Farm News, May 29, 2018
Farm News
Welcome to the 2018 season at Fort Hill Farm! This is the first full week we’ll be open at the farm, on Tuesday and Thursday 2:30 to 6:30 PM, and Saturdays 8 AM to 12:30 PM. Or you can catch us at the New Milford Farmers’ Market on Saturdays 9AM to noon, and the Westport Farmers Market Thursdays 10AM to 2PM.After one of the coldest springs we can remember, we’re finally seeing some great greens crops ready to harvest. We’ve got 5 kinds of lettuce and a really great crop of spring spinach coming in, along with radishes and plenty of shoots and micro greens. We’re a bit behind on planting, having just put in the leeks (3 weeks late) and gearing up to plant next year’s strawberries (2 weeks late), but we did manage to get the greenhouse tomatoes planted ahead of schedule, and are seeing some nice-looking fruit beginning to enlarge now. Before I get too far along in this note, let’s define who the “we” is. It’s a big effort to get the farm up and running each spring, and Rebecca and I feel fortunate to have such an energetic and motivated crew. Field Manager Elliott McGann is back, working his managerial magic each morning on our dry erase boards, getting everybody set up on their tasks. Grower Lauren Henderson-Tamowski is back helping Rebecca manage the greenhouse and growing a whole new crop (for us) of micro greens and shoots. Grower Hannah Snyder-Samuelson has been busy preparing planting beds in the fields, seeding the greens crops, managing our spring plant sales, and learning how to graft cantaloupes (in our never ending pursuit of getting a decent crop of organically grown melons!). We are fortunate to have a slew of experienced farmers come back to help this season, including Adam Quattro, Luna Hodge, and Joey Charles. We’ve got some new faces as well, as we welcome apprentices Carly Fortuna, Sarah Henry, and Michael Baker. They’ve been learning how to care for greenhouse plants, spread compost and mulch, and transplant the 14 acres of crops we will be putting out this season. Renata Guimares, Dana Scott, and Olivia Binzen are helping us get everything planted, trellised, and weeded, and Kathy Scott is back, and has been diligently filling up the greenhouse flats with seeds and seedlings all spring. This week with the weekly plantings of lettuce, spinach, arugula, carrots, and salad mix, we’re looking to get the warm season melons, peppers, and eggplant seedlings tucked into the fields. We often get a bit behind planting these crops because we put a lot of effort into mulching them with leaves and straw to keep the weeds out and the soil moisture in; mulching is one of the many “jobs before the job.”We hope to see you at the farm or a farmer’s market soon!Paul and Rebecca, for the Fort Hill Farm Crew
Featured this week
Spinach: this is the green that folks shy of bitter greens just love, and we have a very nice spring crop. We hope you indulge while it's still cool, because when things get hot, spinach can be a tough one to grow.Also available: arugula, baby red kale, tatsoi, salad mix, spinach, rainbow chard, pea shoots, sunflower sprouts, micro greens, radishes, scallions, salad turnips, baby bok choy, 5 varieties of head lettuce, frozen baby gingerPick Your Own: The strawberries flowered like never before last week, so we expect a large crop of berries in the next week or two ... Stay tuned! PYO begins 30 before and goes 30 minutes beyond barn hours.
Recipes, suggested by Rebecca Batchie; also see the Fort Hill Farm Recipe Database
Hearty Spinach Salad, by Rebecca BatchieThis is meaty enough for lunch or a light dinner.Salad:1lb. Spinach, washed and spun dry1/2 bunch scallions or 1/4 cup red onions, thinly sliced4 hard boiled eggs, sliced15 oz cooked chick peas1/4 cup Calamata and green olives, sliced in half lengthwise1/3 to 1/2 cup oiled, salted, and well-toasted pepitasDressing:1:3 ratio of white balsamic and extra virgin olive oilsalt to taste1/4 teaspoon fresh thyme, or pinch dried Break up the spinach into medium pieces and place in a wide, shallow bowl. Arrange the egg slices in a circle around the rim of the bowl. Scatter the chick peas and olives on top, and then sprinkle on the pepitas and scallions. Dress the salad as you plate up; it's magic when the dressing and the yoke blend together!