CSA week 3 newsletter: Mud

In their shares this week, members will receive the following vegetables: Mini romaine lettuces, kohlrabi, microgreens, turnip and radish mix, garlic scapes, oregano, Napa cabbage (for Duluth only), broccoli (for farm only).

This newsletter includes a roundup of news from the farm as well as information and recipes. Feel free to jump to the bottom of the newsletter to find the section titled, “This week’s veggies and recipes.”

Here is this week’s video check in:

News from the farm

I have always found solace in the outdoors. Growing up in suburban Tampa, Florida, would seem a hard place to find wilderness, but it was there if you knew where to look. Barefoot, with cutoff jeans and no way for anyone to know where I was, I’d venture out into the swamps along the HIllsborough River in search of a place to quiet my mind. I’d come home hours later, covered in mud and bug bites.

This Sunday morning, I woke around 5 to see the sun reflecting off the trees, after days of gray and rain. I slipped into my clothes, complete with hooded anorak and bug net. I set off across our dew-covered fields, quickly soaking my pants in the waste-high grass before stepping over the barbed wire and into the neighboring woods we have permission to hike in. 

It’s a place I often explore in winter but when the undergrowth and bugs become too much, I usually avoid it. I have always wondered what these woods look like in early summer, so I decided to explore. As in my childhood, I felt the need for an adventure.

The ground was spongy, though I couldn’t see it below the ferns carpeting the forest floor. I was only vaguely aware that I was being followed by a cyclone of mosquitoes swirling and humming around my head and back – I’ve kind of gotten used to them. 

My boots slurped, sucked and sloshed through a boggy section before I found a deer trail that I followed until I came to higher ground. Large oak, maple and poplar trees reached up to a blue sky. 

I walked with no destination in mind. A family of ruffed grouse launched from the ground in front of me. The woods were alive with bird calls, though, through my bug net, they were really just shapes.

I made my way to the edge of our neighbor’s property. The larger trees made the woods more open. I paused and tried to listen and watch and let go of all the lists and chores and tasks waiting for me back at the farm.

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed during the farming season and Heather-Marie and I have learned the importance of “getting off the farm” even if it just means stepping over a fence.

Being a farmer (I still marvel that I can call myself one), my connection to the land has become more than just a place to find peace; it has become a relationship that my wife and I rely on for our sustenance and livelihood. The connection has become one of stewardship and interdependence. 

But in the past month, it has also felt like one of helplessness. 

As we noted in an update we shared with the members of our weekly vegetable delivery business (called a CSA), the unpredictable weather and heavy rains have threatened our crops and challenged us to look at how we farm and care for our soil. We are learning, but we’re not there yet. 

To the north and to the south of us, rains have devastated farms, homes and communities. A slight change in the path of a storm and our farming season would have been over. 

This week, the forecast suggests a break in the persistently rainy weather pattern, but we have learned not to trust forecasts. 

Our greenhouse is bursting with plants that must get in the ground. Our soil remains saturated. And our minds are never far from wondering and worrying about how it will go.

I stood there in those woods, the angry mosquitoes looking for a way to get through my layers and tried to enjoy the morning. But I’m not very good at turning off my brain. 

I retraced my steps and returned from my walk, my pants saturated with water. I stood by the field as the sun crept above the low-lying clouds. 

The tree swallows, barn swallows and bluebirds were feasting on an all-you-can eat buffet of mosquitoes. Soon they will fledge their young and be on their way until next season.

Field update

The waves of rain that have pummeled Minnesota have affected farms throughout the region, and, while ours has certainly felt the impact, our thoughts are with those who have been hit far worse than we. 

For us, the greatest damage has been in soil loss. While we do many things to protect our soil and our crops from the damage caused by excessive rain, the deluge that hit us Tuesday night was too much water at one time. In the places where we had exposed soil, we felt those effects. 

In short, soil isn’t dirt that you can just scoop back up. Soil is a complex combination that includes organic material, clay, sand and silt. Our soil type includes a lot of silt. Silt is a very fine material and when a hard rain falls on our exposed soil, that silt is just gone — into the wetlands and carried into the water. Maybe it’s in Lake Superior by now. What’s left in some of our raised beds is the heavy stuff: Rocks and clay. What’s at the end of the beds is the sand. That’s why topsoil loss is so devastating. Once it’s gone, it’s very hard to build it back up again. It took centuries upon centuries to get there.

The continually wet conditions have affected us in a couple of ways. First, it has delayed our ability to get crops in the ground. Our greenhouse is bursting with plants that are ready to go in the field, but if the soil is saturated with water, we can’t plant or put down seed. 

So far, we’re still doing fine, but if this cycle persists, we’ll start to get behind. 

If that were to happen, then we’d need to make a decision about whether to delay the CSA delivery by one week. Members would still get the same number of boxes, but there would be a one-week gap in that delivery. (We’ve never had to do this in 14 years of farming and don’t think we’ll need to, but it is an option.)

The wet weather has also resulted in some crop loss. We planted close to 104 broccoli plants — one of the first things we planted — but the water-logged roots mean that most of those plants were stunted and never matured. This first planting will likely yield just a dozen or so broccoli. 

However, we still have six more plantings of broccoli to come, so don’t worry too much. 

We also lost our second planting of baby bok choy — 130 plants. The plants were stressed, went into shock and “bolted,” flowering early as the plant went into survival mode. 

The crop we are most nervous about are the potatoes. Potatoes do not like soggy soil and if the soil does not dry out, the seed potatoes could rot. This would make us very sad, as we love potatoes. We planted 800 feet of potatoes that include five varieties. 

We remain hopeful, and there does appear to be a lessoning of these conditions next week.

This assessment may sound gloomy, but there is much in the field and in our high tunnels to be excited about. 

Our tomatoes, cucumbers and specialty peppers are all thriving. Sugar snap pea plants are vining and beginning to flower. The carrot beds are healthy and strong. And Heather-Marie’s flowers are beginning to blossom.

In northern Minnesota, the CSA season ramps up slowly, but once it gets going, the abundance and variety is a thing to savor. 

As always, we are honored to be your farmers. 

Images from the farm

This week’s veggies and recipes

Kohlrabi tips (along with ideas for radishes!)

• Most people eat kohlrabi raw– peeled and cut into sticks, like carrots, or slices, like apples.  
• Can also be used in a non-traditional slaw with grated kohlrabi, turnips and/or radishes, chopped parsley, scallions and dressing of choice.
• Can be sliced or cubed and added to soups, salads or stir-fries.
• The leaves are edible as well and can be used in replacement of chard or kale in soups, sautees, etc

Kohlrabi Patties with Cilantro Yogurt Sauce “From Asparagus to Zucchini”

AMAZING and a little spicy!!

Sauce:

• 1 bunch cilantro, stemmed, finely chopped
• Juice of 1 lime
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp honey
• 5 oz plain yogurt
• Patties
• 1 T Dijon mustard
• 1 T minced ginger
• 1 T minced garlic or garlic scapes
• 1 T curry powder
• salt and pepper to taste
• ½ c packed chopped pea vines, microgreens or Napa cabbage
• 3 medium kohlrabi, prepped and shredded
• 2 T flour
• 1 egg
• ¼ c vegetable oil
• 1 c breadcrumbs

Mix all of the ingredients for the sauce together and let sit for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine all the ingredients for the patties except breadcrumbs and vegetable oil.  Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. 

Create small patties out of the kohlrabi mixture and squeeze out any moisture.  Roll the patties in the breadcrumbs (FARMER NOTE: I think the patties stick together better if you add the breadcrumbs into the mixture rather than rolling). 

Fry patties until golden, flipping over and frying the other side.  Four minutes per side.  Drain patties on paper towels to absorb excess oil.  

Serve with cilantro dipping sauce.  

Makes 6 patties

Garlic Scape info and tips

Garlic scapes are the tender, green shoots that first emerge from the bulb in the ground, which eventually flower.  By snapping them off, you stop the flowering process which puts more energy into growing nice, big garlic bulbs!

• Use in replacement of garlic bulbs; can be eaten raw or cooked
• 1 stalk = 1 to 2 cloves
• Do not wash and store!  This will make the stalks slimy.  Store in a paper bag in the refrigerator.
• We put stalks, chopped or whole, in ziplock bags in the freezer.

Citrus Butter Salad “Tastes From Valley to Bluff”

Vinaigrette:

• 2 T grapefruit juice
• ½ T Champagne vinegar, or Asian rice vinegar
• ¼ tsp salt
• 2 ½ T olive oil
• 1 finely chopped 12-inch stalk green garlic/scape 
• ½ T olive oil
• 1 head green butter lettuce or other lettuce variety
• ¼ c toasted pine nuts

Combine all of the vinaigrette ingredients together in a jar and shake, mixing thoroughly.  

Sauté the garlic scape in a hot pan with ½ Tablespoon of olive oil.

Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until lightly brown, being careful not to burn.  

Toss the scapes with the lettuce and pine nuts and dress the salad with the Citrus Vinaigrette.   

Oregano tips

• Oregano is a perennial herb that we have growing in a separate garden bed near the house
• Oregano goes well with pasta and chicken dishes
• Can be used fresh, or hung to dry and used later
• Used in pizza and tomato sauces
• Add fresh to salads, along with other herbs
• Can be added to salad dressing ingredients

Napa Cabbage

Napa cabbage, or Chinese cabbage, originated in China.  Used primarily in stir fries, but also salads and sales and can be grilled.  The leaves have a slightly sweet flavor.  The heads are not round and compact like regular cabbage but grow upright and have  a bullet shape.  

Asian Fusion Slaw “Tastes from the Bluff” cookbook

We love this recipe!  We have also used this with kale.  The dressing is very versatile.

Dressing

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 Tb toasted sesame oil
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1 1/2 Tb finely minced fresh ginger
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• Slaw
• 6 cups shredded Napa cabbage, thinly sliced
• 2 bell peppers, sliced into sticks
• 1 bunch green onions, finely chopped
• salt
• 1 cup chopped salted peanuts
• 1 cup minced cilantro

Mix the dressing ingredients in a small bowl.  In a big bowl, toss together the cabbage, peppers and onions.  Pour the dressing over the cabbage, and toss.  Salt to taste.  Add the peanuts and cilantro right before serving.  This salad tastes better the second day, but wait with sprinkling the peanuts on until just before serving, or else they will soak up the oil and get soft.