1st U-Cut Weekend

Wow,

1st weekend of u-cuts are done, well almost.  As I”m typing I have a tree out drying in the flocking room, it should be getting picked up in another half hour or so.  The flocking is an interesting thing.  I kind of like it, especially when I get it going right and it looks like there are snowflakes falling all over the tree.  But, there is always a but, the stuff gets up my nose and glues my hair together.  Will take a good soaking tonight to get it all out.

We had perfect weather the first 2 days but boy did it rain this afternoon.  But we had a few brave people who came out and found their trees.  Tomorrow we head off-farm to bale some trees, leaving grandpa to run the u-cuts till we get home.  Then we need to cut a couple big trees to go out.  We also have a huge 32′ tree that leaves tomorrow for the Salem Conference Center.  Could be interesting to see how we are going toget that thing over to the next trailer.  We want to try and tie it up a bit more.  That means we had best work fast tomorrow morning.  Its only 150 or so trees, shouldn’t take too long.

Thank you to everyone who came out this weekend, it was great to see some familiar faces, and some new ones too.  Hope to see lots more this next weekend.

It’s that most wonderful time of year

But I don’t think I’ll be hearing the kids jingle belling although they will be telling me to be of good cheer.  Not sure how that is gonna work for them though.

Woke up this morning to about 3″ of snow, followed by a phone call from the school next door wanting me to come plow their parking lot which is no problem, but man I hadn’t had my coffee yet.  So off I go to plow and as we are working on that I find out they went ahead and cancelled school.  They will be canceling a lot of school this year if 3″ can stop them.

Got the plowing finished then I went and took a bunch of pictures of trees to email to people who are thinking about shipping trees.  This just might turn into something extra on the side.  Next year I will be better prepared and get lots of pictures in better weather.  I spent lots of time beating snow off of trees that looked really good but were really ugly once they lost the snow.  I didn’t know snow can cover flaws so well.  Think I’m gonna go lay in a snowbank for awhile.  By the way, if you know of someone who would like a fresh Christmas tree shipped to them drop me an email.

Finished up the day with a farm loop meeting in town and a trip to the gas station to fillup all our cans.  My wallet is still trying to recover from that one.  And then cut down one really big tree.  It is about 15′ tall with a butt that is a bit bigger than a big dinner plate.  Think it will take my whole crew to lift that tree.  Ended the day with a blowout, litterally, I think I have backed up to a fire one to many times and my rain gear ripped all the way across and down the leg.  It will take much duct tape to fix this mess.

But the main thing is harvest really starts tomorrow.  I’ve got a few of the boys up here spending the night, we’ll see how well they listen and go to sleep when they are told to.  I’m betting tomorrow they will be asleep as soon as they get some dinner in their bellies.  We’re working on character building up here.   It always amazes me how the longer I look at the trees the more they change in my mind.  I started out thinking I had lots of really pretty trees this year but they seem to be less pretty the more I look at them.  Everyone else says they look really good, but I’m not seeing it.  Guess that is why I always say I don’t like to pick trees out for people.

But for now, its over to the office to hunt up my postcards taht need to get addressed and mailed out to all the u-cutters from previous years.  I didn’t get it done last year and had several tell me they weren’t sure I was still open.  Maybe this will help numbers go up this year.  That would be a good thing.  But before that happens, I have promised a couple someones some squash soup and chocolate chip cookie dough.  Best get that done first.

CSA Basket October 6th

In  This Weeks Basket    Beans – Tomato –Green Tomatoes –  Tomatillo - Cucumbers – Greens – Peppers –Asian Pear

Recipe  for the week………………Green Tomato Pickle    

Truth time, I am trying this one out, they are made, not eaten.  They need to sit but
by then it will be too late to give you the recipe & the tomatoes. Be sure your brine covers the tomatoes.  Your spice bag should still be good for a little more brine if you need to make a
partial batch.  You can also add a few more onions if you like pickled onions.

10  small green tomatoes, sliced thinly
1  cup onions, sliced thinly
salt
1    cups sugar
1    cups white vinegar
2t   celery seed
¼   bay leaf
½t  ground mustard
1t   ounce mustard seed
3    whole cloves
2    allspice seeds

• Alternate layers of tomatoes and onions in a bowl. Salt each layer, as if salting a meal.
• Cover with plastic wrap and store overnight in refrigerator.  Make sure bowl is large enough to hold  the liquid the salt will draw out from the tomatoes and onions.
• The next day, drain tomatoes and onions in a colander.
• In a large pot, add the tomatoes, onions, sugar, white vinegar, celery seed,  bay leaf, ground mustard, and mustard seed.  Place cloves and allspice in a cloth bag, and add to the pot.
• Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour.
• Spoon into sterilized canning jars and seal

 Veggie Tips & Notes
Beans  - Are getting few and far between.  I think after this week they will be no more.        

Peppers – Rinse off, store in fridge.   This week you have bell, sweet banana, and  a pimento pepper (round, yellow).  These are all in the sweet pepper family and go great with most everything.     

Tomatoes – Rinse off, pat dry.  Tomatoes don’t store well in the fridge, keep on a counter in a bowl.  Again you have some green ones.  (There are a lot left on the vines).  Watch the cherries, they split very easily.  If you put much pressure on them they will explode in your hand.  Thank the rain for that.

Cucumbers –  There are few of these, and this is probably the last week we will have them.  I am bummed.

Asian Pear– These are not from our farm.  They come from a tree in my brothers horse field (no spray on them).  They produced well this year and there are more than any of us can eat so I thought I would share them with you.  They are not the prettiest of fruits, but they taste good.

Greens  - Most everyone will have the regular kale or collards.  As it is coming ready however, some of you will have a different green.  They are probably a mustard or an aisian green.  I’ll label the different ones and hopefully the tags will stay on during transport. 

What’s not listed –  Everyone will have something in their tote this week that is not listed.  I’m just putting the things that everyone gets on the list.  I have a list that I’m working off of to make sure everybody gets some of everything.  So what you get this week, you won’t get next week (the unlisted things).  I guess you can consider it a bonus. 

What’s Growing   I can say at this point, the garden is done.  Spent time Wednesday hanging some tomato plants up in the greenhouse hoping to get some of them to ripen and quit splitting, especially the cherry tomatoes, they got huge really fast, then they split wide open.  It makes the chickens happy.  All of the warm weather crops have quit producing.   The peas are up, but not growing as fast as I would like them to, I am not sure we will get some before the end of the month.   Kiwis are still hard as a rock.  On a normal year we should be expecting to eat a few about now, but I am not sure what to expect this year.   Still checking on the corn, it is not over for it yet.  The plants look okay so I am waiting for the silks to turn and the kernals to fill out.  Hoping we’ll get some yet.

What’s up on the farm   Been busy working on the Christmas trees getting tagging done and working over in my brain just how  harvest will work this season.  My oldest kids friends are all finding real jobs and may not be able to work for me like they used to.  I guess it is time to bring on the next set.  The youngest boy has some of his friends from football who are asking me if they can work.  I think we’ll try a couple of the bigger ones out.   It is hard to hire them, the state puts lots of regulations on me for what kids can and can’t (more can’t than can) do at their age and then makes me pay them a wage that they are not worth.  I have to hire two of them to equal the work of one of my big boys yet they make almost the same wage.  It is a broken system that discourages teaching our youngsters the value of and how to do some actual physical work.  I think a big portion of what I did for work when I was growing up is now prohibited.  And we wonder why kids these days have no work ethic and are lazy;  who can afford almost $9 per hour to teach a kid who knows nothing and can’t work very well.  OK, off my political rant.  It is just very frustrating I really want to help these kids but they break my budget when it comes to wages if I hire them.    It’s beginning to smell like Christmas around here.  The smell from working on the  trees tends to linger everywhere.  It gets old after a bit.  The only place I can’t get the smell (and I want it) is in my pickup.  It smells like a locker room.  I am afraid I am stuck with that smell till the end of football season.  The other football moms and I just laugh (if we didn’t we’d cry), our rigs are all muddy and smelly.   4 more weeks, only 4 more weeks.

Final  Notes   It’s cold.  I am thinking it is time to bring in firewood and start a fire in the evening occasionally.   I’ve already dug out a few extra blankets to wrap up in at night, but the thought of standing next to the wood stove is kind of appealing, especially since I was just outside this morning.  But I’ll hold off for a bit yet.  I’ve been making cookie dough at night and then baking it off in the morning.  By the time dark rolls around I’ve usually got a few extra kids coming in who are cold and hungry after hunting in the wet.  They make quick work of the cookies and a big pot of cocoa/coffee.  So that just means I get to make more and turn on the oven again in the morning.  The difference in temperature is very curious.  When it was hot out I would have loved it if I could get my house down to 62 degrees.  Now that it is getting cold outside I am thinking that 62 is not warm enough.  Want more heat.  Kind of the same way with the temp outside.  Springtime 50 is much warmer than fall 50.  In one I’m putting on a coat in the other I am taking it off.

An update, since I wrote most of this on Wednesday.  Came home from a wet football practice and youth group last night to find a fire going in the wood stove.   I have to admit it felt pretty darn good to back up to it and get warm.  Could really use one this morning, it is flat out cold.  No nippy about it, just cold.  Came back in put on a sweatshirt and a jacket.  It’s now noon and I still haven’t taken it off and I’m grabbing hot beverages to take with me to drink while I work.  Its misty up here today.

CSA Basket September 29th

In This Weeks Basket     Beans – Tomato – Tomatillo – Summer Squash/Eggplant- Cabbage  - Cucumbers – Celery – Peppers –Salad Mix??

Recipe for the week………………  Tomatillo and Corn Soup

Giving you one more way to eat the tomatillos.   I really like this chowder, would be good for the cool day we are
supposed to have on Sunday

• 1½ cup tomatillos
• 1½ cup onion, chopped
• 2 garlic gloves, diced
•  1 tsp butter
• 3¾ cup whole kernel corn
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1Tbs cilantro, chopped
• 4 oz diced green chilies
• ¼  cup spinach, chopped
• 1 tsp sugar

Sautè tomatillos, onion and garlic in with butter for five minutes. Remove to food processor and add peas and cilantro. Puree to chunky, Pour in pan and add chicken stock, diced green chilies, chopped spinach, corn, and sugar. Heat and serve.   I like to eat it with a splash of lime and some crispy tortilla strips.

 Veggie Tips & Notes    

Beans –There are several varieties this week.   Rattlesnake, blue lake, three colored & the flat ones are a romano.   

Cabbage –  A small head this week.  Would be good braised or added into a stir fry.  I think most everyone has red, I might be short a couple if I was then you’ll have a green one.

Peppers – Rinse off, store in fridge.   This week, chocolate bell, poblano & Sweet Banana . 

Tomatoes Rinse off, pat dry.  Tomatoes don’t store well in the fridge, keep on a counter in a bowl.  I am pushing the ripeness this week, you may want to let them set out a day or two before eating.  You’ve also got a few green ones.

Cucumbers This time of year the skins on lemon cucumbers turn bitter.  No amount of water seems to cure it, be sure to peel before you eat.

Eggplant–  You either had summer squash or eggplant.  Next week hopefully you will have the other.

Salad Mix–  As I’ve been walking around I’m seeing some, when I go out to really get stuff picked I hope to scrounge up enough to make a small bag for everyone.  Darn ducks, they’re hard on lettuce and have eaten at least two beds worth.  We can’t figure out where they get in at.  But we know where they eat.

What’s Growing    WOAH!!!  That’s what happened this week, not a general slow down, just a quit on production.  Went out today (Wednesday) to check on stuff and see what is ready to go for tomorrow, cucumbers, beans and squash have just up and quit.  I found a few and only a few baby veggies growing.  If it doesn’t get too cold hopefully we will have one more week of them.  Eggplants got covered, tomatoes are covered, and melons are covered.  Keep your fingers crossed that will provide enough warmth to get them to ripen.  There are lots of tomatoes on the vine, they are just all green.   Still waiting on corn.  The wind we had this last week blew everything over but it looks as if the roots are still in the ground.  If that is the case it will still grow and we can get a little bit in a week or so off the stalks.  Radishes look like they are doing good I might be able to get a small bunch together.

What’s up on the farm   Went out to work today and it was cold.  Not just chilly, but cold.  Came back in and grabbed a jacket.   I’ve noticed that even when the sun is out it is still slightly cold.  The evenings spent down at the football field turn chilly really quick when the sun goes down.   Which leaves me with a problem, it is still warm enough that the kids are really sweaty ….and really stinky so I would like to drive home with the windows down, but it is getting a might bit cold for that.  So do I suffer for 20 minutes or breathe fresh air?  When he has a buddy riding with him, I freeze and breathe, it is just too much.   What would I do without 14 year old  boys???    I’ve given up on waiting for a shearing crew this year.  We are small enough that we end up on the bottom of the list for a crew to come shear our dougs and grands.  This year it is looking like it will be really late, this weird summer weather has caused the crews to run way behind.   So I am finally going out with a knife and doing it myself.  It’s a tough job and I am not very good at it. I am, however very slow, it’s going to take me a long time.  First day out I worked at it for 3 hours.  Next morning I couldn’t even lift my arm above my head.  This will be a long few weeks.  I’m thinking that I will only do trees I know will be for harvest and have the crew come in after harvest to finish and repair what I did.  They can go through the entire farm in a day.  It is amazing to watch them work.  Drives the horses crazy they can hear the noise of the knives but can’t see the shearers.   They line up along the fences ears forward and all tensed up.  If something makes a loud noise somewhere else they start kicking and running (not that we would make loud noises to spook them or anything).  It is rather amusing to watch.  So when I’m not fretting over ripening tomatoes or get tired of exercising one arm I get to ride around on the tractor.  It is getting into cleanup mode to get ready for u-cuts.  The other day we spent some quality time moving rocks and lining the duck pond so the sides won’t cave in.  I need to get a few more rocks on the bottom of it to hold down the plastic, it is floating around right now.  Will probably have to pump it out again first.  It filled up pretty quick with the rain we have had.

 

Final Notes If you have given me a check in the last few weeks, or maybe even a month it will get deposited tomorrow.  I had everything ready to go and then the pickup it was in left.  Pickup will be home tonight so it will go into the bank tomorrow afternoon.  If there is any problem with this please let me know.  I apologize for not being prompt with the bookwork (I really dislike bookwork and procrastinate).    Canning shares are done.  I would have liked to get everyone a few more pickling cucumbers, but the plants just aren’t putting anything out.  I found enough the other day for one quart.  I’m glad my recipe lets me do them a quart at a time.  I am able to throw it in the water bath as I do tomatoes.   There are still lots of tomatillos, if you want some more of those let me know.

A final Final note.  As I was proofing this I noticed that there are things on the side saying something about making money from home.  or great opportunities.  I am working to try and get rid of that garbage.  Please know that it is not from me and I do not even want that junk on there so do not click on that stuff.  I only write about waht is happening on the farm on this blog.  I would never use it as a tool to sell something from someone else.  Thanks – Denise

CSA Basket September 22

In This Weeks Basket

    Beans – Tomato – Summer Squash – Cabbage  - Cucumbers – Greens – Peppers –

Recipe for the week………………  Green Tomato Salsa

2      Green Tomatoes
2      Smaller Peppers, your choice for color andheat.   
¼     Medium Onion (chopped finely)
2      Cloves Garlic (crushed)
2T   Cilantro (chopped)
2T   Lime juice
2T  Red Wine Vinegar
Salt & Pepper to taste
Pinch of sugar (to taste)

Finely chop and mix all ingredients.  Let sit for at least an  hour before eating. 

 Veggie Tips & Notes    

Beans –The plain green ones this week are blue lakes, or what I hope is blue lake.  It has been hard to find a seed source for the true blue lakes that I grew up with.   Mottled are still rattlesnake.  I really like these.   Some of you are back to the three colored beans again.   These are good blanched, mixed with a bit of fine chopped onion and tossed with Italian dressing, add some drained canned beans for more color and flavor.

Cabbage –  Just your plain green cabbage.   Rinse well and store in the fridge.  If  you want to store for a long time wrap in newspaper, they seem to keep better that way.  They will also keep in a cool place like that.  Should they be a bit wilted when it is time to use just slice and soak in cold water and it will crisp up.

Peppers – Rinse off, store in fridge.   We have Sweet Banana, Jalapeno, poblano and an Anaheim variety. 

Tomatoes–Rinse off, pat dry.  Tomatoes don’t store well in the fridge, keep on a counter in a bowl.

Cucumbers–This time of year the skins on lemon cucumbers turn bitter.  No amount of water seems to cure it, be sure to peel before you eat.

Herbs–  A few stems to go with the vegetables you got this week.

What’s Growing   Tomatoes are on, finally.  This week I am able to take care of a good part of the canning shares.  I  pick those tomatoes while they are still firm.  When they ripen completely before canning they may not have enough acid in them for canning.  I gave everyone a pass on tomatillos this week.  I’m doing some canning with them and plan to try a new recipe for using them.  Next week they’ll be back.  They are doing very well this year.  Still fighting deer, ducks and rabbits.  Next year I need to do a major reworking of the garden fence.  I’m thinking we’ll have to bury chicken wire to keep the ducks and rabbits out and maybe use… I don’t know 12’ reinforced concrete to keep the deer out?  The bucks have been putting their horns into the net fence and shredding it.   finally had some good heads of lettuce going but they were eaten by something or multiple things.  I find we are right on the edge for the size of the garden plot.  I need every bit of room to grow enough to give out and don’t have quite enough space to grow extra to keep all the critters fed as well as people.  Next year expand more than what was planned.  Just finished up with the final seed planting for fall, got some aisian greens, broccoli raab, radish and salad turnips in.  Am trying a small shorter time pea but it is pushing it day wise to get them grown before November.   It looks like we have a good set of kiwis this season, now they just have to get ripe.   Peppers are doing well, I see color starting to come on.  But we need everything to turn the corner for ripening within the next few days.   Weather doesn’t look in my favor for warm crops after this weekend.  Need to get those darn pvc hoops done.

What’s up on the farm   I can’t believe that it is fall already.  As I was cleaning up some rows of vegetables that were  done I grabbed some seed packets thinking I could get some more peas, cabbage broccoli and such planted to get you some extra vegetables. Then I looked at the packets and realized that by the time they get to their mature date it would be November.   So I had to put those away and plant more greens and fast growing things.  Hopefully we will have lots of greens and lettuces at the end of October.  I am just not sure where this season has gone.  There is only a few weeks till I really need to switch gears and start to think about tree harvest and getting ready for that.  I am not ready for Christmas yet.  Have you been to Costco lately?  They already have Christmas stuff out.  I couldn’t believe it!  We drained the duck pond the other day and I am hoping we can get it lined and rocked before rains come.  It is slowly caving in on the sides and we  need to get the banks stabilized.  Maybe once that is done it won’t be quite so muddy and nasty looking, although I doubt it, ducks make water filthy fast.   The part we have done looks really nice and it would be a pretty little pond if we could keep the water clean.  It’s actually all the runoff from the roofs.  It helps keep the field where the minis and Nahla live drier.  Our mamma duck who was sitting on the second batch of eggs abandoned them.  I think something was  bothering her.    Next year as soon as we see nests being built we’ll move them into a pen.  Way too many things to remember for next year, it makes my brain hurt.    We’re looking at putting a few beefs on the place next year so are trying to figure out fences for those guys.  We want to be able to run turkeys and chickens with them so the fences need to keep birds in and coyotes out or all we’ll be raising is coyote food.   We’ve recently acquired another rabbit so he needs a house built and it is time to think about breeding him to our female so we have baby bunnies for u-cut time.  I still haven’t made it to home depot for pvc to make more bed covers.  A stop tonight is shot as I have to rush back to Molalla for a meeting for our church’s women’s group.   Tomorrow however the kids are out of school so I have a whole day with them.  Our plan??? We’re moving rocks, weatherman just said it will rain on Sunday now in addition to Monday, Saturday is football day so that leaves us with Friday to get the pond lined and rocked.  There are just not enough hours in the day.

Final Notes Last week we had a computer malfunction so I couldn’t do the newsletter.  I did however write it by hand and then left the house without taking it with.  I planned on mailing it to everyone but somehow I blinked and it was already Tuesday of this week and I figured it would be just as easy to bring it to you today.  So… (in a long winded fashion) you have newsletters for last week and this week.  If you have a canning share and are interested, elderberries are ripe (wild purple ones).  Let me know if you would like some for juicing.  By itself they are not that great but it is a good addition to grape juice and elderberries are loaded with vitamin C.  We do have a limited amount and it is a rush to get them before the band tailed pigeons show up and wipe them out.  They are very effective eaters and can clear out all the trees in a couple of hours.  How do these guys know when stuff is ripe and where it is?   We lost the vast majority of the blueberries this year to a big swarm of cedar wax wings and robins.  They showed up, they ate, they left.  Haven’t seen them since.     Last note:  On the ducks, we have a herd of mad ones wandering everywhere squawking.  I am assuming it is because they don’t have their pond where they spend most of the day.  Guess I should drag out the kiddies pool for them.

CSA Basket 9-8

In This Weeks Basket  Celery –  Beans – Tomato – Summer Squash – Cabbage – Tomatillo – Cucumbers – Greens – Herbs

Recipe for the week………………  Braised Cabbage

• 6 slices bacon, cut into 1-inch strips
• 1 small onion    sliced thinly
• 2 bay leaves
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 large head cabbage, cored and thinly sliced or  shredded
• 1 bottle beer

Cook the bacon until crispy. Add the cabbage,  mix together.   Add the onion and bay leaves, season with salt and pepper. Pour beer over the cabbage, cover.   Braise until the cabbage is wilted (about 30 minutes), stir occasionally .  I have also occasionally added a hefty splash of vinegar to this recipe to make it more like sauerkraut.  Remove the bay leaves and serve immediately

 Veggie Tips & Notes   

Cucumbers –  The cucumbers are on.  Everyone has a bunch of them in several different kinds.
Beans –We have the normal mixture of 3 colors and  rattlesnake.    The 3 colored ones are getting toward the end of  eating size.   I would suggest they get cooked as opposed to eating raw.  We won’t see these again for a few weeks.

Cabbage –  Just your plain ole everyday green cabbage.  Would be good in a slaw in this heat.  My kids have loved a mix from Costco that is an Asian type of slaw.  I made it using lighthouses toasted sesame salad dressing and tossing in some chow mien noodles and toasted almond slices.  Turned out pretty good.  And much cheaper than the Costco mix.

Celery –  Was attacked in this last week or so by rust.  I’ve gone through and thinned them out hoping that this will save the rest of the plants from it.  You may see some spots on the leaves.

Tomatillos– Store these guys like you would a tomato, leave the husks on until you are ready to use them (they are not fond of the fridge).  Peel the husks off and rinse before using.   The more yellowish they are  the sweeter they will be.

Tomatoes –  After much anticipation…… Below is a quick list of some of the varieties you will be getting.

Sauce –            San Marzano…Elongated, meaty tomato.  They are good for salads & salsa.

Burbank Slicing…. Looks like a regular tomato, meatier than most.   Good for everything.

Cherry             Sweet 100 – Standard red cherry tomato

Sungold -  One of my favorites, super sweet and great on salads. Orangey color

Chocolate – brownish, has a flavor to it that is different, but good.  Not as sweet as Sungold.

Zebra  – Striped cherry, taste more like a regular cherry but with a bit of zip.

Salad               Red Alert – Good flavor, great size for quartering.

Beaver Lodge, Early Girl, Totem, –  These are all basic tomatoes, nothing spectacular about them except they were supposed to be early but still aren’t ripe.  They are a good all around  eating tomato.

 What’s Growing     Finally tomatoes!!  The heat we have had this week has really gotten them turning.  The peppers are doing good and I hope to have a few more for you next week.  I will see if I can at least hunt up a jalapeno or two to go with the tomatillos that are in this weeks basket.  We got one row of peas planted (shelling) and will plant another row of peas (sugar pod) in the next week.  The deer have been having a good time in the garden.  So lots of seedlings that I set out need to be replaced.  But at least I know where they are going and just have to put a seed in the right spot as opposed to starting them in the greenhouse and then moving them.  I find this year to be very odd in what is going good and what is not.  Cucumbers are producing like mad, my summer squash not so much, neither are my onions or
shallots this year.  I don’t know if it because they are in a new part of the garden that needs a lot more amendments to the soil or maybe a flaking out on my part because it is in the new part of the garden that is out there and I didn’t get all the hoses stretched and set up early.    Lettuce is having some real issues growing right now.  It is just too warm for it.  Tomorrow’s project is to work up the ground between the pole beans and plant some lettuce there.  It will get shade and some coolness from the beans.  About the time it gets cool the beans will be done to let in more sun.    As I was picking salad turnip today I noticed they had become even more worm infested.  I found a handful that looked okay, but when I cut into one it was already wormy.  The steers will love them.    I think I’ll put marigolds in the row when I plant the new batch and see if that helps.

What’s up on the farm  The temperature.  I seem to have spent most of the season complaining about the cold, now I am complaining about the heat.   All the cool season crops are growing poorly and the bugs seem to be proliferating.  I have been finding flea beetles everywhere.   But that will all soon change.  The extended outlook says by the end of next week we’ll be back into lower temps.   Ripen tomatoes ripen!  It is time to kick myself into gear and get started thinking about tree harvest.  I’ve already had one buyer come up and will
soon hopefully have another.  Which reminds me if you want to pretag your tree now is the time to do it.   Grands and dougs are still not sheared, but I can clip a tree while you tell me what you want taken off.   There is lots of cleanup work to get done, but I can’t mow now until the weather gets a little bit wetter, not feeling like a fine from the fire dept. for running equipment right now.    My clock is saying it is time to get busy loading up the pickup and get on my way.   Have a few extra errands to run tonight when I’m done.  The boy need a new set of cleats for his  cleats and I need some more vet wrap for the game on Saturday.  I am looking forward to the first game of the season.  Just wish it wasn’t going to be so hot.  He plays at 3:00pm.  According to the weatherman it should be a nice toasty 95+.

Final Notes On the tomatillos, it may be a bit hard to know what to do with them if you’re not into eating a lot of Mexican type food.  They can well, but you don’t really get enough to can.  I would suggest making up a batch of salsa verde with them.  It can get put in the freezer and then works great as an addition to chili or enchiladas later on.  Put it into a bigger plastic iplock bag and freeze flat.  Then you can break off chunks of it as you need it for recipes.  If you go to the farms blog on word press you  will find a good recipe for it from last year.   There was also another recipe for corn and tomatillo soup (Sept 10^th and 17^th of last year) but who wants to cook soup right now?   Tomatillos will also store for up to three weeks, just don’t put them in the fridge (but they need to be somewhere cool), the husks will turn brown and papery, but that doesn’t mean anything.

August 25th CSA Basket

In This Weeks Basket

 Beets – Arugula- Turnips – Summer Squash – Garlic- Cauliflower/Broccoli– Cucumbers – Greens – Beans

Recipe for the week……………………Pickled Beets

• Beets
• Sugar
• Vinegar
• Water

Scrub beets well, cut off tops and roots, but leave about a quarter to half inch of each on beet.  Boil in water for 5min (longer for larger beets).  Dunk in ice water, skins should slip off.  If they do not boil a bit longer.  Skin and cut into desired size.  Place in a pot with fresh water, just to cover.  Cook until beets are tender, not mushy.  Drain, reserve cooking liquid.  Mix equal parts of cooking liquid, sugar and vinegar.  Pour over beets and let sit several days in fridge before eating.  You can add salt, and other spices to adjust to your taste preference.  I sometimes throw a cinnamon stick or a few cloves into the pickling water.  Note: This is for a refrigerator picked beet that is intended to eat within a few weeks, not a beet to be canned.

  Veggie Tips & Notes

Cucumbers –  My apologies if you have had bitter cucumbers.  I had a smaller cucumber the other day and it was bitter when I bit into it.  I am hoping that the ones you have had are not bitter.  I have really put the water to them to try and get that bitter away.  Yuck.

Beans –There is a mixture of 3 colors, check each one out, they all taste a little different.

Garlic –  I spaced it last week and left it sitting in its basket where I loaded the pickup at.  So this week you will have it.

Beets –  They are a bit small, but this makes them the perfect size for pickling. 

Arugula –  I split what we had between everyone, it is not enough to make a salad, but it is enough for sandwiches.  It puts a different spicy bite on your sandwich, use it in place of lettuce.  Treat it as you would lettuce.

 The Heat –  I started out picking stuff this morning, and getting it into the shop where it is fairly cool (cool being a relative word, as opposed to what it is outside).   As I was putting together the first baskets I noticed that everything is wilted already, especially the broccoli/cauliflower.  Cut the ends and soak I cold water to perk back up.  Oh to have a huge cooler……..maybe someday.

Beet  & Turnip Greens–  You’ll notice they are not very good anymore.  You may be able to get a few tiny leaves from the middle of the beets (great in salads) but most of them should just hit the compost pile.  This fall we should have good greens from these vegetables again.  If it wasn’t for the heat I would just bring you the root.  Our steers are very fond of turnip and beet greens, …or just about anything green that isn’t their cow hay.

 
What’s Growing    The corn is finally gaining some ground this week and getting a bit taller.  But where are my tomatoes?  It is very discouraging.  My friends in the valley with gardens are having the same issue.  They have had one or two cherry tomatoes and that is it.   There is hope however, these last couple of nights it has actually been warm enough to sleep with my bedroom door open (it opens to the backyard).  Warm nights are what we need to help everything ripen up.  There is no salad this week, the deer broke through the fence and pretty much took care of the lettuce bed.  Keep your fingers crossed it can recover by next week, but I am not counting on it.  The weather is warm enough that the lettuce grows slowly.  But it is also a time when it gets bitter so if the deer were going to eat it they picked a good time.   Broccoli and cauliflower are done for now.  They were growing too slowly and not producing well so everything was pulled and I put new transplants in their place.  We still have that row of what is supposed to be purple sprouting broccoli that is not putting out heads.  I hope that will do so soon so we can get a little bit of broccoli.  Turnips are almost finished, one more week for sure, maybe two.  We should have tomatillos starting next week.  There are quite a few that have almost filled out their husks.  By next week we should have lots of them.   I am planning on pulling beets today, not happy with how they grew, but that is my fault (planted too densely around cabbage).   We’ll have baby beets for this go; I’ll put a winter carrot where the beets are now and then plant a new batch of beets where I just pulled broccoli plants from.  We should be eating those by October.   Maybe by October we will have some corn too.   Cabbages are looking good, we should have some of those soon.  If you are interested in a large head of kraut cabbage be sure to let me know.  I planted a few extra, they will be $.35lb.  If you have a canning share let me know if you want cabbage as a part of your share.

What is happening on the farm    Boy what a frustrating  and long week.  I am glad it is just about over.  Have deliveries today & tomorrow along with another trip back to the big town.  Guys coming from church on Saturday to help with firewood, then football games and I’ll finish it off with a birthday bbq on Sunday (hence the trip to town for supplies and a present).  And that is the slow part of the week.  Been fighting birds who are eating my blueberries, deer decided since they couldn’t go over the garden fence they might go through it; and they did.  I think most everything that could have gone wrong did.  Topped it off this morning by waking up to mamma duck squawking in a panic.  When I looked out the window I saw her running by and a long brown shape loping down the grass road between the house and the Christmas trees.  I  also heard peeping as it went by.  We lost the last three babies to the coyote.   Our duck raising is not getting off to a good start.  Next time I think we will build a pen to put mamma duck in to keep her and babies safe.    I have been worried that this would happen because she was bringing the babies out so early every morning, but I don’t think it is possible to explain that to the duck.  My daughter tells me that she will just take the babies from the mammas and raise them herself so they live.  We’ll see about that.  It is getting too late in the season to let anybody set eggs now, we’ll start pulling them from nests.     I can hear mamma duck outside calling for her babies, it has been sad to hear her all morning.

Final Notes Next week, we will have extra beans, cucumbers and summer squash.  If you would like some of those drop me a line and let me know how much.  I’ll get back to you to confirm we’ve got them and how much it comes to.