Dilly Dressing

From The New Middle Eastern Vegetarian: Modern Recipes from Veggiestan by Sally Butcher.

Pak Choi Stir-fry

An interesting tangy sauce sets this dish apart from your average stir-fry.  We have no idea if the recipe is authentically Asian, but it’s a delicious way to enjoy this season’s pak choi.

Hey All: 

A note about baby carrots.  The easiest way to clean them is by rolling them vigorously between your palms in running water.  We also clean "micro" potatoes, radishes, other small root vegetables this way.  They usually retain soil stains in the crevices  but I have never had any "grit" in my food after using this method.

My favourite way of consuming baby carrots is to steam them for about 5 minutes, then pouring a honey garlic or honey ginger sauce over them (recipe by customer Dick Alta Vista).  Baby Carrots are also great roasted.

By the way, I have heard (double check this to be sure) that heat enhances carotenes, so light cooking does not necessarily reduce the nutrition content of vegetables.

As for the Carrot greens - just clip and use the smallest leaves at the top, the larger stems are too fibrous.  Can be used wherever you have a need for extra greens that are cooked or steamed - not sure if they can be eaten raw.  

Now that we have passed the solstice, root vegetables will start to put on some size.  The next round of carrots will be larger.

*            *            *

Spending a night at the Farm would be instructive.  Perhaps entertaining.  I found more prints on the freshly raked beds on Wednesday morning.

These were different - kind of like a one legged animal had pogo-sticked along the ground.  This is the track pattern that Foxes make.  I called Dick over to get his opinion.  He agreed, noting that Foxes are nimble enough to get through the fence without hitting the electric lines.

Perhaps I don't need that cat after all, I just have to figure out how to make the field more welcoming to this Fox, her mate, a litter of kits...

On a related note, I have seen several snakes lately.  Evidently, farms are no place for small vegetarians.

As for our food, the early potatoes have started to flower, the Garlic Scapes are beginning to curl, the Green Onions and Zuchinis are about a week away from harvest, Kale and Chard are preparing for their first harvests, Fennel is starting to look like Fennel, and Lettuce and Chicory have started to grow.  If that were not good enough, the corn germinated under 7 days (compared to over a week last year), and the Broccoli hasn't died yet.

I feel like we are starting to get into the main course.   

The Asian Cabbage will probably be small - the heat is too much for it (see post from about a week or two ago) and I should harvest it a bit early.   All of the rest of the Cabbage Family leaf plants (except the Kale) bolted this week, about a week early by my estimation) due to the heat.  These were planted in warm beds in anticipation of cool weather, which probably helped them a month ago.  It simply became too warm too fast.  I will plant some more in the cooler shaded beds, but only when these beds are empty of their current crops.  

I have not been particularly impressed with the quality of the Arugula this season so far.  It may have been a couple of days late for its best harvest quality.

I am a bit concerned by the appearance of flowers on the recently transplanted winter squashes.  The plants seem way too small to start flowering.  I will have to consult my books, but this may be a bad sign for their productivity.  

We'll see what the next week brings...

Bob

Hey All:

Update as of June 27th: 

A note about baby carrots.  The easiest way to clean them is by rolling them vigorously between your palms in running water.  We also clean "micro" potatoes, radishes, other small root vegetables this way.  They usually retain soil stains in the crevises, but I have never had any "grit" in my food after using this method.

My favourite way of consuming them is to steam them for about 5 minutes, then pouring a honey garlic or honey ginger sauce over them (recipe by customer Dick Alta Vista).

As for the Carrot greens - just clip and use the smallest leaves at the top, the larger stems are too fibrous.  Can be used wherever you have a need for extra greens that are cooked or steamed - not sure if they can be eaten raw.  Now that we have passed the solstice, root vegetables will start to put on some size.  The next round of carrots will be larger.

Update as of June 23rd:  There is a thief in the house.  It appears that a Groundhog has been locked into the field at some point.  I have identified the prints, and found some of its damage.  A temporary electric fence was set up this afternoon to isolate the growing area from the portion of the field that it appears to be coming from.  Now the trick is to flush it out of the field and into the pasture.  Should be another interesting week...


A few notes to make up for the lack of regular posts.

Late harvests:

It is humbling to see how little difference all of my efforts can make.  Watering crops during dry spells, protecting crops in cold weather by applying straw and/or row covers in cold, applying compost to beds to improve soil fertility, etc. All of this activity mitigates potential damage from adverse weather, but nature determines how well the plants grow. 

This late start was in part due to the late snow pack (10 inches still in the field in mid March).  It took time for the snow to melt, more time to allow the ground to thaw, and more time still for the ground to dry out enough to work.  This year, we were trying to warm up the beds with IRT Mulch in late April – a photograph on the website shows that none of the beds were yet sown (except for the Garlic).  

Our first Lettuces reach full size in about 60 days, with a 45-day maturity period for mini sized heads.  With that in mind, the Lettuces that had their transplant delayed until the first week of May should be ready by mid June to early July.  At the time of planting, I had anticipated that we would have to provide mini heads for the first week or two, and so I planted twice the necessary amount.  The mini heads should be ready by now, so I assume that the weather conditions are playing a factor in the slow rate of crop growth as well.  

Last year, our first Lettuces were delivered by the end of May. 

These wide variations in growing conditions have made predicting the harvests very difficult.  You will no doubt have noticed that every “This Week’s Menu” post has differed from the actual delivery.  Some greens have gone to seed quicker than anticipated, while others have grown very slowly.  Every harvest day so far, I have had to change the predicted harvest based on the conditions of the crops.

It takes an effort not to be frustrated, and to remain focused on continuing to plant main season and late season crops.

We do seem to have started turning this early season page.  Most shares received Peas this week (including the half shares), the Carrots – though small – appear to be ready for next week, and our first Kale of the season should appear soon in full shares.  The Lettuce has started showing sign of growth, the Potatoes are healthy and relatively Beetle–free, Parsnips are growing well, and the cold loving Cress had survived the (for it) extreme heat. 

Insects in the produce:

When we rinse our food on harvest day, we sometimes add a couple of drops of vinegar.  This usually causes insects (and slugs) to release their grip on the produce.  It does not guarantee that the veggies will be free of un-wanted travelers, but seems to be effective most of the time.  Even pesticide does not guarantee insect free food as I have found Ladybugs, slugs, and spiders in grocery store produce in the past.

The Pak Choi leaves were badly damaged.  I initially thought this was due to Flea Beetles, which are tiny insects that are too small and hop too quickly to squash, and prefer Cabbage family crops.  After I began harvesting the Pak Choi, I found that they were being eaten by slugs.  Some of the leaves were so badly damaged that there was no point in delivering them, so they were snipped off the stalks and composted.

Produce quantities:

For those of you who have provided some feedback, thank-you.  I am adjusting the amount by planting more of some crops, and harvesting as much extra as can be spared in the meantime.

Please note that it takes time for food to grow to maturity, so I may not be able to fulfil requests for more immediately.

I am so looking forward to having some real Lettuce…

Talk to you soon,

Bob

Hey Folks:

The first week of delivery for all shares has arrived.  A reunion of sorts, as I have not seen many of you since last fall.  Good to know that you have been able to sustain yourselves on groceries for the past few months.

Many folks have asked about the weather and its effect on the farm.  As always, my answer is that the weather only effects my choice of activity at the farm.  When the weather is dry, I water the crops more; and when the weather is wet, I remove more weeds.  I suspect that the amount of effort is the same no matter what the weather (like a physics problem – the amount of energy in a system never changes, it simply changes form).

The consistent rain has a by-product that I need very much: nitrogen for compost.  The rain this spring has encouraged strong weed growth – so I have pulled plenty of weeds from the beds, and collected lots of grass clippings from mowing the paths.  This nitrogen harvest of green leaves is a key component of the compost.  I have probably applied as much nitrogen to the compost in the past month as I did for half of last season.  This can only mean that the soil health will continue to improve next year as I expand the crop growing area at Whitsend

Other things I have observed this year so far:  Mice.  They are all over the place - in the barn, in the field, sometimes scampering out from under foot.  If anyone has a hungry (or bored) cat they want to loan, I can make much use of it…Mice are probably the most damaging pest at Whitsend, having destroyed a significant portion of the potatoes last year, disrupting seed trays in the nursery, and generally causing me headaches because I sterilize everything that I think they may have got their paws into.

By the way, if any of you are interested in treating your cat, I have organic catnip available for anyone who wants it.

Several successes so far – 2/3 of the Parsnips have germinated.  I have figured out how to keep the Cress fresh and healthy even on the hot days.  The Potato beetles have been kept at bay, and the Leek moths have yet to show any signs of their presence in the onion family crops, due to careful use of the row covers.

I did a test pull of carrots over the past two weeks.  They are starting to size up; I expect they will be in your basket in two weeks.  The Peas are in full bloom, and I expect to harvest them for full shares next week, with all shares receiving them the week after.

The Lettuce is finally starting to show signs of growth (as is the Chicory).  The Second round of beets has successfully germinated after the first round had a 90% failure rate.  Not sure why, may have been left a little too long between watering.  I was aware that the sugar beet harvest in England has failed this year, and wondered if there was some connection. 

I will have more to write soon, but dinner is ready, so now it is my turn to do some eating…

Bob

A couple of notes about the produce this week:

Garlic sprouts can be eaten raw (topping for a salad), or sprinkled into soup or stew.  Leaves, stems, and bulb are all edible.  The flavour is strong.

Purple Osaka is a mustard green.  It is quite hot, but moderates when added to other leaves or incorporated into a sandwich.