Those of you who are still doing rain dances can stop now. We have had more than enough rain - at least for this week. Monday morning the rain gauge was overflowing at 6 inches. So I’m not sure how much rain we’ve actually had. Big thanks go out to my crew who slogged through the rain on Monday harvesting veggies for your boxes. We also worked last Wednesday in a cold drizzle to get the squash harvest in.

The sandy soil on the farm does absorb lots of water. But at this point the soil is very saturated. We do have standing water in a few places around the farm, but so far, not in the fields.

Too much rain can be a problem for some of our plants. Tomatoes and peppers tend to split even more than normally. Heavy rain can also knock off blossoms, which means that future fruit does not grow.

But the biggest problem is that so much moisture brings in diseases that shorten the life span of the plants. Some of these diseases come because there is not enough airflow and the plants don’t dry out. Some problems come because the roots are too waterlogged. I hope that none of these things become problems.

I hope you all are safe (and dry) in this wet weather. Let’s hope for some balance in the wind and weather. Have a good week.

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In the Box

• Heirloom Tomatoes
• Sweet Corn
• Cucumber
• Sweet Basil
• Hot Peppers
• Sweet Peppers
• Cherry Tomatoes
• Tomatillos
• Zucchini & Patty Pans
• Garlic
• Watermelon (Farm site)
• Cantaloupe (UW East Clinic)
• Eggplant (UW East Clinic)

It is amazing how much difference some rain has made on the farm. We have had over 2 inches in the last 10 days. Things are looking green again. The pepper plants no longer look like they are shriveled up. The down side is that I need to mow my lawn again. I haven’t had to do that in over a month.

The sweet corn came from a nearby farmer, Tim Zander. It is certified organic. Tim told me that he has had some damage due to the heavy rains. Some of the kernels split with the excess moisture. So he threw in an extra ear to compensate for the damage.

Melons are finally ready to harvest. I had enough for 2 sites this week. The rest of you will get melons next week. My picking crew always has to sample the melons. The cantaloupes are some of the best I’ve ever had. (I’m much more of a watermelon fan). But eat them soon. They won’t hold for long.

Heirloom Tomatoes are taking off. Everyone got 4 pounds in their box this week. Some of them are cracked around the stem. We follow the one cut rule for grading tomatoes. If one cut will remove the damage, we let it go. Sometimes a bad tomato slips through. I apologize if one ends up in your bag.

This Week’s Recipes

• Corn and Tomato Salad with Cilantro Dressing
• Ramatuelle Pasta Sauce

News from the Farm

I realized that I have not always done a good job of communicating some of the problems on the farm this season. I think I wanted to avoid whining every week about the weather. So now I am going to catch you all up on the problems of this season.

The biggest issue is no surprise to anyone. It has been hot and dry. For a while we were holding our own with the heat because we were getting enough rain. But once the rain stopped, the plants began to suffer.

Now, I do have irrigation on the farm. During July, it takes a week and a half to get through the whole farm with the water running 24/7. (And you should see the resulting electric bill!) Even with all of this there is not enough water for everything. So this year, I had to make some choices and I stopped watering some crops that did not germinate well. So most of our crops that are transplanted (tomatoes, peppers, squash, broccoli, lettuce, etc.) have done ok. But the directly seeded crops have not. We won’t have any carrots and beets this year. We lost several plantings of chard, salad mix and green beans. I did manage to save one of the bean plantings. Our final planting of green beans will have a decent harvest.

Another problem we have had to deal with is sunshine. We have had a lot of cloudless, sunny days. Believe it or not, some plants suffer from sunburn. (In the plant world, they call it sunscald). Peppers and tomatoes are very susceptible. The sunscald starts out as tan spots that quickly turn black and look horrible. This week I picked 6 5-gallon buckets of peppers. Two of the buckets were too damaged to be put into your boxes. So the intensity of the sun has cut down on our harvest.

Then there are the things I can’t explain. I have the same amount of cherry tomatoes that I planted last year. But I’m getting half the harvest. I doubled the size of the cucumber patch, but I’m still not getting enough. It’s a mystery.

There is some good news. Potatoes are coming. The last five years have seen our potato harvest shrink, as the beetles have gotten stronger. So this year I tried a new strategy. Instead of planting potatoes early in the spring, I waited until the end of June. That way the beetles’ life cycle was over. We have some nice plants growing in the field. The harvest is a few weeks away. I never know how good the harvest will be until we dig it up, but the plants are there and are not beetle chewed.

We should have a good harvest of sweet potatoes. Winter squash looks great. Tomatoes are producing well. Each year is unique. Some crops do well some years and not in other years. It is the ebb and flow of the seasons. Let us hope the rain continues and the crops do well.

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Ingredients:

For the salad:
3 c. fresh corn (cut from about 6 small ears of corn)
5 medium tomatoes, halved, seeded, chopped
Diced avocado from 2 avocados, avocados should be somewhat firm
2/3 c. finely chopped red onion, optional

For the dressing:
1/4 c. olive oil
1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro
2 T. chopped fresh mint
2 T. white wine vinegar
1 T. fresh lime juice
2 t. packed golden brown sugar
1 garlic clove
salt and pepper

Directions:

Combine first four ingredients in a large bowl and set aside. In blender, puree the remaining ingredients until smooth. Just before serving, pour dressing over corn mixture and toss.

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Ingredients:

3 large garlic gloves, minced
1/3 cup coarsely chopped onions
1 cup fresh basil leaves, packed
5 or 6 large, ripe tomatoes, quartered
1/2 cup olive oil
salt to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 pound pasta
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Directions:

Put the garlic, onions, basil, and tomatoes in a blender or food processor. Add the olive oil, salt, and pepper and blend until smooth. Set aside. This sauce is served at room temperature.

Heat the serving bowl and plates. Cook and drain the pasta. In the serving bowl, toss the hot pasta with some of the sauce. Service the rest of the sauce and the grated Parmesan cheese at the table.

Serves: 4

Source: New Recipes from Moosewood Restaurant

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I realized that I have not always done a good job of communicating some of the problems on the farm this season. I think I wanted to avoid whining every week about the weather. So now I am going to catch you all up on the problems of this season.

The biggest issue is no surprise to anyone. It has been hot and dry. For a while we were holding our own with the heat because we were getting enough rain. But once the rain stopped, the plants began to suffer.

Now, I do have irrigation on the farm. During July, it takes a week and a half to get through the whole farm with the water running 24/7. (And you should see the resulting electric bill!) Even with all of this there is not enough water for everything. So this year, I had to make some choices and I stopped watering some crops that did not germinate well. So most of our crops that are transplanted (tomatoes, peppers, squash, broccoli, lettuce, etc.) have done ok. But the directly seeded crops have not. We won’t have any carrots and beets this year. We lost several plantings of chard, salad mix and green beans. I did manage to save one of the bean plantings. Our final planting of green beans will have a decent harvest.

Another problem we have had to deal with is sunshine. We have had a lot of cloudless, sunny days. Believe it or not, some plants suffer from sunburn. (In the plant world, they call it sunscald). Peppers and tomatoes are very susceptible. The sunscald starts out as tan spots that quickly turn black and look horrible. This week I picked 6 5-gallon buckets of peppers. Two of the buckets were too damaged to be put into your boxes. So the intensity of the sun has cut down on our harvest.

Then there are the things I can’t explain. I have the same amount of cherry tomatoes that I planted last year. But I’m getting half the harvest. I doubled the size of the cucumber patch, but I’m still not getting enough. It’s a mystery.

There is some good news. Potatoes are coming. The last five years have seen our potato harvest shrink, as the beetles have gotten stronger. So this year I tried a new strategy. Instead of planting potatoes early in the spring, I waited until the end of June. That way the beetles’ life cycle was over. We have some nice plants growing in the field. The harvest is a few weeks away. I never know how good the harvest will be until we dig it up, but the plants are there and are not beetle chewed.

We should have a good harvest of sweet potatoes. Winter squash looks great. Tomatoes are producing well. Each year is unique. Some crops do well some years and not in other years. It is the ebb and flow of the seasons. Let us hope the rain continues and the crops do well.

No comments yet »

In the Box

• Heirloom Tomatoes
• Tomatillos
• Green Peppers
• Cherry Tomatoes
• Scallions
• Hot Peppers
• Parsley
• Garlic
• Zucchini & Patty Pans
• Eggplant (East & West sites)

Heirloom Tomatoes are here. While they are not always pretty they sure are tasty. Heirloom tomatoes come in many colors and shapes. This week we had lots of red, purple, a few orange, yellow and striped tomatoes.

It can be tricky to tell when heirloom tomatoes are ready to eat. Tomatoes should be a little soft when they are ready to eat. If they give a little when you squeeze them, they are ready to eat.

Remember to never put whole tomatoes into the refrigerator. The cold lessens their great flavor. Leave them in a cool spot in your kitchen. But keep an eye on them and use them as soon as they are ready.

Tomatillos and all the other ingredients for green salsa (except cilantro) are in your boxes this week. Look back on the newsletter from 2 weeks ago for a recipe. Tomatillos are also great to sauté with onions, peppers, eggs and cheese. Then wrap in a tortilla for a great breakfast.

This week’s cherry tomatoes consist mostly of sungolds. But everyone got a few of the pink grape tomatoes or black cherry tomatoes (purple and green cherry tomatoes). We should have more of these as the summer progresses.

The hot peppers in your box include a green chile. It is a large, dark green pepper with a mild flavor. You also got either a Hungarian Wax (yellow, medium hot) or a Serrano (small, dark green and hot).

This Week’s Recipes

• Bread Salad with Zucchini, Tomatoes and Feta Cheese
• Tabouli

Upcoming Farm Events

Saturday, September 8, 2007: Fall Farm Picnic

Join us for food, farm tour and farm Olympics. We will start at 4pm and go until everyone is tired. We will have a potluck dinner, a campfire with marshmallows and lots of fun. I hope you all can join us.

Riley Writes

Saturday was just the best day! Usually Saturdays are very boring for me. We get up when it is still dark and load up the truck. Then I have to sit on the porch and watch Mom leave for market. She is gone for hours and hours.

But this week she came back early. And some other people came as well. Everyone was there to help build the greenhouse. But it was raining. We decided to build anyways. But we built stuff on the ground so no one had to climb wet ladders. That was better for me because then I could run around and give everyone kisses. I’m sure I helped a lot. Plus I had a couple of children to run around the farm with me. I got so tired.

Everyone worked really hard. We got almost half of the bows built for the second greenhouse. The rain got in the way a little, but it has been so dry that who could complain about rain? Before we finished, we stood up all the bows that we built. It looks so good.

And when we were done, we went into a wonderful meal that Linda put together for all of us. I provided the entertainment showing everyone how I could sit, shake and roll over. The whole day was really fun… I can’t wait to do it again.

It’s good that we finally got some rain. Plus it was nice that it was overcast on Sunday and Monday. The plants get more use of the rain when it is overcast. Have a good week.

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Ingredients:

1½ - 2 cups chopped zucchini
1 - 1½ cups chopped tomatoes
½ cup crumbled feta cheese
¼ cup chopped sweet or green onion
¼ cup chopped olives (black or green)
¼ - ½ cup chopped fresh basil
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons wine vinegar
2 teaspoons minced garlic
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
5-6 cups firm-textured bread cubes, dried or toasted
Directions:

Toss all ingredients except bread in large bowl; let stand at room temperature to develop flavor, tossing occasionally, ½ to 1 hour. Toss in bread just before serving.

Serves: 4-6

Source:  Unknown

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Ingredients:

1 cup dry bulghar wheat
1½ cups boiling water
1½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup lemon and/or lime juice
1 heaping teaspoon crushed, fresh garlic
½ cup chopped scallions (include greens)
½ teaspoon dried mint
¼ cup good olive oil fresh black pepper
2 medium tomatoes, diced
packed cup freshly chopped parsley

Optional:
½ cup cooked chickpeas
½ cup coarsely grated carrot chopped sweet peppers
1 chopped cucumber
Directions:

Combine bulghar, boiling water and salt in a bowl. Cover and let stand 15-20 minutes, or until bulghar is chewable. Add lemon juice, garlic, oil and mint, and mix thoroughly. Refrigerate 2-3 hours. Just before serving add the vegetables and mix gently. Correct seasonings. Garnish with feta cheese and olives.

Source: The Moosewood Cookbook

No comments yet »

Saturday, September 8, 2007: Fall Farm Picnic

Join us for food, farm tour and farm Olympics. We will start at 4pm and go until everyone is tired. We will have a potluck dinner, a campfire with marshmallows and lots of fun. I hope you all can join us.

No comments yet »

Saturday was just the best day! Usually Saturdays are very boring for me. We get up when it is still dark and load up the truck. Then I have to sit on the porch and watch Mom leave for market. She is gone for hours and hours.

But this week she came back early. And some other people came as well. Everyone was there to help build the greenhouse. But it was raining. We decided to build anyways. But we built stuff on the ground so no one had to climb wet ladders. That was better for me because then I could run around and give everyone kisses. I’m sure I helped a lot. Plus I had a couple of children to run around the farm with me. I got so tired.

Everyone worked really hard. We got almost half of the bows built for the second greenhouse. The rain got in the way a little, but it has been so dry that who could complain about rain? Before we finished, we stood up all the bows that we built. It looks so good.

And when we were done, we went into a wonderful meal that Linda put together for all of us. I provided the entertainment showing everyone how I could sit, shake and roll over. The whole day was really fun… I can’t wait to do it again.

It’s good that we finally got some rain. Plus it was nice that it was overcast on Sunday and Monday. The plants get more use of the rain when it is overcast. Have a good week.

No comments yet »