6/09/2009
CSA Newsletter
June 9, 2009
Since WWII, American farmers have increased their use of agricultural pesticides tenfold – to about one billion pounds (500,000 tons) per year, yet crop loss due to agricultural pests has doubled.
Dr. Arden Anderson, Science in Agriculture
The Harvest
¾# salad greens
*¼# arugula
½# spinach
*1 bunch herbs (tarragon, oregano, thyme, or mint)
2 oz basil (not everyone will get this week)
1 bunch radish (not everyone will get this week)
1 oz edible flowers (only a few people will get this each week, I’ll just be working my way down the list……)
* The arugula is probably going to be a little wet and muddy this week from all the rain, so make sure you give it a good wash and dry when you get it home
* If you find you keep getting the same herb bunch week after week feel free to swap out for another type of herb. There will usually be a box of extra herb bunches in the cooler for our “a la carte” customers. It will say “herb bunches $2” – swap your bunch out for another variety in that box if you would like. You can also buy additional herb bunches from that box!
This week there will also be additional bags of salad mix ($7.50), spinach ($5) and arugula ($4) in the cooler for sale.
Nutritional Tip (and other fun factoids)
Oregano is native to Europe, the Mediterranean region, and South and Central Asia. It is high in antioxidant activity due to a high content of phenolic acids and flavonoids. Oregano also demonstrates antimicrobial activity against food-borne pathogens such as Listeria monocytogens. Both of these characteristics make Oregano great for food health and food preservation.
In the Philippines Oregano is mostly used medicinally, for relieving children’s coughs. In a mild tea it has a soothing effect and aides in restful sleep. Used topically, Oregano is one of the best antiseptics because of its high thymol content.
Beyond all that, as I am sure you all know, Oregano is widely used in Italian and Greek cuisine.
Bee Talk
You got it! This is the section where Doug (our Bee Guy) will give you periodic updates on our bee hive. I’ll just turn it right over to Doug:
We’ve got Bees! This spring here at the farm we brought in a hive of about 6 thousand European “Carolina” honey bees, to help make the farm that much more self-sufficient and benefit not only the vegetable and flower crops but the surrounding flowers and fields. As this is the first year for the bees and us, the amount of honey harvested in the fall may be small if any. The bees need a fair amount to remain in the hive to eat over the winter. We are going to play it pretty safe this fall and leave quite a bit as we don’t know exactly how cold and long the winter will be and how it will impact the hive. The bees are genetically classified as “Carolina” and have been raised in the Baltic states of Eastern Europe for hundreds of years. We selected this type due to there ability to over winter in particularly cold regions well. They are very docile and are for the most part unconcerned about people or animals. They are actively gathering nectar and pollen, building honeycomb and raising the hundreds of new bees. The hive population is about 16-18 thousand as of early June. About two to four hundred new bees are born every day! Feel free to walk over and check out the hive the next time you visit the farm. It is on the west side of the green house. If you watch from the end of the wood chip path you should be able to see the girls coming and going. The hive front door is at the base of the hive boxes. As mentioned before the bees are very docile and will not even notice you are there so long as you stay clear of the front entrance “flight path”. There is an empty hive currently sitting near the gate entrance to the field you are welcome to open it up and see all of the parts up close and bee free. If you have questions about the hives or beekeeping pleas let me know. Thanks and cheers to a sweet summer season Doug (the beekeeper in training) cdfryer@yahoo.com
Here are a few photos of the bees:
This last photo is the one that Doug is referencing in the following sentences: “In one of the photos there is a cell on the honeycomb frame that looks like a small peanut. It is a queen cell. The bees may be in the process of replacing the current queen (like laying three or four hundred eggs ain't enough.. sheesh!).. This is apparently a normal thing based on the queen’s laying ability and age.
The News
Well, it’s been raining a lot as I am sure you’ve all noticed…..the greens are loving it and growing like weeds. The tomatoes in the greenhouse don’t seem to mind the cooler weather too much; we are starting to see some of the big heirloom tomatoes coloring up! We do seem to be having a bit of an aphid problem on the peppers and eggplant right now. We usually get some of that in the spring, and have good success treating it with Lady Bugs. The treatment seems to be taking a little longer this spring…. It seems the cooler weather is just perfect for the aphids….hence their proliferation. The good thing is that it doesn’t seem to be affecting fruit set at this point, so we have lots of fruit maturing on the peppers and eggplant.
The Lady Bugs are great at eating aphids, but their offspring are even better! The juvenile stage of the Lady Bug looks like this crazy little black and orange speckled dinosaur/alligator like thing. See if you can find any in the greenhouse! Leave them where they are though, they are hard at work.
The Recipe
This comes from Quail Hill Farm Cookbook.
Spinach Cottage Cheese Gratin
Preheat oven to 350. Oil an 8”X10” gratin dish. Cook 3 bunches of spinach with water still clinging to leaves in wide skillet until wilted. Press out and reserve liquid. Finely chop spinach. Beat 5 eggs with ½ cup chopped parsley, ½ tsp dill seeds, ½ tsp ground coriander, 1/2tsp salt and a little pepper. Add 2 cups small curd cottage cheese, spinach and reserve liquid. Bake for 45 minutes.
And this comes from Gardener’s Community Cookbook.
Arugula Lover’s Pesto
1 cup coarsely chopped arugula leaves
½ cup fresh parsley leaves
½ cup coarsely cut winter greens (such as Mizuna or giant red mustard)
½ cup walnut halves or pieces
2 to 4 garlic cloves, to taste
1 to jalapenos, stemmed, seeded and coarsely chopped, to taste
½ tsp salt
½ cup parmesan cheese
½ cup olive oil
Wash the arugula, parsley, and winter greens all together and let drip dry in a colander.
Pulverize the walnuts in a food processor. Add the remaining ingredients, including the still-moist greens, and process until minced as fine as possible. Use right away or store in the refrigerator for up to a week.
That’s all for this week, hope the kids are enjoying the beginning of their summer break!
Daisy
June 9, 2009
Since WWII, American farmers have increased their use of agricultural pesticides tenfold – to about one billion pounds (500,000 tons) per year, yet crop loss due to agricultural pests has doubled.
Dr. Arden Anderson, Science in Agriculture
The Harvest
¾# salad greens
*¼# arugula
½# spinach
*1 bunch herbs (tarragon, oregano, thyme, or mint)
2 oz basil (not everyone will get this week)
1 bunch radish (not everyone will get this week)
1 oz edible flowers (only a few people will get this each week, I’ll just be working my way down the list……)
* The arugula is probably going to be a little wet and muddy this week from all the rain, so make sure you give it a good wash and dry when you get it home
* If you find you keep getting the same herb bunch week after week feel free to swap out for another type of herb. There will usually be a box of extra herb bunches in the cooler for our “a la carte” customers. It will say “herb bunches $2” – swap your bunch out for another variety in that box if you would like. You can also buy additional herb bunches from that box!
This week there will also be additional bags of salad mix ($7.50), spinach ($5) and arugula ($4) in the cooler for sale.
Nutritional Tip (and other fun factoids)
Oregano is native to Europe, the Mediterranean region, and South and Central Asia. It is high in antioxidant activity due to a high content of phenolic acids and flavonoids. Oregano also demonstrates antimicrobial activity against food-borne pathogens such as Listeria monocytogens. Both of these characteristics make Oregano great for food health and food preservation.
In the Philippines Oregano is mostly used medicinally, for relieving children’s coughs. In a mild tea it has a soothing effect and aides in restful sleep. Used topically, Oregano is one of the best antiseptics because of its high thymol content.
Beyond all that, as I am sure you all know, Oregano is widely used in Italian and Greek cuisine.
Bee Talk
You got it! This is the section where Doug (our Bee Guy) will give you periodic updates on our bee hive. I’ll just turn it right over to Doug:
We’ve got Bees! This spring here at the farm we brought in a hive of about 6 thousand European “Carolina” honey bees, to help make the farm that much more self-sufficient and benefit not only the vegetable and flower crops but the surrounding flowers and fields. As this is the first year for the bees and us, the amount of honey harvested in the fall may be small if any. The bees need a fair amount to remain in the hive to eat over the winter. We are going to play it pretty safe this fall and leave quite a bit as we don’t know exactly how cold and long the winter will be and how it will impact the hive. The bees are genetically classified as “Carolina” and have been raised in the Baltic states of Eastern Europe for hundreds of years. We selected this type due to there ability to over winter in particularly cold regions well. They are very docile and are for the most part unconcerned about people or animals. They are actively gathering nectar and pollen, building honeycomb and raising the hundreds of new bees. The hive population is about 16-18 thousand as of early June. About two to four hundred new bees are born every day! Feel free to walk over and check out the hive the next time you visit the farm. It is on the west side of the green house. If you watch from the end of the wood chip path you should be able to see the girls coming and going. The hive front door is at the base of the hive boxes. As mentioned before the bees are very docile and will not even notice you are there so long as you stay clear of the front entrance “flight path”. There is an empty hive currently sitting near the gate entrance to the field you are welcome to open it up and see all of the parts up close and bee free. If you have questions about the hives or beekeeping pleas let me know. Thanks and cheers to a sweet summer season Doug (the beekeeper in training) cdfryer@yahoo.com
Here are a few photos of the bees:
This last photo is the one that Doug is referencing in the following sentences: “In one of the photos there is a cell on the honeycomb frame that looks like a small peanut. It is a queen cell. The bees may be in the process of replacing the current queen (like laying three or four hundred eggs ain't enough.. sheesh!).. This is apparently a normal thing based on the queen’s laying ability and age.
The News
Well, it’s been raining a lot as I am sure you’ve all noticed…..the greens are loving it and growing like weeds. The tomatoes in the greenhouse don’t seem to mind the cooler weather too much; we are starting to see some of the big heirloom tomatoes coloring up! We do seem to be having a bit of an aphid problem on the peppers and eggplant right now. We usually get some of that in the spring, and have good success treating it with Lady Bugs. The treatment seems to be taking a little longer this spring…. It seems the cooler weather is just perfect for the aphids….hence their proliferation. The good thing is that it doesn’t seem to be affecting fruit set at this point, so we have lots of fruit maturing on the peppers and eggplant.
The Lady Bugs are great at eating aphids, but their offspring are even better! The juvenile stage of the Lady Bug looks like this crazy little black and orange speckled dinosaur/alligator like thing. See if you can find any in the greenhouse! Leave them where they are though, they are hard at work.
The Recipe
This comes from Quail Hill Farm Cookbook.
Spinach Cottage Cheese Gratin
Preheat oven to 350. Oil an 8”X10” gratin dish. Cook 3 bunches of spinach with water still clinging to leaves in wide skillet until wilted. Press out and reserve liquid. Finely chop spinach. Beat 5 eggs with ½ cup chopped parsley, ½ tsp dill seeds, ½ tsp ground coriander, 1/2tsp salt and a little pepper. Add 2 cups small curd cottage cheese, spinach and reserve liquid. Bake for 45 minutes.
And this comes from Gardener’s Community Cookbook.
Arugula Lover’s Pesto
1 cup coarsely chopped arugula leaves
½ cup fresh parsley leaves
½ cup coarsely cut winter greens (such as Mizuna or giant red mustard)
½ cup walnut halves or pieces
2 to 4 garlic cloves, to taste
1 to jalapenos, stemmed, seeded and coarsely chopped, to taste
½ tsp salt
½ cup parmesan cheese
½ cup olive oil
Wash the arugula, parsley, and winter greens all together and let drip dry in a colander.
Pulverize the walnuts in a food processor. Add the remaining ingredients, including the still-moist greens, and process until minced as fine as possible. Use right away or store in the refrigerator for up to a week.
That’s all for this week, hope the kids are enjoying the beginning of their summer break!
Daisy
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