Over the past couple of weeks we have turned more of our attention to our new field across the street, which will be home to many of our fall crops. After a month-long process of working cover crop into the soil and running irrigation line under the road, we began planting and setting up our deer fencing in early July. We have now filled up a little over an acre with a few successions of fall carrots and beets, as well as brassicas (kale, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and Brussels sprouts). In the short time that we've been growing vegetables in this field, we've found that some sections of it are quite a bit wetter than our main fields, and that deer, woodchucks and turkeys appear to be accustomed to having free rein over there! Covering some of the smaller transplants with netting and row cover has helped give those plants a head start protected from animal pressure. It appears the deer got in one night and grazed on our Brussels sprouts after a tree fell on our fence, but we quickly fixed the fencing and haven't seen anymore signs of deer making it in! We're still working on deterring the turkeys - we'll likely need to cover our broccoli until the plants size up!

Next year we plan to plant our potatoes and winter squash across the street. The Colorado potato beetle pressure in our main fields this year reached levels we have never seen before. While our efforts to keep the potato plants alive this year have resulted in a better harvest so far, it consumed a lot of our energy at a time of year that is critical for many other crops. The intense infestation (coupled with the the beetles' new resistance to the organic spray that we use once a season as a last resort), means that rotating the crop as far away as possible is crucial to our ability to continue to grow potatoes. We have seen the survivors of last week's final attempt to control the beetle population make the journey over to our eggplant field, and we are hoping that Barrett's Mill Road will provide a barrier next year to protect the potatoes a little longer with a little less effort!

Store hours:

Tuesday and Thursday 11am - 6pm*

Wednesday and Friday 2pm - 6pm

Saturday 10am - 3pm*

*Hours in bold and with an asterisk are also CSA pick-up hours

In the CSA:

Peppers - we're harvesting mostly green bell peppers, but there may be some purple ones in the mix too!
Fresh garlic - We hung most of our garlic in the farm stand last week to cure for several weeks, but we're setting aside some of the smaller heads for fresh eating. The curing process intensifies flavor and improves the long-term storability of the garlic. This uncured garlic is milder and should be used in the next week or two.
Chard
Beets
Fresh onions - Red long of Tropea and Ailsa Craig (white) onions.
Cucumbers
Summer Squash
Zucchini
Red Potatoes
Celery
Carrots
Lettuce
Kale
Arugula or Red Russian kale
Cherriette Radishes

CSA PYO:

Cherry tomatoes - Just a taste this week, as the cherry tomatoes are just starting to ripen. The varieties that we're picking are Sungold (orange), Cherry Bomb (red) and Grape (red). Be sure to look low down on the plant!
Sunflowers
Green Beans and purple beans
Basil
Parsley
Cilantro
Dill

In the store:

Most everything we have in the CSA will also be available in the store. We'll also have some cabbage, blueberries and more of our own greenhouse-grown tomatoes. It will likely be one more week before we have cherry tomatoes in the store. This week will be the first for Verrill Farm sweet corn and as usual, we'll also have mushrooms and eggs.

PYO Flower CSA:

Flowers ready this week include bachelors button, celosia, calendula, scabiosa, zinnias, verbena, orlaya, strawflower, snapdragons, gomphrena, calendula, and more. Sunflowers are also ready!

Recipes

This week we have most of the ingredients for our favorite summertime recipe: green gazpacho!

Green Gazpacho

Adapted from “Plenty,” by Yotam Ottolenghi

2 celery sticks, roughly chopped
2 green peppers, seeded and roughly chopped
3 medium cucumbers, peeled, seeded and roughly chopped
1 mildly spicy chili (such as jalapeño), roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 cups walnuts, lightly toasted
1/4 pound arugula
1/2 cup basil leaves
1/4 cup parsley
1 cup olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
2 teaspoons salt
Freshly ground white pepper
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
2 cups water

Combine the celery, green peppers, cucumbers, chili, garlic, sugar, walnuts, spinach, basil, parsley, olive oil, sherry vinegar, salt, pepper and 1 cup water in blender and puree until smooth. Check seasonings, and add more water if you feel it needs it. Let chill in refrigerator. To serve, divide into six bowls, and garnish each with a dollop of Greek yogurt, two ice cubes and a drizzle of olive oil.

Zucchini/Summer Squash Ribbons

adapted from Uncommon Gourmet, All-Occasion Cookbook

2 Medium-size zucchini
2 Medium-size summer squash
4 Tablespoons butter
1 Medium-size clove garlic, crushed
½ cup finely chopped hazelnuts
salt and pepper to taste
½ cup grated Parmesan

Using a vegetable peeler, cut long ribbons of the zucchini and summer squash, reserving the seed core for another use (like soup). Heat butter in a large skillet. Add garlic, squash ribbons and nuts. Season with salt and pepper and stir-fry over high heat for 2 to 3 minutes until vegetables are tender-crisp. Sprinkle with the Parmesan. Stir well, remove from the heat and serve.