THREE SISTERS

FARM NEWS

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Buckwheat cover crop
FROM THE FARMERS

The three sisters is a concept perfected by Native Americans, but non-existent in modern agriculture. The idea is to plant corn, beans, and squash together. These are all complementary crops; the squash grows along the ground, keeping the soil cool and shading the weeds, the corn grows tall and produces a grain, and the beans provide nitrogen for the corn and squash while making a high protein seed. In our attempt to transition to a no-till system I thought this would be a good place to start. By chance, our cattle provided us a good opportunity.

Two years ago, I planted a fall cover crop of annual ryegrass after some watermelons. Little did I realize this annual crop is very good at producing viable seed, and we have had a wonderful stand of ryegrass in the field ever since. This has been a challenge when we try to raise crops, but has been great for grazing cattle. I let the calves graze the spring growth last week, and fenced them out today when I realized what a perfect opportunity this had provided us. They ate all the seed heads off the plants, and left a thick mat of straw trampled on the ground. I planted half of the field with the three sisters, saving the rest of the field to play around with some other crops. Our planter can plant three rows at once, so I mixed the corn and bean seed together for the outside rows, and used the middle row for the squash. Even if it’s a total failure, I’m looking forward to seeing what happens.

– Bryce.

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Planting Bloody Butcher Corn, Half-Runner Beans, and Butternut Squash into annual ryegrass
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verbena

THE PATH TO NO-TILL

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the no-till planter working in annual ryegrass

 

WEEK #6 CSA SHARE CONTENTS

  • BABY BEETS
  • BABY CARROTS
  • GREEN ROMAINE LETTUCE
  • BROCCOLI RAAB
  • SUMMER SQUASH
  • KALE (TOSCANO & RED RUSSIAN)
  • SCALLIONS
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baby beets

FARM NOTES & EVENTS

  • BEREA FARMERS MARKET is now happening – TWICE PER WEEK – Tuesdays 3:30 – 6 PM and Saturdays 9 AM – 12 PM
  • LEXINGTON FARMERS MARKET – We’ll see you at the downtown market on Saturday mornings 7:00 AM – 1:00 PM

FROM THE KITCHEN

Breakfast Food

“O breakfast! O breakfast? The meal of my heart!
Bring porridge, bring sausage, bring fish for a start,
Bring kidneys and mushrooms and partridges’ legs,
But let the foundation be bacon and eggs.” Sir A. P. Herbert

At the end of a busy farm day, one of our favorite suppers is breakfast!  How can you mess up scrambled eggs? With plenty of eggs and turkey sausage from the farm, it’s a real treat. One of the favorite meals of our interns is waffles made with fresh farm eggs, topped with fruit and yogurt.  On the brink of our launch into summer, eggs find their way into lots of our summer meals. Egg salad is a favorite as are dressed eggs or deviled eggs. Either way, they are a hit at potlucks and I never return home with leftovers. So, the question of how to peel boiled eggs came up a week or so ago. Since the eggs are so fresh, they’re a real challenge to peel. I learned of a method that I have not yet tried, but will pass along. Once you have boiled the eggs, immediately immerse in cold water. When ready to peel, place the eggs in a collander over boiling water for 20 minutes. The theory is that the steam helps to loosen the shell from the egg, making them easier to peel. Give it a try and let me know if it works for you.

Now that we are having squash, here’s a favorite from last year’s recipes that got lots of high marks from our family and interns.

– Carla

Squash Fritters

Prep Time: 10 mins Total Time: 25 mins Serves: 4-6, Yield: 12 cakes

Ingredients
 
5 -6 squash ( yellow or green, or mix)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 chopped onions
1/4 cup flour
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons oil (we use olive oil)

Directions:

  • Grate the squash with a cheese grater into mixing bowl.
  • Add the cheese, onion and egg.
  • Mix together and then add flour until it is almost a dry mix.
  • Heat oil in skillet and drop spoon size amounts of mixture into hot grease and take spoon and flatten them to make into shape of pancake.
  • Fry until golden brown and sprinkle with salt.