Hamlet Organic Garden

June 22,2009  Share 5
Just a reminder that balances were due at the end of May. If you have not paid you balance, please do so today! You can give it to your pickup coordinator or mail it to HOG at PO Box 256, Brookhaven, NY 11719.
Whats Happening At the Farm
     Over 150 people showed up at the Strawberry Festival this weekend, thumbing their noses at the overcast sky and occasional drizzle! Sean’s special chicken marinade was a big hit, as were the amazing potluck salads and side dishes brought by everyone! The strawberry dishes got eaten before we had a chance to set up the voting station for the recipe contest (they just looked too good to wait!) but an impromptu survey suggested that they were all equally delicious! The Golden Bones was incredible, though a bit late, but they more than made up for their tardiness in talent and free cds! The homebrew disappeared quickly (we must have some real beer connoisseurs out there!), but Dave from Dave’s Beer and Soda came through for us with an extra keg of Racer IPA. All in all, we hope everyone had as much fun as we did! The farm made some money for the capital improvement fund, which we hope to put towards fencing in another field-not to expand the farm membership, but to increase our crop rotation and fallow land.
     Our next event is the Garlic Festival, our biggest, baddest party of the summer. We’ll have live music, roasted veggies, more chicken, veggie burgers, sausage, and roasted garlic garlic garlic! Your entrance fee is also a ticket to win a FREE SHARE! We’ll have kids activities (last year everyone had a blast coloring their own HOG t-shirts) as well as more homebrew! Start praying for clear skies now!
In Season Now
Snap or Snow Peas-great as a quick snack or throw in a stir fry. We’ll open up the peas to u-pick as well in a week or so.
Garlic Scapes-check out the recipe ideas from the week 3 newsletter! We throw them in everything. Try mixing with sour cream for a delicious side for baked potatoes
Zucchini and Summer Squash-this is just the beginning of a summer staple. Try slicing in half, drizzling with olive oil and parmesan, and baking in the toaster oven for a quick side dish
Swiss Chard
Broccoli Rabe-great Italian green, eat the leaves, stems and flowering tops.
Parsley

On The Way
Kale
Lettuce
Cukes
Carrots

Pick Your Own
Pick your own items are available for you to harvest at any time, as long as it’s not raining. Look for the signs marking the beds!
Strawberries-limit 1 quart
Chives
Mint
Bachelor Buttons-limit 9 stems

June 15, 2009 Share 4
Just a reminder that balances were due at the end of May. If you have not paid you balance, please do so today! You can give it to your pickup coordinator or mail it to HOG at PO Box 256, Brookhaven, NY 11719.

Whats Happening At the Farm
Well despite the rain our strawberries are holding out pretty well! We are all looking forward to the Strawberry Festival this Saturday at 11:30, our first big party of the season! Admission is $10 (kids under 18 free) and you’ll get all the chicken, sausage, veggie burgers, grilled zucchini, and strawberries you can eat, as well as water, mint tea, wine and home brewed beer. Back on the menu by popular demand is the homemade Strawberry Cream Soda! Entertainment provided by Golden Bones (http://www.myspace.com/goldenbones) Please bring a side dish to share! Bring a strawberry dish to enter in our strawberry recipe contest-can you beat last year’s vegan strawberry ice cream? Or the strawberry cream soda? Find out this Saturday! See you then, Jill

In Season Now
Leaf or Butterhead Lettuce
Baby Beets-eat the beets and the greens! You can just cut the beets in half, leave the greens attached, and saute until tender.
Bok Choy-don’t be put off by the bug damage-these beauties are tender and delicious! Great sauteed with garlic and a little soy sauce.
Strawberries
Scallions-the first onion flavor of the season! Use the white and green parts anywhere you would use onions-great sprinkled on pizza

On The Way
Kale
Peas
Zucchini and Summer Squash

Pick Your Own
Pick your own items are available for you to harvest at any time, as long as it’s not raining. Look for the signs marking the beds!
Chives
Mint
Bachelor Buttons-limit 12 stems

June 8, 2009 Share 3
Don’t forget to bring your bags to pickups! We also have new canvas tote bags for sale this season-bigger this year, as per popular demand! Pick one up today! A quick note-sometimes veggies are ready on Friday that weren’t ready on Monday or Wednesday. Please be assured that we ALWAYS balance out the offerings so that each pickup day gets the same number of weeks of every item!
Whats Happening At the Farm
Rain, rain go away! It feels like monsoon season here on Long Island. Weeding onions in the rain last Friday, the crew came upon a large snapping turtle, laying eggs in the field! She had traveled from the Wertheim, across Old Stump Road, through the woods and meadows until she found the perfect spot in the middle of our onion bed. She dug at least five holes that we can see, and only destroyed about 6 onions! According to the Internet, in 2-3 months we’ll have our first baby turtle hatch! We’ll keep you posted on our babies!
We’ve had so much rain this spring that its affected our ability to work the soil-in a mad rush Adam and Sean worked to prepare beds this Saturday and Sunday. Though there is rain in the forecast all this week, hopefully some sun will break through! The greenhouse is bursting with melons, winter squash, and second batch of corn, all waiting to be transplanted. We also need sun to sweeten the strawberries, and keep them from rotting on the vine.
We had our first member potluck of the season on Saturday, and what a success! Over 60 people showed up to share dishes, conversation, and the balmy June night, and it was practically mosquito free! Real hits were Matt’s homebrewed beer, the fantastic mac and cheese with swiss chard by apprentices Heather and Joel, and the multi-bean chili and corn muffins from Richard and Jill, among many many others! Hope to see you at our next party, the Strawberry Festival, Saturday June 20th. For $10 (kids free) enjoy bbq chicken, sausages, grilled veggies, live music by Golden Bones, and all the strawberries you can eat! Bring a side dish to share. Hope to see you soon! Jill

In Season Now
Leaf or Butterhead Lettuce
Salad Mix
Spinach
Strawberries-strawberry season has begun! We’ve never see so many berries on our plants, so pray for clear weather! We need more sun and less rain to ripen these beauties and keep them from rotting on the vine.
Garlic Scapes-scapes are a curly stem we snap off the garlic plant to encourage bigger bulbs. Its got great garlic flavor, use just like you would use garlic. We sprinkled some in mashed potatoes the other night!

On The Way
Kale
Bok choy
Peas
Zucchini and Summer Squash

Pick Your Own
Pick your own items are available for you to harvest at any time, as long as it’s not raining. Look for the signs marking the beds!
Chives
Mint
Bachelor Buttons-limit 8 stems