CSA Week 4: July brings transitions at the farm

In their shares this week, members will receive the following vegetables: kale, broccoli, kohlrabi, basil, garlic scapes and two varieties of head lettuce (oakleaf and romaine). Some shares will include green cabbage and others will include cucumber.

It feels like we are in between seasons here with produce in the field.  It’s gotten too hot for radishes and turnips while those heat lovers like cucumbers and high tunnel tomatoes are just starting to pick up steam.  In the cookbook that many of you purchased, “The Six Seasons”, chef Joshua McFadden divides summer into three sections, saying, “summer is where the action is, with waves of new families of vegetables arriving every few weeks, almost like microseasons.”  The difference between June and July is pretty noticeable.  And so we get to cook accordingly.  So much of our cooking in June is actually hardly cooking at all and marveling at raw veggies again.  Now with July and the introduction of more hearty items, we’ll be cooking, and grilling more.

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.”

News from the farm

Since it’s the Fourth of July weekend, maybe it’s appropriate to use fireworks displays as a metaphor for what happens here at the farm. It’s also a moment to recognize just how important our CSA members are to us.

Suppose you went to a fireworks show and instead of the fireworks exploding in a long, celebratory fashion, there was a mistake. The fireworks instead went off all at once. 

Kabloom! Done. That’s it. Time to go home. 

What does this story have to do with vegetables? 

Well, our job is to provide our CSA members with a weekly supply of freshly harvested vegetables over a 17-week period from early June into October. 

But that can’t happen without planning. If we were to put all the plants in the ground at exactly the same time, well, then…

Kabloom! All the vegetables would be ready at one time and then a few weeks later, we’d be in trouble. 

This is where Heather-Marie’s skill and planning as a veteran farmer come into play. From the moment she fires up the greenhouse germination chamber on April 1, she is using her extensive years of notes and planting calendars to make sure that the vegetables, like fireworks, explode over the course of the growing season.

This process is called succession planting and it is what separates a CSA farm from the others.

Of course, this process isn’t as simple as planting the vegetables on a certain date. We are also at the mercy of the elements, and this year, the challenges included a very cold, very wet spring and an early summer that has been entirely too wet.

CSA Members lend a hand

We also need to get all these plants into the ground on time. This year, that almost didn’t happen and wouldn’t have happened without our members.

Throughout June the farm was battered with weekly rainstorms, some of which dumped inches of rain, meaning we could not get into the field to plant. 

So, last week, we sent out a request to members: Come help us plant, and we’ll compensate you with a free add-on share of your choosing later in the season.

The response was humbling.

Almost every day of the past week, CSA members came out to help. In total, seven people helped: Carol-Ann, Alesha, Rosanne, Matt, Nelia, Ryan, Kim and Joanne.

The result is that we now have all the plants and seeds in the ground that we should at this point.

Consider that in one week’s time, we put 992 plants in the ground:

• Winter squash and pumpkins: 288 plants
• Summer squash and zucchini: 48 plants
• Tomatoes: 160 plants in the field (more in the high tunnel)
• Eggplant: 65 plants
• Peppers: 373 plants
• Melons: 58

Keep in mind those numbers don’t include the beets, carrot seeds, salad mix and other plants that we started.

Tired yet? We are. Now that we are caught up in our planting we are decidedly behind in our weeding and cultivating. But that’s farm life and the transition of the seasons. 

In other news at the farm:

Rising Phoenix was featured in the Duluth Whole Foods Coop’s “Garbanzo Gazette” summer issue for receiving a grant to make much-needed improvements to our barn and pack shed. These funds will allow us to harvest and process food more efficiently as our operation slowly expands.

We now have a packshed with new harvest tables on a newly resurfaced floor and a walk-in cooler to store vegetables in.

Consider that when she first started out, Heather-Marie’s “pack shed’ was a table under a tree for shade. 

A visit with a new farm resident: One morning when John was working in the field by himself, he noticed that the tree swallows that nest in the boxes around the field had fledged. The young swallows were all along the fenceline, learning how to fly. One, though, didn’t appear to be doing well. It was having a hard time sitting on the fence in the windy conditions and clearly wasn’t interested in trying to fly.

John walked toward it and spoke and was stunned when, without warning, the bird flew to him and lighted on his outstretched hand.

The bird sat there for a few minutes and seemed quite at home. We wondered if the bird was so comfortable because John talks to the birds every day.

Whatever the reason, the bird sat there long enough for John to talk to it and even snaps some photos before it flew back to the fence, where it spent the rest of the day, making small flights. By the end of the day, the bird was no longer there. Hopefully, this meant it had learned to fly.

This week’s veggies and recipes

As July progresses, we’ll also begin to see a change in the field and in what members will be seeing in their boxes. It won’t be long before summertime favorites like snap peas, cucumbers and, of course, tomatoes begin to appear.

Meanwhile, many of the early season crops are making their final appearances.

Garlic Scapes

Garlic scapes are the tender, green shoots that first emerge from the bulb in the ground, which eventually flower.  By snapping them off, stopping the flowering process, more energy is put 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.

Green Garlic (Scape) Mashed Potatoes 

adapted from “Tastes From Valley to Bluff”

• 1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled
• 4 Tb butter
• 1 to 2 bunches scapes
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup cream
• Salt and pepper 

Leave the potatoes whole if small, or cut in half if large.  Place them in a large saucepan with enough salted water to cover them by several inches.  Bring to a simmer, cover partially, and adjust the heat to maintain a gentle simmer.  Cook until knife slips in easily, about 30 minutes.  Drain, then return the potatoes to the warm pot.  Return the pot to the stove and shake until any moisture evaporates.

While the potatoes cook, melt the butter in a small saucepan over moderate heat.  Add the scapes and sauté until softened, 3 to 5 minutes.  Add the milk and cream.  Season with salt and pepper.

Put the boiled potatoes through a food mill, ricer or with a spoon.  Add the hot milk mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until smooth.

Lettuce: Oakleaf and romaine

Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps

“Tastes from Valley to Bluff”

These are really tasty!  You can substitute mushrooms or tofu for a vegetarian option.

• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 tsp vegetable oil
• 1 pound ground turkey breast
• ½ c green onions, sliced
• 1 ½ T fresh ginger, finely grated
• ½ tsp red pepper flakes
• 3 cloves garlic, mined
• 1 T soy sauce
• 1/3 c Hoisin sauce
• 8 lettuce/romaine leaves, washed, dried, chilled
• ¼ c sliced almonds, toasted

1.  Sauté the bell pepper in the vegetable oil for 2 minutes.  Add the turkey, green onions, ginger, red pepper flakes, and garlic.  Stir while cooking for 5 minutes or until the turkey is no longer pink.

2.   Add the soy sauce and Hoisin sauce.  Heat thoroughly for one minute.

3.  Spoon the turkey mixture into each lettuce leaf.  Sprinkle with the toasted sliced almonds, roll up tightly, and serve immediately.  

Kohlrabi

Kohlrabi Tops and Bulbs with Mushrooms and Lentils

from the blog “Urban Vegan”

We have not had a chance to make this but it sounds intriguing!  We usually eat kohlrabi raw but this recipe cooks them and it sounds yummy.  

• 1 bunch of kohlrabi bulbs and greens
• 1 T plus 1 tsp olive oil
• 6 cloves garlic, sliced
• 2 tsp Spanish smoked paprika
• 8 oz. sliced mushrooms [I used Baby ‘Bellas]
• 1 1/2  cups cooked lentils, or 1 15 oz. can of your favorite beans, drained and rinsed
• About 5 scallions greens and whites, sliced 
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Peel kohlrabi bulbs. Cut into 1/8-inch slices, then julienne. Trim tops and chiffonade.Set aside.

Heat oil over medium in a Dutch oven. Add garlic and saute 1 minute. Stir in Spanish paprika to color the oil and cook for about 4 more minutes or until the garlic is soft.

Add mushrooms and kohlrabi bulbs.  Stir, cover and cook for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft. Check moisture level from time to time: you may need to add salt and/or water or broth [1 T at a time] if the mixture gets dry.

Add greens and scallions. Cook covered until soft, about 15-20 minutes more, again checking moisture level and adding broth or water if it gets too dry. Stir in lentils for the last 5 minutes. Adjust seasonings and serve warm or room temperature.
Serves 4

Kale

Breakfast of Champions (or Farmers) Kale Smoothie

Farmer Heather-Marie Heather-Marie makes this smoothie many mornings!  Definitely more filling than cereal or toast.  

• 1-2 cups kale, stems removed
• 1-2 cups fresh or frozen berries 
• 1 T each flax, chia, and/or hemp hearts
• Protein powder
• Ginger root, one knuckle (no need to deskin or chop!)
• Milk (rice, coconut, cow) or water
• Optional:  Dates, presoaked, pits removed
•   Spices: cinnamon, cayenne
•   Turmeric root, one knuckle
•   Nut butter (sunflower, peanut, etc)

Blend all ingredients and enjoy!