Farm Happenings
Introducing our newest fields Rambler and Dog Park (so named because we spotted coyotes trotting through it last winter). These fields are around and beyond our house. After years of work preparing the space, the first food crops have been planted. The near plot has all the fall potatoes and the far plot with white row cover is the winter squash and pie pumpkins. Before these food crops were planted, we improved the soil by growing cover crops as well as compost.
This week we planted 2 varieties of edamame green soy. The crop generally is ready in early September and is a great fresh, plant based protein. All the fall potatoes were planted as well, the 9 varieties of blue, gold and red ranging from fingerlings to russets. We love potatoes and aim to offer them fresh in late summer and into the autumn.
Drop over this Tuesday evening to join us in the fields 5:30-7:30pm. Or Saturday anytime 8:30am-12:30pm.
This week we installed a shade cloth on the pergola. Take a break in a cool spot to enjoy the view.
Additional note: In her work in the Ag & Food Systems Dept. at Cornell Cooperative Extension, Flip does a variety of projects around consumer awareness and seasonal eating. A new venture launched this year is called FRUITION. Currently there’s two initiatives in this Fruition basket, a monthly livestream where Flip interviews areas farmers and chefs (and gives away prizes and recipes) and a blog focused on “bringing our rural food system to life”. We encourage shareholders to dive into active participation with the local food system! The livestreams are the 3rd Wednesday of each month, so the next one is the 16th, 7-8pm. It features interviews with Martin’s Farmstand, M&M Eggs and The Blue House restaurant. Find livestream here. Check out the new blog here and sign up for a weekly digest of new posts.
Stock up on garlic scapes, they last for weeks in the fridge and can be frozen as well. It’s a short lived precursor to garlic bulbs which will be available next month. Here we are cutting them up to add to veggie fritters. Every hardneck garlic plant produces a scape, which we snap off so that the plant channels its energy to grow a larger bulb.
Tips for Success
- Shareholder Emily says, “My family loves to eat garlic scapes grilled. We toss them with olive oil, salt and pepper then grill them on aluminum foil as we would asparagus. They are best with a few char marks on the bottom but still a bit crisp.”
- Cut the head lettuce and the Chinese cabbage right at the soil level to harvest the entire plant. If there are any damaged leaves you want to remove, them can then be pulled from the head and left in the bed or aisle.
- When harvesting kale and chard, only cut the largest leaves from each plant, and leave all the small/medium leaves at the center to grow bigger.
In addition to being a community farm, littleGrasse is also our homestead where we put up food throughout the year when it is abundant. This week we got berries from a family in Morley. We froze a bunch for future smoothies and baking projects, then canned some too.
Crops AvailableThis list and availability are subject to change, check the share whiteboard at the start of every visit. If you are unsure about how to harvest: ask us! In person, via text or email.
Culinary and Medicinal Herbs
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