FARM NEWS

FROM THE FARMERS

On the farm timing is everything. Two crucial times for our farm are the week after May 15, and the first week of August. The May dates are important because that’s the earliest we can safely start planting our summer crops. August is important because that’s the deadline for planting our fall crops if we expect to have a successful harvest. A secondary date is September 15, which is when we try to have a majority of our winter cover crops planted, giving them sufficient time to grow before going dormant for the winter. The organic no-till project we started on our farm last fall depends on all of these deadlines being met, along with a few other critical pieces lining up. You can read more about the start of this project here.

To make a long and detailed story short, Monday I determined our cover crops couldn’t wait any longer to be rolled down so we could plant a few large seeded vegetable crops through the residue. I’ve included a few pictures from the work, but we won’t see if the cover crops were successfully killed until a week or so. I’ll be keeping a close eye on how things look, and will post be posting more pictures in the coming weeks.

On another note, although it looks like we’ve finally made it through the freezing weather, the symptoms of the fluctuating temperatures on beginning to show. It got down to 32 degrees two nights in a row last week, with frost on the grass, but all the crops pulled through without much sign of damage. Even though the crops didn’t freeze, the wind temperature swings have caused many of the spring brassica crops to bolt, and will not be suitable for harvest. This has been discouraging, especially considering the slow start this spring, but we’re looking forward to an early start to harvest for some of our summer crops.

-Bryce

P.S. Here’s a great article about Klaas and Mary-Howell Martens, organic grain farmers from New York. This couple presented earlier this year at the Organic Association of Kentucky conference, and it was one of the best farming presentation I’ve ever attended. If you’ve got the time to check them out, I highly recommend you do.

WEEK #3 CSA SHARE CONTENTS

• STRAWBERRIES AND MORE STRAWBERRIES
• ARUGULA
• RADISHES
• BREAD FROM THE BODGER – DON WEBER

ALL OF OUR PRODUCE IS CERTIFIED ORGANIC BY THE KENTUCKY DEPT. OF AG.

 

 

FROM OUR NEIGHBOR

We’re excited to partner with Don this week, so all of our CSA members can try some of his delicious bread. He’s just started selling at the Berea Farmers Market, so stop by check out what he’s got to offer!

FROM THE KITCHEN

Balsamic Strawberries with Arugula

Recipe adapted by Hunter Purdy from www.markbittman.com

In Italy, where balsamic vinegar originated, strawberries with balsamic are served as a dessert. The combination is equally fantastic in a savory salad!

INGREDIENTS

3 cups strawberries, hulled and halved or quartered

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, or more to taste

Freshly ground black pepper

4 cups arugula leaves

Salt

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

 

DIRECTIONS

1. Toss the strawberries with the vinegar and black pepper in a large salad bowl and let sit for 10 minutes.
2. Add the arugula, sprinkle with salt, and toss again. Drizzle with olive oil and toss gently one last time. Taste, adjust the seasoning, and serve.
3. Optional: Before the final toss in Step 2, crumble 4 ounces of goat cheese or feta over the salad.

Serves 4-6

 

Strawberry Banana Muffins

Recipe adapted by CSA Member Carly Cornelius from: Strawberry Banana Muffins

INGREDIENTS

1 organic, free range egg
1/2 c. honey (or maple syrup)
2 T. safflower oil (or extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil)
1 t. organic vanilla extract
1/4 c. unsweetened almond milk
1/4 c. nonfat organic plain yogurt (or Greek yogurt, gives it a little tang that we like)
2 ripe bananas, mashed
2 c. whole white wheat pastry flour (OR you could reduce to 1.5 c. flour and add .5 c. old fashioned oats)
2 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 c. fresh organic strawberries, hulled and sliced

Notes: I had a mouthwatering stash of organic strawberries from my local CSA (Lazy Eight Stock Farm) this week.  To keep my little one from eating them all in one sitting, I made muffins for her school snacks.  This super adaptable recipe is great – you can substitute several of the ingredients for whatever you have on hand.  They are delicious any way you make them when the strawberries are this fantastic!!

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Combine wet ingredients in smaller bowl.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and gently combine. Stir in the strawberries.  Fill pre-greased muffin tins ¾ full and bake for 20-25 min. They will keep for about a week in the refrigerator or frozen for several weeks – if they last that long 🙂