Farm News August 6, 2024
Our Farmstand is in full swing
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(PYO & Farmstand Hours):
Tuesday, Thursday, & Friday: 2 - 6:30 PM
Saturday: 8 am - 12:30 pm
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We’ve flipped the calendar to August, but it still pretty much feels like July. The plentiful rain has brought some great growth to the crops, as well as the lawn which we can never seem to keep mowed. So far, we have missed the torrential downpours, but our experience with them last year has us very much on edge every time we see a thunderstorm on the weather radar rolling our way.
We managed to squeeze in a farm crew group photo. Notably missing here are Paul and Kolade, as well as Emma, Neko, and Owen.
As the group photographer, Paul gets his own photo amidst the Zinnias.
The crew completed another milestone yesterday by bringing in the last of the onions. Once the onion foliage begins to die back, Rebecca makes sure we grab them on a dry day and tuck them away on our dry greenhouse benches. I am terrible at making this call, as I always want to squeak the last bit of growth out of the crop to size up the bulbs as much as possible. We have learned the hard way that leaving them in the field too long decreases their quality and results in high losses after they dry down, or “cure.” We have a tough time growing this labor-intensive crop in our sandy soil, so we are keeping our fingers crossed for a high-quality crop.
Tony, Mady, and Emma celebrate the last pulling and hauling of the 2024 onions.
We are no different than most small-scale farmers in that we always want to post pictures of healthy crops and happy harvesters. The reality (which somehow never makes it to Instagram….) is that sometimes things don’t work out well on our farm. And so it is with this year’s spuds. This season we moved the patch into the north field, hoping to get a reprieve from the Galinsoga that has taken over our south field. There is no Galinsoga in the north field, but for reasons I don’t fully understand, planting potatoes in the north field resulted in an explosion of a grassy looking weed called Yellow Nutsedge. On top of that, an insect pest called the Colorado potato beetle, which is normally an insignificant pest for us, just went nuts on the spuds. In any case, the potatoes died back early, the nutsedge exploded, leaving our valiant crew to slog through lots of weed roots trying to find potatoes. If there is any good news in this, it’s that we do still have a crop and we are bringing out the red gold variety this week.
The gang brings in the first of the potatoes. The mown “grass” to the left of the bed is actually nutsedge, blanketing the rest of the potato patch.
Otherwise, things are looking quite good. The crew is bringing in great harvests of tomatoes, sweet corn, lettuce, celery, kale and chard and (given the heat of high summer) a surprisingly good array of greens. Thanks to some hard-working plant breeders, we continue to have healthy basil crops. And for those who wait all year for them, cantaloupes and watermelons are in!
We hope to see you at the farm or a farmers’ market soon,
Paul, Rebecca, and the Fort Hill Farm crew
Featured veg:
Fort Hill Farm Simmer Sauce: STILL ON SALE! … to the tune of Buy-One-Get-One (BOGO)! There is even a case discount for those of you looking for locally made, organic gifts. Made with our beautiful, perfectly ripe heirloom plum tomatoes and packed with herbs, this flavorful sauce can dress pasta or serve as a rich, flavor-boosting base for anything involving tomatoes. Stock up, because these prices are certainly temporary!
Fresh Young Ginger: Juicers rejoice! No peeling, no fibers, just pure flavor and joy to use. We are digging the ginger extra early again this year, and hoping the crop fills out. This can be a tricky crop to grow in CT and requires some patience. We are always grateful when the plants finally start to bush out in early August after the long wait from February. Note that prices will be higher because we are pulling the crop early, and there will be plenty of ginger in the coming months at the regular season’s price.
Red Gold potatoes: This early spud kicks off our potato harvest and satisfies my growing yen for potato salad. They are light red potatoes with a hint of yellow in the flesh, and we find them to be more delicious than the more common Yukon Gold. Stores for at least a month in a dark, dry place at room temperature. Do not refrigerate spuds!
Also available:
Head lettuce; salad mix; arugula; pea shoots; curly and lacinato kale; rainbow chard; purple, red and French Breakfast radish; cilantro, parsley (limited), dill, basil; scallions; red beets, chioggia beets and gold beets; Tendersweet and Red cabbage; garlic scapes; zucchini and zephyr summer squash; Asian and slicing cucumbers; heirloom and beefsteak tomatoes; sungold, artisanal, and red cherry tomatoes (ON SALE!); rainbow and orange carrots; sprouting broccoli; German Extra Hardy garlic; Ailsa Craig and Red Torpedo onions; jalapeño and shishito peppers; Sweet Red Italian and orange snacking peppers (just coming in); eggplant (just coming in); baby bok choy; sweet corn
Coming Soon:
Edamame
Pick Your Own:
Sungold Cherry Tomatoes:
Open for PYO! Stop by the barn for containers and head to the high tunnel to pick.
Perennial Herbs:
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:
Bouquets on SALE! There is a full selection of blossoms out there. Be sure to use the flower ring provided to establish the bunch size.
Recipes
Suggested by Rebecca Batchie
For more recipes, check out the Fort Hill Farm Recipe Database
Thai Crunch Salad with Peanut Dressing
By Jenn Segal
Servings: 4
Total Time: 30 Minutes
This dressing is addictive – why not make double and serve the salad with your choice of noodles! I subbed Tendersweet cabbage for the Napa.
INGREDIENTS
FOR THE THAI PEANUT DRESSING
¼ cup creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, from one lime
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
2½ tablespoons sugar
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1-inch square piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped (see note)
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves
FOR THE SALAD
4 cups chopped Napa cabbage or shredded coleslaw mix (I like to toss in a little shredded red cabbage for color)
1 cup prepared shredded carrots
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced into bite-sized pieces
1 small English cucumber, halved lengthwise, seeded and thinly sliced
1 cup cooked and shelled edamame
2 medium scallions, thinly sliced
½ cup loosely packed chopped fresh cilantro
INSTRUCTIONS
For the dressing, combine all of the ingredients except for the cilantro in a blender and process until completely smooth. Add the cilantro and blend for a few seconds until the cilantro is finely chopped. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
For the salad, combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and toss to combine. If serving right away, drizzle the peanut dressing over top and toss; otherwise, serve the dressing on the side so the salad doesn't get soggy.
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