety of the contents will increase with the arrival of heavier crops including beans, tomatoes, potatoes and squash. One thing that does remain somewhat consistent is the presence of some cosmetic damage caused by our local insects. This is an indication that we are truly a chemical-free farm. We try to keep the insect population under control, but they are simply a fact of life in a naturally grown system. We hope you can overlook some minor leaf damage and we will do our best to keep it to a minimum. Also we do our best to provide you with clean produce, but you may find a little dirt here and there or, yikes, possibly an insect. We do wash the produce and sort it to the best of our ability, but we are processing a significant volume and it is possible that at some point you will find a little “nature” in your box. If and when it happens to you, we apologize ahead of time and hope you will forgive the oversight. Remember, while we do clean the produce, it is always good practice to wash your vegetables before using.

A bit on our efforts be more mindful producers. Over the years we have tried to minimize our use of plastics and single-use products both in our field practices and in the packing shed/kitchen. We use long-term reusable totes for your CSA deliveries both for sanitation and low waste. You'll notice they have the name "Grinnell Heritage Farm" stamped on the sides. When our friends from GHF "retired" from farming a few years ago, we purchased their CSA totes. They met a need that we had, filled a need that GHF had and allowed us to not buy new plastic. We are continually looking to reduce our plastic bag use and we've switched over to twist-ties or rubber bands on products that we used to bag like chard, kale, herbs and lettuce bouquets. We haven't yet found a good solution for our baby greens like salad mix and arugula or things like green beans but we're always looking. So how can you help us on this journey?

Clean & Return to Us
Plastic pint/quart containers
Plastic or paper berry boxes
Half pint, pint and quart glass canning jars

Please don't return plastic produce bags or twist ties, we can't reuse those in the packing shed but we encourage you to wash and reuse them in your own home. The less waste we create, the less we have to clean up later. Do you have questions or suggestions on our use of packaging materials (or anything else)? Please let us know!

A big thank you to our pick-up site hosts: Peace Tree Brewing Co - Des Moines and the Grand Theater in Knoxville. Over the course of the season please consider supporting these independent, local businesses who offer us a great place to deliver your produce.

So what have we been up to this week in addition to preparing for CSA delivery #1?

Irrigating, cultivating, planting, irrigating, cultivating, sowing, irrigating, cultivating, harvesting, and then irrigating and cultivating again. Repeat until October.

All of the main season crops are now in the ground and most are growing well despite the challenging conditions. The exceptions would be the most recently direct sown crops like winter squash, melons, and 2nd successions of beans and edamame. Those seeds are sitting in the soil waiting for rain. Most have been planted for at least a couple of weeks and we are seeing very little germination despite irrigating them. There is just too much dry soil around them to overcome. I don't anticipate we will see much change until we get a soaking rain (which we haven't seen since the 2nd week of May.)

Speaking of the lack of rain, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration we are now in Moderate Drought conditions, and the 30 day outlook doesn't show anything to improve that. We are starting to see cracks in the ground that we normally don't see until July or August. We are lucky that we can irrigate to keep most crops alive and producing but it's a challenge. The lack of rain almost certainly brought the asparagus season to an early end, so the bunch in your boxes today will be it until next year. The conditions are also causing a few of our spring greens crops to bolt prematurely (trying to flower and set seed which ends their use as edible crops) before we even had a chance to harvest them. That's why you are getting both baby choi and Misome today, those crops are starting to bolt and will be unusable by next week.

Not everything is gloom and doom though, most of the crops are growing ok thanks to the irrigation. Many of the transplanted warm-weather crops are starting to bloom and some of the summer squashes are even starting to fruit. The first little heads of broccoli are visible and the cabbage plants are starting to head. Carrots and beets are mostly surviving their popularity with the deer and rabbits and the potatoes are starting to bloom, which means they are starting to form potatoes underground. There are so many tasty things to come!

A little detail on your produce this week:

Asparagus: Keeps best stored upright in a glass with about 1" of water, in the refrigerator. Delicious raw or cooked.

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.

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.

Turnips: keep best if separated from their greens. Greens are stored in a plastic bag and can be cooked like mustard or collard greens. 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? 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 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)

 BGF's Favorite Kale Salad  

Yield: Makes 6 to 8 servings

2 tablespoons dried cranberries or cherries
5 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, divided
3 tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
a big bunch of kale (about 1 pound), center ribs and stems removed, leaves thinly sliced crosswise
2 tablespoons sunflower  or pumpkin seeds, (if using salted, cut down on the 1tsp salt above)
Parmesan cheese shavings

Place fruit in small bowl; add balsamic vinegar, seasoned rice vinegar, honey oil and salt and allow to soak several hours (overnight is even better).

Place kale in a large bowl, add cranberry mixture and toss to coat. Let marinate 20 minutes at room temperature, tossing occasionally. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with cheese shavings and sunflower seeds just before serving.

Recipe Source:  adapted from an epicurious recipe by Dan Barber

BGF NEWS - June 14, 2022 - VOL. XLVIII, NO. 2

In this week’s box:

Choi: Prize (bundled greens with white stems)

Garlic Scapes (green, curly bundle)

Head Lettuce

Lemon Balm (small, green, lemon-scented bunch)

Napa Cabbage

Strawberries

Tapestry Salad Mix

Vivid Choi: green bundle with pink & purple stems

 and perhaps one of the following: (please see **NOTE  after "A Little Detail..." below)

Asparagus (last of the season)

Snow Peas

For those with the Herb It! option: Herb share will begin in a couple of weeks as herbs mature

Featured Recipes:  
Lemon Balm Simple Syrup (delicious on strawberries!)

Garlic Scape Pesto

Strawberry Vinaigrette

Sausage Egg Roll in a Bowl (tasty without the sausage too)

BGF Summer Herb Spritzer (see recipe below)

What’s up on the farm?

Precipitation in the past week: 1.10"

It appears that while last week's theme was rain, this week's is the HEAT! No one is excited about this one, not the farmers, the crew, the animals nor least of all the early crops! This is going to bring a quick end to many of our early greens, so we are packing your boxes with as many as we can as it will be the last or only chance for you to try them, at least until fall. This includes the salad mix, Prize choi and Napa cabbage. 

Bolting greens, at least they're pretty

We were hoping to get at least another week's growth on them, but they are already starting to bolt (or flower) which will end their use as a food crop.

Hilled potatoes starting to bloom!

This past week we have been clearing the last of the early crops from the big high tunnel and all of our warm-weather crops are now tucked in and growing, including the last of the basil and sweet peppers. 

Cultivating kittens

Much of last week was focused on cultivating crops whenever it was dry enough to do so. As well as getting the potatoes hilled for the first time. We were pleased with the rain for the crops' sake, but the weeds sure do take advantage of it. 

This week everything is growing like crazy, including our monster head lettuces! My secret use of them is to snack on them like potato chips, I just pull off whole leaves and dip into a nice dish of homemade vinaigrette (see recipe above).   The big surprise last week was the sudden ripening of the strawberries, and while we do love strawberries, they take a lot of time to harvest so we are spending quite a bit of time trying to stay ahead of those. Luckily (and sadly) the season is short so be sure to enjoy them while they are here!

A little detail on your produce this week:

Asparagus: Keeps best stored upright in a glass with about 1" of water, in the refrigerator. Delicious raw or cooked. 

Choi (a.k.a. - pac choi, bok choy or pok choy) is a member of the cabbage family and is a traditional Asian stir-fry vegetable.  Both the stems and leaves of choi can be used and are especially tasty in cooked recipes.  If cooking them, separate the leaves and stems, and begin cooking stems first to avoid overcooking the more tender greens. You can also use the leaves like any green-leafy vegetable and the stems like celery.  We tend to use choi leaves as a sandwich wrap, or just roughly chop the whole thing and sauté with garlic and/or onion.  Cook until stems are tender and dress with a little seasoned rice vinegar. Store choi loosely wrapped in a plastic bag in your produce drawer.

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 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. We also enjoyed them tossed whole in olive oil and grilled as a side dish.

Herbs:

 Besides basil, most herbs keep best standing upright in a glass of water in your refrigerator with a loose plastic bag over the top. To use, simply pull a stem between your fingers and the leaves usually shear off. Chop with a sharp knife and add to your favorite recipes.

Napa Cabbage: 

Store Napa whole wrapped in a cotton or linen towel then in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to a week. These Napa are fairly immature and wont have a large formed head but are still tasty and can be used in any cabbage recipe.

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.

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

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 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)

Luci & Sky

BGF Summer Herb Spritzer

Besides pesto, this is one of our favorite ways to use herbs during warm weather. It is deceptively simple and delightfully refreshing! All you need is:

1 sprig of your favorite herb. Our favorites for this are lemon balm, lemon basil, lemon thyme, mint and anise hyssop.

ice cubes

plain seltzer water

Glass jar with leak-proof lid (or a martini shaker)

Place washed herb in the jar, add ice enough to fill 1/3 of jar. Secure lid and shake it, shake it, baby! A few vigorous shakes will do it, you are just trying to bruise the leaves and release the aromatic oils, not pulverize them.

Remove lid and top with seltzer. Enjoy! You could add a bit of your favorite sweetener, but I've never found it necessary.

BGF NEWS - June 7, 2022 - VOL. XLVIII, NO. 1

In this week’s box:

Asparagus

Basil Tips (asst. varieties)

Golden Oyster Mushrooms

Green Garlic

Head Lettuce, assorted varieties

Kale Mix  (large mixed leaf bundle)

Komatsuna (bundle of uniform green leaves)

Spinruts: Hakurei (baby Japanese salad turnips)

Tapestry Salad Mix

 and perhaps one of the following: (please see **NOTE  after "A Little Detail..." below)

Snow Peas

For those with the Herb It! option: Herb share will begin in a couple of weeks as herbs mature

For those with the Jam It! option: Lime Berry Jam & Blackberry Peach Jam

For those with the Spice It Up! option: Roselle Sugar

Featured Recipes:  
Bok Choy and Oyster Mushroom Stir Fry

Roasted Sweet Turnips with Thyme

BGF Favorite Kale Salad (see recipe below)

What’s up on the farm?

Precipitation in the past week: 0.8"

Welcome to the first delivery of the 2022 CSA season and the start of weekly newsletters!

  The boxes feel a little light at this time of the season and you will notice the abundance of greens and not quite as much variety as we expect later in the season.  This is part of the joy of eating fresh, seasonal foods.  As the season continues the weight and variety of the contents will increase with the arrival of heavier crops including beans, tomatoes, potatoes and squash.  One thing that does remain somewhat consistent is the presence of some cosmetic damage caused by our local insects.  This is an indication that we are truly a chemical-free farm.  We try to keep the insect population under control, but they are simply a fact of life in a naturally grown system.  We hope you can overlook some minor leaf damage and we will do our best to keep it to a minimum.  Also we do our best to provide you with clean produce, but you may find a little dirt here and there or, yikes, possibly an insect.  We do wash the produce and sort it to the best of our ability, but we are processing a significant volume and it is possible that at some point you will find a little “nature” in your box.  If and when it happens to you, we apologize ahead of time and hope you will forgive the oversight.  Remember, while we do clean the produce, it is always good practice to wash your vegetables before using.

A bit on our efforts be more mindful producers. Over the years we have tried to minimize our use of plastics and single-use products both in our field practices  and in the packing shed/kitchen. We use long-term reusable totes for your CSA deliveries both for sanitation and low waste. You'll notice they have the name "Grinnell Heritage Farm" stamped on the sides. When our friends from GHF "retired" from farming last year, we purchased their CSA totes. They met a need that we had, filled a need that GHF had and allowed us to not buy new plastic. We are continually looking to reduce our plastic bag use  and we've switched over to twist-ties or rubber bands on products that we used to bag like chard, kale, herbs and lettuce bouquets. We haven't yet found a good solution for our baby greens like salad mix and arugula or things like green beans but we're always looking. So how can you help us on this journey?

Clean & Return to Us

Plastic pint/quart containers

Plastic or paper berry boxes

Half pint, pint and quart glass canning jars

Please don't return plastic produce bags or twist ties, we can't reuse those in the packing shed but we encourage you to wash and reuse them in your own home. The less waste we create, the less we have to clean up later. Do you have questions or suggestions on our use of packaging materials (or anything else)? Please let us know!

A big thank you to our pick-up site hosts: Peace Tree Brewing Co - Des Moines and the Grand Theater in Knoxville.  Over the course of the season please consider supporting these independent, local businesses who offer us a great place to deliver your produce.

So what have we been up to this week in addition to preparing for CSA delivery #1? 

All the major transplanting is done, with the tomatoes going in late last week. We will continue to do succession plantings of head lettuce, but other than the final planting of Minnesota Midget cantaloupe, we are done with transplanting for a few weeks. With the late start to spring, we are a bit behind in our direct seeding, with the 2nd sowings of both beans and edamame to go in the field as soon as the soil dries out enough to do so. 

The crazy spring weather also threw a huge wrench in the asparagus crop. It started 2 weeks later than normal and is ending 2 weeks earlier. So please enjoy your asparagus this week as there won't be more until next year.

Cultivating is the main activity right now. We've been working hard at keeping the weeds at bay with all of the tools we have available, depending on the crop and the conditions. 

Everything from fingers to Yankee Weeders, stirrup hoes and walking tractors are put to hard labor.

This past weekend we even got the first round of hilling done on the potatoes.

A bright spot to our recent moisture has been a huge flush of golden oyster mushrooms in our timber! 

This is the 5th year we have been able to offer wild-harvested mushrooms as part of the CSA and we hope you are as excited about them as we are. 

Finally, we want to introduce our other bright spots and recent additions to our farm family. We've had serious issues in the past couple of seasons with rabbits, ground squirrels and other small critters eating huge numbers of our young crops. Meet the solution, Wallace & Gromit. They may have to practice a bit but we're all sure having fun!

 We hope you enjoy this first delivery and are looking forward to this season as much as we are.

Thank you for making it all the way to the end of a very long newsletter! We hope you also enjoy the weekly online format. One of the goals for it is so you can go to the blog/newsletter at any time and search for specific vegetables, that should allow you to see any archived recipes for that item. It also allows us to include photos and links to more recipes and information. 

As we mentioned in the recent newsletter, in addition to the regular BGF Facebook page, we also have a Facebook page for CSA members. You can find it here: Blue Gate Farm Community. If you have a Facebook account we encourage you to post recipes, photos and questions about your weekly produce box adventures. If you don't have an account, don't worry, you can still see/read anything on the page, but you won't be able to post anything. We will keep an eye on the page and try to answer questions in a timely manner, but really this is to encourage the "Community" aspect of CSA and to provide you all a venue to share and connect with each other.

A little detail on your produce this week:

Asparagus: Keeps best stored upright in a glass with about 1" of water, in the refrigerator. Delicious raw or cooked. 

Basil: The basil is growing nicely and needed to be pinched back to encourage future stems, so you are getting a wee taste of them today to whet your pallet for more. FYI, 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, 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.

Choi (a.k.a. - pac choi, bok choy or pok choy) is a member of the cabbage family and is a traditional Asian stir-fry vegetable.  Both the stems and leaves of choi can be used and are especially tasty in cooked recipes.  If cooking them, separate the leaves and stems, and begin cooking stems first to avoid overcooking the more tender greens. You can also use the leaves like any green-leafy vegetable and the stems like celery.  We tend to use choi leaves as a sandwich wrap, or just roughly chop the whole thing and sauté with garlic and/or onion.  Cook until stems are tender and dress with a little seasoned rice vinegar. Store choi loosely wrapped in a plastic bag in your produce drawer.

Green Garlic: is immature or "teenage" garlic and should be stored in the refrigerator, where it will keep for 5-7 days. Wrap the green garlic in a damp paper towel and place it in a plastic bag; or for a non-plastic alternative, stick the green garlic in a tall glass with some water in the bottom. You can use all of the tender white and light green parts in recipes calling for fresh garlic. Dark green leaves can be frozen and saved for stock, or used to add flavor to a soup (pop them in whole, like a bay leaf).

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. They also dry very nicely for future use.

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.

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 large GREENS will keep best if wrapped in a cotton or linen towel and then 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 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)

Luci & Sky

BGF's Favorite Kale Salad  

Yield: Makes 6 to 8 servings

2 tablespoons dried cranberries or cherries
5 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, divided
3 tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
a big bunch of kale (about 1 pound), center ribs and stems removed, leaves thinly sliced crosswise
2 tablespoons sunflower  or pumpkin seeds, (if using salted, cut down on the 1tsp salt above)
Parmesan cheese shavings

Place fruit in small bowl; add balsamic vinegar, seasoned rice vinegar, honey oil and salt and allow to soak several hours (overnight is even better).

Place kale in a large bowl, add cranberry mixture and toss to coat. Let marinate 20 minutes at room temperature, tossing occasionally. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with cheese shavings and sunflower seeds just before serving.

Recipe Source:  adapted from an epicurious recipe by Dan Barber