Farm News July 2, 2024
SPECIAL HOLIDAY SCHEDULE
FOR THE 4TH of JULY:
The Farmstand will be * CLOSED * on Thursday, July 4th.
Please stock up today, Tuesday, July 2!
WESTPORT MARKET IS OPEN Thursday, July 4!!
Our Farmstand is in full swing
(PYO & Farmstand Hours):
Tuesday, Thursday (except July 4), & Friday: 2 - 6:30 PM
Saturday: 8 am - 12:30 pm
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Another round of rainstorms over the weekend nicely irrigated all the fields, which always seems like a minor miracle when the crops get watered without moving pipes and hoses around. This week we have been treated to some crisp, clear days to start our garlic harvest, which is ironic in that I spent all last week warning the crew that pulling the garlic crop is one of the toughest jobs on the farm and usually occurs in high heat and humidity conditions.
The moment has come … GARLIC HARVEST!
Garlic is a labor of love for us here on the farm. The crop we are pulling this week was planted in November, mulched for the winter, and grew robustly all spring. We apply thick layers of leaves and straw so that the entire 1/3-acre patch only required a few hours of weeding, and the shallow garlic roots are kept evenly moist. After we snap the yummy scapes (flowering stems) off the plants, the bulbs swell and when they reach peak size and flavor we start pulling. First, we lift the beds with a blade mounted on our tractor to make the pulling a little easier on everyone’s backs. Then we bunch the garlic and hang them into a shaded greenhouse to dry. We also grab some bulbs straight out of the field for fresh use, so garlic fans don’t have to wait until August for the cured crop. It’s a lot of work, but the big cloves in our bulbs have a robust flavor and juiciness that you just can’t find in store-bought stuff.
Elliott lifts the bed to lighten the load when pulling up the stalks. Note the baby sweet potato plants just starting to vine out on the left.
In other news, the cukes and tomatoes are pouring in from our greenhouses, giving us an early jump on these crops that otherwise don’t start high production until August. We grow our greenhouse crops in the same compost amended soils we grow them in the field, which is why they have complex flavors that the hydroponic “hot house” tomatoes in the store can’t match. We have them in all shapes, colors, and sizes—big red beefsteak for your 4th of July burger, unique heirloom varieties for caprese salads, and the always popular Sungold cherry tomatoes that kids eat right out the bowl.
The crew busts the move with this challenging harvest. Pull, count, bunch, repeat. At least yesterday’s weather was not too hot.
Have a great fourth of July, and please check the schedule notes for the week. Notably the Westport Farmers market is OPEN on July 4th. The farmstand is closed Thursday, so we hope you will stock up on Tuesday, Friday (both 2 to 6:30 pm), or Saturday (8am to 12:30pm) for your holiday party.
Paul, Rebecca, and the Fort Hill Farm crew
You can believe your eyes. (See PYO info. below.)
Featured veg:
Tomatoes! These Heirloom and Beefsteak Tomatoes tomatoes are ripe, juicy, and easy on the eyes too. They come from our greenhouses. They were started in a cooler in the barn in January, carefully grafted to a disease-resistant root stock in February and planted into soil inside the greenhouses in March. The crew spent many hours trellising them up a string, and we occasionally heated the house to get them through the cold snaps in May that would have killed them had they been outside. Lots of work, which is why they are so precious! While we are not at “peak tomato” yet, the greenhouses are really pumping out now, way ahead of field plantings. Look for the price to drop even more once the high tunnel comes online.
Cucumbers: For growers, cukes are a feast or famine crop, but for eaters, they taste like summer and are needed in a steady supply... Carpe diem! Our high tunnel planting has 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.
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; red beets, chioggia beets (and limited gold beets); green and purple Chinese cabbage; garlic scapes; zucchini, zephyr, and Patty Pan summer squash; heirloom and beefsteak tomatoes; sungold and red cherry tomatoes; conehead cabbage; rainbow and orange fresh carrots; Conehead cabbage; fresh garlic!
Coming Soon:
Broccoli
Pick Your Own:
Blueberries: OPEN!!
We are thrilled to be able to open the patch for PYO! These modest shrubs are only 3 - years old and are just starting to produce enough berries for harvest. The yields will grow each year along with the plants. After some battles with infertility, overzealous weed whackers, and Spongy moth caterpillars, we have (for the most part) very healthy plants with sweet and tasty blueberries! $5.75/pint PYO.
Perennial Herbs: also OPEN!
There are HERB RINGS provided to establish the bunch size.
Chives and Oregano: trim long lengths from the base of the plant, leaving 1” behind
Sage: clip 4 - 6 inches from the largest stems
Thyme: clip 4-6 from the perimeter of the plant
Flowers:
Be sure to use the flower ring provided to establish the bunch size.
Strawberries:
-What a great season! We are caring for next year’s crop!
Sugar snap peas:
- like a flash, they are done for the season
Recipes
Suggested by Rebecca Batchie
For more recipes, check out the Fort Hill Farm Recipe Database
Ottolenghi's Tomato Salad with Ginger Garlic Dressing
From Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Shelf Love
5 Garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
1.25 oz. (35 g) Ginger root, peeled and julienned (or our Minced Ginger)
4.5 oz. (135 ml) Olive oil
Sea salt and black pepper
4 Limes, finely zested and juiced
2 tbsp Fish sauce (or use 1½ tbsp light soy sauce)
2 Cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
28 oz. (800 g) Mixed cherry tomatoes, cut in half lengthways (or sliced heirlooms)
1 Small red onion, peeled and cut into thin rounds
Put the sliced garlic, julienned ginger, olive oil and a half teaspoon of sea salt in a small pan, set it over a medium heat and cook gently, swirling the pan every now and then, for 10-15 minutes, until the solids are lightly golden. Strain through a sieve set over a bowl to catch the oil, then leave the oil to cool for about 10 minutes. Transfer the garlic and ginger to a plate lined with a piece of kitchen paper, where they will crisp up further.
Once the oil has cooled a little, use a fork to whisk in the lime zest and juice, fish sauce and coriander.
Gently toss all the tomatoes with a teaspoon of flaked salt and a generous grind of pepper, then arrange on a platter with the sliced red onion in a single layer and overlaps slightly. Spoon over the dressing, scatter on the crispy ginger and garlic, and serve right away.
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