A lovely forecast for the beginning of the week. Great weather for farming and just about any favorite summer activity! The cherry tomatoes are ripening and are delicious. Team members have been known to devour the little sun-warm tomatoes right from the vine. These should be available for members to pick very soon. Basil is also here - perfect timing for a perfect pairing.

The team has been busy trying to stay on top of all the crops. One of the biggest challenges of a small vegetable farm like ours is learning how to grow so many different things at the same time. Farmers of a single crop become an expert on that one crop while we need to understand what more than 30 different crops need to not only grow but thrive. The various crops have different irrigation and fertilization requirements, are susceptible to different diseases and pests and require various levels of vigilance. Once in awhile, the notion of one very large pumpkin patch seems like a good idea.

We recently pulled out all the old broccoli and cauliflower plants in addition to the cabbage and tilled the soil for our new pumpkin patch. We also planted our winter squash here including butternut and acorn squash. This is called succession planting which means planting one crop after another and helps make the most use out of a small amount of space. Read more about succession planting. Mother Earth News also has an interesting article on how backyard gardeners can utilize succession planting to get the most out of a small area.

Now Harvesting: POTATOES!, Basil, Cantaloupe, Golden Beets (NEW!), Japanese eggplant, Peppers (bell and jalapeno), Carrots, Onions (sweet and regular), Shallots, Cabbage, Cucumbers (slicing and pickling) and Zucchini/Summer Squash.

So many wonderful things compete for the spotlight this week that I can’t begin to give an award to any item in particular but the Alyssa Craig Exhibition sweet onions are not to be missed. A show-size onion that is really delicious in just about anything or on your favorite burger. When you are going through your bounty, your sweet onions are your very large onions!

This week I had the opportunity to help harvest potatoes with Charlie and Sam. For those of you who may not be familiar with the process of harvesting potatoes, it typically involves two people with pitch forks and one rather trusting person crouched over picking up potatoes and placing them in a basket. The object is to push the pitch forks into the ground close enough to the plant to dislodge the soil around it but not so close that you spear any of the potatoes. Then, the plant and the soil around it are turned over revealing the potatoes (this is where the "picker" comes in). Yes, there is a machine that is made to do this. No we do not have one. With such a small number of plants - just enough for our members' dinner tables - it really isn't worth the trouble of borrowing a potato picker. Besides, it's not as much fun!

Recipes
I didn't cook very much this past week but I have been enjoying cherry tomatoes, cucumber sandwiches, carrots and cantaloupe. One of our members recently encouraged me to create a page dedicated to recipes. An excellent winter project! The project suggestion reminded me that Heidi Swanson's recipe journal at 101Cookbooks does a great job indexing healthful recipes by ingredient so you can find meal ideas for your fresh produce easily. For example, here is a list of zucchini recipes should your find yourself in possession of more summer squash than you know what to do with.

Enjoy the bounty!

We're heading into Week #6 and it looks like it's going to be a HOT one. The tremendous amount of rain over the past few weeks has given our team the opportunity for crash courses in reading radar and storm tracking. A lot of our members have asked if the rain is good for the crops and the answer is, yes, in general. Luckily we have sandy soil that drains pretty well but the record setting amount of rain does increase the risk of plant diseases which will require extra diligence to ward off such as the dreaded Late Blight.

Thanks to our parents, we got to sleep in an extra half hour this morning but prolific crops such as cucumbers, zucchini and summer squash needs to be harvested daily. As in every single morning or the vegetables will grow too large. So we rubbed the sleep from our eyes, grabbed enormous slices of zucchini bread and headed out to the fields with our harvest baskets in tow. Would someone please tell the plants that it's Sunday?

The pending heat wave means the team will need to get an earlier start each day to harvest before the crops absorb too much heat. A heavy rain followed by a heat wave often means increased yields so harvest baskets may be fuller than they were last week. We are a little short-handed this week due to vacation schedules. Harvest Helpers Wanted: Contact us if you are interested in contributing a couple hours of your time on TUESDAY or WEDNESDAY. Volunteers enjoy being part of the crescendo of effort that leads up to each share distribution. Not to mention they often get to go home with extras.

The combination of rain and heat also means the weeds will be looking to gain the upper hand in the coming days. The list of weedy invaders is long and includes gypsum weed, crab grass and purslane which just so happens to be not only eatable but nutritious. I can't vouch for how it tastes as I've yet to try it but perhaps a unique addition to our salad this week. If any member wants to head out to the field in search of their own to try during their pick-up time, just let me know. Speaking of weeds, Weeders Wanted! Please contact us if you are willing to hand weed one morning this week or hoe a row. No experience necessary.

Recipes

Pickles: Yes we still have pickling cucumbers! You don't need any fancy canning equipment, you don't even need glass mason jars if you don't have them on hand. We made pickles Friday night using this recipe for Easy Refrigerator Pickles. Unable to wait the full 4 days to eat them, we enjoyed them with burgers tonight.

Someone passed me this recipe for Swiss Chard Pesto that I think sounds delicious. If anyone wants extra chard, just ask. Also, another local farmer posted a recipe for Grated Kohlrabi Salad that sound like a worthy use for any leftover kohlrabi you may have in your fridge.

Our member, Helene has been busy putting her CSA share to good use and was kind enough to share the following recipes:

pasta with pancetta and zucchini (she said she deglazed the pan with a bit of white wine and used less parmesan than called for.)

sauteed collard greens

zucchini gratin (she used mix of zucchini and yellow squash, skim milk, mixed some of the cheese in with the squash, panko crumbs on top.)

smitten kitchen cole slaw

Mark Bittman's blog in the nytimes is always interesting. Helene recommended Bittman's "how to cook everything" app for ipad/iphone.  "It's great because you can put in an ingredient and it will give tons of recipes for that ingredient, including variations.  For instance a search for kohlrabi and came up with all sorts of root vegetable ideas." I plan to check it out! 

Thank yous. Thank you to our member and friend Tiffany who showed up on a recent pick-up day to help harvest unasked. Thank you also to the Nielsen Family and Jeremy P. for volunteering on a recent Saturday. Thank you to everyone who has brought us simple gifts lately - Ronda for the lovely hydrangeas from her garden, Dave for the clam chowder and Sharon and Jeff for the banana bread. Your kindness is appreciated!

Above all, we want to thank our small but dedicated team who pull together each week to accomplish an unimaginable amount of work. We thank you for working in the heat and the rain for the better part of many of your days despite the mosquitoes and weather. We especially appreciate our Apprentice Martine's efforts and general Joie de vivre. We don't know what we'd do without your help!

Sometimes I wonder if any little farm has accomplished so much with such a small team. Hope everyone is enjoying the bounty!

One of the first recipes my mother-in-law passed along to me was her recipe for zucchini bread. Great for all those summertime zucchinis and delicious any time of day. I haven't been baking much lately but we've still managed to enjoy many still-warm loaves, thank you Sue!

Zucchini Bread

Ingredients
3 eggs
1 cup canola or vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
2 cups grated zucchini (if you are doubling the batch, you might want to use a food processor to speed this step along). 
2 tsp. vanilla
3 cups all purpose white flour (I sometimes substitute ½ the white flour for whole wheat)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
3 tsp. cinnamon
½ teas. Baking powder

1/2 to 1 cup nuts (optional)
½ cup raisins (optional)

Instructions
Beat eggs. Add oil, sugar and zucchini and mix well. Stir in vanilla.

Combine flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and baking powder. Add to zucchini mixture. Stir until well blended.

Fold in nuts and/or raisins if desired.

Pour into 2 WELL GREASED loaf pans.

Bake for 1 hour at 325 degrees or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Slide a knife around the edges of the pan and carefully turn onto cooling racks.

Enjoy!

We have an abundance of zucchini right now. And by abundance I mean, members are invited to take all they can carry. Seriously, vegetables make great gifts, surely you know a neighbor or friend who could use a few dozen? I love zucchini bread as much as the next person but I'm begging Kevin not to plant anymore!

Zucchini Fritters
Our friend Tiffany M gave us this recipe years ago and we love it! These fritter-like zucchini cakes look like crab cakes and are a great way to use zucchini. We double the recipe to guarantee leftovers.

Ingredients

2 ½ cups grated zucchini (use a food processor if you have one)
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup bread crumbs (we use whole wheat but Italian style would be good too)
¼ cup minced onion
1 teas (or more) Old Bay Seasoning
¼ cup flour

½ cup vegetable oil for frying

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, combine zucchini, egg and butter
2. Stir in bread crumbs, onion and seasoning. Mix well.
3. Shape mixture into patties the size of a large crab cake. Dredge in flour
4. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat until hot. Fry patties in oil until golden brown on both sides, about 5 minutes a side.

Makes 4 large cakes.

It's the beginning of July and activities around the farm are in full swing. Our first few weeks of share distributions went well. We really enjoyed seeing returning members and meeting new ones. All this rain has been good for our crops for the most part and we are seeing a tremendous amount of growth. We are very glad we invested in a tent as it as showered almost every pick-up day!

Life feels full. There are always more things on our to-do list than we can get to in a day but that's just the way it is. Days start early and often don't end until midnight and even when we finally collapse into bed we are still talking about turnips and tomatoes. The funny truth is I wouldn't be half as happy working anywhere else right now and in the rare moments that we have to reflect on what we are working toward, the dream of establishing our own farm is still very real.

There are a number of challenges that we are faced with at present but our small team has pulled together with an unbelievable level of dedication. Thanks to the work of many hands, we have been able to harvest and prepare shares on time. And to top it off, the produce that we are sharing is first rate. While we are lucky to have many top notch grocery stores in the area, it's easy to see and taste the difference in produce that has been harvested fresh. We love getting messages from our members telling us how much they enjoyed their fresh produce or how they cooked the items in their share.

Now Harvesting: Kale, swiss chard, broccoli, cauliflower, kohlrabi, lettuce, zucchini and scallions. Also celebrating the first harvest of cabbage! Time to get out your coleslaw recipes just in time for 4th of July picnics.

Pests and Problems: In an effort to protect the crops from insect damage, we occasionally spray Bacillus thuringiensis (or Bt) on crops such as collards, kale, cabbage and cauliflower. Bt proteins are allowed in organic farming as a insecticide because it is a natural, non-pathogenic bacterium that is found naturally in the soil. Bt breaks down within days, is applied only when needed and never right before a scheduled harvest.

Recipes: Each week I plan out meals for the family and this time of year it's both wonderful to have so much fresh food and challenging as there isn't always a lot of time for cooking.  I've let almost all my magazine subscriptions lapse but Eating Well is one publication that I still make time to enjoy. Even non subscribers can search their website's treasure trove of nutritious seasonal recipes. Just in time for the Swiss Chard harvest - Check out their recipe for Skillet Gnocchi with Chard & White Beans. I made a double batch of this back in May and froze the second meal to sit down to on a share distribution day.  I also think of Chard as a good breakfast vegetable as it goes so nicely with eggs and diced onions.

Some recipe ideas for the week:

Monday - Raw kale salad (My streamlined version is just chopped kale, chopped onions and diced mango tossed with 3 TBLS lemon juice, a sprinkling of olive oil, some sesame seeds and a little sugar). A delicious light summer dinner.

Tuesday - Penne with roasted broccoli, cauliflower and onions. Shave fresh parmasean on top if you have it!

Wednesday - Summer Vegetable Crepes using vegetables from your share or the local farmers market.

Thursday - 4th of July! A great excuse to make Broccoli Salad.

Friday - Chicken Caesar Salad using fresh lettuce. Plus a loaf of sourdough bread.

Delicious appetizer or snack: Raw Kohlrabi crudite - Use a sharp knife to cut off the ends and the skin. Slice it as you would an apple but thinner and enjoy raw. Tzatziki sauce makes a really good dip. One less reason to turn on the stove on a hot day!

Appelget Farm Book Club
I'm finishing up Organic Manifesto, How Organic Farming Can Heal Our Planet, Feed the World, and Keep Us Safe by Maria Rodale.

For those of you who are reading along, in part 7, the author puts forth the following statement.

Those reading along are invited to comment on this statement and on their overall impression of the book. Suggestions for our next book welcome!

While reading this book, I am reminded why Kevin and I are working so hard to transition the farm to organic. Growing vegetables for our CSA in soil that was previously farmed differently presents a few unique challenges that I will address in another post but we are already seeing the return of worms, spiders, beneficial insects and toads to the fields and celebrate each as a sign that natural balance is being restored. Just as important, we can be confident that the food we are growing for our table and the tables of our friends and fellow community members has not been sprayed with dangerous chemicals.

Thank yous! We appreciate all the support of our friends and family during this very busy time of year. This is a family farm in the truest sense as there is no way we could accomplish half of what we set out to without helping hands. Thank you also to Bruce for showing up and offering to mow (and mow and mow) unasked.  While there are days that we long for the cold, quiet month of January, we are happiest when the farm is humming along growing food that nourishes our family and the families of our members.  

ENJOY THE BOUNTY!