Farm News August 23, 2022
It’s happened again…. a perfectly respectable forecasted inch of rain has vaporized before our very eyes, leaving me staring at the sky and full of unkind words for the people (or computer programs) that generate weather forecasts. Since we are veterans of the phantom forecast, we figured this one would be a dud too and mostly charged ahead with irrigation. It’s a fact that 9 out of 10 veggie growers would take too little rain over too much: the lone holdout being a farmer with limited irrigation capacity. For sure that’s been the case this year, we have some truly beautiful crops to show for our efforts. The melon harvest it tapering off but we have enough in storage to see us through the next two weeks. Tomatoes of all stripes continue to put on a great show, and the ginger is sizing nicely in all this heat.
To those of us who work here, this photo is a bit of a joke, only because Brendan is often seen carrying FULL barrels of corn atop his shoulders!
We’ve had some great corn as well, but not without some consternation. The birds are getting bolder and overcoming our distress call and scare balloon combo that does a middling job of convincing blackbirds to look elsewhere for a meal. We’ve also suffered some big losses to raccoons and even a woodchuck. Today it looked bad enough that I finally heeded Rebecca’s advice and put up a short electric fence around our final block of corn, helped by our son Luca and my brother Joe. I’m not super confident it will keep them out, but at least we made the effort.
Dana helps bring in our hefty store of red cabbage. This photo is taken in the Southernmost bed of our fields and affords us the long view of the farm.
While there is plenty of heat and humidity about, we are seeing some noticeably shorter nights. As the summer winds down, we are finishing our last plantings in the field, and starting to prep greenhouse and high tunnel beds to plant up for late fall and winter crops. It’s hard to believe but we only have about 11 more weeks of meaningful growing weather. Time to make hay while the sun still shines.
We hope you enjoy the farm and the harvest,
Paul and Rebecca for the Fort Hill Farm crew
Featured veg:
Blue Gold potatoes: We’ve been growing this winner for about 6 years now, thanks to our friend Megan Haney up at Marble Valley Farm in Kent. This has become a personal favorite. Blue Gold’s high-density (and creamy) starch content is perfect for frying, baking, holding up in soups, and they are flavorful enough for roasting too. And, pretty deep blue outside, moist yellow inside … what’s not to love? Store in a cool, dark place, but not in the fridge.
Red Cabbage: These are some of the most beautiful heads of red cabbage we have ever grown. Red cabbage is one of the go-to color accents for normally green-dominated salads, but it is tasty on its own too! Try the recipe below, or shred it with green frilly kale, onions, and lemon juice for a very tasty and nutritious hearty salad. Will store for MONTHS in the back of your fridge, just waiting for you to appreciate its crisp sweetness, lovely red color, and its power pack of antioxidants and vitamins.
Also available:
Head lettuce, arugula, salad mix, pea shoots, classic carrots and rainbow carrots, red and French Breakfast radishes, curly and lacinato kale, rainbow chard, cilantro, basil, parsley, dill, chives, rosemary, oregano, sage, thyme, radicchio, frozen ginger, red, Chioggia, and gold beets, Ailsa Craig and Red Torpedo onions, summer squash, cucumbers, red and Tendersweet cabbage, garlic, jalapeño, poblano, & shishito peppers, green bell peppers, limited eggplant (slow to come in this year!), lunchbox and sweet Italian peppers, heirloom, beefsteak, and plum tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, cantaloupe, red & yellow watermelon, sweet corn, fresh ginger
Coming Soon:
sweet peppers
Pick Your Own:
~Sunflowers:
bring joy and are ready to come home with you
~Sungolds: closed for the season
~Perennial Herbs:
chives, oregano, sage, and thyme
~Flowers:
Flowers are in full swing and on sale!
~Green and Wax Beans:
Pick the slender ones for the best quality!
Recipes
Suggested by Rebecca Batchie
For more recipes, check out the Fort Hill Farm Recipe Database
Grilled Corn and Red Cabbage Slaw
This fresh, light corn and cabbage slaw is great with fish tacos.
By Ashley Steele
Ingredients
2 ears fresh sweet corn, husks removed
1 lime, juiced
½ cup chopped cilantro
½ teaspoon ground cumin
1 pinch salt
ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ head red cabbage, shredded
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
¼ cup crumbled queso fresco
Directions
Step 1
Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat and lightly oil the grate.
Step 2
Cook corn on the hot grill until charred on all sides, about 15 minutes. Remove corn from the grill and cool.
Step 3
Pour lime juice into a bowl; add cilantro, cumin, salt, and pepper. Whisk olive oil into lime juice mixture until dressing is smooth.
Step 4
Add cabbage and jalapeño pepper to dressing and toss. Cut corn from cob and mix into cabbage mixture. Crumble queso fresco over slaw; toss well. Serves 4.
Cook's Note:
For ease in removing corn from cob, place the narrow end of cob in a fluted tube pan (such as Bundt). This gives you a holder for the cob, and it catches the removed corn kernels.