Week #3 June19–21

Dear Friends,

Here we are halfway through June and what a season it has been so far. Hot, cold, wet, dry, thunder, lightening, and never a dull moment farming in New England.

I was just thinking the other day about all the little tricks we use to get crops a little earlier in this climate. Which then made me think how grateful we should all be for the creation of polyester. Probably the single most effective measure employ on the farm to achieve earlier crops are row covers. If you’ve ever come by the farm in April or May your likely to see a large portion of our fields covered in white blankets. We cover just about everything we plant in the spring with these spun-bound polyester row covers that most people call reemay. It is a love-hate relationship we have with these covers. Don’t get me wrong they are definitely amazing… they warm up the soil, let in light and moisture, and keep a myriad of pests from attacking the crops. But what a royal pain in the you know what it can be to deal with them sometimes... especially when it is windy (which is more often than not on this farm) or they are wet.

As much as we curse them though… so much would not be possible without them. We definitely would not have beets or broccoli in early June without them and as for the turnips and radishes and greens well they would be small and all the leaves full of holes. We use reemay for the whole season on our successions of greens plantings mainly to protect them from flea beetles which eat shot holes in the leaves.

It is truly amazing to me that the same material that caused people so much pain in the 70’s in the form of tight fluorescent bell bottoms can produce beautiful, early, pest free produce. What interesting creatures we humans are. They say necessity is the mother of invention. We try out one thing and it’s not a huge success and so we use it in a different application and it’s indispensible. I’m not sure tight fitting polyester pants were a necessity but I know that for us...reemay is. On any given day you could likely hear us curse it but in truth we couldn’t do what we do without it. Enjoy the harvest!!

On behalf of the crew Kristen, Victor and Jesse

Your Farmers,

Rob and Meghan

 

 

WHAT’S IN YOUR SHARE THIS WEEK (go to website for recipes)

Head Lettuce: This is the last of the head lettuce for a little while.

Beets: roast them to bring out their sweetness.

Scallions: Try making scallion pancakes

Bok Choy: Sweet, crunchy, delicious !!

Chard: similar to beet greens

Chinese Cabbage: make your own egg rolls.

Garlic Scapes: This is actually the garlic flower that we pluck off to encourage more growth to the bulbs. These are very flavorful and can be used in many dishes. Check out the recipe on the back.

Kohlrabi: crunchy like an apple. Similar flavor to broccoli stalk. Don’t be intimidated by it appearance.

Fennel: Anise flavored

Salad Greens

Turnips: This will be the last of these beauties until fall

Coming Soon: squash, zucchini, carrots, cucumbers, basil

U-PICK (see U-PICK board for amts. and location)

Hours: Mon.-Sun. daylight hours

Look at the U-pick boards for how, when and where to pick.

Strawberries: Beautiful red jewels. This is one of my favorite times of the season, when all the kids have berry juice running down their chins.

Our berry field is a little small this season so you may have to pick at other farms to jam or to fill the freezer.

Peas: This is the first of many peas. They are Sugar snap peas sweet and juicy and you can eat the pods. It is helpful when cooking to break off the little tops and peel down the middle rib like a zipper. When picking peas please hold the plant with one hand and pull the pea off this way you avoid damaging the plant and more peas will grow!!

Flowers: These are just starting. It is great to come to the farm prepared with a container of water to bring home your bouquets and if you have an extra pair of scissors for cutting. Cut the flower stems that come off the main plant so they will keep growing.