Market plans, August 27

This past week we ended up with an unexpected 4-figure plumbing issue that at least didn't do any long-term damage, though it certainly wiped out any profit we might have made lately. August is always a bit of a slog, as we start to get tired and look forward to fall, but it's been especially frustrating this year. On the good side, the weather has been gorgeous lately and our latest plantings of squash and cucumbers are performing wonderfully at the moment. We've also had good yields on small plantings of watermelons and cantaloupe, which are grown only for us but have been delightful additions to our summer diet.

I'd like to be writing more for the blog; there are no end of both on-farm and larger policy issues to discuss and document. But it's just too busy, I'm too tired, and  have wanted to spend that precious sitting-down time on other things like good books or napping. Apologies for a less regular blog lately, but it's free, so that's life.

MARKET THIS WEEK

Photos below are from this time, 2010, but are a good representation of some market items available this weekend, though the variety ratios may be a bit different. Just a reminder, everything we sell at market is only a few days old* and should have a shelf life throughout the week or longer; save yourself mid-week shopping by picking up a good supply of produce.

*Exceptions being cured and shelf-stable items like garlic and onions.

Summer squash: Lots of small, tender, high-quality squash for all sorts of uses. We go through many pounds of these a week ourselves. The short, stubby ones in the photo above weren't grown this year, but the other varieties are the same.
Cucumbers:  A mix of standard greens, sweet heirloom yellow/whites, and picklers. The whites and yellows are extra-sweet but seedier, while the greens are pretty standard. Pickles, cucumber salads, gazpacho, fresh snacks...there are many ways to use lots of fresh cucumbers.
Hot peppers: Green anaheim & jalapeno hot peppers. Stuff anaheims with chevre and roast for a tasty meal or snack; roast with tomatoes and/or tomatillos for excellent salsa; include in any sauce or stew for good flavor and a light heat. Jalapenos make great salsa and more.
Sweet peppers: Red and yellow sweet peppers are starting to yield well, though slowly. We don't grow full sized bell peppers, but we've found several varieties of open-pollinated/heirloom sweet peppers that we think have amazing flavor and can be used just like bell peppers. These include: Doe Hill Golden Bell, a sweet, roundish, yellow-orange pepper that is Joanna's favorite; Sheepnose Pimento, a sweet red pepper shaped similarly to the Doe Hill; Chervena Chushka, a pointy sweet red pepper with nice thick walls (& very slow to ripen this year); and Jimmy Nardello's Italian Frying Pepper, an all-purpose narrow pointy pepper that is Eric's favorite.
Salad/sauce tomatoes: Golf-ball-sized tomatoes with firm, meaty flesh and good flavor. Great for roasted salsas or sauces; also for salads because they hold together and don't splort everywhere.
Edamame: This should be the largest amount we'll have at once this year. We're in the heart of the last good plantings; those after this were devastated by voles and rabbits and will be producing little to nothing. These may last more than 15 minutes for once!
Okra: Two varieties, really producing well right now. Fry it in salted cornmeal, add to soups/stews/beans, use in Indian cooking...Okra also freezes very easily; just pop it in a freezer bag (no blanching) for easy use in winter stews. We freeze it by the gallon this way.
Garlic: All varieties available this week. Roast it, grill it, make salsa, make pesto...what meal doesn't use garlic this time of year?

Herbs: Parsley, sage, thyme, mint, tarragon, oregano, green coriander, and possibly more depending on what looks good at harvest time.
 
NO LONGER AVAILABLE
 
Cherry & slicer tomatoes are done; disease is rapidly taking hold and reducing both yields and quality below what we're willing to take to market. Another, later planting of regular tomatoes is also going downhill fast and may not yield much fruit. Other folks we know have also struggled with tomatoes this year, which is really frustrating given that we expected the dry weather to reduce problems compared to the wetness of the last few years. Such is farming.
 
Tomatillos are done, too, for similar reasons. These always start to tail off about this time, and we want to hold back the remaining harvests for our own preservation, as we haven't put many up yet.

Market plans, August 20

Finally received some rain on Tuesday, 0.77", which is far from enough to truly break our local drought but still very welcome.

NEW THIS WEEK

Summer squash: Our nice mix of young heirloom varieties returns from a new, healthy planting. Should be a good quantity of these, with so many uses.

Cucumbers: After our first planting was a near-complete failure, the second planting looks great and we'll have some early-ripening fruits. A mix of standard greens, sweet heirloom yellow/whites, and picklers.

ALSO AVAILABLE


Hot peppers: Green Anaheim & jalapeno hot peppers.

Sweet peppers: Red and yellow sweet peppers are just beginning to ripen. We don't grow full sized bell peppers, but we've found several varieties of open-pollinated/heirloom sweet peppers that we think have amazing flavor and can be used just like bell peppers. These include: Doe Hill Golden Bell, a sweet, roundish, yellow-orange pepper that is Joanna's favorite; Sheepnose Pimento, a sweet red pepper shaped similarly to the Doe Hill; Chervena Chushka, a pointy sweet red pepper with nice thick walls; and Jimmy Nardello's Italian Frying Pepper, an all-purpose narrow pointy pepper that is Eric's favorite.

Cherry tomatoes: Heirloom mix, lots of different flavors and colors. Really producing well; we're actually harvesting significantly more than are selling, which is very frustrating. We've been drying them in large lots, 10+ pounds at a time, which makes for great winter food but is a lot of lost income.

Tomatoes:  These, on the other hand, are struggling with disease and pests. We won't be bringing any slicers this week, reserving the harvest for our own home canning, but will have a good quantity of the smaller roasting/salad tomatoes which are very good for salsas and sauces.
Edamame: Get there at opening bell if you want them. One of the few things we can't match demand on, but we just can't handle the picking time and labor it would take to seriously increase our production. If you miss them at market, try Root Cellar.
Okra: Two varieties, really producing well right now. Fry it in salted cornmeal, add to soups/stews/beans, use in Indian cooking...Okra also freezes very easily; just pop it in a freezer bag (no blanching) for easy use in winter stews. We freeze it by the gallon this way.

Tomatillos: For a really easy, excellent sauce, spread tomatillos, tomatoes, garlic, and peppers on a baking tray, coat all with a bit of oil, and roast at 400 for 30 minutes before blending and adding salt. That's all it takes.
Garlic: All varieties available this week. Roast it, grill it, make salsa, make pesto...what meal doesn't use garlic this time of year?
Herbs: Parsley, sage, thyme, mint, tarragon, oregano, epazote, maybe a last little bit of basil, and possibly more depending on what looks good at harvest time.

Market plans, August 13

We had family visiting most of this week, which went very well and was great fun, but naturally means we're now behind on many tasks. Thankfully the current and upcoming cool weather will help us catch up. It's still very dry here; we've had little to no meaningful rain even with widespread storms multiple times in the area and across the state over the last week. Our pastures and paths have deep, spreading cracks in them and anything not on irrigation is looking decidedly parched.

Mid-August is a difficult time to farm near a college town. Everything kind of dies for a few weeks as people take vacation, prepare for the semester, etc. The restaurants we work with recognize this down-turn, and don't order much (if at all) because business is slow (Sycamore closes for a week of vacation), and market has not been very good lately. Yet, of course, this is the natural peak of summer production with lots of fresh items coming on regularly that can't/shouldn't be stored long, and farmers are all trying to sell the abundance to a limited audience. So we're doing lots of home food preservation and cursing the lost revenue. Last week we couldn't sell out of tomatoes or cherry tomatoes, and garlic sales are noticeably slower than last year. Okra has done surprisingly well. Overall I'm seeing a lot of produce unsold at the end of market, across the board. More vendors, less customers/customer spending, more production per vendor, equals lower sales and income. Frustrating. But every meal we prepare and eat at this time of year is deliciously fresh & flavorful, so that counts for something at least.

This week's market will look a lot like last week's, with possible (or soon) addition of cucumbers and squash, both of which are close to yielding on a new planting.

AVAILABLE THIS WEEK

Hot peppers: Green Anaheim & jalapeno hot peppers.

Sweet peppers: Red and yellow sweet peppers are just beginning to ripen. We don't grow full sized bell peppers, but we've found several varieties of open-pollinated/heirloom sweet peppers that we think have amazing flavor and can be used just like bell peppers. These include: Doe Hill Golden Bell, a sweet, roundish, yellow-orange pepper that is Joanna's favorite; Sheepnose Pimento, a sweet red pepper shaped similarly to the Doe Hill; Chervena Chushka, a pointy sweet red pepper with nice thick walls; and Jimmy Nardello's Italian Frying Pepper, an all-purpose narrow pointy pepper that is Eric's favorite.
Cherry tomatoes: Heirloom mix, lots of different flavors and colors. At peak of production right now.

Basil: There are so many things you can do with lots of basil: make pesto, put leaves on sandwiches, add to Thai/Asian cooking, infuse in sugar syrups for desserts and drinks, etc. It's also easy to preserve, either by making and freezing pesto, or by packing the leaves directly into olive oil and freezing in small jars. Basil will store well in a jar of water on the counter; it will turn brown in the refrigerator. We're harvesting from our last planting of basil, and availability may begin to dimish after this week.
Edamame: Get there at opening bell if you want them. One of the few things we can't match demand on, but we just can't handle the picking time and labor it would take to seriously increase our production. If you miss them at market, try Root Cellar.

Tomatoes: Small-medium slicers, red and orange. Dry weather is contributing to very nice flavor and quality, great for all tomato uses. Some of the tomato plants are experiencing an outbreak of what we believe is tomato spotted wilt virus; this isn't affecting fruit quality but it may cut the harvest short.

Okra: Two varieties, really producing well right now. Fry it in salted cornmeal, add to soups/stews/beans, use in Indian cooking...Okra also freezes very easily; just pop it in a freezer bag (no blanching) for easy use in winter stews. We freeze it by the gallon this way.
Tomatillos:  For a really easy, excellent sauce, spread tomatillos, tomatoes, garlic, and peppers on a baking tray, coat all with a bit of oil, and roast at 400 for 30 minutes before blending and adding salt. That's all it takes.

Garlic: All varieties available this week. Roast it, grill it, make salsa, make pesto...what meal doesn't use garlic this time of year?

Herbs: Parsley, sage, thyme, mint, tarragon, and possibly more depending on what looks good at harvest time.

Market plans, August 6

Busy week, and we have family visiting next week. Still dry; we got around 0.6" Saturday but nothing since. Our July rainfall totalled 2.03". Tuesday's high of 107º resulted in some sun-scalded tomatoes, but the coming week's forecast back in the high 80s/low 90s looks quite attractive. Planting/seeding of fall crops needs to happen this time of year, but is hard to get right under these especially hot and dry conditions. Harvest work takes up more and more time as all the summer production really takes hold; the next plantings of cucumbers and beans are growing fast, while squash is about to start yielding again. Add home food preservation of fruits and vegetables, and you have two very busy farmers here.

NEW THIS WEEK

Peppers: Possibly the first few hot and sweet peppers; plants are loaded and starting to ripen.

AVAILABLE THIS WEEK


Cherry tomatoes: Heirloom mix, lots of different flavors and colors. Nearing peak of production right now.

Basil: This is at peak quality right now. There are so many things you can do with lots of basil: make pesto, put leaves on sandwiches, add to Thai/Asian cooking, infuse in sugar syrups for desserts and drinks, etc. It's also easy to preserve, either by making and freezing pesto, or by packing the leaves directly into olive oil and freezing in small jars. Basil will store well in a jar of water on the counter; it will turn brown in the refrigerator.

Lime basil: We'll have a limited quantity of lime basil. Lime basil is excellent when infused in a sugar syrup and served over peaches. We've also added it to shortbread cookies and served it minced in cucumber salad. All very tasty. Already close to the end of production.
Edamame: Get there at opening bell if you want them. One of the few things we can't match demand on, but we just can't handle the picking time and labor it would take to seriously increase our production. If you miss them at market, try Root Cellar.
Tomatoes: Small-medium slicers, red and orange. Dry weather is contributing to very nice flavor and quality, great for all tomato uses. Some of the tomato plants are experiencing an outbreak of what we believe is tomato spotted wilt virus; this isn't affecting fruit quality but it may cut the harvest short.

Okra: Two varieties, really producing well right now. Fry it in salted cornmeal, add to soups/stews/beans, use in Indian cooking...Okra also freezes very easily; just pop it in a freezer bag (no blanching) for easy use in winter stews. We freeze it by the gallon this way.

Tomatillos: These had a sudden spike in production in our Monday restaurant harvest, so there should be a lot at market this week. For a really easy, excellent sauce, spread tomatillos, tomatoes, garlic, and peppers on a baking tray, coat all with a bit of oil, and roast at 400 for 30 minutes before blending and adding salt. That's all it takes.
Garlic: All varieties available this week. Roast it, grill it, make salsa, make pesto...what meal doesn't use garlic this time of year?
Herbs: Parsley, sage, thyme, mint, dill heads, and possibly more depending on what looks good at harvest time.

Bird list & other natural events, July 2011

A hot, dry month, but lots going on in the farm's natural world. Multiple bird species are nesting and raising young, including these eastern phoebe chicks:

The above-left chick was first to leave home, surviving the two-story drop from its nest on an upper-level light beneath our roof eave. Its siblings, above right, took a little longer to get up their nerve. Anthropomorphization or not, I just love the expression on that chick's face.

Our local pair of broad-winged hawks, which we've been watching carrying food into a nest site somewhere on the ridge west of our field, seem to have successfully raised their chick as well. We were able to observe some of the first flights of the young hawk; the parents continued to bring it food while teaching it to fly and hunt. They use a very different "language" when interacting with their chick, just as domestic birds do, and it was a real treat to observe this first-hand. After a few weeks of all three cruising together along the field, they seem to have partially separated, as one (we presume the juvenile) has started exploring other areas of the farm that we haven't seen the adults on all year (they're still in their old territory).

Other, somewhat less welcome, species have also been around. Below left, a cowbird chick in an indigo bunting nest. Cowbirds don't raise their own young, but parasitize other species by leaving their eggs in the nests of smaller birds. When the larger cowbird chick hatches, it demands and gets all the attention of the parents to the detriment of the natural young. Under this big-mouthed brute are two much smaller bunting chicks it's all but trampled to the bottom of the nest.

Below right, our first skunk of the year, in a field live trap intended for raccoons. I draped an old sheet over the trap to quiet it (and block any emissions), hooked a long rope to one end, and gently dragged it off away from the vegetables before gingerly opening the trap and letting it loose. I'm really glad it didn't cut loose on any produce.

We were able to take a few hours away from the farm in mid-July, and headed down to Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area to see what birds were around mid-summer, while taking a first-hand look at the rising Missouri River. The loose rock rip-rap below this picnic bench (below left) serves as a winter hibernaculum for various snakes; we've often seen throngs of them here in the spring and fall. Good thing they're all dispersed for summer. I managed to get a nice shot of a dickcissell (below right), a prairie bird we hope will start appearing on the farm as we clear and restore more land.

JULY BIRDS ON THE FARM

Lots of birds are in various parts of the nesting cycle, making them more or less easy to observe and hear at various parts of the month. Our daily records are too detailed for this post, but help us notice when something vanishes and reappears, often a good indication of nesting behavior. This is effectively the same list as June, with a few oddballs coming and going.

PRESENT IN JULY (42 species)
Great Blue Heron
Turkey Vulture
Red-shouldered Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
Red-Tailed Hawk
Mourning Dove
Yellow-Billed Cuckoo
Barred Owl
Whip-poor-will
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
Eastern Wood-Peewee
Eastern Phoebe
Great Crested Flycatcher
White-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Tufted Titmouse
Black-cappeed Chickadee
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
Blue-grey Gnatcatcher
American Robin
Wood Thrush
Northern Parula
Louisiana Waterthrush
Kentucky Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Summer Tanager
Scarlet Tanager
Northern Cardinal
Indigo Bunting
Eastern Towhee
Field Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Brown-headed Cowbird
American Goldfinch

UNCONFIRMED
Black and White Warbler (heard)

Black-Crowned Night Heron (pretty sure I saw a pair fly over one evening)
Juvenile Bald Eage (we both saw this, but it flew over too fast)
Eastern Bluebird (think we heard multiple times, but no definite record)
MISSING FROM LAST MONTH
Brown Thrasher