Farm News August 22, 2023
Our Farmstand is in full swing:
Tuesday, Thursday, & Friday: 2 - 6:30 PM
Saturday: 8 am - 12:30 pm
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It seems somewhat cruel to send kids back to school when the sun is still setting at 7:40 at night, but apparently that’s the plan. For us, it’s a little too early to be thinking “fall” just yet, though it feels good to know it’s just around the corner. In the meantime, summer crops are mostly rolling in. We often have trouble growing cukes late in the summer, but this year we’ve had a great crop. Our zucchini crop, planted right next door, is doing the usual end of year slow down, so this is a great time to try the yellow and green “Zephyr” squash, which generally outperforms zukes late in the season.
Faye cradles a lovely head of celery … It’s a Fort Hill feat! (See Featured Veg below to learn more.)
Sweet corn harvests continue, but corn is a mercurial crop. We plant four varieties about every 10 days from May through early July and expect about an 8-day harvest from each planting. Last week one of the varieties just didn’t produce any ears. Those rows were surrounded by the other 3 varieties just full of corn. Go figure. I have a feeling we’ll be scratching our heads about that one for a long while. This week the patch has slowed down quite a bit due to cold nights, and there will be some gaps in the harvest that are hard to predict. Looking out long term, we should have corn through the second week of September. Tomatoes have made a surprise second effort, with the red slicers really kicking in. Our cherry tomato production has hit an early dip. We’ve had some root issues we’ve never seen before, and the plants are slowing down prematurely. It’s really humbling that after 50 years of gardening and farming, every year presents new challenges. The best we can do for some of the production issues is learn as much as we can about a particular pest or physiologic issue and make a plan to prevent it from happening next year.
We’ve been discovering a lot of tree frogs of late, thanks to the wetter than usual summer. This one rides a watermelon leaf.
The weather continues to surprise us with rainy days that don’t appear on the previous days’ forecast. At 4 am on Friday we awoke to a hard rain on our roof and my first thought was the high tunnels are all open because it wasn’t “supposed” to rain. Further proof that even in an age of supercomputer modeling, no one can really predict the future. Our crew has been fantastic in this sloppy, muggy, buggy weather. Bunch greens in a rain shower? No problem. Crawl the muddy strawberry patch to pull out invading crabgrass? Check. When it gets really nasty outside, we can take a break and sort and clean garlic, which we can do in a dry greenhouse, sitting on our behinds.
Matt and Tom play a friendly game of melon catch.
But we’re not ready to slow down just yet. Fall is a great time to grow cool season crops; a second spring that allows us to get popular crops like spinach, lettuce, fennel, kale, collards, broccoli, and cabbage back on the menu. There are some good temps for both plants and people in the forecast. If we can just get a few dry days in between deluges, we should be set for an abundant fall season.
We hope you enjoy the farm and the harvest,
Paul, Rebecca, and the Fort Hill Farm Crew
Featured veg:
Celery: We are excited to be offering celery this year, because historically, our soil has not successfully supported celery crops (our last failed trial was in 2009 just to give you an idea). Given all the fine tuning of soil with micronutrients and minerals that Paul has done, he tenaciously wanted to give it another shot – we are glad he did! This celery may seem slightly different than you are used to, as it is very fresh, with turgid stems and deep celery flavor.
Summer Leeks: a tasty member of the onion family, adding that unique onion-esque but not quite onion-y flavor. They are ready in the nick of time for these cooler nights, to sauté with any delectable green (or see recipe below). Clean carefully, as sometimes soil gets tucked into the leaves. (I like to slice in half lengthwise and run the ends under cold water as I fan them out). Store in the fridge for up to three weeks.
Also available:
Head lettuce, salad mix, pea shoots, red and French Breakfast radishes, curly and lacinato kale, rainbow chard, scallions, leeks, cilantro, parsley, basil, dill, chives, oregano, rosemary, sage, thyme, garlic scapes and German Extra Hardy garlic, red and Chioggia beets, beefsteak and heirlooms (ON SALE), Sungold, red and artisanal cherry tomatoes (ALL on sale this week), Zephyr summer squash, slicing cucumbers, jalapeño, poblano, and shishito peppers, Dark Red Norland, Red Gold, Satina, & Caribe potatoes, Ailsa Craig and Red torpedo onions, celery, eggplant and sweet peppers, sweet corn (as available this week), fresh, young ginger!
Coming Soon:
edamame
Pick Your Own:
SUNGOLD CHERRY TOMATOES:
PYO sungolds are done for the season but available in the Farmstand.
WAX AND GREEN BEANS:
We are in between bean patches this week.
SUNFLOWERS:
These beauties are available by the stem.
FLOWERS:
The flower patch is in full bloom!
PERENNIAL HERBS:
chives, oregano, sage, and thyme
Recipes
Suggested by Rebecca Batchie
For more recipes, check out the Fort Hill Farm Recipe Database
Sage and eggs are surprisingly a marriage made in heaven, with leeks enhancing the union. You can always bulk up the frittata with a couple of cubed, cooked potatoes.
Frittata With Goat Cheese, Leeks, And Sage
Recipe by Barbara Bianchi via GlutenFreeHomestead
Ingredients:
1 or 2 leeks sliced
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil EVOO, divided
3 tablespoons butter divided
6 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
dash of pepper
1 teaspoon fresh sage chopped
6 tablespoons goat cheese crumbled
Instructions:
Heat 2 tablespoons of butter and 1 tablespoon of oil in a 10-inch ovenproof skillet.
Add leeks and season with a little salt. Stir and cook for about 6 minutes until the leeks are tender and slightly brown. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
Clean the skillet so it will be ready for cooking your frittata.
Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl. Add 1/2 of a teaspoon of salt and a dash of pepper. Stir in goat cheese, sage and your cooked leeks.
Preheat your broiler on low
and if possible, set your oven rack in the middle of your oven seven - ten inches from the heat source.
Melt 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of oil in your skillet. Add your egg mixture, cover and cook for two minutes.
Place the oven safe skillet under the broiler until the top is golden and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Since ovens vary, check your frittata after 3 minutes.
Serve warm.