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GORMAN FARM COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AGRICULTURE
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From the Farmer
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“ L I V E W I T H I N YO U R H A RV E S T ” -PERSIAN PROVERB
Harvest
Peppers: Bells, Poblano, hot,
Sweet Garlic Potatoes Eggplant Tomatoes Chives Spaghetti Squash Sweet Potato Greens
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Oh my goodness ,inally we have a couple cool evenings. While we got some nice mild bearable temperatures last week, the days have still been heating up well into the nineties. As we breach September we look at the harvest and potential harvests and the weather is still treating us like July and August as far as crops are concerned. We had planned to have some greens and more fall-like crops for this week’s distribution, and while all our efforts are in line Mother Nature had something else planned. As fall harvested crops have been planted, watered, weeded, fertilized and nurtured there is no amount of effort that can defeat the wilting and bolting aspects of daily high temperatures. Crops like kale, chard, and lettuces really don’t like such intense heats. We love growing lettuce and really only have a small window in the middle of summer when we don’t plant it as it is just to hot. We stop planting lettuce around late June, but resume planting in mid July for harvests now. In the hot times of the year we tend to cultivate varieties that tolerate heat. We have learned over the years which varieties do well and not. Last week I was looking at a beautiful crop of lettuce scheduled for this weeks harvest and a few more days of growth was all it needed to justify its size and harvestability. Much to my chagrin on Monday morning after a hot weekend I came to ,ind lettuce that I knew was going to not be quite as big as I’d like to see it but still harvest-able standing two feet tall. This means the lettuce bolted in the heat. Bolting is a process that many plants do when they are heat stressed. they naturally send the plant to ,lower. When this happens to lettuce the leaves turn bitter instantly. Not that big of a deal on a farm in this climate. It happens every year. Yet I did have some farmer expectations and excitement as I know my body and household is ready for some leafy greens. On Monday & Tuesday as I worked in the ,ields I kept stopping to sample this lettuce
thinking maybe it was just that one head and I had just had some coffee so let me try it again with a clean pallet. Nope - all the lettuce was bitter and bolting.
In shares this week you will ,ind a novelty of sweet potato leaves. These wonderful greens are exactly that, the leaves of the sweet potato plants, which are growing wonderfully this year by the way. When we harvest the leaves of the sweet potato plant during its life it actually sends growing energy down to the tuber, the sweet potato itself. It’s a winwin! Unlike the leaves of the potato plant that are inedible, sweet potato leaves are edible and turn out to be highly nutritious. We can eat them raw or cooked and they are rich in vitamin A and Vitamin K. These leaves are highly sought after by designer chefs and are a staple and delicacy in several tropical regions around the world When cooked down it’s most like spinach, high in nutrients a mild nutty ,lavor and easy to pair with many things. Take them with a grain of salt, literally, and don’t be scared if they they wilt quickly and cook down drastically like spinach. Tomatoes are still abundant and will still be offering tomato boxes this week for sale for preserving opportunities, but can’t guarantee that into next week. As we get into September we are now looking back to things like summer squash, cucumbers, melons these will all be next year now. Even though it is still hot and you still see these items locally and more so conventionally (nonorganic), people ask why I don’t have later plantings of these crops. The reason is humidity. In organic systems plant stress and disease is what terminates growth. The issue for us is humid evenings. (We had dew points in the high 70’s for a few weeks, this means wet dew forms on leaves, just like your lawn at that temperature.) The forming of dew is occurs at 7:00 pm lasting until
10:00 am. This means plants are soaking wet for 15+ hours a day. Then layer on a hot and humid day and thick summer foliage, the plants just never dry out. Large plants that are already established often barely dry out. There is so much foliage it never gets the air,low and sun needed for drying. In newly established plantings and older plantings this results in disease pressures building up and we are NOT ,ighting it with the chemical fungicides that are required on a very precise schedule. So we move on in our organic systems and work with Mother Nature and not against her. This time of year I ,ind myself unconsciously poking around at other farms visually and through conversations to ,ind out that everyone is in the same boat. Especially when something turns out drastically different then the year prior. This time of year I am really digging through last year’s and previous year’s logbooks to see what was going on, did I do something different? My crop consultant stopped by yesterday and told me my ,ields look fantastic compared to what he has been seeing all over the state, and that I’m not alone when it comes to weed pressure, plant stress, etc. When I’m walking with a consultant I am working and trouble shooting out in the ,ield; brass tacks. This week he replied to my griping “It’s hot as the Dickens Kid!! It’s been relentless this year! What do you expect? These ,ields looks fantastic compared to what I’ve been seeing. You and your customers should be proud!!” I love having a professional consultant with decades of experience to troubleshoot with but often it’s these comments from an expert that keep me consistently positive. Money well spent! As we wipe sweat from our brow and try to input data and share data via sweaty screened smart phones we joke about how the consultant should have an of,ice with air condoning and a big couch for us farmers to lay on while he evaluates our mental state like a therapist. I highly recommend having people on board who are more experienced and smarter than you in everything you do in life!! - Farmer Dave
Sweet Potato Greens in Coconut Cream 1 large bunch sweet potato greens 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 2 shallots, minced 1 clove garlic, minced 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root (from a 1/2-inch piece) 2 teaspoons grated fresh turmeric root, or 1 teaspoon ground turmeric 1 red thai chili, finely sliced 2-inch lemon grass stalk, trimmed and finely sliced 1 to 2 teaspoons soy sauce, or to taste 1 cup coconut cream plus 1 cup water (or substitute 2 cups Ratatouille’s Ratatouille As envisioned by Smitten Kitchen 1/2 onion, finely chopped 2 garlic cloves, very thinly sliced 1 cup tomato puree (such as Pomi) 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided 1 small eggplant (my store sells these “Italian Eggplant” that are less than half the size of regular ones; it worked perfectly) 1 smallish zucchini 1 smallish yellow squash 1 longish red bell pepper Few sprigs fresh thyme Salt and pepper Few tablespoons soft goat cheese, for serving Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Pour tomato puree into bottom of an oval baking dish, approximately 10 inches across the long way. Drop the sliced garlic
light or regular coconut milk) 2 to 3 teaspoons raw or brown sugar, or to taste Salt and pepper, to taste Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Trim off any thick stems from greens. Add to boiling water and blanch for 60 seconds, then immediately transfer greens to a bowl filled with ice water to stop the cooking. Drain. Heat oil in a large pan or wok over medium heat. Add shallots, garlic, ginger, turmeric, chili, and lemongrass and stir until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in soy sauce.
cloves and chopped onion into the sauce, stir in one tablespoon of the olive oil and season the sauce generously with salt and pepper. Trim the ends off the eggplant, zucchini and yellow squash. As carefully as you can, trim the ends off the red pepper and remove the core, leaving the edges intact, like a tube. On a mandolin, adjustable-blade slicer or with a very sharp knife, cut the eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash and red pepper into very thin slices, approximately 1/16inch thick. Atop the tomato sauce, arrange slices of prepared vegetables concentrically from the outer edge to the inside of the baking dish, overlapping so just a smidgen of each flat surface is visible, alternating vegetables. You may have a handful leftover that do not fit. Drizzle the remaining tablespoon olive oil over the vegetables and season them generously with salt and pepper. Remove the leaves from the thyme sprigs with your fingertips,
running them down the stem. Sprinkle the fresh thyme over the dish. Cover dish with a piece of parchment paper cut to fit inside. (Tricky, I know, but the hardest thing about this.) Bake for approximately 45 to 55 minutes, until vegetables have released their liquid and are clearly cooked, but with some structure left so they are not totally limp. They should not be brown at the edges, and you should see that the tomato sauce is bubbling up around them. Serve with a dab of soft goat cheese on top, alone, or with some crusty French bread, atop polenta, couscous, or your choice of grain.
B ASIC PREPARATION
S PAG H E T T I S QUA S H Spaghetti squash makes an excellent side dish or a fun substitute in thin noodle recipes, from Asian to Italian. It is loaded with nutrients, such as beta carotene and fiber, and is tender, with just a slight crunch.
PREHEAT THE OVEN TO 375 AND HALVE SQUASH LENGTHWISE. USE A SPOON TO SCOOP OUT AND DISCARD SEEDS FROM THE MIDDLE OF EACH HALF. ARRANGE IN A DISH CUT SIDES DOWN. POUR 1/2 CUP WATER INTO THE DISH AND BAKE UNTIL TENDER 30 - 35 MINUTES. RAKE A FORK BACK AND FORTH ACROSS THE SQUASH TO REMOVE THE FLESH IN STRANDS - SEASON WITH PUTTANESCA SAUCE OR WHATEVER FLAVORS YOUR FANCY.