Farm News August 9, 2022
It’s high summer season at Fort Hill, which means corn, tomatoes, and watermelons are coming into the pack shed in large quantities. We’ve got the tomato cooler stacked to the ceiling with trays of ripe slicers and heirlooms, and its boom time in the cherry tomato patch. While we’ve suffered some corn losses from birds, raccoons, and a very ambitious woodchuck, corn yields have been good. The latter varmint has a den entrance so big I almost fell in while picking. Watermelon is coming in at a good clip, and Rebecca is puzzling on how to go vertical in the cooler so we can pack them all in there.
James with a kind offering of mouthwatering summer fruit! We are lucky that melons need tasting (again and again) in the field to ensure that we are bringing in the ripe ones.
Pepper and eggplant harvests are picking up. We managed to bring in all the onions last week to cure in a shaded greenhouse to avoid cooking them in the fields during the current heat wave. The onion harvest was especially sweet for me because (so far) they are curing nicely. Onions don’t grow particularly well in our sandy soil, we’ve made an effort to develop a growing system that accommodates their needs for high fertility and even watering.
Faye and June are players in The Great Melon Toss of 2022.
All this irrigating and harvesting has made it a bit of a challenge to keep up with some other important tasks, namely weeding and planting. Many of our fields have been in continuous vegetable cultivation for 20 years, and despite our best efforts over the years to keep weeds from maturing, there is an enormous number of weed seeds in each ounce of our soil, just waiting to pop up and take over our crops. We’ve been trying to do more mulching and have taken a few baby steps with no till planting, but our main strategy at this point is to take fields out of production and put them into clover and alfalfa. You may notice large swaths of green as you walk around the farm, and these are fields taking a break, letting the beetles and soil fungi and the passage of time knock down the weed population, while the alfalfa roots add lots of carbon to the soil.
It’s so hard to fit in the transplanting, but our future crops depend on it.
The heat is taking a toll on the crew, but they keep on trucking. We’re lucky to have these folks work with us. They put up with sweaty T shirts, blistered fingers, and sore muscles. We’ve got our sights set on some cooler early fall weather that will hopefully be on its way sometime in September, but for now, highs in the mid 80’s predicted mid- week sound downright comfortable!
We hope you enjoy the farm and the harvest,
Paul and Rebecca for the Fort Hill Farm crew
Featured veg:
Red and Yellow Watermelon: What a melon harvest! We are bringing in loads of sweet and juicy red and yellow watermelons - ripe and ready to eat - just in time to lift us out of the dog days of summer. Best stored in your fridge (if you don’t eat them all at once!), but melons can be outside of the fridge for a spell. We are very pleased with the flavor and quality of both types of melon this year.
Red Gold potatoes: This early spud kicks off our potato harvest and satisfies that undeniable craving for potato salad. They are light red potatoes with a hint of yellow in the flesh, and we find them to be more delicious than the more common Yukon Gold. Stores for at least a month in a dark, dry place at room temperature. Do not refrigerate spuds!
Also available:
Head lettuce (7 varieties!), salad mix, pea shoots, classic carrots and rainbow carrots, red and French Breakfast radishes, scallions, curly and lacinato kale, rainbow chard, cilantro, basil, parsley, dill, chives, radicchio, frozen ginger, red, Chioggia, and gold beets, Ailsa Craig and Red Torpedo onions, summer squash, cucumbers, red and Tendersweet cabbage, garlic, jalapeño peppers, hints of the first eggplant and peppers, heirloom & beefsteak tomatoes, and cherry tomatoes, fresh ginger
Coming Soon:
peppers
Pick Your Own:
~Sungolds!:
everyone’s favorite is ripe for picking in our high tunnel
~Perennial Herbs:
chives, oregano, sage, and thyme
~Flowers:
Flowers are in full swing and on sale!
~Green and Wax Beans:
Green beans are the better choice this week; come early in the week for the best beans
Recipes
Suggested by Rebecca Batchie
For more recipes, check out the Fort Hill Farm Recipe Database
Potato Salad with Green Beans and Salsa Verde
Recipe from FoodandWine
“A terrific salsa verde makes this velvety potato salad extraordinary. Here the salsa is made with parsley and chives; try making it with other summer herbs like tarragon or basil, as well. Serves 6-8.”
Ingredients
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup minced chives
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
2 tablespoons finely chopped mint
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 large garlic clove, minced
Salt
1 1/4 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 pounds green beans, trimmed
Chive blossoms, for garnish (optional)
Directions
Step 1
In a medium bowl, combine the olive oil with the chives, parsley, mint, lemon zest, lemon juice and garlic and season with salt. Let the salsa verde stand at room temperature for 15 minutes to 1 hour.
Step 2
Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, cover the potatoes with cold water, add a large pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Cook the potatoes over moderately high heat until just tender, about 8 minutes; drain and return them to the saucepan. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter and toss to coat. Season with salt.
Step 3
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the beans and cook until crisp-tender, 4 minutes; drain. Return the beans to the pot and stir in the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter. Season with salt.
Step 4
Add half of the salsa verde to the potatoes and half to the beans, stirring to coat. Transfer the beans to a serving bowl. Top with the potatoes, garnish with the chive blossoms and serve right away.