Monthly Archives: September 2024

Summer CSA Week 17

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Last week was all about garlic and squash. 

The end of September marks garlic sorting time. This is when a few lucky crew members get to sort through each of the garlic bulbs to decide if they will be used as seed garlic, or if they will be sent to shares or sold. Last year we planted over 6,700 cloves of garlic. Every clove that you plant gets turned into a bulb that you harvest. That means over 6,700 bulbs of garlic were sorted one by one. We look at each bulb to see how many cloves it contains, the size of the cloves, and the overall appearance of the bulb. When looking for garlic that will be used as seed for this year, we look for bulbs that have 4,5, or 6 cloves in it. Any more or less and the bulb gets sent directly to the shares/sell pile. Once we’ve counted the cloves, we look at the size of each clove. We want the largest cloves that we can find. This is for 3 main reasons: 1) larger cloves have more energy in them to help the plant gets started. We don’t want the plants struggling and stressed from the very beginning. 2) larger cloves produce a stronger root system early in the growing season. This can improve their ability to access water and nutrients from the very beginning. 3) larger cloves are more resistant to frost. This allows them to better withstand our cold Minnesota winters, and it helps them recover more quickly if they do get a little too cold. For those reasons, anything with small cloves will get put in the shares/sell pile. 

As we’re looking at the size of the cloves, it’s also important to make sure that we are choosing bulbs with similarly sized cloves. If they are all different sizes, they have the potential to grow and mature at different rates. Since we are growing such a large amount, making sure everything is growing and maturing at the same rate is very important. 

The final inspection is the overall look of the bulb. We look for any signs of disease, internal mold, improper drying, and any other abnormalities. These all get pulled out and set aside for further inspection. planting bulbs with any of these “imperfections” could result in the cloves not germinating, or in them spreading disease to the soil and/or other garlic plants. We always prefer to be cautious and not chance it. 

Once we have all our garlic separated into the two piles, we then do the math to figure out how many cloves we will need for planting. We figure out the length of the fields, how many beds we plan to plant, how far apart each clove will get planted, and possible increase or decrease in crop yield. I say we as if all of us are doing this math, but in actuality, Janaki does all of this math for us so only one person has to hurt their brain crunching all the numbers. Thanks to all of your interest in our garlic preserving shares this year, and the fact that we are planning to plant on a longer field than last year, we increased our seed number by 15%. This means at the end of October, the crew will hand plant over 7,700 cloves of garlic. Anything not deemed seed quality, got set aside to be sent as preserving shares or will be saved for winter share deliveries. In past years we’ve also sold a fair amount to restaurants and other local outlets, but this year that’s not possible because we’re saving extra seed. 

As the same time garlic sorting was happening, the rest of the crew was out getting all the winter squash from the fields. This meant clipping, throwing, stacking, loading, unloading, counting, and organizing thousands of squash. This is a long process because 1) it’s a lot of squash! 2) the Squash are split into different fields. One is on the main part of the farm, and the other is across the road. We had all the delicata, acorn, and some sunshine squash on the main part of the farm. The delicata made up the majority of this field since it’s the squash we will send with every winter share until we run out. This is also the popular seller to local businesses, and a favorite for most of the farm crew, so we plant quite a bit. Across the road was the rest of the sunshine, the kabocha, and all of the pumpkins. 

It was a lot of work, but we got all the Squash and pumpkins out of the field by the end of the work day on Friday. Now we begin the curing process for most of the squash so they will stay fresh through the winter months. As for the pumpkins, those get to go home with all of you this week! As you’re carving your pumpkins, feel free to share these fun facts:

-the first vegetable to be carved into a Jack o’lantern was actually a turnip

– Pumpkins need honey bees to pollinate their flowers. The more honey bee visits a flower gets, the more perfect the pumpkin will be

– pumpkins are grown on every continent except Antarctica

In your share this week:

Hot Peppers – Red Peppers – Northeaster Pole Beans – Basil – Carrots – Celery

Onion – Potatoes – Rutabaga – Spinach – Winter Squash – Tomatoes

Salade Nicoise 

3-5 medium potatoes

1 cup your favorite vinaigrette (mustard vinaigrette is delicious for this!)

3 cups fresh green beans (cut the Nor’easters on the diagonal)

1 head butter lettuce or spinach

3 ripe tomatoes, quartered

1 cap of canned tuna (optional)

3 hard boiled eggs, halved

1/2 cup Mediterranean style olives

Fresh herbs

Boil potatoes until just tender.  Drain and rinse in cold water and slip off the skins.  While still warm, cut into 1/8″ slices and gently toss with about 1/3 cup of the dressing.  Just before serving, toss greens with vinaigrette and arrange on a platter.  Arrange all the other ingredients in clusters around the platter, drizzling on the remaining vinaigrette.  Dress the salad with the fresh herbs and serve.

NOTE:  you can add any veggie to this salad– carrots, celery, and peppers add depth and color

Rutabaga Hash

  • 22 ounces rutabaga, peeled and diced (about 1 large rutabaga)
  • 6 ounces green cabbage, chopped (about half a head of green cabbage)
  • 1 leek, cut into strips (white parts only, green stems removed)
  • 3 tablespoons avocado oil (or any cooking oil or butter)
  • 1 teaspoon salt 
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper 
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning 
  • 8 ounces bacon, cut into pieces
  • basil for garnish

  • Preheat your oven to 425°F. Add avocado oil, followed by rutabaga, cabbage, leeks, and bacon to the cast iron skillet.
  • Season with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. Mix until well combined.
  • Roast in the oven for 25 minutes, then take the veggies out, and mix around before returning to oven for another 20-30 minutes, because you want all the vegetables to get a little crisp on them.
  • Finally, garnish with basil if you want, then eat!

For the farm crew, 

Jennifer 

Summer CSA Week 16

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It feels like June was just a few days ago, and here we are in our 16th week of CSA shares! Maybe that’s because the weather the last few weeks have felt more like Summer than Fall. Sunday night’s chill was a nice reminder that it is indeed officially Fall, but we’re looking forward to another beautiful week to get things done.

For most people, this time of year means slowing down and getting cozy as the days shorten and the nights lengthen. For those of us lucky people in agriculture, we won’t be slowing down any time soon. The Fall equinox marks the start of the busiest time of year for us (and also the perfect time to sign up for a Winter Share)!

Over the next few weeks, we’ll say goodbye to our Summer crops such as melons, zucchini, and cucumbers. Those fields will soon go from green to brown, then back to green as we make our final harvests, till in the plants, and seed our cover crop. We will begin to say hello to more of our Fall and winter crops such as leeks, rutabaga, parsnips, and winter squash. This also means we will be spending lots of time cleaning and sanitizing storage space to put all of these crops for the winter. 

With the colder nights, this time also begins to signal a flavor change in the crops. The colder weather causes some crops to convert a portion of their starches into sugars. The addition of sugar causes the freezing point of the water inside the plant to be lowered. This now means the plant can withstand colder temperatures before it’s ruined. The plants most known for this are carrots, kale, and beets. This is one of the reasons why we have a spring/Summer planting and a fall planting of these veggies. The early planting becomes available at a time when we are all excited (and possibly a little desperate) to add some color back into our food after the long winter. The early plantings add more of an earthy flavor to dishes, while the later planting adds a little bit more sweetness. Getting to enjoy the flavor changes in the vegetables is one of the many beautiful things about farming.

Another exciting change happening on the farm is that our smaller hens have started laying eggs! For those of you with an egg share, you may have already noticed this last week when one or two smaller eggs showed up in your share. These are thanks to our little ladies who are just starting to lay. We got these hens back in early May. They’ve spent the last 4 months growing and exploring different areas of the farm. They start out in a fully enclosed shed to keep them warm, and protected from the elements. After about a month, we move them to a mobile chicken coop that we place over one of our fields we aren’t currently using. This allows them to start getting used to the wind and change in temperature while still being fully protected from the rain. It also introduces them to insects and vegetation. It’s beneficial for the farm because they are producing free fertilizer for us which adds nutrients back into the field. Once the hens get bigger and start showing signs of being adventurous (aka once they start trying to escape), we move them to a fenced off area with a larger mobile coop. This allows them to roam around in a larger area during the day, but still have a sheltered place to protect them from the rain and sun. The mobile coop also houses their egg boxes, food and water. It also is fully enclosed with a lockable door for protection at night. The Farm has a surprisingly high amount of coyotes, wolves, raccoons, and foxes close by, so keeping the chickens locked up at night is a must! 

In your shares this week:

Carrots – Cucumber – Northeaster Pole Beans – Leeks – Lettuce – Melons – Onions – Parsley – Red Peppers – Russet Potatoes – Winter Squash – Tomatoes – Zucchini

Winter Squash Crumb Cake

Streusel:

1/2 packed cup of light brown sugar

1/2 c flour

1 tsp pumpkin spice blend

1/4 cup unsalted butter cut into cubes

Cake:

1 cup light brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 cups pureed squash

1/4 unsalted butter, melted

1/4 cup neutral oil

1 Tbsp pumpkin spice blend

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 cups flour

1.  Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease 8″ square or 9″ round baking pan and line with parchment paper.

2.  Make the streusel:  in a small bowl, combine sugar, flour, spice and salt.  Add the butter then pinch the butter into the four mixture with your fingertips until the mix forms pebble-size crumbs.

3.  Make the cake:  in a large bowl, whisk the sugar and eggs until pale and foamy, about 1 minute.  Add the squash puree, melted butter, oil, pumpkin spice and salt.  Whisk until combined and smooth.  Whisk in the baking powder and baking soda then whisk in the flour. 

4.  Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, smooth the top and tap on the counter a few times to release any large air bubbles.  Sprinkle the streusel evenly over the top.

5.  Bake the cake until puffed and golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (40-45 minutes).  Set the cake in the pan on a rack to cool.  After about 15 minutes remove the cake from the pan and set it on a rack to cool completely

Turkish- Style Braised Leeks

  • 3 large leeks, cleaned well and trimmed, whites and tender green parts sliced into ¼-inch rounds
  • 2 to 3 carrots, peeled and cut into ¼-inch rounds
  • 3 large garlic cloves, minced
  • Kosher salt and black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper
  • 2 tablespoons rice, I used Arborio rice, rinsed
  • Juice and zest of 1 large lemon
  • ½ cup chopped fresh parsley
  • Olive oil
  • In a medium saucepan heat ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the leeks, carrots, and garlic and season with kosher salt, black pepper, and the spices. Toss around and cook for about 5 to 7 minutes, stirring regularly as needed until the leeks and carrots soften just a bit.
  • Add 2 cups of water, the rice, and lemon juice. Bring the water to a boil, then lower the heat and let simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until the rice is fully cooked and the vegetables are fully tender.
  • Let the leeks and carrots cool down to room temperature, then stir in the fresh parsley, lemon zest, and another good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Tomato-Green Bean Salad with Chickpeas, Feta and Dill

salt and pepper

3/4 lb green beans (cut diagonally into 1in pieces)

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1 Tbsp red wine vinegar

1 garlic clove (or less), minced finely

3 Tbsp olive oil

2 cups tomatoes cut into bite sized pieces

2 cups cooked chickpeas (1 can), drained

1/2 cup crumbled feta

2-3 Tbsp roughly chopped dill

pinch of dried oregano

1.  bring medium saucepan of water to boil over high heat.  Add 1 tsp salt then green beans.  Cook until beans are tender-crisp (about 2 minutes).  Transfer to large bowl of cold water.  Drain in colander and blot dry.

2. Make dressing by combining lemon juice, vinegar, garlic, pinch of salt and some black pepper in a small bowl.  Whisk in the olive oil.

3.  In a large salad bowl, combine tomatoes, beans and chickpeas.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Add dressing and stir to coat.  Add feta and toss once more.  Let marinate for 10-15 minutes before serving.

4.  Before serving, sprinkle generously with dill and oregano

For the farm crew, 

Jennifer

Summer CSA Week 15

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Last week the crew was working hard to get more veggies out of the field. We have been slowly working to get onions out of the field and onto racks in covered areas to start drying for storage. We haven’t been in a rush to do this because last week and this week’s weather are the perfect chance for the onions to keep drying naturally in the sun. The warm, dry air helps to dry the onions and start creating the protective outer skin. Once we move the onions into sheltered areas, we point industrial fans on them 24/7 to ensure they dry properly. As a farm that always strives to be sustainable, using the sun and wind instead of all that electricity is huge for us.

Last week we also used the harvesters to dig up more potatoes and carrots. We got out red potatoes, russets, white potatoes, yellow potatoes, orange carrots, and the first of the purple carrots. This also marked an exciting time for the farm crew as it meant it was time to bring the forklift out of summer storage. We use our forklift in the root cellar to stack pallet boxes as a way to better conserve space, so we have enough room to fit all the veggies. In the Summer, we put the forklift in our shop to keep it away from the damaging humidity of the root cellar, and because veggies are being harvested only in the quantities we need, so nothing needs to be placed in the root cellar for extended storage. Now as we start to empty fields and get ready for fall harvest, the root cellar is filling up fast. Soon we will have pallet boxes of veggies stacked all the way to the ceiling.  

This week might still feel like Summer, but your box is starting to signal that Fall is coming. We are excited to introduce our Winter Squash! This crop was a little touch and go for a while. They didn’t appreciate the excess rainfall and cool early summer temperatures, but as things dried out the vines grew really large, and looking great. For a while, we were worried we might end up with 15 pound squashes. Our fears were soon squashed (there’s always time for food puns) as the vines developed powdery mildew. This is a common fungal disease that attacks many plants.  It appears as small, white-ish gray spores on the leaves of the plant. It starts out very small, so small it is sometimes hard to spot at first, but once the plant is infected, it can spread like crazy. Soon the small spots take over the whole plant, and begin to spread to neighboring plants. We mostly find this on our Winter Squash and our zucchini. Once the plant is infected, there is no way to cure it, you can only slow down the spread…for a while. The powdery mildew on the winter squash ended up spreading and killing all the foliage in the last couple of weeks, but the squash themselves appear to be absolutely the perfect size! 

Soon we will start the task of getting all the Squash out of the field. Once they are out, the majority of them need to cure first before they can be eaten. The curing process does two things for the squash 1) it hardens the outer skin which will allow it to last for multiple months in storage. 2) starches change to sugar and releases excess moisture which concentrates the flavor to make an even more delicious and sweet squash. Acorn squash is the earliest to mature of the varieties we grow, so it’s the first we send. In fact, if acorn squash is cured at high temperatures it can cause it to rot faster. This is why we are able to send this wonderful veggie to all of you now rather than making you wait for it. 

It is a very fun veggie to experiment with. Many people like to stuff it since the shape of it naturally looks like a bowl. Other people roast it for salads, puree it as an easy, veggie packed pasta sauce, or grate it up to add to muffins or other baked goods. My favorite way to make acorn squash ( or any winter squash for that matter) is to turn it into gnocchi. I’ve added my favorite recipe below if you’re feeling adventurous and want to give it a try.

In your share this week:

Northeaster Pole Beans – Basil – Beets – Broccoli – Red Cabbage – Carrots – Cucumber – Garlic – Lettuce – Melon – Onion – Hot Pepper – Sweet Pepper – Yellow Potatoes – Tomatoes – Zucchini

Acorn Squash Gnocchi with Basil Pesto

  • 1 medium sized acorn squash just shy of 1 lb.
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 cup all purpose flour plus 1 tablespoon for the rolling and cutting gnocchi
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons prepared basil pesto 

Roast Squash for Gnocchi

  • Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil. Cut acorn squash in half, on the vertical, and scoop out seeds. Drizzle olive oil onto the flesh side and season with salt and pepper. Place on baking sheet, flesh side down, and roast about 30-40 minutes, until squash is fork tender. Allow to cool at least 10 minutes before scooping out flesh into a bowl.

Preparing Gnocchi Dough

  • To prep the dough, bring a large pot of water to a low boil, season with salt like you would to cook pasta. In the bowl of roasted squash, stir together with flour until smooth. The dough should feel about as pliable as pizza dough, meaning it should still hold together but doesn’t feel dry. If the dough is too wet, add a little more flour (about a tablespoon at a time) until you get to that desired consistency. This will help in the rollout of dough.
  • Roll and cut dough: Working in batches, scoop up a loose handful of dough and roll out onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll the dough into the shape of a log, about 3/4 inch wide. Using a sharp knife, slice into 1 inch pieces and place on parchment. Repeat with the remaining chunks of dough until all gnocchi is cut.

Cooking Gnocchi

  • Working in two or three batches (depending on number of gnocchi), add gnocchi to the large pot of boiling water and allow to cook 2-3 minutes until the gnocchi floats to the top. Using a spider strainer (or slotted spoon), remove gnocchi and allow to drain on a baking sheet lined with paper towels. Repeat until all gnocchi are cooked.
  • Toss gnocchi together with a couple of tablespoons of basil pesto, using a little gnocchi water to thin out sauce as needed and grate a generous amount of parmigiano-reggiano. Enjoy immediately.

Apple and Beet Muffins

Instructions

  • First, cook the beets
  • Preheat the oven to 350℉. Line a muffin pan (if not using a silicone one) and set aside.
  • Using a hand or box grater, shred the cooked beets and apples.
  • In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the unsweetened applesauce, beaten eggs, olive oil, maple syrup, and vanilla extract.
  • In a measuring cup or separate bowl, combine the whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
  • Add the dry to ingredients to the bowl with the wet ones. Stir to combine.
  • Fold the shredded beets and apples into the batter. Mix until evenly distributed.
  • Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan, filling each cavity about ¾ of the way.
  • Bake for 23 to 25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.
  • Let the muffins cool for a few minutes, then enjoy!

For the farm crew,

Jennifer

Summer CSA Week 14

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Can you all believe it, we only have 4 more weeks of our Summer CSA season!

The final weeks of the CSA season are busy, busy, busy! Mother Nature threw quite the curve ball for us on Friday night with her far too early, danger of frost. Usually we don’t have to start worrying about the dreaded F word until later in the month. We chose the mentality that if you don’t think about it, it won’t happen (it’s actually the only thing any of us thought about all week, but we had good intentions). Things worked out well for us. It did get really chilly on Friday night, but with the exception of a few melon vines the plants appear to have been mostly unaffected. We then had to pull out our warm-ish layers to get ready for our busy Saturday.

On Saturday, we were at Bayfront for Harvest Fest. It’s always a fun event to meet so many people in the community, chat with other local farmers, and show off some new things. If you stopped by our booth, you may have seen our mini carrots in their packaging. The bags arrived just in time for Harvest Fest, and will be hitting some grocery store shelves later this season, so be on the lookout for them. You’ll be getting this variety in your shares this week, but 2 pounds instead of the little bags for market.

In preparation for the remaining few weeks of the CSA season, Janaki starts taking inventory of all the vegetables we have sent to our members so far this season, and starts planning for when we will send the remaining vegetables.  You all have gotten lots of delicious veggies so far, but there are still quite a few things you haven’t seen in your boxes yet. Spoiler Alert: we still have leeks, rutabaga, parsnips, pole beans, red cabbage, winter squash, and brussels sprouts. This week we have a new addition to the line up with Carmen peppers. These peppers look intimidating because their shape resembles that of a spicy pepper, but they are not spicy at all. They are like a sweet red bell pepper but we love the thick walls and robust flavor of the Carmens.

Along with planning what else will go in the boxes for the remaining weeks, Janaki also starts creating a plan for our big Fall harvest that happens at the end of October. A big part of this is pulling out the carrot and potato harvesters to fix anything that got broken/damaged last fall or over the winter in storage, and to dust off the machines and the crew’s sorting abilities that haven’t been used in a year. We used the carrot harvester on Wednesday to get most of the third planting of carrots out of the field, and we used the potato harvester on Thursday to get russets and red potatoes out of the field to bring to Harvest Fest. This means that for the last 13 weeks, every vegetable you’ve received in your box has been lovingly harvested by hand by our hard working farm crew. 

It’s an exciting time when the veggies are large enough and mature enough to use the full sized harvesters. We weren’t able to use the potato harvester until now because the potatoes weren’t mature enough. Their skin was still too delicate for all of the rolling, shaking, and dropping that the potato harvester puts them through. The first two plantings of carrots were large enough and mature enough that we could have used the harvester. However, due to the disease, the carrots required a lot of sorting. This would have required the harvester to go slower so we would have time to sort more accurately. If we run the carrot harvester too slow, the harvester will skip over some carrots leaving them in the field. We actually enjoy hand-harvesting, but when we’re all geared up to go fast it gets pretty irritating in a hurry when things go wrong. 

Aloo Gobi

Ingredients

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 red chili, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp. minced ginger

1 tsp. garam masala

1/2 tsp. dried turmeric

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

3 potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1″ pieces

1 medium head cauliflower, cut into florets

1 c. low-sodium vegetable broth

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Freshly chopped cilantro, for serving

    • Directions

  • Step 1:In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat oil. Add chili, garlic, and ginger and cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Add garam masala, turmeric, and cayenne and cook until toasted, 1 minute more. 

  • Step 2:Add potatoes, cauliflower, and vegetable broth and season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat and cook, covered, until potatoes and cauliflower are tender, 15 minutes. Garnish with cilantro to serve.

    • Melon and Cucumber Salad

    Ingredients

    • 1 cantaloupe, seeds removed and cubed
    • 1 large cucumber , thinly sliced
    • 1 large red bell pepper, thinly sliced
    • 1/2 large red onion, thinly sliced
    • 3 – 4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (white wine vinegar ok too)
    • 1 tablespoon olive oil, optional
    • 1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper, or to taste
    • good pinch of salt
    • fresh basil or mint, to garnish (optional)

    Instructions

    Cantaloupe: Slice your cantaloupe in half (doesn’t matter if you slice it horizontally or vertically). Scoop out the seeds with a large spoon and discard. Slice your cantaloupe halves into 5 or 6 slices. Using a sharp knife, cut from one end of the slice to the other as close as you can to the rind, slowly and carefully cutting the orange flesh away from the peel. Slice into bite size pieces.

    Cucumber: Slice off each end and using a vegetable peeler remove the outer skin (leave skin on for extra nutritional value and fiber). Slice the cucumber into 1/8 – 1/4 inch slices.

    Bell Pepper: Wash and core your bell pepper. Slice into 1/4 – 1/8 inch slices. Cut the slices in half.

    Onion: Slice the onion in half lengthwise. Cut off both ends of one of the halves and remove the outer layer. Place the sliced onion, end cut down and slice into 1/8 – 1/4 inch slices. If onion slices seem too long for you, cut them in half.

    Assemble salad: Place ingredients in a large bowl. Add apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper and mix well to coat. Cover and set in the refrigerator for an hour or so to chill and marinate, mix occasionally if you like

    Summer CSA Week 13

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    Last week I promised you all an official update on how the caterpillar tunnel experiment went. I know a few of you were heartbroken to learn that this was not in fact a fun tunnel that we let caterpillars run through all day, but instead it was an effort to save our sad looking tomatoes.

    At the beginning of the season, before we put the caterpillar tunnel up, the field tomatoes looked very stressed. They had gotten their leaves pelted by so much rain and the soil was soaked. As we hustled to get the tunnel up before yet another 2″ rain, we worried that it might be too late for them to recover. I am happy to report that the exact opposite happened. We put the caterpillar tunnel over the tomatoes, and in just a few weeks, they looked like entirely different plants. The leaves went from a dry, shriveled, brown color to a soft, vibrant green color. The plants started producing more leaf sets, growing taller, and eventually putting on flowers and fruit. We think the protection from the elements really saved them because the rest of the field tomatoes developed early blight.

    The fruit has been slow to ripen, but that could be because we pinched off the first one or two sets of flowers in an effort to convince the plant to focus on getting healthy rather than producing fruit. We have been able to harvest a few tomatoes, but most of the fruit on the plants is still green.

    The most important factor in determining if this tunnel was a success came down to the taste. First, for background, we haven’t been satisfied with our greenhouse tomatoes for a few years so this year we tested out new fertility sources. Previously, our nitrogen source was coming from fish fertilizer, and our potassium source was mineral based. Nitrogen is important for the chlorophyll formation in plants. Chlorophyll is what makes plants green which allows them to absorb sunlight through photosynthesis. Without adequate nitrogen, plants won’t be “green” enough to absorb sunlight thus stunting their growth, and possibly preventing them from fully maturing. Potassium is important for plants because it aids in regulating the rate of photosynthesis, and it is associated with the movement of water and nutrients throughout the plant. Without adequate potassium, plants have reduced yield, stunted growth, and poor flavor. 

    Our previous fertilizer mixture worked okay (though applying fish fertilizer through drip tape is a smelly hassle), but we wanted to see if we could do better so we tried an amino acid based nitrogen. This is beneficial to the plants because amino acids are immediately available for the plants to absorb. The fish fertilizer delivered nitrogen in the form of proteins which can take a while to break down so they can be absorbed by the plants. We also switched to using a plant based potassium source instead of a mineral based source. Mineral based sources can often lead to a build up of minerals at the roots of the plant, preventing the plant from being able to absorb other nutrients. We also added calcium and micronutrients to round out the program.  

    Farmer Janaki thought this new fertilizer combination made the greenhouse tomatoes taste significantly better than in previous years. This meant the caterpillar tunnel tomatoes had to be really great in order to earn the top spot for best tomatoes on the farm this year. We had lots of people taste testing, and we all came to the same conclusion: for our Geronimo (large slicing tomatoes) we compared one from our regular greenhouse and one from our caterpillar tunnel, and the greenhouse won. They both had a similar texture, but the greenhouse tomato had more flavor. We also compared an Early Cascade (small canning tomato) from outside and one from the caterpillar tunnel. In this test the caterpillar tunnel won. Again, they had similar textures, but the appearance and flavor of the caterpillar tunnel tomatoes was better. Oddly, the caterpillar tunnel fruit ripened later than both the high tunnel and field tomatoes. We only did a small sample so far, and this is just one year, so we are excited to keep this in mind and see if we feel the same again next year. In farming, there are so many variables that it’s hard to run true experiments that inform results year-to-year, but we keep trying to zero in on better ways of growing healthy food!

    In your share this week:

    Green Beans – Broccoli – Cucumbers – Zucchini – Tomatoes – Sweet Onions – Carrots

    Hot Peppers – Sweet Peppers – Potatoes – Melons – Lavender

    Marcella Hazan’s Tomato Sauce 

    2 cups of tomatoes with juices

    5 tablespoons of butter

    One onion, peeled and cut in half

    Salt

    Combine tomatoes and juices, butter and the onion halves in a sauce pan with one or two pinches of salt.  

    Place over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Cook uncovered for 45 minutes occasionally stirring and breaking up chunks of tomatoes with the back of the spoon.

    Discard the onion before pouring sauce on cooked pasta.  This recipe creates enough sauce for 1 pound of pasta.

    Marinated Vegetable Antipasto

    Vegetable suggestions: Blanched and chilled broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots.  Onion, celery, sweet peppers, zucchini

    Marinade:

    1/2 cup water

    1-1/2 cups wine vinegar

    1 cup olive oil

    2 tbsp sugar

    2 tsp fresh oregano, minced

    1/2 cup pitted olives

    Salt and pepper to taste

    Prepare appx 8 cups vegetables by cutting into bite-size pieces.  Bring marinade ingredients to a boil in a larger saucepan.  Add approximately 2 quarts of cut up vegetables – cover and cook 3 to 4 minutes, stirring once.   Uncover, cool and refrigerate for at least two hours. Drain before serving.