This Week’s Harvest
Cabbage
Broccoli
Beets
Radishes
Scallions
Rainbow Chard
Romaine, Buttercrunch and Simpson Black Seeded Lettuces
Farm Life
- Nathan with Lucy Marie
The most exciting thing on the farm this week was the birth of my co-worker Nathan’s baby girl. She was born in their home at the farm on Tuesday, June 23 after only 4.5 hours of labor. Mom and baby Lucy Marie Miller are happy, healthy and doing well.
While Nathan has been off for the week enjoying his new daughter, we have been hard at work getting the summer crops planted. We are rushing to complete this for two reasons.
First, the plants are ready to go in to the ground…. and in a few cases, past ready.
Second, we must have the Propagation House emptied by Monday when we begin harvesting the soft neck garlic.
Immediately after harvest, the garlic is laid out in a cool dry environment to dry. We will pull the shade cloth over the Propagation House in order to cool it off, then lay the garlic out in nice neat rows. There is even a specific pattern we will use to lay it out to dry so that we maximize the space and the air flow and minimize the light exposure.
Once the garlic is dry, it will either be braided on July 19th (please see the Schedule of Events page in the right column for invitation information) or gathered in bunches to be stored for the winter.
The above deadlines are an example of the complex systems on the farm. Often we find that one thing must be completed by a certain time in order for the next thing to occur. Sometimes the “time” is dictated by the calendar. Sometimes it is dictated by the weather, and other times by the particular growth pattern of a particular crop.
Featured Veggie of the Week
This week we will actually feature two veggies… cabbage and beets… since both are appearing in your share for the first time.
- Farao F-1 Cabbage
The cabbage in your share this week is called Farao F-1. (The F-1 indicates it is an hybrid). It was developed to produce small compact heads in about two months.
Have you ever looked at the cabbage in the grocery store and wondered what to do with it? Now is the time to learn. They are a wonderfully flexible member of the brassica family. You can eat them raw in Cole Slaw or cook them in multiple ways with minimal preparation. Cabbage is very low in Saturated Fat and Cholesterol. It is also a good source of Vitamin A, Thiamin, Vitamin B6, Calcium, Iron and Magnesium, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin C, Folate, Potassium and Manganese. The following link is a recipe for Colcannon, and Irish potato and cabbage dish.
http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/colcannon.html
Beet roots are one of the few items you will find in your share that are truly not edible raw. While they are not poisonous, the root will leave your throat feeling as though you’ve just swallowed sand paper. The tops do not have that effect, but are much tastier if they are cooked.
- Beet and Goat Cheese Salad
I particularly enjoy Beet Salad. The recipe below is particularly nice. Just substitute the leaf lettuce included in your share for the baby lettuce called for in the recipe.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Beet-Salad-with-Goat-Cheese/Detail.aspx
