Farm News, July 11, 2017

Farm News 

July is in full gear, and it’s all hands on deck. We are still transplanting the last of the corn, squash, cukes, and flowers, and weeding like crazy in between down pours. It’s been a challenge to get the cultivating tractors out in between all the rainstorms, since the soil surface needs to dry out before we can effectively slice up all the tiny weeds growing around the plants. Cultivate in moist soil and most of the buggers just re-root! Once we miss those tiny weeds, they rapidly grow into rooty monsters that take a lot of muscle to chop out of the rows, which makes us always feel like it’s a race against time. We also need to take the mowers out to clip the field edges and mow down harvested crops, as waiting just a week or two too long lets the weeds go to seed, sowing another decade of toil into the soil for us to deal with down the road.When I arrived at Fort Hill in 2002, the only weed we had was crabgrass and purslane, and they were everywhere.   As we improved the soil fertility, we started seeing the dreaded pigweed, and now it is everywhere. But the weed that keeps me up at night arrived about 5 years ago, and at current rate of spread, galinsoga will infest most of our farm in the next 2 or 3 years. With most weeds, when you see it flowering, you know it’s time to get the mower, cut off the flower head, and till in the weed. No future damage done. Galinsoga is amazing in that as soon as you see flowers, the seeds beneath them are mature, and you have lost the battle to keep the weed seed count in the soil down to a manageable level. When you till in a future year, you will bring these seeds near to the surface, where they will germinate with your crop and start the whole cycle again. While it’s interesting to watch the weed ecology change in the field, it makes for a lot of extra work for the crew, and we’re happy to have a lot of hands on deck to try to keep up with the weeding!Despite the wet conditions, crop growth continues to be good. Summer squash and cukes are abundant. The chard, kale, spinach, arugula, scallion, radish, and lettuce crops are loving the abundant moisture, and are doing very well. Plenty of beets and carrots, and broccoli coming in this week. Be sure to try some sweet pointy-headed cabbage for coleslaw. Greenhouse tomatoes are declining but the high tunnel crop is coming on now, just in time. Pepper and potato crops are looking good, but are still some ways off. For you flower lovers out there, the first pick is in and there are some real beauties to be had. Rebecca has a great eye for varieties, so check out the patch soon.We hope you enjoy the farm and the harvest,Paul and Rebecca, for Elliott, Bailey, Lauren, Justin, Hannah, and the field crewFeatured this week:Purplette Onions: fresh spring onions, the first bulbing onions of the season. These beauties sized up nicely this year due to the right mixture of heat and moisture. Tear off tops and store in fridge crisper for up to a month.Zucchini: after a nearly squash-free 2016 season, thanks to the zucchini mosaic virus, this crop is back in force. Our latest variety is extra dark, glossy, smooth, and looking rather irresistible (if one could attribute that word to a member of the cucurbit family). Finally, some solid summer veg for the grill, and hey, you never know what the future will bring, it's probably a good time to make and freeze some chocolate zucchini cake too!Cucumbers: The harvest from our first planting of cukes is peaking now. How ironic that we pine for the fresh scent, crispiness, and unique taste of cucumbers during the long winter months, only to be vexed by the boom that only a cuke (or zuch) could produce. Bring on the cold cucumber soup! (See recipe below.)Early Jersey Wakefield Cabbage: a pointy headed, heirloom cabbage great for slaws and salads. The folks who steer clear of this very sweet cabbage because of its higher price per pound do not realize just how light these little cone heads are. Store up to 3 weeks in the fridge crisper. Also available: arugula, baby red kale, tatsoi, salad mix, basil, scallions, head lettuce, radishes, salad turnips, spinach, escarole, curly and lacinato kale, rainbow chard, pea shoots, sunflower sprouts, red beets, garlic, garlic scapes, radicchio, carrotsPick Your Own at the farm: Flowers open this week! Snap peas are done for the season.PYO Hours: The PYO patch is open 30 minutes before and 30 minutes beyond barn distribution hours. Pick your own patch is also open to the public on Tuesdays, 2:30 to 6:30 pm during our Tuesday Farm Stand.Coming soon: Tendersweet Cabbage, fancy beetsRecipes, suggested by Rebecca Batchie; also see the Fort Hill Farm Recipe DatabaseCold Cucumber Soup with Yogurt and Dill, From Andrew Zimmern’s Kitchen Adventures2 large cucumbers (2 1/4 pounds), halved and seeded—1/2 cup finely diced, the rest coarsely chopped1 1/2 cups plain Greek yogurt3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice1 small shallot, chopped1 garlic clove1/3 cup loosely packed dill1/4 cup loosely packed flat-leaf parsley leaves2 tablespoons loosely packed tarragon leaves1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for drizzlingSaltFresh ground white pepper1/2 red onion, finely choppedIn a blender, combine the chopped cucumber with the yogurt, lemon juice, shallot, garlic, dill, parsley, tarragon and the 1/4 cup of olive oil. Blend until smooth. Season with salt and white pepper, cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight.Season the soup again just before serving. Pour the soup into bowls. Garnish with the finely diced cucumber, red onion and a drizzle of olive oil and serve. Zucchini GratinFrom the Barefoot Contessa Cookbook6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, plus extra for topping1 pound onions, cut in ½ pieces and sliced2 pounds zucchini, sliced 1/4-inch thick (4 zucchini)2 teaspoons kosher salt1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg2 tablespoons all-purpose flour1 cup hot milk3/4 cup fresh bread crumbs3/4 cup grated GruyerePreheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Melt the butter in a very large (12-inch) saute pan and cook the onions over low heat for 20 minutes, or until tender but not browned. Add the zucchini and cook, covered, for 10 minutes, or until tender. Add the salt, pepper, and nutmeg and cook uncovered for 5 more minutes. Stir in the flour. Add the hot milk and cook over low heat for a few minutes, until it makes a sauce. Pour the mixture into an 8 by 10-inch baking dish.Combine the bread crumbs and Gruyere and sprinkle on top of the zucchini mixture. Dot with 1 tablespoon of butter cut into small bits and bake for 20 minutes, or until bubbly and browned.