Happy August! August on the farm means the beginning of bulk harvests so we get out our big plastic bins, put the forks on our International Hydro tractor from the 1970’s, and head out to the field! Last week we started with the quintessential summer crop, watermelon, but later this week we will finish up the garlic harvest, bring in the spaghetti squash, and start to harvest storage onions for curing. This week we will also continue to bring in the the current summer harvest of course, hauling 5 gallon buckets full of tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, carrots and more out of the fields each day. We try to get the harvest done in the morning before lunch so we can get to other tasks but this time of year we can often spend all day harvesting to keep up with the summer bounty! Other tasks we would like to get to this week include planting broccoli, scallions, fennel and lettuce, seeding radishes, greens, and turnips, trellising tomatoes, hoeing lettuce and cabbage, and hand weeding fall beets and carrots. We will work hard to get to those other projects to make sure the variety and quantity of crops continues throughout the season!
In the CSA this week:
Watermelon! This variety is called starlight and has red flesh with seeds.
Celery - Our celery tends to be small and strongly flavored so great for recipes (not as great for snacking unless you are a big celery fan!). Our favorite recipe using celery is the green gazpacho recipe listed below.
Uncured garlic -While we wait patiently for most of our garlic to cure so that it will store outside of a refrigerators for months, we are giving out some of the garlic uncured for use right now! This garlic should be peeled and used just like regular garlic. While whole it can be stored in a pantry but once peeled or chopped it should be stored in the fridge. It will last about a week (once we cure the rest of the garlic it will last for months!).
Mizuna or scartlett frills mustard greens - We will have one of the two each day this week.
Slicing tomatoes - from the field and high tunnel. There will likely be a mix of red orange and pink.
Specialty/heirloom tomatoes - We are growing some true heirlooms in the field and some hybrids that look and taste like heirlooms (but are more productive) in the high tunnel.
Peppers - green and purple varieties.
Potatoes - Yellow potatoes
Carrots
Summer squash
Zucchini
Baby leeks - Expect to see larger leeks later in the season!
Cucumbers
Lettuce - a mix of summer crisp varieties
CSA Pick-Your-Own:
Cherry Tomatoes - Varieties that are currently ripening include Sungold (orange), Citrine (orange), Cherry Bomb (red), Red Pearl (red grape), Valentine (red grape), Apple Yellow (new variety for us this year, and aptly named as it is an apple shaped yellow tomato!), Black Cherry (smoky purple) and Midnight Pear (smoky purple pear shaped cherry). Be sure to look low on the plants for the most ripe fruit.
Sunflowers
Herbs - choice of basil, dill, oregano, mint, sage or thyme.
In the farm store:
In addition to the items listed in the CSA, we will also have cabbage, colored peppers from our high tunnel, cherry tomatoes and mixed flower bouquets. We will also have sweet corn from Verrill Farm, eggs from Codman Farm and certified organic mushrooms from Fat Moon.
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. 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.
Pick-Your-Own Flower CSA:
The PYO Flower garden is at it’s height so now is a great time to pick! The field is open to both Flower CSA members and to the general public for picking by the jar. Varieties available include snapdragons, zinnias, marigolds, gomphrena, strawflower, celosia, statice, ammi, ageratum, rudbeckia, scabiosa, cosmos and amaranth. Picking hours are during any farm store hours: Tuesday-Friday 11am-6pm and Saturday 9am-3pm. We recommend bringing your own pruners or scissors as well as water for transporting your flowers home.
Green Gazpacho
Adapted from “Plenty,” by Yotam Ottolenghi
INGREDIENTS
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 tender green (mizuna would work well!)
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
Ice cubes
DIRECTIONS
Combine the celery, green peppers, cucumbers, chili, garlic, sugar, walnuts, greens, 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.
We have the best crew! They ran the farm Saturday without us and sent us this photo to let us know that the day went great!