BGF NEWS - July 23, 2024 - VOL. 52, NO. 8

In this week’s box:

Basil: Sweet

Beans: Yellow & Green Mix

Broccoli: heads or florets with edible leaves

Cucumbers: Corinto, Generally, Marketmore or Dragon

Choi

Green-top Onions
Head Lettuce, assorted varieties

Purslane

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

and perhaps one of the following: (see **NOTE below)
Cauliflower: Japanese
Cherry Tomatoes: Mix

Okra: Bowling Red, Candle Fire and Okinawa Pink
Peas: Snow or Sugar Snap


Herb It! option: Thai Basil, Par-cel, Sorrel

Featured Recipes:

Summer Squash Pizza

Purslane Pesto

Sesame Bok Choy

Roasted Cauliflower & Broccoli with Tahini Basil Sauce

(use purslane in place of spinach in recipe)

What’s up on the farm?

Precipitation in the past week: 0.00"

Despite the fact that we missed all the area rains in the past 2 weeks, we have definitely been loving the temperatures! It's been a welcome break from the heat for the crew and the animals, even the beans have been celebrating by getting back into production!

With the dry weather we've been clearing a lot of spent crops and cultivating beds to try and stay ahead of the weeds. We've gotten caught up on our fall crop seeding for now, though we have to run the irrigation to get the seeds to germinate. Earlier in the season we were so wet that some of our irrigation lines were never installed in our El Sur and El Norte fields. At that time we didn't need them and other tasks were higher priority. This week has brought home the need for those lines, so irrigation work is at the top of the list for later this week.

And now it's time to start talking about the most important subject, TOMATOES! We are finally at the start of the season so it's time for the official introductions. The smaller varieties tend to ripen first so we're starting with those, even though we won't have enough for everyone this week. Slicing tomatoes are coming, but we are probably at least two weeks out from our first harvest. 

 As you can see, we raise a variety of colors of tomatoes, so color isn't your best indication of ripeness, touch is. A ripe tomato should yield to a gentle squeeze of your fingertips. If it feels hard, it's probably not quite ripe. Just leave it out on your counter for a day or 2 and try again.

 Here are the tomatoes that go into our "Jubilee Cherry Tomato Mix" also referred to as snacking tomatoes:

Black Cherry: Beautiful black cherry tomato with rich flavor.

Blush: yellow fruit with orange blush when fully ripe. Very low acid, meaty, and super sweet.

Blush Cross: Three assorted seeding crosses of Blush and Juliet.

Bronze Torch: Green-striped red mini roma 

Chadwick Cherry: 1 oz red cherry with delicious, sweet flavor

Citrine: A bright orange bite-sized cherry with a rich, balanced flavor

Favorita: 1" red cherry with big tomato flavor

Golden Rave: Small 1–2 oz yellow, plum shaped tomatoes with good tomato flavor. 

Juliet: Small 1 – 2 oz red mini-roma, perfect flavor and shape for slicing onto pizza or salad.

Sweetie: Bite-sized, sweet red cherry tomato

We're also sending out the first of the green-top onions this week. Unfortunately we got our onions planted really late this spring so they haven't sized up like we would normally expect by this time of the season, but small as they are, they are still tasty so we hope you enjoy them...and we hope that we can get them to grow some more!

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.

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

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.

Green-top onions: As you might note from their name, these are young, freshly pulled, uncured onions. They can be used as you would any onion, the difference is in the storage. Since they don't have a layer of dried skin to protect them, please store in a sealed bag or container in your refrigerator and plan to use within 2 weeks. As long as the greens are still fresh, you can use them like scallions.

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.

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: 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.

Purslane: Considered an invasive weed in many gardens, purslane is a valued green in many parts of the world. The plant 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.   We particularly like it in salads, cooked with eggs and as a lettuce replacement in tacos. Store in a paper towel-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!

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? 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)

BGF NEWS - June 20, 2023 - VOL. 50, NO. 3

In this week’s box:

Beets: Cylindra

Baby Choi

Fennel

Garlic Scapes
Green Garlic

Head Lettuce, assorted varieties

Purslane

Sugar Snap Peas  

Snow Peas

Summer Squash: 8 Ball, Golden Glory, Slik Pik, Zephyr

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

Cauliflower: Song (Japanese cauliflower)

Herb It! option: will start in a couple weeks as the annual herbs mature
Bread Share: Apple Bread

Featured Recipes:

Roasted Beet and Fennel Pasta

Fennel Frond Pesto

Chinese Purslane Stir-fry

What’s up on the farm?

Precipitation in the past week: 0.45"

Well, technically we got our wish this week, it did rain. We got a little less than 1/2 inch between Saturday and Sunday. It was a lovely sight, but unfortunately just a "drop in the bucket" as the saying goes and we were back to playing round robin with the irrigation that day. 

We spent much of the past week in the tomato plot. Installing posts for trellising, pruning plants and putting in the first couple of rounds of trellising twine. This system is commonly called Florida Weave and it allows us to manage and harvest the plants more easily that using tomato cages. It does take more time and effort to install and manage than cages. We put in more than 250 tall steel posts to provide the structure and then by the end of the season will use about 32,000 feet of twine. However the plants have better airflow (less disease potential), are easier to harvest and much easier to manage for pest control and we don't have to store 700+ cages over the winter!

You won't be surprised to read that the balance of our week was filled with irrigating, cultivating, harvesting, a bit of hand weeding, clearing spent crops and transplanting head lettuce #6.

Harvesting time is increasing as we are now picking peas and summer squashes every other day. The high tunnel cucumbers will be added to that list later this week. Just one variety is producing right now and it will be a couple of weeks before the rest join in, but hopefully there will be many cucumbers in the not-to-distant future!

We are SO pleased with the photos that members have been submitting for the weekly "Show US Your Veg" photo contest! Thank you to everyone who has shared a pic and/or who have posted recipes/cooking ideas on the Community page. We love to see your ideas and meals! Keep up the great work!

A little detail on your produce this week:

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 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.

Fennel: Cut off the stalks where they emerge from the bulb. To use the feathery foliage as an herb, place the dry stalks upright in a glass filled with two inches of water, cover the glass loosely with a plastic bag, and store in the refrigerator for up to five days. The unwashed bulb will keep in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for at least a week. To use, remove any damaged spots or layers. Cut the bulb in half lengthwise and check the inner core. If it’s tough, remove it with a paring knife. Fennel should be washed carefully, because dirt can lodge between the layers of the bulb. Chop or mince the leaves.

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.

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: 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.

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. 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? 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 NEWS - August 9, 2022 - VOL. XLVIII, NO. 10

In this week’s box:

Broccoli: Belstar or Imperial

Cabbage (Red): Omero

Carrots: Rainbow Mix

Cherry Tomatoes: Jubilee Mix (see description on 8/2)

Cucumber: Suyo Long, Armenian, Marketmore or Lemon
Head Lettuce: asst

Onions: Cipollini
Purslane

Summer Squash: asst.

Tomatoes-Slicers: asst. (see description on 8/2)

and perhaps one of the following: (please see **NOTE after "A Little Detail..." below)
Beans: Provider (green) & Carson (yellow) Mix
Cantaloupe: Minnesota Midget
Cauliflower: Snow Crown or Song
Eggplant: Orient Express, Asian Delight or Listada de Gandia

Okra: Candle Fire and Burgundy

Herb It! option: sweet basil, curly parsley, pineapple mint
Bread Share: Honey Oat Dinner Rolls

Featured Recipes:
Roasted Red Cabbage

Healthy Broccoli Carrot Salad

Purslane, Tomato and Onion Salad

What’s up on the farm?

Precipitation in the past week: 0.20" (where are my rain dancers?)

Welcome to delivery #10 and the halfway mark for the CSA season. It always amazes me when we hit this point, how can we be halfway through already? But here we are.

we're the blue dot

This past week we were officially declared to be in moderate drought in our area. It makes the lack of rain feel so much more alarming when that happens. But as I said above, here we are. We are running nearly non-stop irrigation lines during the daylight hours just trying to keep things alive and to try and germinate newly seeded crops, but all of our crops would really prefer some natural rain. We did get a couple of tenths of rain last week and it was just enough to be able to start the next round of transplanting for fall crops. So far we've planted head lettuce, choi, broccoli, cauliflower, napa cabbage, kale, chard and kohlrabi. We also seeded turnips, choi and komatsuna. There's still much more planting to do, but we really need another rain to make it happen.

We've also been harvesting several root crops including carrots, beets and 3/5 of the potato crop. You'll see some of the carrots in your boxes this week, the beets and potatoes will follow in the coming weeks.  

It was such a relief to see the potato crop coming out of the field. We don't irrigate our potatoes and I was really concerned that we weren't going to have a very good yield. In fact, my test digs of the different varieties were less than inspiring. So when that potato plow starting rolling out lots of nice potatoes, I nearly cried with relief!

The drought and the recent heat has been hard on our current crops. We are seeing lots of loss in our summer squash/zucchini crops and our cucumbers as well, so celebrate those crops while we have them because they likely won't be around for much longer. The lettuce is hanging in there and we are really trying to keep it on the delivery list every week, but we lost a lot of plants to the heat and we may have a week or two break before the next succession is harvestable. The winter squash plots are looking pretty rough and we are seeing quite a bit of die-off due to insects and drought. I think we might manage a small harvest, but it's questionable. These are all crops that are among the hardest to grow chemical-free due to the insect pressures, but we are committed to it, so there are always losses. Never fear, there are still lots of amazing crops to come. 

The tomatoes are really kicking in this week and everyone should see some in their box this week and I think next week we will have ripe sweet peppers heading out to you. We tasted our first watermelon this week and it was promising! Soon, we hope, very soon!

Crew Corner: Morgan

Hello friends, my name is Morgan McKay! This summer I had the opportunity to work with Jill and the crew. The skills and knowledge that I learned in my short time at Blue Gate is something that I am excited to carry with me as I plan to attend DMACC in the Fall of 2023 to receive my Horticulture certification. During my time at the farm, I was introduced to new ways of farming and a broader perspective of agriculture. The patience and teaching environment was a huge encouragement to me as a “rookie” horticulturist. One of my best memories on the farm was my first day on the job and it DOWNPOURED!!

A little detail on your produce this week:

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 or cauliflower in salt water before storing, it will become too rubbery and wilted to enjoy.)

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!

Carrots: These "mid-season" carrots are a little different than the candy-sweet gems of cool weather carrots. They are a little more strongly flavored, a little earthy. This makes them perfect for cooking and more complicated recipes, as some might not love them for fresh eating. Remove the leafy green tops, leaving about an inch of stems. Refrigerate dry, unwashed carrots in a plastic bag for two weeks or longer. Peel carrots or scrub carrots well with a stiff brush just before using. Trim off any green spots, which can taste bitter. When slicing or chopping carrots for cooking, be sure to make all the pieces relatively the same size; this will ensure an evenly cooked dish. Greens can be added to soup stock for flavor.

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.

Cipollini Onions:  These lovely little Italian onions are some of our favorites. Sweet & mild they are the perfect size for adding just a bit of onion to a recipe. The place they really shine though is in shush kabobs! Due to their flat shape, they are easy to skewer and cook faster. They are mostly cured now, so can be stored like regular onions, at room temperature with good air circulation. Sweet onions  don't store as long as other onions though, so use within a few weeks.

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: 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.
Green top onions/shallots: not the pencil-thin scallions, but nearly grown (though not-yet-cured) onions are an early summer treat. Keep sweet mild onions in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for a week or two, but beware the fatal moisture accumulation that causes them to spoil. To prolong their storage, wrap in a paper or cloth towel before storing in plastic. Also, don't just toss the tops, several years ago a CSA member taught us a great recipe to use them! See recipe below.

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!

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? 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)

Sky, Wallace & Gromit

BGF NEWS - July 19, 2022 - VOL. XLVIII, NO. 7

In this week’s box:

Basil: Genovese or Lettuce Leaf

Carrots: Rainbow Mix

Choi: Beijing Express

Cucumber: asst

Golden Oyster Mushrooms

Green Top Onions: Candy

Head Lettuce: asst

Purslane

Summer Squash: asst

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

Beans: Provider (green) & Carson (yellow) Mix

Broccoli: Belstar or Imperial

Cauliflower: Snow Crown or Song

Eggplant: Orient Express
Okra: Bowling Red and Candlefire

Snap Peas

Snow Peas

Herb It! option: Basil: Sweet Thai, savory, garlic chives

Bread Share: Tavern Fare 

Featured Recipes:  
Purslane, Cucumber and Feta Salad

Carrots Moroccan Style

Oyster Mushrooms and Greens Saute

Cucumber and Sweet Onion Salad

Creamy Lemon Zucchini Pasta

What’s up on the farm?

Precipitation in the past week: 0.15"

Well, it certainly feels like July on the farm this week! We are spending lots of time watering all the things; plants, animals and humans alike. In between all that hydrating we've gotten some big seasonal tasks crossed off the list. 

The tomatoes are finally all trellised, which starts by pounding in more than 700 posts. That isn't anyone's favorite day, but with some help by The Tall Farmer, we got it done! Then all the plants are woven to the posts with twine. We start with 2 levels of twine and add more as the plants grow taller. It's more work than using tomato cages, but we find it much easier to harvest and our plants are healthier with this method.

The other huge task was harvesting this year's garlic crop. All 3,600 heads are pulled by hand (or dug with a garden fork if they are stuck) and stacked in bundles of 10 in the field. 

Then each bundle is wrapped with a twine loop and carried to the utility vehicle. Once full, we drive them to the packing barn and hang them from the rafters and loft railings where they will stay until they are fully cured. It's a huge amount of physical work in challenging conditions (the loft was about 115° yesterday) but mid-task popsicles help and the knowledge that we love garlic and only have to do this once a year!

Amid these big projects we've also been cultivating, clearing spent crops, harvesting and sowing fall crops like: turnips, carrots, daikon, choi, lettuce and more broccoli. The transplants we sowed a couple of weeks ago are growing like champs (all except the broccoli, which is why we sowed more). Most will be ready for planting in another week or so.

You'll notice in the box contents at the top of the newsletter, the list of "Perhaps one of the following..." is getting really long. That is an indication of the new mid-season crops starting to produce, but we aren't getting enough to include in all the boxes yet. We are excited this week to add beans and broccoli to the list. We look forward to both of those crops producing for many weeks to come! We learned a new recipe this past weekend from our friend Dana at Scattergood Friends School. She tossed cauliflower florets in olive oil with a bit of salt and oven roasted them until they were moderately browned and tender. As they came out of the oven, she sprinkled them lightly with a good natural cheese powder. They were absolutely delicious! I think the same could be done with broccoli with equally tasty results. Give it a try!

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, 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 or cauliflower in salt water before storing, it will become too rubbery and wilted to enjoy.)

Carrots: These "mid-season" carrots are a little different than the candy-sweet gems of cool weather carrots. They are a little more strongly flavored, a little earthy. This makes them perfect for cooking and more complicated recipes, as some might not love them for fresh eating. Remove the leafy green tops, leaving about an inch of stems. Refrigerate dry, unwashed carrots in a plastic bag for two weeks or longer. Peel carrots or scrub carrots well with a stiff brush just before using. Trim off any green spots, which can taste bitter. When slicing or chopping carrots for cooking, be sure to make all the pieces relatively the same size; this will ensure an evenly cooked dish. Greens can be added to soup stock for flavor.

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: 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.

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: 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.

Purslane: Considered an invasive weed in many gardens, purslane is a valued green in many parts of the world.
The plant 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. Store in a paper towel-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? 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