Farm Notes, Week 3

June 26/27, 2008, CSA Week 3

NOTE FOR JULY 4TH FARM PICKUP NEXT WEEK: WE ARE CHANGING PICKUP TIME FOR THE HOLIDAY. PLEASE COME BETWEEN 9AM AND 11AM INSTEAD OF NORMAL AFTERNOON TIME.

This past week, we had several members as us about spinach (or lack thereof) in the weekly shares. This got us thinking that we should talk a bit about soil fertility, our experiences thus far on this farmland, and our philosophy about making the soils better.

Here’s the reason we make the jump from spinach to soil fertility. Spinach likes to grow in nutrient-rich soil, and needs quite a lot of nitrogen to grow well (which is a nutrient we are lacking in particular). The land where our gardens are has been a hay field for many years, and nothing has been added back in terms of fertilizer or manure during that time…just grasses being taken away. Believe it or not, taking the hay away without putting anything back is a huge draw on the soil’s resources, so at the present time, our soil needs work to become more fertile. Here’s what we are doing about it:

Rotating cover crops. Cover crops are usually grains or legumes that are planted for the purpose of being plowed under to add organic matter to the soil and help control weeds. We are working with mostly heavy clay soils, so adding organic matter helps to lighten the soil, increase water absorption, and free up some of the nutrients that clay holds onto to make them better available for the plants.
Applying compost to the land. We have a compost pile just north of our uppermost garden where we were putting Honest Weight’s excess compost. It has become too big a time burden to continue taking their compost, but we are now adding to the pile with horse and cow manure from local farms and animal owners. The manure is composted (broken down) before adding it to the fields.
Adding rock powders and sea solids. This helps to remineralize the land. Soil that has plentiful minerals will yield crops with plentiful minerals…and our bodies need the minerals just like the plants do! Most farms are only concerned with nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus (which are all important) but we want to take it further to get the trace minerals the soils and plants need, too.

As a short-term solution, we use fish emulsion as a foliar spray directly on the plants to give them a nutrient boost. We did plant spinach (quite a lot of it, actually) and we did spray it with our emulsion and we babied the plants, but we still did not get any real yields from it. Disappointing, but for now we just have to go with the plants that do grow well under the conditions we have. Within the next couple of years, as the fertility of the soil gets better and better, so will the vitality and vigor of the plants, and the varieties we are able to grow will increase, too.

Chris got the potatoes hilled up this week. He worked on weeding, and has been proactively searching out and squishing Colorado Potato Beetles and their larvae before they become a problem. We were fighting with Cucumber Beetles a couple of weeks ago, too (they chew on cucumber, squash and melon plants and pass along something called Bacterial Wilt, which will eventually kill the plants). We seem to be ahead on that battle front; Chris ended up dusting the plants with Diatomaceous Earth (tiny diatoms) which kills the beetles when they ingest it by cutting up their insides.

We have several small zucchinis on the plants and more blossoming, the tomatoes are covered in flowers and are getting some nice fruit on them. We pulled some beets and baby carrots, but don’t have quite enough ready yet (although they are looking great). The peas are covered in blossoms and small peas, but again, not enough to cover the shares this week…it’s looking good for next week, though! Enjoy the recipes, and remember that if you have any to share, feel free to send me an email with them so I can include when appropriate (otterhookfarms@yahoo.com). Thank you!



Warm Greens with Roasted Garlic Dressing

6 Cups Bite-Sized pieces of hearty salad greens (like Devil’s Ear)
Roasted Garlic Dressing (recipe follows)
1 medium shallot, finely chopped
¼ cup pine nuts, toasted
2 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
Fresh ground pepper to taste

Place greens in a large salad bowl.

Heat Roasted Garlic Dressing in a small saucepan over medium heat until warm, 1-2 min. Add shallot and simmer until the shallot is softened, 3-5 min. Pour the warm dressing over the greens and toss until they are wilted and coated. Add pine nuts and goat cheese and toss again, slightly melting the cheese with the warm greens. Season with pepper.


Roasted Garlic Dressing

1 large or 2 small heads garlic
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons balsamic or red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/8 tsp salt
Fresh ground pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Rub off excess papery skin from garlic without separating the cloves. Slice the tips off the head, exposing the ends of the cloves. Place the garlic on a piece of foil, drizzle with one Tbsp oil and wrap into a package. Put in a baking dish and bake until garlic is very soft, 40 min to 1 hour. Unwrap and let cool slightly.

Squeeze the garlic pulp into a blender or food processor (discard skins). Add remaining 3 Tbsp oil, vinegar, lime juice, salt and pepper and process until smooth.


Braised Mustard Greens with Golden Raisins

3 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced 1 pound bacon, chopped 2 bunches mustard greens, chopped 3/4 cup chicken stock 1/4 cup golden raisins Salt and freshly ground black pepper
On medium heat, sauté garlic and bacon in a large sauté pan.
While bacon is cooking boil water in a large pot. Blanch mustard greens in boiling water until bright green. *Cook's Note: Add a few greens a little bit at a time into boiling water. Make room for more greens by pushing down with a spoon. Drain greens.
In a sauté pan with the bacon, add greens and garlic. Stir together. Add chicken stock and raisins. Mix well together. Add salt and pepper, for taste, and let simmer for 5 minutes.


Ginger-Garlic Sauce

This recipe can be used as a stir-fry sauce, dipping sauce for spring rolls or dumplings, or a marinade for chicken, pork or tofu.

½ cup Soy Sauce
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon minced ginger
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to blend.




This week’s recipes (except for the mustard greens) courtesy of Eating Well magazine.

CSA Farm Notes, Week 2

June 19 & 20, 2008

Well, we are on to week 2. It was wonderful to meet all our new members and catch up with friends we hadn’t seen in a while! Hopefully everyone enjoyed last week’s share…we are certainly all looking forward to seeing the size and variety grow!

As mentioned last week, the weather has been a roller coaster ride. We were looking forward to the cooler days of this week; the heat and humidity were too much for the plants (and the farmers). Some of our peas and lots of our spinach were sunburned from those days over 95, and the broccoli all started to go to flower. Well, the rollercoaster ride is continuing. Late Monday (6/16) afternoon, a severe thunderstorm rolled over OHF. It brought with it heavy wind, rain and large hail. The plants were damaged by the hail. The heaviest hit include: eggplant, cherry tomatoes and big leafy vegetables. The greens will be ragged looking in your next few shares but will still taste great. The tomatoes should heal, but might be a couple of weeks later then planned. As for the eggplant, we may not get any this season.

Alex has a book he likes us to read him that’s called It Could Have Been Worse. It’s about a little mouse who keeps having accidents like falling into a hole, down a hill and into a stream all the while unknowingly escaping the cats, foxes and hawks who would like to eat him. When he gets home, he complains to his mother about all his cuts and bruises from his falls, and she tells him not to worry – it could have been worse! That’s what we are keeping in mind…we might be having weather and pest conditions that are making farming difficult for us, but it could be worse. We certainly are not including the variety and quantity we would like in the shares yet, but at least we are able to get you something each week. The flooding in the Midwest is a perfect example of how it IS worse for a lot of people, who have lost their homes and livelihoods to the rain and swelling rivers.

This week, we’ll be hilling up our potatoes; Chris just got a new (to us) Rototiller that can drag a hiller attachment to make that job easier and quicker than it would be with our hoes. We’ll also be busy battling back the weeds and grasses that grow so proficiently amongst our plants. Monday, before the storm, Chris was able to plant Arugala, Kale, Radicchio, Pac Choi and some more Mustard greens. If all else fails, there are always those leafy greens! Also on a happy note, the cabbage is starting to get nice heads, and we expect to harvest those for the first week in July. As long as the peas get over their sunburn, we should have those next week, and summer squash and beans should follow soon; likely by the second pickup in July. The beets and carrots are starting to really look nice, so we should start harvesting those within the next several weeks, too.

This week's share included a Salad Mix, Braising Mix, Collard Greens (at the co-op) and Lemon Balm (at the farm)

Tip for Storing Leafy Greens:Wrap in damp paper towels and place in cloth or perforated plastic bag. They should keep in the refrigerator this way for up to one week, as long as the towels are kept moist.

CSA Notes, Week 1

Each week, I will post the Farm Notes given out with the shares.

Welcome to CSA week 1! We have had an exciting spring so far on the farm; with the warm weather back in April we were able to get out nice and early to work the soil and plant…then the cool weather in May slowed our progress by not letting the plants do much growing! We also had to battle with flea beetles, who were dining in style on the brassicas that we had in early; you will see evidence of them on your radish tops and maybe a bit on the mustard greens. We had to till our first planting of mustards back in and start them over; the flea beetle damage was too much for them to get past and they simply were not getting any size. We used a row cover to get the batch you will be eating started – it is a white cloth that allows sun and moisture to permeate but keeps out those pesky bugs. We were hoping to not have to use covers and plastic, as we want our carbon footprint to be as small as possible, but we are learning that sometimes you have to give a little to get a lot back!

This week’s share includes Devil’s Ear Lettuce heads, a mix of Chinese greens (good as salad or sautéed with a little garlic and lemon!), Olympia Spinach or Radishes, Mint, and Oregano.

Lemon-Mint Vinaigrette

1/3 C Fresh Lemon Juice

1 TB Dijon Mustard

1tsp Sugar

1 Clove Garlic, Minced

1/3 C Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/3 C Chopped Fresh Mint

Salt & Pepper to Taste

Whisk Lemon, Mustard, Sugar and Garlic until blended. Drizzle in oil, whisking until blended, stir in Mint, Salt and Pepper

Lebanese Potato Salad

2 lbs Russet Potatoes (about 3 medium)

¼ C Lemon Juice

3 TB Olive Oil

½ tsp Salt

Fresh Ground Pepper

1/3 C Snipped Chives

¼ C Chopped Fresh Mint

1. Boil Potatoes in Lightly salted water until tender. Drain and rinse with cold water. Transfer to a cutting board and let cool for 20 min, then cut the cooled potatoes into ½ inch pieces.
2. Wisk lemon juice, oil, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add potatoes and toss to coat.
3. Just before serving, add chives and mint and toss gently.