BGF News - June 11, 2019-Vol. XLII, No.2
In this week’s box:
Arugula
Asparagus
Chard: Bright Lights Mix (large green leaves with multi-colored stems)
Garlic Scapes (curly green bundles)
Lettuce Bouquet: asst baby lettuces
Lemon Balm (lemon-scented, small leafy bundle)
Strawberries
and perhaps one of the following: (please see **NOTE after "A Little Detail..." below)
Snow Peas
For those with the Egg option [full shares]: one dozen free-range eggs (asst. colors)
For those with the Herb option: Herb share will begin in a couple of weeks as herbs mature
Featured Recipes: ** indicates a BGF favorite
Lemon Balm Simple Syrup
Garlic Scape Pesto & More
The Great Chard E'Scape** see recipe below
Asparagus
Chard: Bright Lights Mix (large green leaves with multi-colored stems)
Garlic Scapes (curly green bundles)
Lettuce Bouquet: asst baby lettuces
Lemon Balm (lemon-scented, small leafy bundle)
Strawberries
Strawberries
and perhaps one of the following: (please see **NOTE after "A Little Detail..." below)
For those with the Egg option [full shares]: one dozen free-range eggs (asst. colors)
For those with the Herb option: Herb share will begin in a couple of weeks as herbs mature
Featured Recipes: ** indicates a BGF favorite
Lemon Balm Simple SyrupGarlic Scape Pesto & More
The Great Chard E'Scape** see recipe below
What’s up on the farm?
Precipitation in the past week: 0.00"
What a difference a week (without rain) makes! Finally it dried out enough that we could work soil on the farm. This means much tilling and bed prepping so that we can transplant or sow seeds. Because of the weather, we were running about 4 weeks behind our normal planting schedule which means our crops are also running about 4 weeks behind. So the past week was all about playing catch up in the fields. In the last week we have transplanted: cucumbers, okra, broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, melons and more peppers. We've also sown seeds for lettuce, arugula, beets, carrots, turnips, choi and lots of winter squashes. While we're not quite caught up yet, we are so much closer! The drier conditions also means that we can start cultivating our earlier planted crops. These poor crops were stuck out there in wet soil and inundated with weeds. We're not done cultivating (we're never done cultivating), but we are making progress. We were pleased to find that the potato crops don't look to be a total loss, but it does appear that we have lost about 50% due to rotting in the wet soil. Before we cultivated, it looked more like 90% loss, so the numbers are improving. It sounds odd, but what we need now is a nice, slow 1/2" of rain to soften the soil crust and let the new seeded crops germinate. So what does all this mean for your boxes? We're just not sure yet. It is possible that we will skip a week in the coming month (and add it on at the end of the season). It all depends on the weather and how quickly the new crops come along. We are working really hard to be sure that you get the range and volume of crops that we all expect and we anticipate a successful season ahead. That said, we need you to understand that we are struggling a bit to manage the conditions at hand.
So let's talk about bright spots! STRAWBERRIES!! Our new strawberry plot is outperforming our greatest expectations! Like last week's oyster mushrooms, for the first time ever we have an unexpected bounty so we are sharing them with you. It isn't a huge amount, just a bit of a sweet treat to savor. If you can't decide what to do with them, we suggest mixing them with the lemon balm syrup (link above) and eating over ice cream!
Garlic scapes are always one of our highlights of the season and the season is now! They are bright green, curly and full of fresh, garlicky goodness. Chop and add to any recipe calling for garlic, or oil and grill as a side dish on their own. We like to make & freeze garlic scape pesto for use all winter.
Another positive is the continuation of asparagus harvests. We really thought last week was the end of the asparagus for the year, but the sunny, cooler conditions brought on another flush of growth, so we all get to enjoy it a bit longer. This will likely be the final hurrah for the 2019 asparagus so be sure to enjoy it! Other things to celebrate include blooming summer squash and zucchini crops which should mean those starting to appear in boxes in the next couple of weeks. And finally we started harvesting the start of the snow peas! These always start a bit slowly, so it will take some time to get into everyone's boxes, but we'll start sending them out today. They would be delicious in a stir fry with asparagus and garlic scapes, though we tend to just snack on them.
Finally one last little perk we are offering this year that might be of interest to some of you. As most of you probably know, we make a lot of jams over the season for sale at market (that's where most of those strawberries are headed). We encourage folks to return their jars for reuse and many of them also return the one-piece lids that we use. These lids are grate for refrigerator or dry goods storage, but can't be reused for canning. The problem? We are buried in more lids that we can possibly use so we are offering them to CSA members. They fit any standard, regular mouth canning jar. They have been washed and are ready for reuse in your fridge, pantry or craft room. If you would like us to include a 12pk with your box next week, just shoot us an email by end of day Sunday and we'll set you up!
Precipitation in the past week: 0.00"
What a difference a week (without rain) makes! Finally it dried out enough that we could work soil on the farm. This means much tilling and bed prepping so that we can transplant or sow seeds. Because of the weather, we were running about 4 weeks behind our normal planting schedule which means our crops are also running about 4 weeks behind. So the past week was all about playing catch up in the fields. In the last week we have transplanted: cucumbers, okra, broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, melons and more peppers. We've also sown seeds for lettuce, arugula, beets, carrots, turnips, choi and lots of winter squashes. While we're not quite caught up yet, we are so much closer! The drier conditions also means that we can start cultivating our earlier planted crops. These poor crops were stuck out there in wet soil and inundated with weeds. We're not done cultivating (we're never done cultivating), but we are making progress. We were pleased to find that the potato crops don't look to be a total loss, but it does appear that we have lost about 50% due to rotting in the wet soil. Before we cultivated, it looked more like 90% loss, so the numbers are improving. It sounds odd, but what we need now is a nice, slow 1/2" of rain to soften the soil crust and let the new seeded crops germinate. So what does all this mean for your boxes? We're just not sure yet. It is possible that we will skip a week in the coming month (and add it on at the end of the season). It all depends on the weather and how quickly the new crops come along. We are working really hard to be sure that you get the range and volume of crops that we all expect and we anticipate a successful season ahead. That said, we need you to understand that we are struggling a bit to manage the conditions at hand.
So let's talk about bright spots! STRAWBERRIES!! Our new strawberry plot is outperforming our greatest expectations! Like last week's oyster mushrooms, for the first time ever we have an unexpected bounty so we are sharing them with you. It isn't a huge amount, just a bit of a sweet treat to savor. If you can't decide what to do with them, we suggest mixing them with the lemon balm syrup (link above) and eating over ice cream!
Garlic scapes are always one of our highlights of the season and the season is now! They are bright green, curly and full of fresh, garlicky goodness. Chop and add to any recipe calling for garlic, or oil and grill as a side dish on their own. We like to make & freeze garlic scape pesto for use all winter.
Another positive is the continuation of asparagus harvests. We really thought last week was the end of the asparagus for the year, but the sunny, cooler conditions brought on another flush of growth, so we all get to enjoy it a bit longer. This will likely be the final hurrah for the 2019 asparagus so be sure to enjoy it! Other things to celebrate include blooming summer squash and zucchini crops which should mean those starting to appear in boxes in the next couple of weeks. And finally we started harvesting the start of the snow peas! These always start a bit slowly, so it will take some time to get into everyone's boxes, but we'll start sending them out today. They would be delicious in a stir fry with asparagus and garlic scapes, though we tend to just snack on them.
Finally one last little perk we are offering this year that might be of interest to some of you. As most of you probably know, we make a lot of jams over the season for sale at market (that's where most of those strawberries are headed). We encourage folks to return their jars for reuse and many of them also return the one-piece lids that we use. These lids are grate for refrigerator or dry goods storage, but can't be reused for canning. The problem? We are buried in more lids that we can possibly use so we are offering them to CSA members. They fit any standard, regular mouth canning jar. They have been washed and are ready for reuse in your fridge, pantry or craft room. If you would like us to include a 12pk with your box next week, just shoot us an email by end of day Sunday and we'll set you up!
So let's talk about bright spots! STRAWBERRIES!! Our new strawberry plot is outperforming our greatest expectations! Like last week's oyster mushrooms, for the first time ever we have an unexpected bounty so we are sharing them with you. It isn't a huge amount, just a bit of a sweet treat to savor. If you can't decide what to do with them, we suggest mixing them with the lemon balm syrup (link above) and eating over ice cream!
Garlic scapes are always one of our highlights of the season and the season is now! They are bright green, curly and full of fresh, garlicky goodness. Chop and add to any recipe calling for garlic, or oil and grill as a side dish on their own. We like to make & freeze garlic scape pesto for use all winter.
Another positive is the continuation of asparagus harvests. We really thought last week was the end of the asparagus for the year, but the sunny, cooler conditions brought on another flush of growth, so we all get to enjoy it a bit longer. This will likely be the final hurrah for the 2019 asparagus so be sure to enjoy it! Other things to celebrate include blooming summer squash and zucchini crops which should mean those starting to appear in boxes in the next couple of weeks. And finally we started harvesting the start of the snow peas! These always start a bit slowly, so it will take some time to get into everyone's boxes, but we'll start sending them out today. They would be delicious in a stir fry with asparagus and garlic scapes, though we tend to just snack on them.
Finally one last little perk we are offering this year that might be of interest to some of you. As most of you probably know, we make a lot of jams over the season for sale at market (that's where most of those strawberries are headed). We encourage folks to return their jars for reuse and many of them also return the one-piece lids that we use. These lids are grate for refrigerator or dry goods storage, but can't be reused for canning. The problem? We are buried in more lids that we can possibly use so we are offering them to CSA members. They fit any standard, regular mouth canning jar. They have been washed and are ready for reuse in your fridge, pantry or craft room. If you would like us to include a 12pk with your box next week, just shoot us an email by end of day Sunday and we'll set you up!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.
Lemon Balm: a member of the mint family, lemon balm has a bright, lemony flavor that pairs well with other greens, potatoes, eggs and poultry. We like it as the main ingredient in pesto or as a refreshing iced tea. Store upright in a glass of water, loosely covered in the 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 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)
The Great Chard E’Scape
½ lb Swiss chard
Cut garlic scapes into 1”
chunks. 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.
Recipe Source: Blue Gate Farm
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.
Lemon Balm: a member of the mint family, lemon balm has a bright, lemony flavor that pairs well with other greens, potatoes, eggs and poultry. We like it as the main ingredient in pesto or as a refreshing iced tea. Store upright in a glass of water, loosely covered 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)
The Great Chard E’Scape
½ lb Swiss chard
1 tbs olive oil
5-6 fresh garlic scapes (or
more to taste) or 1-3 cloves minced garlic
Sea salt
Cut garlic scapes into 1”
chunks. 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.
Great served over pasta with
a red sauce or as a side dish. Leftovers area tasty in eggs the next day.
Recipe Source: Blue Gate Farm
