CSA july 27 - 29
J
U
L
Y
2
7
-
J
U
L
Y
2
9
GORMAN Farm COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AGRICULTURE
FROM THE FIELD Three weeks into a heat wave and no relief in sight. Not only have we been hit with the high temps and humidity, but the lack of rain has a drastic effect on the farm. We are compeletly depandant on irrigation to keep the farm up and running. Without it we wouldn’t have crops this season.
Deep into summer most of our crops like tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, watermelon, cantaloupe all have large plant & root systems and are setting fruit profuseley. Each week the plants require more water than the previous week. We began the harvest of watermelons and cantaloupes, yields are pretty good despite crow damage. The watermelon harvest for me as the farmer is a benchmark in the season. So much happens day to day and so fast on the farm that the whole season starts to become a blur. Working such a seasonal system, most of the year you feel like you are at the beginning of the season or towards the tail end. So the watermelon harvest is always my “farmer equinox”. We are not at the tail end nor is it in
sight, but this is definatley not a new season anymore and we are deep into to the year. Mid-summer harvest always seems to take place with that intense late July heat, which this year there is no shortage of that. The high heat and endless days of it makes crops come on fast. Often it disregards the timing and succession of our plantings, the amount of days that variety needs and they all come on at once. We know watermelon is ripening and when we are close to harvest, but we never know exactly when they are ready because the outside of the melon looks the same while the edible part inside is changing by the hour. For the most part they get big and the plant foliage starts to collapse. We farm organically and we don’t use the fungicides and pesticides that keep those leaves pretty all throughout harvest. With sometimes up to 50 lbs. of fruit on one plant, it is working on overtime to stay alive in a hot environment and deal with it’s fruit load. Plant stress is what makes them decline.
The only way to truly know if a melon is ready is to cut it open, see, and taste it. When you do that, it is no longer available for distribution. With variability in the fields, we cannot cut into only two. We open many so we have a true sample of the field. We tend to loose a lot of melons to the harvest check. (It’s not lost, we have full bellies, snacks all day long for staff, and they roll around our counter tops, truck beds, and tractor cabs. All extras go in the compost.) So at the actual event of harvest, which to me is very ceremonial, we not only cut open several melons but we cut open melons as we go down the rows. We are also looking for the little curly tendril that is at the connecting point of the vine to the melon stem itself. This guy is hard to find and requires a
Harvest
Watermelon Cantaloupe Eggplant Summer Squash Bell Peppers Garlic Onions -----------full share add on Green Beans Cherry Tomatoes Bannana Peppers
with no spot at all.) You have to look for all these attributes before spending all day in the heat with huge wagons, trailers, tractors, front end loaders, lots of hands and gallons of ice water as we are moving literally tons of fruit by hand. I’d like to give my hats off to the whole farm crew this season. I feel truly blessed to work with such great people. Without them we have no farm. As the owner and the planner and the making things happen guy, I couldn’t do it without everyone’s dedication, commitment to quality, perserverance, and great energy they bring daily, ragardless of weather conditions. Farming is no walk in the park. The idea of it is iconic, bucolic, and as many people tell me when learning I grow organic vegetables they tilt their head and go “ahhh isn’t that the greatest job ever? Like I breed puppies for children at Christmas.
It really is the greatest job but your world is not just full of great food that was so easy to get. The ups and downs are an emotional force to be reckoned with.) It’s not for everyone. But so glad to be at this place, close to a decade in at Gorman Farm, and feeling full of vigor. I owe this to my wife who keeps me rolling and my staff who keeps the farming rolling….
trained eye. When this tendril is brown, dry and dead that’s indicator #1. Indicator #2 is indicative of the spot that the melon touches the ground. It has turned from a white to a yellow or pale yellow,, (although this is elusive many melons are perfect
Hats off to Lydia, Sarah, Ricardo and the boys….. Extremely thankful…. Check Feeling blessed and greatful to be alive…. Check Sincerley appreciative to all the people who work for me….. check Happy family and the best wife ever known to man …. Check Super well rested and got it all together perfectly… mmm there’s always tomorrow. - your farmer, Dave
Field to the table
WATERMELON GAZPACHO
-Eating Well INGREDIENTS 8 C. FINELY DICED WATERMELON 1 MED CUCUMBER 1/2 RED BELL PEPPER 1/4 CUP CHOPPED BASIL
EGGPLANT DIP
1/4 CUP PARSLEY
Gina Rieg, CHC, AADP Certified Health Coach, Howard County Simplistic Wholistic
3 TBS RED WINE VINEGAR
Ingredients (Makes about 2 cups)
• 1 roasted eggplant (To roast the
2 TBS MINCED SHALLOT OR ONION 2 TBS OLIVE OIL 3/4 TSP SEA SALT METHOD PREP: MIX WATERMELON, CUCUMBER, BELL PEPPER, BASIL, PARSLEY, VINEGAR, ONION, OIL AND SALT IN A LARGE BOWL. PUREE 3 CUPS OF THE MIXTURE IN A BLENDER TO THE DESIRED SMOOTHNESS; TRANSFER TO ANOTHER LARGE BOWL. PUREE ANOTHER 3 CUPS AND ADD TO THE BOWL. STIR IN THE REMAINING DICED MIXTURE. SERVE AT ROOM TEMP OR CHILLED!
T H A I S P I C E D WAT E R M E L O N S O U P If you have find that you have had your fill of sliced watermelon and want to make a meal of your melon, give this a whirl! Lemongrass, chile, ginger and lime coupled with watermelon are a sure bet in my book! https://ukcsa.wordpress.com/ 2011/09/08/thai-spiced-watermelonsoup/
eggplant, heat your oven to 400º, first pricking it with a fork in a few places. Bake for about 30-40 minutes. Let the eggplant cool before peeling the skin off the eggplant with your fingers). • juice of 1 lemon or 4 TBSP organic lemon juice • 1/4 cup sesame seeds or 1/4 cup organic tahini or organic cashew butter • 2 cloves garlic • 1 teaspoon celtic sea salt • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil • pepper to taste • fresh or dried parsley (optional) Directions 1. Peel the eggplant and cut into 6 equal pieces. Put in blender and add the other ingredients. Blend on the low speed and then gradually increase the speed to a higher speed for about 15 minutes. 2. Put in serving bowl, sprinkle with fresh or dried parsley. Chill for at least 3 hours before serving to allow the flavors to blend. Serve with slices of fresh veggies like cucumbers, nut crackers
U
L
Y
2
7
-
J
U
L
Y
2
9
GORMAN Farm COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AGRICULTURE
FROM THE FIELD Three weeks into a heat wave and no relief in sight. Not only have we been hit with the high temps and humidity, but the lack of rain has a drastic effect on the farm. We are compeletly depandant on irrigation to keep the farm up and running. Without it we wouldn’t have crops this season.
Deep into summer most of our crops like tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, watermelon, cantaloupe all have large plant & root systems and are setting fruit profuseley. Each week the plants require more water than the previous week. We began the harvest of watermelons and cantaloupes, yields are pretty good despite crow damage. The watermelon harvest for me as the farmer is a benchmark in the season. So much happens day to day and so fast on the farm that the whole season starts to become a blur. Working such a seasonal system, most of the year you feel like you are at the beginning of the season or towards the tail end. So the watermelon harvest is always my “farmer equinox”. We are not at the tail end nor is it in
sight, but this is definatley not a new season anymore and we are deep into to the year. Mid-summer harvest always seems to take place with that intense late July heat, which this year there is no shortage of that. The high heat and endless days of it makes crops come on fast. Often it disregards the timing and succession of our plantings, the amount of days that variety needs and they all come on at once. We know watermelon is ripening and when we are close to harvest, but we never know exactly when they are ready because the outside of the melon looks the same while the edible part inside is changing by the hour. For the most part they get big and the plant foliage starts to collapse. We farm organically and we don’t use the fungicides and pesticides that keep those leaves pretty all throughout harvest. With sometimes up to 50 lbs. of fruit on one plant, it is working on overtime to stay alive in a hot environment and deal with it’s fruit load. Plant stress is what makes them decline.
The only way to truly know if a melon is ready is to cut it open, see, and taste it. When you do that, it is no longer available for distribution. With variability in the fields, we cannot cut into only two. We open many so we have a true sample of the field. We tend to loose a lot of melons to the harvest check. (It’s not lost, we have full bellies, snacks all day long for staff, and they roll around our counter tops, truck beds, and tractor cabs. All extras go in the compost.) So at the actual event of harvest, which to me is very ceremonial, we not only cut open several melons but we cut open melons as we go down the rows. We are also looking for the little curly tendril that is at the connecting point of the vine to the melon stem itself. This guy is hard to find and requires a
Harvest
Watermelon Cantaloupe Eggplant Summer Squash Bell Peppers Garlic Onions -----------full share add on Green Beans Cherry Tomatoes Bannana Peppers
with no spot at all.) You have to look for all these attributes before spending all day in the heat with huge wagons, trailers, tractors, front end loaders, lots of hands and gallons of ice water as we are moving literally tons of fruit by hand. I’d like to give my hats off to the whole farm crew this season. I feel truly blessed to work with such great people. Without them we have no farm. As the owner and the planner and the making things happen guy, I couldn’t do it without everyone’s dedication, commitment to quality, perserverance, and great energy they bring daily, ragardless of weather conditions. Farming is no walk in the park. The idea of it is iconic, bucolic, and as many people tell me when learning I grow organic vegetables they tilt their head and go “ahhh isn’t that the greatest job ever? Like I breed puppies for children at Christmas.
It really is the greatest job but your world is not just full of great food that was so easy to get. The ups and downs are an emotional force to be reckoned with.) It’s not for everyone. But so glad to be at this place, close to a decade in at Gorman Farm, and feeling full of vigor. I owe this to my wife who keeps me rolling and my staff who keeps the farming rolling….
trained eye. When this tendril is brown, dry and dead that’s indicator #1. Indicator #2 is indicative of the spot that the melon touches the ground. It has turned from a white to a yellow or pale yellow,, (although this is elusive many melons are perfect
Hats off to Lydia, Sarah, Ricardo and the boys….. Extremely thankful…. Check Feeling blessed and greatful to be alive…. Check Sincerley appreciative to all the people who work for me….. check Happy family and the best wife ever known to man …. Check Super well rested and got it all together perfectly… mmm there’s always tomorrow. - your farmer, Dave
Field to the table
WATERMELON GAZPACHO
-Eating Well INGREDIENTS 8 C. FINELY DICED WATERMELON 1 MED CUCUMBER 1/2 RED BELL PEPPER 1/4 CUP CHOPPED BASIL
EGGPLANT DIP
1/4 CUP PARSLEY
Gina Rieg, CHC, AADP Certified Health Coach, Howard County Simplistic Wholistic
3 TBS RED WINE VINEGAR
Ingredients (Makes about 2 cups)
• 1 roasted eggplant (To roast the
2 TBS MINCED SHALLOT OR ONION 2 TBS OLIVE OIL 3/4 TSP SEA SALT METHOD PREP: MIX WATERMELON, CUCUMBER, BELL PEPPER, BASIL, PARSLEY, VINEGAR, ONION, OIL AND SALT IN A LARGE BOWL. PUREE 3 CUPS OF THE MIXTURE IN A BLENDER TO THE DESIRED SMOOTHNESS; TRANSFER TO ANOTHER LARGE BOWL. PUREE ANOTHER 3 CUPS AND ADD TO THE BOWL. STIR IN THE REMAINING DICED MIXTURE. SERVE AT ROOM TEMP OR CHILLED!
T H A I S P I C E D WAT E R M E L O N S O U P If you have find that you have had your fill of sliced watermelon and want to make a meal of your melon, give this a whirl! Lemongrass, chile, ginger and lime coupled with watermelon are a sure bet in my book! https://ukcsa.wordpress.com/ 2011/09/08/thai-spiced-watermelonsoup/
eggplant, heat your oven to 400º, first pricking it with a fork in a few places. Bake for about 30-40 minutes. Let the eggplant cool before peeling the skin off the eggplant with your fingers). • juice of 1 lemon or 4 TBSP organic lemon juice • 1/4 cup sesame seeds or 1/4 cup organic tahini or organic cashew butter • 2 cloves garlic • 1 teaspoon celtic sea salt • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil • pepper to taste • fresh or dried parsley (optional) Directions 1. Peel the eggplant and cut into 6 equal pieces. Put in blender and add the other ingredients. Blend on the low speed and then gradually increase the speed to a higher speed for about 15 minutes. 2. Put in serving bowl, sprinkle with fresh or dried parsley. Chill for at least 3 hours before serving to allow the flavors to blend. Serve with slices of fresh veggies like cucumbers, nut crackers
