Farm News July 18, 2023
Our Farmstand is in full swing:
Tuesday, Thursday, & Friday: 2 - 6:30 PM
Saturday: 8 am - 12:30 pm
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After last week’s flooding, we continue to count ourselves very fortunate. Many farmers who farm in flood plain soils in Vermont, western Massachusetts, and central Connecticut have not fared so well. Vegetable crops cannot survive inundation that lasts more than a few hours, and produce that has been in contact with flood waters cannot be sold. So many of these farmers are facing large losses at just about the worst possible time. They have already invested many hours of labor into planting and tending the crops, yet they will not be able to harvest them.
Julia, Danniella, Kayla, Kolade and Natalie bunch the rainbow with glowing smiles.
The flood plain soils in the Connecticut River valley are among the most fertile in the world. In the late ‘90s I worked a few days on a farm that sits right next to the Connecticut River in Hadley, MA. The soil was slick and squishy to the toes (most of the folks on this farm eschewed shoes, and sometimes clothes too). It had such a different feel to it than the gritty, course soils we farm at Fort Hill Farm. The water and nutrient holding potential of these silty flood plain soils is enormous even without adding compost or other amendments, making them highly fertile and desirable. As the climate warms, and storms become more severe and less predictable, it will become more and more of a gamble to farm in these places, and the loss in food production will be keenly felt.
Kolade, Sarah, Faye, and Tom get the party started in the garlic.
Sandy soils do have an advantage in wet years, in that they drain quickly, allowing us to get back to work quickly after heavy rains. The forecast last week called for dry weather Tuesday through Thursday, with a chance of rain on Friday. Hot, humid weather, but no rain for a few days. This was about as good as it was going to get for our garlic harvest, so we made a plan to average about 7,000 bulbs a day for three days. We got the lifter on the tractor to loosen the beds, then tore down each bed – pulling, bunching, and hanging the bulbs in our shaded covered greenhouses. Pulling garlic is one of the toughest jobs on the farm. It requires a strong back and a high tolerance for heat and getting dirty. The crew did a great job getting all the garlic in before the rain returned Thursday night, while keeping on task with our regular harvests of tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, lettuce and greens. We even managed to finish off the week on Saturday with a weeding spree and got the peppers, leeks, tomatoes, and carrots weeded.
Brendan, Kolade, Danniella, and CJ rock on in the garlic.
Crops continue to grow well despite the hot, wet, weather. The flowers patch is looking great, with snap dragons, zinnias, cosmos, celosia, Rudbeckia, and salvia tossing out tons of blooms. Even the dahlias are starting to bud up, about two weeks ahead of schedule. Tomatoes from the high tunnel are beginning to come in, as well as the very first green bell peppers. Barring attacks from raccoons, black birds, bears, and bugs, the sweet corn will be coming soon! How soon? The aforementioned varmints preclude a prediction, so come out the farm stand or the New Milford and Westport Farmers markets for all the great veggies we grow.
We hope you enjoy the farm and the harvest,
Paul, for Rebecca and the Fort Hill Farm crew
Featured veg:
Cucumbers: For growers, cukes are a feast or famine crop, but for eaters, they indispensably taste like summer and are wanted in a steady supply... Carpe diem we say! As usual, our early high tunnel planting brought in cukes about 3 weeks earlier than field-grown cukes. We’ve been extra careful to keep newly planted seedlings covered with pricey netted row covers that keep the cucumber beetles (which vector deadly bacterial wilt) from munching on our crop. Keep in a cold, humid place—a loose plastic bag inside your fridge crisper should do. Eat within one week, as these are not coated in yucky grocery store wax.
Red Beets: we like highlighting underrated vegetables that have an awesome source of age-halting antioxidants (that’s what all that purple color is!). You can chop them up and steam them (see pasta and goat cheese recipe at forthillfarm.com/recipes for a farm classic), grate the roots raw on salad, roast them in the oven, or see recipe below. Topped beets will store in the crisper for at least a month.
Also available:
Head lettuce, salad mix, pea shoots, red and French Breakfast radishes, curly and lacinato kale, rainbow chard, baby bok choy, scallions, cilantro, parsley, basil, dill, chives, oregano, sage, thyme, garlic scapes and German Extra Hardy garlic, red, gold, and Chioggia beets, beefsteak and heirlooms, cherry tomatoes, zucchini, Zephyr, and Patty Pan summer squash, slicing and Asian cucumbers, the first jalapeño and shishito peppers
Pick Your Own:
FLOWERS:
Most of the flowers are open now. Even a few precocious dahlias are coming alive!
PERENNIAL HERBS:
chives, oregano, sage, and thyme
BEANS:
Green and wax beans are open!
Recipes
Suggested by Rebecca Batchie
For more recipes, check out the Fort Hill Farm Recipe Database
Roasted Beets and Charred Green Beans
By Kristen Kish from FoodandWine
Ingredients
3 pounds small to medium-size red beets
8 thyme sprigs
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
1 teaspoon black pepper, divided
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoon grapeseed oil, divided
1 pound haricots verts, trimmed, divided
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
2 large shallots, thinly sliced on a mandoline
Roasted hazelnuts, for garnish
Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, for garnish
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Toss together beets, thyme sprigs, 3 tablespoons olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a roasting pan or baking dish; cover tightly with aluminum foil. Bake in preheated oven until beets are tender, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remove foil, and let stand until cool enough to handle. Peel cooled beets, and cut into wedges. Discard thyme sprigs.
Heat 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil in a large cast-iron skillet over high until smoking. Add half of the haricots verts in an even layer. Cook, without stirring, until charred on one side, about 2 minutes. Cook, stirring often, until tender-crisp, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Repeat process with 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil and remaining haricots verts. Sprinkle beans with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
Toss together beets, haricots verts, vinegar, sugar, mustard, oregano, chopped thyme, and remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Season with remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and remaining 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.
Stir together shallots and remaining 1/2 cup grapeseed oil in a small saucepan. Cook over medium-high, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and crisp, about 15 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer fried shallots to paper towels to drain. Top salad with fried shallots; garnish with hazelnuts and parsley.