September 7, 2009 Share 16
Whats Happening At the Farm
September at last! August always stretches out before my eyes, a seemingly endless desert of heat, humidity, dry crops, and blood thirsty mosquitoes. This August was no exception. September is a glass of iced tea with a sprig of mint for my soul. We now have to start preparing for the end of the season in earnest. This monday the last plantings for the share will be going into the ground. Arugula, radishes, spinach, head lettuce, and salad mix will grow over the next few weeks until the short, cool days of October turn the farm into a giant outdoor refrigerator. Plant growth slows dramatically and frosty nights give extra sweetness to the kale, spinach, and other greens.
Our mowed down corn beds have proven to be quite attractive to Canada Geese. Luckily these all seem to be migrating flocks, and not the geese that plant themselves in a plush spot and devour crops. Also, we have a trained sheepdog working part time on the farm to scare off any geese lingering around in the mornings. Having eaten their fill of corn, we hope they will get the hint and not return to threaten the fall greens.
On friday I picked up what looked like an egg shaped clod of dirt. It was surprisingly light and after gently chipping an opening, I discovered that it was hollow, the walls were amazingly thin yet strong, so it was actually a tiny sort of egg made of dirt. Inside was the dried up shell of a june bug and attached to the inside wall the tiny egg cases of what seems like would be a species of parasitic wasp. A female wasp had captured the june bug, paralyzed it, buried it in the ground, laid her eggs on it, and built the cocoon of dirt around it with her saliva. Being just an amateur entomologist, I don’t know for sure what the life cycle of the species of wasp I imagine this is, but the young wasps seem to have eaten their fill, based on the sorry state of the june bug, and moved on. A true diamond in the rough!
In Season Now
lettuce or escarole
napa cabbage
kale or chard
beets
carrots
soybeans
fennel
peppers
potatoes
onions
On The Way
sweet potatoes
cauliflower
baby turnips and greens
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!
Cherry Tomatoes-1 pint
Cilantro
Basil
Parsley
Oregano, Thyme, Rosemary, Chives, Mint
Flowers- No limit
Recipes
Buried Treasure-a fast farmers dinner
Steam up some edamame halfway to done
Chop an Onion and begin to sautee in a skillet with olive oil.
Dice up a handful of winter squash and add it right away to the onion
Add a chopped pepper, and some salt and black pepper, and hot pepper if you want it spicy.
Pop the edamame into the skillet
Add a few splashes of Rice Vinegar and Soysauce to get a little steam going.
Check to make sure the squash bits are getting soft.
Chop up a cabbage and add it to the skillet, with a little bit more Rice Vinegar and maybe some Soysauce.
Cook until the cabbage is all stewed down nice and soft.
Serve on short grain brown rice and enjoy hunting for the bits of vegetable treasure amidst all that cabbage!
Waffles for Dinner
If you have one of those wavy bladed tools for making crinkle french fries, you can make waffle cut fries too. Just cut a slice off the end of the potato, then roll the potato ¼ of the way and cut the next slice so the crinkles are perpendicular to the previous cut. Practice makes perfect!
Waffle cut potatoes, beets and carrots
Waffle chop as much garlic as you like
Toss in a pan with olive oil and salt
Roast in the oven at 400 degrees fahrenheit for 45 minutes to an hour.
Don’t burn your mouth!
