It’s been raining’ out here on and off for the past week. That means a few things, one we don’t have to irrigate, good; and the weeds have been growing like crazy! It also means that the ground is much too wet to get the tractors in the fields to cultivate, plant, mow, or disc. So we’re hoping that this week will stay dry and hot (it looks like mother nature is cooperating). As soon as the fields are dry enough we’ll be doing all those tractor jobs. It seems like Thursday will be tractor day here on the farm, we hope. There’s summer cover crop that needs to be mowed down to start to get ground ready for the fall plantings and even over-wintering plantings! The greenhouse is half full of plants needing to be planted now (as soon as the ground dries out) and those that will be ready in a few weeks, like all the fall kales, broccoli, cabbages, etc. Summer just started and we’re already thinking about next season?!
The tomatoes are really starting to take off. There will be more in your boxes and more available at market for the next month or more. Eggplant is starting to produce fruits, The first round of the sweet corn has started to tassle, which means that fresh corn is only a couple of weeks away! The Spring crops are now totally finished and summer is fully upon us in all its’ glory. We’ve had some great help from CSA worker members in the past week. The first bed of potatoes has been dug, by hand. Way to go worker members! The rest of the 13 beds we’ll dig with the tractor. They staked the peppers, pulled out all the old flower beds in the high tunnel, cleaned up a bunch of onions, and helped harvest most of the spring onions! We can sleep a little easier knowing that quite a few things are now off the “to-do” list.
The Farm Party is THIS SUNDAY! We look forward to seeing everyone that can make it. It looks like it’s going to be a hot day, so bring your swimsuits & sun hats.
******Worker members, we are ready to put you to work! Please take a moment to look at your calendars to see when you might be able to fulfill your work commitment.******
The boxes we use for the CSA shares are waxed and are not recyclable, but we do reuse them. So PLEASE remember to BRING THEM BACK next week.
Ideas for Cooking
KNIVES 2 – I didn’t mention Japanese knives last week. They come in two styles. Beautiful works of art and utilitarian. Both have great steel that can be made extremely sharp. The most expensive one’s are made of layering steel in a forge and are called Damascus. These can cost hundreds of dollars but are gorgeous. The others are hard to find and are simple unpolished steel with wooden handles. I was given one, and it was as good as any knife I have ever owned. I didn’t mention ceramic knives either. Don’t bother.OLIVE OIL – I should of said this at the start of the season. When olive oil is mentioned in recipes, it is always a reference to extra-virgin olive oil. Cook’s tasters could not tell the difference between extra-virgin that was $10 per liter and $80 per liter. Cheaper pure and “light” oils were decidedly inferior in salads, though they might be fine for some cooking.
For most salads and cooking I like Earth Fare’s oil, Colavita and am quite fond of California Olive Ranch. The more expensive one’s are good when the oil is really front and center in a salad.DRESSING OF THE WEEK – Dijon Vinaigrette