Farm News June 11, 2024
Our Farmstand is in full swing
(PYO & Farmstand Hours):
Tuesday, Thursday, & Friday: 2 - 6:30 PM
Saturday: 8 am - 12:30 pm
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We’ve had a fine stretch of weather to finish our big spring planting projects. Last week found us tucking in the peppers and setting out half an acre of winter squash and pumpkins. Planting on days when the high is less than 80 makes the whole affair less stressful on the plants, which are less likely to wilt down after planting. It is also less stressful for the people planting, who have just a bit more time to put the pipes in place to get water to newly set plants.
Elliott cradles a chunky Chinese cabbage. He personally makes sure these beauties don't get ravaged by flea beetles every spring by protecting them with row cover.
Once we get the plants in the ground and watered, weeds will start to rear their ugly heads. We have some innovative cultivators we’ve collected over the years to gently crumble the top inch or so of soil. And we’ve had plenty of dry weather over the last few days to get our cultivators in the ground just as the weeds emerge from the soil, which is when they are most vulnerable to our cultivators. My favorite weeding tool is the finger weeder, which is a tractor-mounted wheel of 4-inch fingers that spin around and gently work up the soil in the row. This tool greatly decreases the amount of weeding we must do by hand, leaving us time for more productive work, like picking and packing produce.
A lot of care goes into our greenhouse tomato crop. I find these red cherries to have the perfect amount of tomato sweetness, but don't try to tell that to a Sungold lover!
On the harvest front, it’s time to pick the scapes off of our 16,000 bulbs of garlic. Our first “bulk harvest” of the year, these are the delicious flowering stems of our top setting garlic. We snap these off just as they curl, while they are still tender, and before they can divert energy from the bulbs. Dana and Matt also brought in the first harvest of zucchini and summer squash, and there are signs that the tomato harvest is ramping up. And so much Chinese cabbage! Along with some of the best radishes we have had in a while. Our first picks of snap peas are in, and they are always a crowd pleaser.
Strawberry harvest continues with plenty of berries with no limits on picking. Make an outing to the farm and get some juicy red ripe berries while they are here. The main crop of berries should go strong through the weekend. Strawberry season is short and seems even more condensed this season. Pick your own hours are the same as our farmstand hours (see above or on our website).
We hope you enjoy the harvest,
Paul, Rebecca, and the Fort Hill Farm crew
Featured veg:
Garlic scapes: These are the flowers of our topsetting hard neck garlic. Viewed with suspicion by folks in the past, they have become very popular due to their great garlic flavor and many uses. Cut off an inch or two of the thin ‘whip’ at the end of the stem, and the rest is good to chop up. Scapes make the BEST pesto. Sauté in oil and then add cooking greens or pasta. Grill or roast whole for a treat. Throw on pizza. Scapes will store for at several weeks in your fridge crisper (and can last for months!). They are a unique source of fresh, green garlic flavor and will tide you over until we have fresh garlic available in about three weeks.
Chinese cabbage (aka Napa cabbage): Always the first cabbage on the scene, and 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.
Also available:
Head lettuce; salad mix; arugula; pea shoots; curly and lacinato kale; rainbow chard; kohlrabi, fennel, baby bok choy; red and French Breakfast radish; cilantro, parsley, dill, basil; escarole; radicchio; scallions; sprouting broccoli (as available); purplette onions (as available); Sugar snap peas; red & chioggia beets, (just coming in); summer squash (just coming in)
Coming Soon:
cucumbers
Pick Your Own:
STRAWBERRIES!
How Does PYO Strawberries Work?
1. Read www.forthillfarm.com/visit before arriving.
2. After parking along the fence, walk to the Green tent to pick up quart containers (signs will clearly guide you).
3. Pick ripe, red berries only (we'll show you where to pick).
4. Head to the barn to pay and stock up on the week's veggies. (You will need to pre-pay if your picking will take you past Farmstand hours.)
Recipes
Suggested by Rebecca Batchie
For more recipes, check out the Fort Hill Farm Recipe Database
Stir-Fried Napa Cabbage with Spicy Garlic Dressing
By Food and Wine
Chinese cabbage is the easiest cabbage/green to chop, and it cooks down quickly, all of which make using it and having dinner ready a snap.
Ingredients
4 garlic cloves, 2 chopped and 2 minced (sub with 4 scapes, minced or processed)
Kosher salt
4 scallions, finely chopped
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon gochugaru (sub with Aleppo powder, chipotle powder or a pinch of crushed red pepper)
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 (1 1/2-pound) head napa cabbage, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
Directions
Mince and mash the chopped garlic to a paste with a pinch of salt. Stir together with the minced garlic, scallions, soy sauce, sesame oil, water, gochugaru, and sugar in a small bowl. Set aside.
Heat the oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. Add the cabbage, season with a pinch of salt, and stir-fry, using tongs to stir, until the cabbage is just wilted, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and pour the dressing over the cabbage and toss gently to combine. Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with the toasted sesame seeds.
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