This has been quite a season of extreme conditions for us! We had a very dry late spring and early summer only to be followed by excessive rains in the past two weeks. In our 8 years farming on this property with very sandy soils, I don’t think I’ve ever seen as much standing water as we saw last week or today. The recent rains did not negate the need to have devoted so much time to setting up irrigation on all of our crops earlier this spring- they never would have survived until now if we hadn’t. The temperature fluctuations have also been extreme, with an unusually high number of 90-plus degree days mixed in with some of the coldest summer temps we’ve ever seen (including 60 degrees on July 3rd - the coldest temperature ever recorded for that particular day!).
These water and temperature extremes have been stressful for both us and the plants! We are left with little to do about it all but move our irrigation pump at the river high enough that it won’t flood, wait for the water in the fields to dry out so we can plant our fall cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli, cross our fingers that the rains don’t bring too much disease and rot, and hope that when the water recedes our re-seeded fall carrots will still germinate (the first attempt at carrot seeding had to be redone because, of all things, it was too hot and dry to germinate!). Most of the effects of this rain will be noticeable later in the season, when perhaps the crazy weather that reduced yields and delayed or destroyed young plantings is a distant memory. However, there are some crops that are suffering now, including our fresh onions, which are rotting at high rates in the field, and our flower garden, which is a bit muddy and has been slow to generate new blooms in the cold gray weather. Fortunately, so far the storage onions for later in the season look okay, and we are optimistic that with a temporary closure of the flower field we will be back to picking in no time for a long season! And while the rain makes us uneasy about the future, we are still enjoying a nice harvest for this week, including fresh garlic and the aforementioned fresh onions (both should be kept in the fridge, and are just a little milder than their cured counterparts, which will be available later this fall), as well as red potatoes!
In the CSA this week:
CSA pick up hours are Tues/Thurs 11am-6pm and Saturday 9am - 3pm. Face masks are required under the CSA tent during the first hour of each day.
Fresh garlic - This garlic is used just like cured garlic but should be kept in the fridge until used.
Fresh onions - These onions are sweeter than traditional cured onions and should be kept in the fridge and used within a week.
Red potatoes - These small red potatoes are perfect for a small batch of potato salad made with our celery and fresh onions!
Celery
Fennel
Summer squash and Zucchini
Cucumbers - A mix of slicing and the first pickling cukes will be available!
Carrots
Beets
Mini cabbage - A mix of round and cone shaped “caraflex” green varieties, as well as some purple.
Curly kale
Lettuce
Salanova Lettuce Mix
Baby bok choi
CSA PYO:
Handwashing sinks are provided at the entrance to each PYO field. For the sake of food safety, please wash hands before picking. The barn bathroom and wash area sinks in the barn are for employees only.
*Please note that we close down the PYO fields for lightning storms.
Green Beans - Please hold the plant while carefully picking the largest beans.
Herbs - basil, thai basil, parsley, dill, dill flowers, oregano and thyme.
Pick-your-own Flower CSA
The flower field will be closed this week to give it time to recover from flooding, as we want to keep the flower beds nice for months to come! The extra time will hopefully provide some more sunshine to encourage more flower blooms!
In the farm store:
In addition to the items listed in the CSA the farm store this week will also have the first tomatoes from our high tunnel, eggplant, green peppers and blueberries (our blueberry patch is small, so the best way to get a box is to order online the night before - read on for details about online ordering. If there are extra, we will have them in the farm stand as well for walk-up sales). We also have eggs from Codman Farm, honey from Double B, and mushrooms from Fat Moon Farm.
We accept credit card, cash, check and EBT in the farm store. The farm store is open Tuesday - Friday 11am - 6pm and Saturday 9am - 3pm. Masks are required during the first hour of each day and encouraged for the remainder of the day. We are keeping a chalkboard list of items available outside the store and our Shopkeepers would be happy to shop for anyone who is uncomfortable entering the store. We also continue to take online pre-orders for Wednesday, Friday and Saturday pick-up. The link for online orders is https://openfoodnetwork.net/barrett-s-mill-farm/shop#/shop. Online ordering opens at 6pm the day before pick-up.
Elena’s Potato Salad
from our good friend Elena Colman of Small Farm in Stow!
1 quart potatoes
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
about 1/4 cup olive oil (or in Elena’s words “a few glugs”)
1 tbsp spicy mustard
about 1/4 lb salanova
2-3 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
1 head celery, stalks chopped
parsley, chopped
dill, chopped
Boil the potatoes until you can easily stick a fork in them and drain. Mix the water, vinegar, salt and pepper and pour over the potatoes while still hot. Put in the refrigerator for an hour or more. When it is closer to time to serve, add the oil and mustard, salanova, hard boiled eggs, chopped celery stalks, parsley and dill. Toss and serve.
Peppery Coleslaw with Cucumbers and Celery
by Susan Bray Garrison, from allrecipes.com
Ingredients:
½ small head cabbage, shredded
½ cucumber, chopped
1 stalk celery with leaves, finely chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
½ cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon white vinegar
¼ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
Directions
Mix cabbage, cucumber, celery, cilantro, and parsley in a bowl. Whisk mayonnaise, vinegar, onion powder, salt, and black pepper in a separate bowl; stir dressing into slaw until thoroughly mixed. Chill for 1 hour before serving.
Flooded carrots and beets on Monday