Farm News, June 21, 2022
The weather in New England is always a roller coaster. We’ve been bracing ourselves for the next heat wave, and instead we got a string of days with 20 mph north winds and highs the low 60s. Pretty crazy stuff for mid-June. Crops continue to do well, especially lettuce and spring greens which normally don’t do well in the long, usually hot days of late-June. The tomatoes, ginger, basil, and cucumbers growing in the high tunnels were snug and warm and are doing quite well.
Brendan pulls a nice bunch of French Breakfast out of the radish patch.
The cool weather also helped keep the strawberry crop humming along, although the end is in sight. There are lots of berries still out there, but it will require more work to find firm fruit. Strawberry season will likely wrap up early next week, or possibly before if we get a string of wet or super hot days.
After growing strawberries for something like 25 years, we feel we are just starting to get a handle on the best way to grow them. The thing about horticultural crops is that you can do 50 things right but all it takes is one out of whack parameter (fertility, timing, weather, weeds, bugs, diseases, variety selection, spacing, planting time, depth of mulch, kind of mulch, when to add straw, when to take the straw off …..I could go on but you get the idea!) to wreck the crop. We feel like we made some steps forward in our understanding of this very popular fruit but there’s always room for improvement.
Dana dons a crown of vetch in celebration of the Solstice. We can also celebrate what a beautiful strawberry crop the Mother Nature has brought (along with the large micronutrient analysis and recalculations Paul has made this year).
In other news, the bumper strawberry crop has distracted us from weeding and the little ones we let slide a few weeks ago are threatening to overtake some of our slower growing crops. We’ve been fortunate to get a great summer season crew to help us dig out from under this green wave. They’ve been crawling carrots and onions, hoeing lettuce, and cleaning up the flower beds, and we sure are happy they are here.
Please keep in mind that every week we shoot to have a something new at the farm, so we hope that those of you who came to sample our berries will come back for more of our veggies in the weeks to come.
We hope you enjoy the farm and the harvest,
Paul and Rebecca for the Fort Hill Farm crew
Our resident Black Swallowtail caterpillar from 2 weeks ago has been replaced by a trio of younger munchers.
Featured veg:
Chinese cabbage: It’s a beautiful crop this year. We look forward to this one all spring as a harbinger of warmer weather and the delicious food it brings. It is great stir fried or shredded raw for refreshing salads and slaws. See recipe below. Store for up to two weeks in fridge.
Fennel: this Mediterranean crop has a sweet anise flavor that is wonderful in salads, and it’s very yummy brushed with olive oil and salt and tossed on the grill. Store for at least a few weeks in the fridge crisper.
Also available:
Head lettuce, salad mix, pea shoots, radishes, scallions, Chinese cabbage, curly and lacinato kale, rainbow chard, kohlrabi, fennel, basil, parsley, dill, escarole, frozen ginger, red and fancy (limited) beets, strawberries, garlic scapes, summer squash, and the first tomatoes!
Coming Soon:
cucumbers
Pick Your Own:
Strawberry Season is slowing down! Come early in the week for the easiest pick.
How Does Strawberry PYO Work?
1. Head to the north of the parking lot and grab some quart containers
2. Pick ripe, red berries only (pick from the rows with flagged stakes)
3. Head to the barn to pay and stock up on the week's veggies
PYO Hours: (PYO begins 30 minutes before and goes 30 minutes beyond barn hours.)
Recipes
Suggested by Rebecca Batchie
For more recipes, check out the Fort Hill Farm Recipe Database
Korean Cabbage Pancake (Baechujuan)
From Maanchi
Serves 2
This can be made vegan by replacing the egg with ¼ cup stock. Eat right away! Make them as per waffles, with one person cooking and others eating as they come out of the pan.
Ingredients:
8 ounces Napa cabbage leaves (4 to 5 leaves), washed, pat dried, with a few slits at the bottom stem so they lay flat
vegetable oil for cooking
For batter:
1 cup stock (vegetable stock, anchovy-kelp stock, or chicken broth)
½ teaspoon kosher salt
⅔ cup all purpose-flour
1 egg
For sauce:
2 tablespoons soy sauce
½ teaspoon gochu-garu (Korean hot pepper flakes)
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 green onion (scallions), chopped
1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
Directions
Make the sauce:
Combine the soy sauce, gochu-garu, vinegar, green onion, and sesame seeds in a small bowl.
Mix well and set aside.
Make the batter and fry the cabbage leaves:
Combine the stock, salt, flour, and the egg in a large bowl. Mix together well.
Heat up some vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Swirl to coat evenly.
Dip a cabbage leaf into the batter, making sure to coat the whole leaf. Place it in the skillet.
Repeat with another leaf.
With a spatula, press down on the slitted white parts of the leaves for about 10 seconds to flatten them out. Cook until lightly crisped on the bottom, about 2 minutes.
Flip and add more oil if necessary. Cook another 2 minutes, until the other side is lightly crisp, too.
Flip and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes, until both sides are crisp but not brown.
Transfer to a plate and serve right away with the dipping sauce. Work in batches with the rest of cabbage and the batter.
How to eat:
Cut the pancake into bite size pieces with kitchen scissors.
Add some dipping sauce and eat.
Chicken Salad with Kohlrabi, Fennel, and Scallions
Recipe adapted by Rebecca from Culinary Hill
This is a farm favorite.
INGREDIENTS:
⅓ c. mayonnaise or Vegenaise
2 T. fresh lemon juice
¼ tsp. celery seed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 lb. chopped or shredded cooked chicken (also delicious with Beyond Meat’s Chicken)
1 small kohlrabi bulb, peeled and finely chopped
1 small or half large bulb fennel, cored and finely chopped
2 scallions, sliced
2 T. minced fresh parsley
1.) In a small bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, lemon juice, celery seed, ¼ tsp. salt, and ¼ tsp. pepper.
2.) Stir in chicken, kohlrabi, fennel, scallions, and parsley. Toss until evenly coated.Season to taste with salt and pepper, and chill at least 20 minutes to blend flavors.