Thursday September 02, 2010
As Summer winds to a close at least we have tomatoes to look forward to and thanks to Laura and other farmers we have a great crop - so I am going to be a canning wonder-woman this weekend!! Here's what Laura has to say this week....
August 31, 2010
Hi all—
End of summer? Does NOT feel that way. Although I did wonder if my alarm was mistaken this morning when it seemed to be pretty dark at 6 am…but with 90 degree weather and sun, sun, sun, the cold fingers of winter don’t seem to have quite the grip around my throat that they sometimes do at this time of year.
Although, as the commercials say, “we’ve got plenty of summer left” in terms of tomatoes and watermelons, it is true that kids are returning to school, summer birds are starting to migrate home to The City…sure signs of fall. And for the summer share CSA members, this week does mark the end of our time together this year. Thank you, summer share people, for a great season!
Meanwhile we are doing our best to keep getting fall crops in the ground while we try to keep up with the tomato harvest, the perpetual late August/early September dilemma.. We have beets, radishes, carrots and broccoli raab sown, we have new kale and swiss chard seedlings in the ground, and several flats of bok choi and head lettuce awaiting transplant. We’ll also soon be harvesting baby bitter greens and arugula again, as soon as the leaves size up just a bit more. We’ll have some baby leeks for you—these babies got pretty engulfed in weeds so they’ve been taking their time growing up, but they are on the way.
I’m looking forward to harvesting pumpkins and winter squash—we haven’t grown much or any of these for the last several years because they are such space hogs. But our new field afforded the space we needed, and so far the plants and fruits look great, so here’s hoping! We did get these plants in somewhat later than ideal because the preparation of that new field took longer than we wanted it to, but if you take a walk out there or slow your car down on your way out of the farm, you can see some gorgeous acorn squash and pumpkins lurking beneath those enormous green leaves.
Some of you who’ve been with FGF for our entire six seasons will remember Marne Litfin, apprentice extraordinaire during our second season, 2005. She made a guest re-appearance in 2006, and has been traveling the world and learning about all things food and farming. This past summer she was on staff at my beloved Farm & Wilderness and upon hearing that we had a couple of helpers depart early this season, she wrote to say she had a few weeks between camp and her next gig in Germany, so here she is, reunited with the cherry tomatoes. We are SO GLAD.
Other than all that, I’m hoping for some rain which will further all of the above endeavors!
Enjoy the veggies this week.
Thursday August 26, 2010
Firstly a great big THANK YOU to Farm Girl Farm and Equinox Farm for the GORGEOUS tomatoes for the Berkshire Grown fundraiser!!!! They were as delicious as they were gorgeous!!
August 24, 2010
Hi all—
A few notes from the field on your veggie shares.
Regarding the watermelons: we grew 12 varieties of watermelon this season and had a little extra space to do it in. So clear some space on your counter because here they come! Right now the yellow ones are ripening, soon we’ll start we’ll start harvesting the pink ones. Somewhere in between are the orange ones (!). There were a few distributed today—the very round melons with a yellow-orange flesh. So delicious! We are spending lots of time in the watermelon patch thumping and analyzing the melons for ripeness—so the ones we select to bring to the table should be, in our professional opinions, ripe. But if we are wrong, and you get one that is less than at its peak, do not despair because this is only the beginning of the watermelon tidal wave.
On the cucumbers—we have a variety in the field called Super Zagross. It is an heirloom variety known for its non-bitter taste. The caveat is that this cucumber is ugly as sin. The skin is cracked and rather tough. But peel it and the smoothest, mildest cucumber is inside. This cuke is great for sandwiches, soups, you name it. So don’t be afraid . We have begun referring to these cukes as the “green uglies.”
We’re sorely missing the eggplant which is usually starting to ramp up its presence at this point in the season. Our eggplant plants are not so happy—too little water at just the wrong moment and alas, not many blossoms and not much fruit! Things are looking slightly better than last week, so maybe in a few more weeks we’ll have enough to bring to the table. It’s a funny contrast to last year, when the eggplant cavalierly stepped in and took the place of the tomatoes as nightshade superstar. Well, we’re always learning.
Events for your calendars:
The 7th Annual Stanton Brothers’ Pig Roast will take place at North Plain Farm in Great Barrington, starting at 4 pm (bar) and 5 pm (food). The roast will feature all local meat and veggies and is a great community event. Ticketes are $35 and kids under 16 pay their age. Call (413) 429-6598 or email northplainfarm@gmail.com for more details. It’s a totally locally grown event and I never miss it.
And don’t forget to keep Monday September 20th open for Berkshire Grown’s 12h Annual Beautiful Bountiful Berkshires Harvest Supper at Eastover Resort in Lenox (6:30 to 8:30 pm). We’ll be selling tickets at the pick-up table, ask us for details or call Berkshire Grown at 528-004 or see www.berkshiregrown.org for more details. This is always a stunning aesthetic event —sights, tastes, smells, etcetera—a ballroom-wide tasting menu from chefs who work with local producers.
Enjoy the veggies this week.
--Laura Meister, Farm Girl Farm Farmer
Thursday August 19, 2010
News from the farms....
I had a banner broccoli harvest and made a gigunda batch of cream of broccoli soup for the freezer in anticipation of the cooler days to come.
In keeping with the theme, I thought it best to continue to share the notes and musing from the local CSA farmers. Again, Elizabeth Keen from Indian Line Farms pulls it together in rare and exquisite form for her members. Here's her weekly summary:
News From Indian Line Farm
We keep on planting, weeding and harvesting here. Last week we planted another lettuce planting which will be salad in your mouths the first week of September. We also planted the second to last round of direct seeded items: arugula, mustard mixes, spinach, white and red turnips, and broccoli rabe to name a few. We also harvested all the storage onions which are now curing on the upper level of the barn. Every day is harvest day now. And our job just got a little heavier with the outdoor tomatoes blushing before our eyes. On Monday alone we harvested over 500 lbs. of tomatoes and we have to harvest them three times per week. Time for making tomato everything!
The farm is looking especially great after last week as we had several visitors. On Sunday night we let a foursome of Appalachian through hikers tent here. They were interested in a work for food exchange that we do on occasion. The worked intently on weeding our smallest greenhouse in its entirety, helping out in our perennial gardens and lastly, clipping the stems off all the over 6000 bulbs of dry garlic. It was a hot day and they worked really hard. They kept me busy directing and with some additional food preparation. They eat so much!!! They said as I took them to the trail head the following day that their day off here was their best day off on the trail so far. We felt lucky to have them.
They next day we had a group from GreenAgers working here. GreenAgers was launched from The Center For Peace Through Culture in 2007 as one way to address global and local environmental issues. Taken from their website: GreenAgers mobilizes and empowers young people to come together and work cooperatively to design and carry out environmental projects in their own their local communities. Through this program, young people can not only make a real difference, they can also learn independence, creativity, leadership, responsibility and self-respect. As they develop their own interests and abilities, they are also promoting community and global health, and ultimately contributing to global peace. Community involvement is a strong emphasis of GreenAgers, as the intellectual, spiritual, creative, and physical energies of young people focus on projects that will make a difference to the local communities and to the environment.
The first local GreenAgers group has an office in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, headed by Will Conklin. The Great Barrington GreenAgers' plans include setting up a community garden, hosting a monthly Sustainability Discussion Group on how individuals can integrate sustainability practices into their everyday lives, working together with other organizations and schools on new or existing projects, and creating a program of educational environmental presentations conceived, researched and written by students and delivered in classrooms and community spaces. They also plan to have a lot of fun!
The Great Barrington GreenAgers is a pilot program, laying the groundwork for GreenAgers groups around the country and around the globe.
Working with them was a pleasure. They finished harvesting the end of our first carrot planting, they pulled all our storage onions from the field and put them in the upstairs of the barn and they helped out with some weeding too. Big thanks to Will Conklin for organizing our work day and introducing us to this fantastic organization.
And if that weren't enough we had many folks come to weed and clean garlic on Wednesday. We are thrilled!
A couple reminder notes:
1. Please bring your own bags to pick up. We no longer have any recycled plastic bags.
2. Food leftover from Friday pick up will all be put away by 10:00 am Saturday morning.
3. We will be weeding Wednesday August 18th from 8-12. We look forward to your company.
4. We will have numerous boxes of tomatoes for processing this week. The boxes are $15 for 15 lbs. of tomatoes.
For the farm crew,
Elizabeth
Vegetables for Week of August 16th
Choices:
Sweet Peppers
Beets
Carrots
Chard
Eggplant--limited supply
Leeks
Cucumbers
New Potatoes, from Thompson Finch Farm--Ancram, NY
Frisee
Escarole
Summer Squash and Zucchini
Tomatoes--up to at least 2 lbs.
Basil
Rainbow Salad Mix
Garlic--NEW
Upick--
Green beans--limited supply
Cherry Tomatoes
Flowers
Herbs
Fruit Share
White Peaches from Maynard Farm
Thursday August 12, 2010
Thoughts on my own crops and Indian Line Farm....
Well...for whatever reason Farm Girl Farm's newsletter is not readily available to share and because today is the day dedicated to farming I thought I'd speak of my garden's bounty and introduce you to Indian Line Farm - the first CSA in the country. Elizabeth Keen runs quite an efficient and beautiful farm. Every time I pick up my share I am just in AWE!!
Out of my patch of dirt this week I harvested potatoes, onions and will be picking some broccoli for dinner tonight. This time of year is so fulfilling and healthy. I have become a veritable vegetarian. Tonight I plan on concocting stuffed zucchini with quinoa, fresh corn, cherry tomatoes, leeks and basil. Served up with a side salad of delicate Indian Line Farm greens and we are in veggie HEAVEN!!
And now: News From Indian Line Farm
c/o Elizabeth Keen
What a great summer we have been having! Warm sunny weather making it great for afternoon/early evening swims. No need for the rain gear like last year when they never dried out between rain storms. But wow has it been hot! We always start out the mornings with rain pants just to keep the dew off our pants, but this year we can't get them off soon enough before it feels like we are sitting in a sauna. And the sweat by midday is dripping down our backs with such vigor that we have decided Indian Line Farm should open a gym. We can supply all the ingredients to good health: cardiovascular workout; strengthening by regularly carrying 40 # bins and buckets; and stretching, bending and reaching for flexibility. Honestly, today the heat got me down. We need a big rain. Everything is really dry. I can't really irrigate everything that really needs it. I noticed the leaves on the corn on route 23 curling to maintain moisture. The HousatonicRiver is low enough that is some places we had to get out and push our canoe on Sunday.
Heat makes me think of zucchini. We have a lot right now as we are still harvesting from our 1st planing which is still going strong and our second planting is gorgeous and putting out green beauties. On Friday alone, we harvested 308# of squash and zucchini. In response I had an all zucchini dinner: savory zucchini pancakes topped with sour cream and fresh tomatoes and for dessert a double chocolate zucchini cake. Marvelous! I was going to make a raw zucchini salad, but decided against it. I have included several zucchini recipes for you too, to enjoy this week. And watch out if you park too long in the lot, you might find an extra zucchini in your front seat!
Thursday August 05, 2010
Hello Farm Girl Farmers--
Season 6 of Farm Girl Farm, just like any good serial, has definitely been its own season—some new characters, some new locations, but very much rooted in the seasons that came before. In the vein of “last year at this time,” there are many differences—most notably, we’re on our way to what looks like a very healthy crop of ripe tomatoes, where last year of course we were grieving over the lost crop. This year, the river is hanging low in its lair, last year, it jumped the banks more than once—at one point flooding the fields so badly that as we harvested vegetables knee deep in water, they actually floated away at one point. All in all, I’m glad to be living out this season rather than last!
There are similarities, of course—each season right about now, even last season with the absent tomatoes, we look around and there is so much to do, so many veggies to take care of, the battle of priorities is always center stage. We have 3 hours for field work this afternoon—do we keep spraying the tomatoes? Pull the garlic? Weed the onions? Mulch the eggplant pathway? Plant the next succession of lettuce? Fix that really leaky spot in the irrigation? It is overwhelming but this season, more than any other I can remember, I’m just so grateful to be in this situation, glad to have so much food to take care of, happy to be scared that the tsunami of tomatoes is about to monopolize all of our harvesting time, and acutely aware that in a few way too short months, this will all be over and the cycle will begin again. I much prefer the problem of too many veggies needing our attention than few or none.
I’m also grateful for all of you, participants in this journey of nature—you are such an important part of the cycle. Some of you have been around the seasons with Farm Girl Farm for several years running, some of you are just embarking with us this year. But without you to love and appreciate and prepare and consume the veggies that we care for, there’d be no point in doing what we do.
Go team!
.Enjoy the veggies this week.
--Laura Meister, Farm Girl Farm Farmer
Thursday August 05, 2010
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