September 18, 2007
CSA Newsletter
September 18, 2007
Gardening is a kind of disease. It infects you, you cannot escape it. When you go visiting, your eyes rove about the garden; you interrupt the serious cocktail drinking because of an irresistible impulse to get up and pull a weed. ~Lewis Gannit
Well, the thermometer is reading a chilly 32 degrees out in the field this morning. No rain turning into snow though, as the weather gave us a chance of. The greenhouse reached a low of 57 degrees (lowest it’s been yet). I am pretty impressed with that, considering we don’t have the insulated curtains in yet. This building is working quite well so far. All summer I was able to stay within 4 degrees of the outside temps during the hottest part of the day. I was really pleased with that, I had worries that the building would get much warmer. The design of our passive ventilation system and the burying of the back half of the building seem to work really well in mitigating the mid day heat. Phwew!
The Harvest
½# salad mix (yes, only ½ #....do I hear a collective sigh of relief?)
½# mature spinach (not everyone will get)
¾# Brassica mix
¼# basil
All Blue Potatoes
Tomatoes
Carrots
Beets
Rossa Di Milano and Gold Coin onions
Squash (not everyone will get)
Edible flowers (not everyone will get)
The News
Although I appreciate the thought behind it – please do not bring me your used plastic baggies. I can’t do anything with them. It’s up to you to reuse and recycle those at home. But….we will take your egg cartons if you have any. Just put them on one of the tables – thanks.
All Blue Potatoes – Yum! And sooooo beautiful. Be careful though, purple potatoes cook faster than other varieties and get mealy when over cooked.
This is the last of the squash – the plants froze after their covering blew off two nights ago.
The onions have mostly cured, and you will be seeing them till the end of the CSA. If you would like to buy extra onions to get you through the winter, let me know. One of the varieties – Valencia is a great storage onion.
I get lots of questions about cover crops, so I thought I would send out a little information on them. A cover crop is meant to improve the soil in some way. Different crops improve the soil in different ways. Legumes work with bacteria (Rhizobium bacteria) that live in their root zone to fix nitrogen into the soil. The two legumes that I mostly commonly use are Hairy Vetch and Crimson Clover. This year I did get a cover mix that had Biomass Field Peas in it. That was the mix that you saw growing rampant on the terraces. Grasses and grains generally provide organic matter and minerals. (Actually, all cover crops provide these when they are tilled back into the soil, or put into the compost pile.) There are some root crops that are used as cover crops because their deep roots bring minerals from deeper in the soil to the root zone of some of our more common food crops. Oilseed radishes for instance, have very long roots that penetrate deeper into the soil than say, lettuce or tomato roots. The oilseed radish roots access minerals that are out of reach of the other crops. When those radish roots are tilled in, or composted, those minerals become available for the next crop that is planted there (or that is composted with that compost). The carrots and beets that we plant for food crops do the same thing, it’s just that we eat them and get those minerals instead of putting them back into the soil.
Another thing I take into consideration with cover crops is what the plants actually look like. Many cover crops have flowers that attract beneficial insects; Buckwheat, Clover, and Peas are some examples.
I try to make sure that each bed gets a cover crop for every two food crops. Sometimes a bed will get more cover crops then that, depending on what kind of food crop it had previously. Some crops take more from the soil than others. Tomatoes, for instance, are a very heavy feeder, while lettuce is not.
Right now in the garden I am trying to get a cover crop into all the beds that won’t have a late fall lettuce or root crop, garlic, or flower bulbs in it. The new field is also planted in cover crop (a combination of Rye Grain and Hairy Vetch). In the greenhouse I am working on a balance between cover crops and winter crops.
The Recipe
Greens Sautéed with Garlic, Raisins, and Pine Nuts
2 large bunches hearty greens (about 1.5#) – the Brassica mix will be perfect for this
¼ cup packed raisins
3 tbsp olive oil
7 large cloves garlic – minced
½ cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
1 small red onion, very thinly sliced
¼ tsp salt
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Bring ½ cup water to a boil in a large nonreactive pot over medium-high heat. Gradually add the greens, stirring them down with each addition. When all the greens have been added and are well wilted, add the raisins, partially cover the pot, and reduce the heat to medium. Cook, stirring occasionally and adding more water if necessary, until the greens are very tender, about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine the oil and garlic in a skillet and cook over medium heat until the garlic is soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the pine nuts, remove from the heat, and set aside.
In a small bowl, toss together the onion and salt and set aside.
When the greens are cooked, pour off any liquid remaining in the pot without draining thoroughly so the greens remain moist. Stir in the vinegar and garlic oil. Transfer to a serving dish, arrange the wilted onions over the top and serve right away.
** I told some people about a squash and goat cheese soup last week. I will send out that recipe in the morning when I have it.
That’s all for this week. See you soon.
Daisy
September 18, 2007
Gardening is a kind of disease. It infects you, you cannot escape it. When you go visiting, your eyes rove about the garden; you interrupt the serious cocktail drinking because of an irresistible impulse to get up and pull a weed. ~Lewis Gannit
Well, the thermometer is reading a chilly 32 degrees out in the field this morning. No rain turning into snow though, as the weather gave us a chance of. The greenhouse reached a low of 57 degrees (lowest it’s been yet). I am pretty impressed with that, considering we don’t have the insulated curtains in yet. This building is working quite well so far. All summer I was able to stay within 4 degrees of the outside temps during the hottest part of the day. I was really pleased with that, I had worries that the building would get much warmer. The design of our passive ventilation system and the burying of the back half of the building seem to work really well in mitigating the mid day heat. Phwew!
The Harvest
½# salad mix (yes, only ½ #....do I hear a collective sigh of relief?)
½# mature spinach (not everyone will get)
¾# Brassica mix
¼# basil
All Blue Potatoes
Tomatoes
Carrots
Beets
Rossa Di Milano and Gold Coin onions
Squash (not everyone will get)
Edible flowers (not everyone will get)
The News
Although I appreciate the thought behind it – please do not bring me your used plastic baggies. I can’t do anything with them. It’s up to you to reuse and recycle those at home. But….we will take your egg cartons if you have any. Just put them on one of the tables – thanks.
All Blue Potatoes – Yum! And sooooo beautiful. Be careful though, purple potatoes cook faster than other varieties and get mealy when over cooked.
This is the last of the squash – the plants froze after their covering blew off two nights ago.
The onions have mostly cured, and you will be seeing them till the end of the CSA. If you would like to buy extra onions to get you through the winter, let me know. One of the varieties – Valencia is a great storage onion.
I get lots of questions about cover crops, so I thought I would send out a little information on them. A cover crop is meant to improve the soil in some way. Different crops improve the soil in different ways. Legumes work with bacteria (Rhizobium bacteria) that live in their root zone to fix nitrogen into the soil. The two legumes that I mostly commonly use are Hairy Vetch and Crimson Clover. This year I did get a cover mix that had Biomass Field Peas in it. That was the mix that you saw growing rampant on the terraces. Grasses and grains generally provide organic matter and minerals. (Actually, all cover crops provide these when they are tilled back into the soil, or put into the compost pile.) There are some root crops that are used as cover crops because their deep roots bring minerals from deeper in the soil to the root zone of some of our more common food crops. Oilseed radishes for instance, have very long roots that penetrate deeper into the soil than say, lettuce or tomato roots. The oilseed radish roots access minerals that are out of reach of the other crops. When those radish roots are tilled in, or composted, those minerals become available for the next crop that is planted there (or that is composted with that compost). The carrots and beets that we plant for food crops do the same thing, it’s just that we eat them and get those minerals instead of putting them back into the soil.
Another thing I take into consideration with cover crops is what the plants actually look like. Many cover crops have flowers that attract beneficial insects; Buckwheat, Clover, and Peas are some examples.
I try to make sure that each bed gets a cover crop for every two food crops. Sometimes a bed will get more cover crops then that, depending on what kind of food crop it had previously. Some crops take more from the soil than others. Tomatoes, for instance, are a very heavy feeder, while lettuce is not.
Right now in the garden I am trying to get a cover crop into all the beds that won’t have a late fall lettuce or root crop, garlic, or flower bulbs in it. The new field is also planted in cover crop (a combination of Rye Grain and Hairy Vetch). In the greenhouse I am working on a balance between cover crops and winter crops.
The Recipe
Greens Sautéed with Garlic, Raisins, and Pine Nuts
2 large bunches hearty greens (about 1.5#) – the Brassica mix will be perfect for this
¼ cup packed raisins
3 tbsp olive oil
7 large cloves garlic – minced
½ cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
1 small red onion, very thinly sliced
¼ tsp salt
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Bring ½ cup water to a boil in a large nonreactive pot over medium-high heat. Gradually add the greens, stirring them down with each addition. When all the greens have been added and are well wilted, add the raisins, partially cover the pot, and reduce the heat to medium. Cook, stirring occasionally and adding more water if necessary, until the greens are very tender, about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine the oil and garlic in a skillet and cook over medium heat until the garlic is soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the pine nuts, remove from the heat, and set aside.
In a small bowl, toss together the onion and salt and set aside.
When the greens are cooked, pour off any liquid remaining in the pot without draining thoroughly so the greens remain moist. Stir in the vinegar and garlic oil. Transfer to a serving dish, arrange the wilted onions over the top and serve right away.
** I told some people about a squash and goat cheese soup last week. I will send out that recipe in the morning when I have it.
That’s all for this week. See you soon.
Daisy
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