Life on the Farm (Week 30)

Toms are comin’ round the mountain!

Shh, don’t tell the horned tomato worm where they are!

I have to tell you a frass story. First, frass is poop, insect poop. (A little cocktail party tidbit.) Anyway, I was quietly weeding the parsnips when I noticed these huge black gobs stuck to the pigweed stems (think goose poop, I kid you not!); I poked them with the handhoe and they were gooey. (It gets better…) In the back of my mind something fell into place, and I scanned for the beast above. Huh, what do you know, there he was. Well, there they were. HUGE, Tiny E. (A little Saturday Night Live reference, FYI.) So, these fellas are huge. Photo doesn’t do justice; I was hyperventilating I think. They took a trip to the woods; they can pupate there! Not on our tomatoes.

The deer seem to have taken a hiatus from the fields, I think. A few tell-tale lettuce hearts missing, but those might be older. It’s a nice respite from all of the deer dancing, gotta tell ya.

We were out today making the outdoor hot peppers and the back-up sweet peppers comfortable for the summer with their very own beds of mulch. We collected the oats/pea hay from a field out-of-rotation, and tucked it all in around the maturing pepper plants. Looking good.

Rog bringin in the hay for pepper mulching

The Market has some things for ya. Have a look.

Special offering of Colorado Peaches brought to us and you by a friend of a friend with a family farm in Colorado. Ordered now and only now by the 20# box (you’ll need that many to actually get some home uneaten!) and delivered to your dropsite the week of approximately Aug 10. They are fabulous for fresh eating, pie-making, canning, freezing or drying. Chin-dripping, fabulous!
(We are happy to take phone/in-person orders on these too with checks-in-the-mail if you prefer; just make sure it is by Monday PM.)

Ordering will be open from Sunday morning until Monday 8pm. Get your orders in now so harvesting can begin specific to your requests.

Deliveries will be made Wednesday per usual to your chosen Dropsite Location .

Recipes for your consideration

Garlicky potatoes with greens and olives

6 medium new potatoes, scrubbed
1 bunch kale, chard, spinach or mustard greens, chopped (when chopped probably 3 big handfuls)
2 Tbsp olive oil
6 cloves garlic, crushed/minced
½ cup pitted kalamata olives, rough chopped
1 Tbsp lemon juice (or substitute seasoned rice wine vinegar)
1 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped fine
Salt and pepper to taste

Slice potatoes thickly. Boil in hot water until just tender with fork-test. (Don’t let them fall apart to mush.) Drain and set aside.

De-stem kale (if using); chop roughly. De-stem chard (if using); chop roughly and then thinly slice the stem. (If using) spinach, just chop roughly.

Heat oil in pan, sauté garlic for just 1 minute over low heat (don’t toast it!)

Add potatoes and kale or chard (if using spinach or mustard greens, wait to add for 2-3 minutes; they don’t take as long to cook). Add ¼ cup water, turn up heat to medium-high and cook 5-7min until greens are tender but bright green.

Remove from heat and stir in olives and lemon juice/rice vinegar, sprinkle with basil and salt and pepper.

Serve immediately.

Adapted from: Wild about Greens by Nava Atlas

Vietnamese-style noodles with spinach and Napa cabbage
4 oz thin rice noodles or bean-thread (cellophane) noodles
3 Tbsp toasted sesame oil, divided
1 onion, quartered/thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed/minced
4 heaping cups thinly shredded napa cabbage
1 cup fresh mung bean sprouts
8 oz spinach leaves
12-16 oz firm tofu, diced (Wildwood is the best)
3 Tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
1/8 cup soy sauce
Large handful of herbs (basil, mint, parsley), coarsely chopped or torn
1 small hot pepper, deseeded and finely chopped (optional)
1/4 – 1/2 cup chopped peanuts

Prepare noodles according to package directions (they aren’t cooked like regular pasta noodles, beware.) Set aside.

Fry tofu in 2 Tbsp sesame oil until just turning brown; use spatula to turn frequently.

Add onion and stir-fry until translucent; add cabbage and stir-fry until cabbage is tender-crisp and lightly browned.

Add sprouts and peppers; continue stir-fry until sprouts are tender-crisp.

Add spinach and herbs and cook until just wilts.

Whisk together vinegar, soy sauce, 1 Tbsp sesame oil and pour over vegetables; heating thru.

Toss with noodles and chopped peanuts. Serve hot.

Adapted from: Wild About Greens by Nava Atlas (Thanks, EM!)

Did You Know…

You can recruit buckwheat to do some weeding for you as a living mulch. Plant your tomato transplants, sow buckwheat fairly thickly, allow it to grow to the flowering stage to feed the bees a bit, then cut it down and let it lie as mulch for the now-vigorous tomato plants. This works well with squash and cucumbers too. Put it on the list to try next spring. We get our seed from the Stillwater Farm Store; you can get small and large amounts as you like.

And if you want to just plant some buckwheat for buckwheat’s sake, it is very easy to harvest and thresh by hand (ask us how!) You don’t need much ground to get a good harvest. Your very own buckwheat groats for hot cereal or ground in your high-powered blender for pancakes. The bees will absolutely love you, and it is entertaining to sit amongst the blooms and watch and listen to them forage.

Buckwheat and bees

Produce Subscription Highlights

Anticipated this week for the CSA produce subscription boxes:

Cherry tomatoes
Green beans
Carrots
Cucumber
Broccoli
Green beans (maybe some yellow fillet beans too!)
Sweet pepper
New potatoes
Summer squash and zucchini (they are coming along slowly and squash beetles have taken over; emergency action underway)
Cabbage
Napa cabbage
Onions, purplette
Basil
Lemon basil
Garlic

The summer stuff is here and more is on the way!

Start your meal planning now!

We hope to feed you soon!

Roger and Lara

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