FARM WEEK # 9 - July 21, 2011 - Minis - Week # 6

Crocosmia



July 19, 2011
Hello friends of the farm,

I'm going to try to keep this brief tonight so I can get to sleep early and so nothing grows bigger before I get this out to you! When I checked the garden on Monday morning and at that time I thought there would be 3 kinds of beans ready to pick for Thursday. This afternoon I discovered that there are now 5 kinds that are big enough. It must be something about the warm sunshine. Everything is growing fast!

FARM NEWS:

Not a lot of news this week. As you know, I was ill last week and most of my extra time and energy has been devoted to healing. Thank goodness, that seems to be bearing fruit. (couldn't resist, sorry) We did spread plastic mulch over a large area so the pumpkins have lots of room to run around. And I have been tying up the tomato plants; they just get bigger and bigger. And we've been weeding. Sarah watered the young fruit trees and has gone on bug patrol several times, collecting potato bugs, Japanese beetles and cabbage worms. These are two important tasks that need to happen over and over. Thanks, Sarah! Lots more of everything to do and 15 more bales of straw were delivered yesterday so the weekend won't be dull.

Meanwhile, the garden is thriving. There are raspberries to pick every few days, lots of beans, including the first Scarlet Runner beans, AND the tomatoes are ripening! The first tomatoes will be included in half and full shares this week. I must warn you that very soon we will have lots and lots of cucumbers. It's time to think about your favorite salad and pickle recipes.

(I just took a break from writing to go shut up the chickens for the night. With the long summer days, I have to wait until after 8:30 before all the birds have gone in so I can shut the coop door. Two exceptions: there is one young pullet who would like to roost outside on top of a fence. Each evening I have to prod her off with a stick and remind her about nighttime predators. The other exceptions are the two mama hens and their chicks. The mothers bring the chicks in early and tuck them underneath their bodies. By 7:00 all the babies are in bed.)

There will a bit of a lull before the next round of mesclun. In the meantime, we have head lettuce.

Rubeckia


THIS WEEK'S SHARES:

FULL & HALF SHARES:

turnips
radishes
a few small kolrabi?
head lettuce
beans - Provider, Annellino Stortino, Dragon Tongue, Royal Burgandy, Northeaster, Scarlet Runner
fava beans - priority to the half shares this week since they haven't had them yet.
greens - could be chard, kale, turnip greens or a mix, depends on the harvest
green onions (regular onions that are not fully formed yet. very tasty)
raspberries
tomatoes
carrots

snap peas pyo
snow peas pyo

MINI SHARES:

Several of these items only have enough for 2 or 3 shares. There's plenty over all but it will be first come, first serve if you have a preference.

1 - Your Choice of TWO of these:
head lettuce
green onions
beans
mixed greens - turnip, kale, chard
raspberries
or
Farmer's Choice of any of the above or something else entirely that needs picking!

2 - flowers

snap peas pyo
snow peas pyo

I'll be finishing the picking on Wednesday evening so let me know before that if you have a preference.

Have a great day and see you at pick and pick-your-own Thursday, 12:00 - 6:00.
Follow-up PYO on available on Saturday.
Laura

Laura Timmerman
910 Greenfield Rd
Leyden, MA 01337
413-773-8325
laurat-at-crocker.com
Back to the Farm
2011 Farm Shares on facebook:

Sweet peas

SHARE # 8 - 2011

It feels like we are really on a roll. Lots to pick out there! I picked 8 pounds of beans this week and it was the first "small" picking. So get set, think about all the ways you like to eat beans. Dilly beans for the winter or for gifts? Three bean salad for pot lucks? Beans with mint? Frozen beans for winter eating? What are your favorites?

Suddenly we are in the part of the season where things Must Be Picked or they go bad or get too big or whatever. Tomorrow I will be picking raspberries for my own freezer. And there are snap peas, snow peas in the PYO area plus sweet peas for bouquets if you care to come by to pick some on Saturday.

The weeds are trying to get ahead of me so there are plenty of hands-on possibilities here if that appeals to you. Saturday anytime is fine for weeding, mulching or tomato supporting.

YOUR SHARES:
(sizes are approximate)



Half Share-
mesclun 5 oz
garlic 1
turnips 4 oz
pea shoots 1.5 oz
beans 1 pound
raspberries 1 pint
peas 1 pound
sorrel 1 bundle
radishes 20
flowers



Full Share-
Twice as much except for peas and beans
Also: fava beans 1 pound 2oz and squash blossoms



Mini Share-
Your choice of two items: 1 pt. berries, 1 pound beans, or 5 oz. mesclun

Half and Minis got a couple of fava beans each to sample. Hopefully, there will be favas for the half and mini shares in the coming weeks. Favas a bit unusual and their preparation may be unfamiliar. See the recipe blog for some links to some useful web sites.

I forgot to put purslane in the mesclun, but I'll add it next week. This time we added borage and calendula flowers to the mesclun. You can eat the borage whole but it's probably best to pull the petals off the calendula. Another PYO item: If you come by on Saturday and want to pick calendula flowers to dry fo tinctures or salves, you are welcome to do so.

Enjoy!
PS Now that we have Make Your Own bouquets, I seldom have a good picture of a made up bouquet to post here. Feel free to send me pictures of your finished bouquets!

FARM WEEK # 8 - July 14, 2011 - Minis - Week # 5

July 11, 2011
Good morning, farming friends,

FARM NEWS:

Raspberries!
Sweet peas!
Beans!

Oh, it is so SUMMERY around here! Hot and sunny, lots of bees and butterflies, lots of pepper and tomato blossoms, flowers bursting into bloom, tiny fruits forming and ripening. Every time I turn around there is something new to see. This morning it was half inch long cucumbers and a multitude of young runner beans. The earth is bountiful.



One of my favorite flowers is in full bloom now. SWEET PEAS. They smell incredible and like many annuals, they simply must be picked or they will stop flowering. Okay. I will! (Keep in mind that sweet pea flowers are toxic! Garden pea flowers are edible. Go figure.)

PICK YOUR OWN snap peas went well last week. This week there should be more snap peas and some snow peas (like those used in stir fry) as well. There are some flowers blooming that area as well and you are welcome pick some of those too. Later there will be cherry tomatoes in a variety of colors and shapes and flavors.

We have been WEEDING and weeding and weeding. Thanks to Robin's efforts, the Swiss chard and hot peppers and Brussel sprouts and the second planting of carrots and beets have room to grow and thrive. I thinned the first planting of carrots and was surprised to see how many are getting close to full size. I plan on letting them get nice and big before picking the next batch but it won't be very long.

The salad tomatoes and pole bean areas look like lush little JUNGLES. Every time I go by I try to tuck those plants up their poles and trellises. We are trying to keep in control so we can get in there to pick. Already there are plenty of green tomatoes and tiny beans. The bush beans already have full sized beans and Rob and I ate the first picking of Provider bush beans this past weekend. Delicious! I'll be picking for the shares this week!

Yes, I did say RASPBERRIES. Raspberries. And black raspberries. I picked the first few pints on the weekend and they were wonderful. The weather is perfect for ripening fruit so I expect the full and half shares to have berries this week. If there is enough, the minis can have some as well. Raspberry season usually lasts about 3 weeks. By the time the season is done, everyone can have some at least once.



Gosh, this is a busy place. We also have BABY CHICKS. The second batch is hatching. Total count so far is six and we are hoping for more. Both moms are doing a great job of caring for their babies. The most entertaining thing so far was giving them some chickweed a few days ago. The bantam mom kept picking at the plants and her chicks would reach up to take tiny leaves out of her mouth! The next day when I gave them the chickweed, the chicks knew all about what to do and kept tugging at the plants themselves. In general, it is great to see the mother hens caring for and teaching their little ones.



I could go on and on but better stop. I will just say that the large bundles of strange smelling greenery hanging up to dry on the porch is not an illegal substance! It's just STINGING NETTLES that we are drying to feed the chickens in the winter. Nettles are full of protein, vitamins and minerals and easy to add to their grain.



THIS WEEK'S SHARES:

FULL & HALF SHARES:

turnips
radishes
mesclun
pea shoots
head lettuce? (Next batch is almost ready.)
beans
green garlic
raspberries
sorrel (A green leafy herb with a lemon flavor, especially nice for sorrel and potato soup or with eggs.)
shell peas - full and working
fava beans - full and working, more? (I forgot to mention that these are starting up! Bigger by the minute.)

snap peas pyo
snow peas pyo
rubeckia, calendula. tithonia, snaps, sweet peas, cosmos, more


MINI SHARES:

Several of these items only have enough for 2 or 3 shares. There's plenty over all but it will be first come, first serve if you have a preference.

1 - Your Choice of TWO of these:
mesclun
green garlic
beans
turnips
sorrel
(raspberries - may or may not be available this week)
or
Farmer's Choice of any of the above or something else entirely that needs picking!

2 - flowers

3 - Pick Your Own
snap peas
snow peas

I'll be finishing the picking on Wednesday evening so let me know before that if you have a preference.

Have a great day and see you at pick and pick-your-own Thursday, 12:00 - 6:00.
Follow-up PYO on available on Saturday.
Laura

Laura Timmerman
910 Greenfield Rd
Leyden, MA 01337
413-773-8325
laurat-at-crocker.com
Back to the Farm
2011 Farm Shares on facebook:

Your shares - July 7 and June 30, 2011

With all the happy celebrating going on around here last weekend, I never posted anything about what was in the shares. I hope you figured it out and also found some tasty ways to use your food! For cooking ideas, don't forget to check out the recipe blog. It is now set up so you can search it by key word, such as pea shoots, or turnips, or garlic scapes. I find this to be very helpful.

Pick up went very smoothly this week. The only hitch was that I had put some turnip greens in a bucket of water and I am not sure if everyone saw them or not. If you wanted some but didn't see them, let me know and I'll pick you some extra greens next time. (Eliza?)

Pea shoots are much more tender now that I am only picking off the growing tips, about 2 -3 inches long. Enjoy!

For myself, I once again found myself just putting out the shares at 1:30, having worked since 6:30. Now it's the weekend and there are still some picking buckets to wash, cold paks to put in the freezer and some drying cloths to wash and dry for the next picking. It just seems to be very important for me to pick everything on Wednesday so there is time and energy to clean up and put away my equipment on Thursday afternoon. I will concentrate on that this week.



First, a brief report of the shares on June 30:
Half Shares:
Garlic scapes, head lettuce, dill, kolrabi, radishes, turnips, mesclun and flowers.
Full Share: The same but more of them and also kale and peas.
Mini Shares:
Everyone got mesclun and flowers and either garlic scapes or pea shoots.

Pick Your Own started up with snap peas for all who wanted them.







This week's shares, July 7, 2011:
Mini Shares:
Everyone got flowers and their choice of two things from this list:
kale
mesclun
mixed greens (kale, collards, mustard greens)
garlic scapes
snap peas
turnips

Half Shares:
mesclun 6 oz.
small cabbages 1
parsley 1 bunch
cilantro 1 bunch
tiny carrots 1 bunch
green garlic 2
turnips 1 6 oz bunch
turnip greens big bunch
pea shoots 1 1/2 oz
radish thinnings 1 box
flowers

Full Share:
The full share got twice as much on the above, except for greeen garlic. Plus they got 1 # peas, 8.5 oz chard, and 10 oz snap peas.





There were lots of snap peas ready to pick and many people chose to pick some to add to their share. Neat! Wednesday Nick cut some more poles and Thursday Sarah and I supported the snow peas and mulched the PYO area. Yesterday I finished putting signs in the pick-your-own area, so now it is easy to see where to walk and where are the snap peas, snow peas, flowers and cherry tomatoes. Most of the cherry tomatoes have variety labels as well so you can start imagining Matt's Wild Cherries, Sun Golds, Lemon Drop, Black Pear, Black Cherries and more!

FARM WEEK # 7 - July 7, 2011 - Minis - Week # 4

July 6, 2011
Greetings, patient farm members!

I am sorry to be slow late to send you your weekly farm news/what's coming in your share email. My only excuse is that I was goofing off. Seriously. There was lots of visiting, singing, pot luck meal sharing, baby chick showing, garden touring, more singing, laughing, and general carrying on all weekend with friends from far and wide. It was wonderful. I hope you had a happy holiday as well.

I just realized that I did not send an email or post at the blog about what was picked and shared last week. Oops. I guess I started to party early. Please feel free to call or email with questions about your share. I want to help you enjoy your food.

FARM NEWS:
While inspecting the garden on Tuesday morning in order to write this message, I found that the first bush beans were forming many little beans about 1 inch long. Later that afternoon, the little beans were about 1 1/2 inches long. Today (Wednesday) there are some 2 inch beans! They are growing so fast in this warm, summery weather! I think we will be eating fresh beans very soon. And these first beans are just the beginning. We have 4 kinds of bush beans - green, yellow and purple and about 10 kinds of pole beans. Then there will be edaname (fresh soybeans) and fava beans as well. Yum.



HIGHLIGHTS OF FARM NEWS:
Four baby chicks hatched on Sunday!



We ate the first tomato on Saturday, a delicious, orange Jaune Flamme!
All the tomatoes are supported and mulched!
Carrots are starting to size up. There are tiny green hazel nuts. The dahlias have buds.
The Swiss chard is still kind of small, due to weed overload. The crew is working on it!
Lots of SNAP PEAS ready in the Pick Your Own area. Please feel free to pick some for extra for your share.
Mesclun this week includes kale and radish thinnings for vitamins and spice!



More head lettuce coming soon.

THIS WEEK'S SHARES:

FULL & HALF SHARES:
mesclun
little cabbages - I had to pick these before they split. Tiny, but hopefully, tasty.
curly parsley
cilantro
green garlic
a few baby carrots
turnips
turnip greens
pea shoots
Sugar Snap peas - Full Share only, Half Shares are welcome to pick some.
Shell peas - Full and Working Shares only
Chard - for the Full Share only
flowers - rudbeckia, sweet peas? daisies, cosmos, calendula, yarrow, snapdragons, etc.

MINI SHARES:

Several of these items only have enough for 2 or 3 shares. There's plenty over all but it will be first come, first serve if you have a preference. Again, I apologize for the late email.

1 - Your Choice of TWO of these:
mesclun
greens - mustard, turnip, kale or a mix
Sugar Snap peas (picked by LT)
green garlic
garlic scapes
or
Farmer's Choice of any of the above or something else entirely that needs picking!

2 - flowers



I'll be finishing the picking on Thursday morning so let me know before that if you have a preference.

Have a great day and see you Thursday, 12:00 - 6:00.
Laura

Laura Timmerman
910 Greenfield Rd
Leyden, MA 01337
413-773-8325
laurat-at-crocker.com


2011 Farm Shares on facebook: