Rain, Rain, Go Away! Part 2!
I could send the same newsletter I wrote last week and it would seem nothing changed, except the rains yesterday and today were far more devastating this time around. Luckily our farm avoided the brunt of the storm. We still saw a couple inches fall, but the farmers west of Keene and in VT seem to have suffered the worst. I'll be keeping them in my thoughts as we all assess the damage brought on by the torrential downpours.
We still got it pretty bad, though. The farm is pretty much underwater. Luckily all of our crops are on raised beds, but there is standing water in all of the paths and just because the crops themselves are above water, it doesn't mean the roots aren't drowning. The damage caused by so much rain doesn't show itself immediately. By the end of last week I saw the first signs of root rot--cauliflower plants were wilting in the field despite having plenty of moisture. Disease will take longer to set in, and we lost plenty of nutrients washed away with the rain. I've thrown in the towel on our wettest field this year, the one in front of the greenhouses. It has a few more plantings planned for it, but with all the rain, there's no point in planting them there. I've shuffled around a few other beds on the farm and figured out where I could make space for the planned crops. Once we harvest what's left in the field I'll put it under a cover crop for the rest of the summer. The cover crop ought to help it dry out in preparation for next spring, it'll need all the help it can get.
We're gonna be back in our holding pattern while we wait for the fields to dry out through the beginning of the week. It's too wet to really do anything in them. On Friday it had dried out enough for me to prep beds for the rest of summer and fall. Usually I only prep the beds we need to use in the next week or so, but I figured I would do all that I could without knowing when we'll get another chance. I'm glad I did. It means we'll be able to resume planting later this week, something that has had to be put on hold for the last three weeks without a chance to get the beds prepped.
The fields have felt mostly unchanged since the beginning of July. With all this rain and not much sun we haven't seen a lot of growth. I was able to seed some more carrots on Friday, as well, but those won't come up for a couple of weeks. We're on top of the weeds and in the greenhouse, considering it's just about all we have been able to do these last few weeks.
I'm pegging the last week of July for our garlic harvest date. Hopefully we get some dry days until then. I always put out a call for volunteers on garlic harvest day. We pull about 8000-10,000 bulbs all in a day, so we could use all the help we can get. I like to organize a garlic themed lunch for our volunteers on that day and have been thinking of recipe ideas. We'll have our work party on either Tuesday the 25th or Thursday the 27th. If you're up for lending a hand, even for a few hours in the morning or afternoon, we'd love to have you! I'll keep plugging it in the newsletter until then. Send me an email if you'd like to join!
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR FALL CSA!
Summer CSA Shares Week 5
Rain or shine, we're packing CSA shares! We've got a great lineup for shares this week with cucumbers, new potatoes, and scallions making their first appearance in baskets!
Delivery CSA Shares
Cucumbers
Garlic Scapes
Lettuce
Microgreens
Parsley
New Potatoes
Scallions
Summer Squash
Zucchini
Bread: Honey Multigrain
Market Style Pickup
Members pick eight items for their basket + 1 herb
Loose Beets
Broccoli or Broccolini
Chard
Cucumbers
Kale
Lettuce Heads
Microgreens
Napa Cabbage
New Potatoes
Onions
Radishes (limited)
Scallions
Summer Squash
Turnips
Zucchini
Herbs
Basil
Mint
Parsley
Oregano
Sage
Thyme
Find us at the Market!
In addtion to our CSA and farm store, we also setup at three farmers markets throughout the week starting on Thursday mornings!
You can find our produce at:
Cheshire Medical Center in the Cafeteria
Thursdays 10am - 2pm
Jaffrey Farmers Market
Fridays 3pm - 6pm
Keene Farmers Market
Saturdays 9am - 1pm
RECIPE LINK:Extra-Flaky Scallion Pancakes Recipe
Ingredients
For the Pancakes:
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting work surface
1 cup boiling water
Up to 1/4 cup toasted sesame seed oil
2 cups thinly sliced scallions
For the Dipping Sauce:
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons Chinkiang or rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon finely sliced scallion greens
1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
2 teaspoons sugar
To Cook:
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Kosher salt
Instructions
Place flour in bowl of food processor. With processor running, slowly drizzle in about 3/4 of the boiling water. Process for 15 seconds. If dough does not come together and ride around the blade, drizzle in more water a tablespoon at a time until it just comes together. (Alternatively, in a large bowl add flour and 3/4 of the boiling water. Stir with a wooden spoon or chopsticks until dough comes together, adding water a tablespoon at a time as needed.) Transfer to a floured work surface and knead a few times to form a smooth ball. Transfer to a bowl, cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap, and allow to rest for 30 minutes at room temperature, or up to overnight in the fridge.
Paint with another layer of sesame oil, sprinkle with 1/2 cup scallions, and roll up like a jelly roll again. Twist into a spiral, flatten gently, and re-roll into a 7-inch disk. Repeat steps two and three with remaining dough balls.
In a small bowl, whisk together sauce ingredients and set aside at room temperature.
Heat oil in an 8-inch nonstick, carbon steel, or cast-iron pan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Carefully slip pancake into hot oil. Cook, shaking pan gently, until first side is an even golden brown (about 2 minutes). Carefully flip with tongs (be careful not to splash the oil), and continue to cook, shaking pan gently, until second side is an even golden brown (about 2 minutes longer). Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Season with salt and cut into 6 wedges. Repeat with remaining 3 pancakes. Serve immediately with dipping sauce.
RECIPE LINK:French Potato Salad w/ Dijon Vinaigrette
Tender new potatoes make THE BEST potato salad! A must try!
Ingredients
▪12 to 14 medium Yukon or red potatoes
▪½ cup Italian parsley, chopped
▪¼ cup fresh dill, chopped
▪3 scallions, chopped
▪⅓ cup olive oil
▪3 tablespoons champagne vinegar
▪1 clove garlic, crushed
▪1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
▪1 teaspoon salt
▪½ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
1.Wash the potatoes and put them in a medium-sized pot. Cover the potatoes with water and boil them for 20 to 30 minutes, or until they're fork-tender.
2.While the potatoes are cooking, chop the parsley, dill, and scallions.
3.In a small bowl, mix the olive oil, vinegar, crushed garlic, mustard, salt, and pepper.
4.Let the potatoes cool for about 10 minutes then chop them up. Add them to a large bowl along with the parsley, dill, and scallions, and toss with the dressing. Chill the potato salad in the fridge or serve at room temperature.
RECIPE LINK:Cucumber Salad With Mint and Feta
Ingredients
▪1 pound thin skinned, mild (non bitter) cucumbers, such as Persian, Armenian, or English
▪1/4 medium red onion, thinly sliced
▪2 or 3 red radishes, thinly sliced
▪10 young mint leaves, thinly sliced
▪2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
▪1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
▪1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste
▪1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper, more to taste
▪1/3 cup feta cheese
Instructions
1.In a medium sized bowl, gently toss together the sliced cucumbers, red onion, radishes, and mint leaves. Sprinkle with vinegar and toss to coat.
2.Right before serving sprinkle with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and toss to coat. Place on serving dish and sprinkle with crumbled feta cheese.
Fresh Raspberries in the Farm Store!
Through the Summer the store will be stocked up on Thursday mornings!
Open to the Public.
Dawn - Dusk
Honor System
In the store this week:
Beets
Carrots
Lettuce
Cucumbers
Microgreens
Kale
Chard
Beets
Garlic Scapes
New Potatoes
Squash & Zucchini
Fresh Herbs
Bread
Sweet Italian Sausage
Maple Breakfast Sausage
Hot Dogs
Pesto
Ice Cream
& Eggs!
Pickup Location for Archway Farm Meat CSA
I heard back from a few of you interested in an Archway Farm meat CSA share, so Mark has added the farm as an additional pickup location. Now if you want to sign up, you can pick up your meat share from the same place you get your veggies! It makes choosing what to make for dinner a breeze!
Visit www.Archway.farm to explore options and order a share delivered to the farm!
