Farm News, July 17, 2018
Farm News
The last few weeks have been full of hot, sweaty days, which generally have the effect of erasing any romantic notions that one may entertain about small scale vegetable farming. It’s tough on people, and on plants, and the only solutions available once the mercury goes past 90 is to irrigate more often and get out into the field earlier in the morning. So that’s just what our hard working crew did, and although the general energy level seems a little lower these days, we’ve been able to (mostly) keep up with our planting, weeding, watering, and harvesting tasks.Chief among these was getting in the garlic. The harvest window for garlic is only about a week. Before that, it’s a little too small, and the cloves haven’t completely divided. Wait too long, and the bulbs split open. We use a tractor mounted bed lifter to make the task a little easier, but there’s no way around the fact that 24,000 bulbs of garlic had to be hand pulled, bunched, and hung in a greenhouse to cure.In between all that, other veggie harvests are ramping up! We’ve had a good run of cukes and summer squash, and with new plantings kicking in, the supply looks good. Our soil-grown tomatoes are coming in from both our greenhouses and the big high tunnel as well … from big beautiful Brandywines to yummy Sungold cherries. Thanks to a brief daily sprinkle of cool water from our irrigation pipes, we’re still getting lots of lettuce, salad mix, and salad greens coming your way.In the Pick Your Own department, check out Rebecca’s flower patch, which is really starting to kick in. And our first pick of sweet corn is here this week, meaning that summer has really started.Hope you enjoy the farm and the harvest.Paul and Rebecca for Elliott and the Fort Hill Farm Crew
A picture (or 7) tells a thousand words:
2018 Garlic Harvest photoessay below (photos by Sarah Henry):
Featured this week:
Sweet corn: is one of the most sought after farm veggies, and it is here! These are the extra early, petite ears from a variety called ‘Trinity.’ Very sweet and tender, they don’t need more than a minute or two of boiling – just get them hot enough to melt the butter. Best eaten immediately, you can also store sweet corn in the fridge for up to 2 days. Fancy Beets: Chioggia is a sweet Italian heirloom beet with red and white concentric circles that form a distinctive ‘bulls eye’ pattern, and it is growing strong. Gold beets are also sweet like our Red beets but not quite as ‘earthy’ tasting and don’t bleed like red beets. Gold beets are noticeably less robust and come in more slowly, so if you don’t see them on your next visit, you will soon. We are always happy when the foliage is good enough to bunch, as it gives folks “2 for the price of one!” Grate fresh into a salad with nuts and goat or feta cheese or see recipe below!
Also available:
arugula, salad mix, pea shoots, sunflower sprouts, micro greens, scallions, head lettuce, garlic scapes, fresh garlic, red beets, carrots, rainbow chard, radicchio, fresh herbs, frozen baby ginger, zucchini and yellow summer squash, slicing and Asian cucumbers, bunched carrots, Chinese cabbage, curly green and lacinato kale, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes
Coming Soon:
Red Torpedo onions
Pick Your Own:
The Sunflowers and Flowers are opening in earnest!Fresh Herbs: Italian and curly parsley, cilantro, thyme, sage, oregano, chives and dill. Feel free to mix and match for your bunch.Some herbs are available in the barn, others are available for PYO only. Please pick only the herbs with signs directly in front of them, as some young herbs are still growing! ...... and NEW for 2018: CSA members may pick 1 small PYO bunch of herbs (mixed or not) each week for FREE! One bunch per share. PYO only. Please see samples in the barn for bunch size.PYO begins 30 before and goes 30 minutes beyond barn hours.
Recipes, suggested by Rebecca Batchie. For more recipes, check out the Fort Hill Farm Recipe Database.
Beet Carpaccio with Goat Cheese and Mint Vinaigrette
From Bon AppetitThis is heaven to both taste and view, as it showcases the rainbow beauty of the red, chioggia, and gold beets. 12 2-inch beets, trimmed1 cup crumbled soft fresh goat cheese (about 5 ounces)2 tablespoons minced shallot1/3 cup unseasoned rice vinegar1/3 cup chopped fresh mint1/4 cup walnut oil or olive oil1 1/2 teaspoons sugar1/4 cup chopped fresh chives Preheat oven to 350°F. Line rimmed baking sheet with foil. Place beets on sheet (if using both light- and dark-colored beets, place them on separate sheets to prevent discoloration). Sprinkle beets lightly with water. Cover tightly with foil. Bake until beets are tender when pierced with fork, about 40 minutes. Cool on sheet. Peel beets. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Place in resealable plastic bag; chill.)Using cheese slicer or knife, slice beets very thinly. Slightly overlap slices on 6 plates, dividing equally. Sprinkle with cheese, then shallot, salt, and pepper. Whisk vinegar, mint, oil, and sugar in small bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle over beets. Sprinkle with chives. Yields 6 servings. Moist Chocolate Zucchini Cake
From The Cook’s Garden by Ellen Ecker Ogden
It’s that time of year! We love to make extra and freeze this cake – somehow it tastes even better from the freezer. It’s a great way to “capture” the boom and bust nature of summer zucchini in what just might be the best form possible. I always use whole spelt flour and either all olive oil or coconut oil for the fat, without the slightest complaints.
1 cup unbleached all purpose flour 2 cups sugar1 cup whole-wheat flour 8 TBSP (1 stick) unsalted butter½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder at room temperature2 tsp baking powder ½ cup olive oil2 tsp baking soda 3 large eggs, at room temperature1 tsp fine sea salt 1/3 cup sour cream or yogurt3 cups grated zucchini*Add some Chocolate Chips for a real treat! Position a rack in the center of your oven. Preheat the oven to 350. Butter and lightly flour a 9×13 inch rectangular pan.Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat the sugar, butter and oil together in another bowl until well combined. One at a time, add in the eggs, beating well after each addition. Gradually stir in the flour mixture, blending until just smooth. Stir in the sour cream or yogurt, then the zucchini. Spread evenly in the pan.Bake until the cake springs back in the center, about 45 minutes. Cool completely over a wire rack.