We
are so happy with the amount of rainfall we've
gotten this year, including
another
3/4” last week. We
love seeing water easily absorbing
into the garden with no run-off or
standing water. This
is a
sign of good planning for the direction and slope of our permanent
raised beds, and also testament
to the value of mulching, incorporating hay, and adding compost over
the years to boost the organic matter in the soil.
We do most of our farm projects in the 'shoulder season' when the ground thaws out in March, or just up until the ground freezes solid some time in late November. We try not to do any building, fencing, or other infrastructure work during the weeks of market. Despite best intentions, we added an infrastructure project last week: moving some fence and breaking ground for beds that will go into production two years from now. Two years may seem like a bit of overkill on pre-planning. But, we are just now starting to understand how to build soil fertility without working ourselves to death.
Generally,
we
follow
a type of minimal tillage, intensive, vegetable farming practice
using
permanent raised beds. It's pretty far down the rabbit-hole of
sustainable agriculture and is certainly not the only way to grow a
sustainable farm; there are MANY ways to have a sustainable farm! To
really get a sense of what we are doing, we will have a Farm
Tour
later in the season, but in short, we put a lot into the garden beds
and once they are established we only work the top two inches of
soil. This approach creates beds that are fertile,
full of microbial life, and incredibly productive.
Last
week we broke ground for 50
new-
30 inch wide by 100 foot long beds. These will be cultivated
for the rest of the season. Tillage will kill quack grass by
exposing the roots
to
the coming warm, dry days. This
fall, the beds will be covered with
tarps
so we
don't
leave them
bare through the winter. In the spring they
will be cultivated a few more times to get remaining quack grass, and
then seeded for the whole season to a cover crop, which will be
flail-mowed in early fall, covered with tarps again
to
let the earthworms
do their work of reincorporating the crop residue into the soil, the
tarp will be removed and we will shape the permanent raised beds, add
compost, and finally plant in 2018! If
you see Jay
this week, give him a gentle
pat on the shoulder for a job
well done.
He moved a bunch
of fence in the last week!
CSA
WEEK 7
Partial
Share
Carrots - Partial
Bundle
Salad
Mix - Partial
Bag
Rainbow
Chard - Partial
bundle
Bulb
Fennel - 1
Small
Dark
Red Beets - Partial Bundle
Mini
Onions - Partial Bundle
Cauliflower
OR Broccoli - Small Head
Sugar
Snap Peas - Just a few
Full Share
Carrots - Bundle
Salad Mix - Bag
Rainbow Chard - Bundle
Bulb Fennel - 1
Dark Red Beets - Bundle
Mini Onions - Bundle
Cauliflower OR Broccoli - 1 Head
Sugar Snap Peas - Just a few more
Everything
this week is probably pretty familiar – except the bulb fennel.
Fennel
Tops
The
tops of your fennel can be used as an herb. The stems aren't good
for eating but can be saved and added to soup stock. All those
frothy tops are a yummy addition (1-2 tsp) to a dressing, drip,
sauce, or topping for chicken, fish, or soup. If you have too much
to go through this week, you can zap it in olive oil and freeze it in
ice cube trays to add to soups/stews/casseroles later.
The
bulb
(YUM!)
is lovely raw, sauteed, roasted, or grilled. These are so good, I'm
kicking myself for not planting more of them this spring. I just
seeded some for fall and hope to have enough for full shares to get a
large bundle of 4-5 so you can make a roast fennel casserole. With
this amount (which I know, is small, especially for a family to
split) It's best just to cut the bulb in half and lightly saute the
bulb of your fennel in a pan or on the grill and maybe everyone in
your family can have a bit on top of their burger, with some of those
baby red onions and some good blue cheese...mmmm….BURGER BLISS!
Or
if you are roasting your beets you can split the fennel into a few
pieces and roast it along with them.
I
LOVE the anise flavor of fennel and it would be SO good lightly
sauteed with your cauliflower or broccoli. However, if you aren't
sure you will like the flavor you should cook it separately, as it
will give an anise/licorice flavor to anything it's cooked with.
Oh!
And don't forget if you are running out of vegetable inspiration to
check out that AMAZING vegetable guide at earlymorningfarm.com.
The
Beet &
Fennel soup looks especially good!
Next
week
is
looking like we are entering summer squash and zucchini season! Also
we will have yellow beets and cabbage, and hopefully more than just a
handful of sugar snaps for everyone.
