Week 10

So far we have enjoyed a wonderful first growing season at Barrett’s Mill Farm. There has been plenty of heat to ripen the watermelons and enough rain to keep our greens and lettuce growing. While we have had minor setbacks, all in all it has been smooth sailing. However, last week, our heirloom tomatoes became infected with late blight. Late blight is an air-borne fungus that has become an increasingly common tomato affliction in our region in recent years. Every year late blight spores make their way up north from the southern states where it can survive the warmer winters. This fungus can wipe out otherwise healthy tomato or potato plantings in a matter of days under the right conditions. Last Tuesday we discovered a few suspicious looking leaves on one of our heirloom tomato plants. We removed the plant as well as several plants next to it that weren’t yet showing symptoms and sent a sample to UMass Extension to confirm. Unfortunately, the rain we received Wednesday further spread the disease and Thursday we went to work removing stakes, trellising twine, plastic mulch and drip irrigation before mowing and rototilling in three of our tomato beds. Though not all of the plants in those beds were exhibiting symptoms, we tilled in the entire planting to prevent the spread of the disease to our other plantings, as well as to other neighboring farms and gardens. We will continue to monitor our late blight-resistant red slicing tomatoes, as well as our cherry tomatoes, which are far enough away from the other tomatoes that they may not have been affected.

Late blight is a particular challenge for organic farmers to manage. The one organically approved fungicide that is effective against late blight is copper, and it only works as a preventative measure (so it won’t “cure” late blight once you already have it). Whether or not to spray copper is a question that Melissa and I have struggled with many times. On the pro side, it can help ensure that you get a long tomato season. Tomatoes are an expensive crop to grow, both in terms of resources and time, so it is a particularly frustrating crop to lose after months of nurturing. However, there are also several important cons to consider. In order to be effective, spraying has to be done on a regular schedule. With just the two of us this year, time is at a premium and we felt that we couldn’t afford to spend several hours every week spraying our tomato plants. More importantly, though, we struggle with whether or not spraying copper fits in with our farming philosophy. Copper is a heavy metal that is moderately toxic to aquatic life, which is a concern given our proximity to the Assabet River. Also, while copper is not considered to be a hazard to people consuming tomatoes that have been sprayed (as long as the tomatoes are washed), it is a risk for the person who is mixing and applying the spray. For these reasons we opted this year not to spray any of our tomatoes. Instead, our strategy was to try to plant a high proportion of late-blight resistant tomato varieties. Unlike other tomato diseases, late blight does not hold in the soil, so we will work again next year to prevent it by increasing the amount of late blight-resistant varieties we grow, while also evaluating whether or not it makes sense to us to spray a limited amount of our tomato plantings.

We are really happy that we have managed to get several solid weeks of tomato harvest, starting with cherry tomatoes in the last two weeks of July. We’re hopeful that we will still be harvesting from our surviving plants for a few more weeks before we start to really focus on the fall crops, as there is still much to celebrate and enjoy at the farm! We are now at the halfway point of our CSA season, week 10 of 20. If you have Barrett’s Bucks this is a good week to look at your balance because there are 10 more weeks after this one to use up your remaining Bucks. What is yet to come? Leeks, spaghetti squash, Keuka Gold and Purple Viking potatoes, sweet fall carrots and beets, parsnips, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, butternut squash and much more!

In the CSA:
Yellow watermelon and cross-section of Chioggia Beets

  • Yellow and Red Watermelon - The yellow is just as sweet as red watermelon, but with an
    unexpected color!
  • Chioggia Beets
  • Colored peppers - a mix of colored bell peppers and sweet Italian "corno di toro" types
  • Green peppers
  • Slicing Tomatoes
  • Red Potatoes
  • Eggplant
  • Lettuce 
  • Escarole
  • Kale
  • Nelson Carrots
  • Red Ace Beets
  • Arugula
  • Red Russian Kale
  • Mustard Greens
  • Cucumbers- pickling and slicers
  • Summer Squash
  • Zucchini
CSA pick-your-own:
  • Green Beans
  • Purple and Yellow Wax Beans
  • Husk Cherries or Tomatillos
  • Cherry Tomatoes - Jasper, Sungold, Black Cherry, Matt's Wild and Mountain Magic
  • Hot Peppers - Jalapeno, Serrano and Capperino
  • Sunflowers
  • Dill and Cilantro - there's a newer planting that is looking pretty good this week!
  • Lemon and Thai Basil
  • Oregano
  • Thyme
In the store:
In the store this week we will have most of the items that are available in the CSA. In addition, we will continue to carry corn from Verrill Farm.

Week 9

This week is a great time to appreciate the bounty of the season as we continue to harvest summer favorites like tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, squash and red potatoes while also beginning to harvest watermelon and celebrating the return of beets! As we appreciate the delicious veggies, we should also appreciate the many helping hands who helped bring them to your table. Our rock star student volunteers Nina, Emily and Charlotte have probably weeded every type of crop that we grow, but they have particularly put their stamp on next year's strawberries (which have needed to be weeded at least three times so far this season!). Melissa's brother Eric has taken time from his busy work schedule to help us out on a number of occasions, most recently last Friday when he helped us to get the nutsedge in our peppers under control (among many other things). Those of you who visit the store and CSA on Thursdays have met Jane and Lise's mom Kathy, who help keep the shop in order so that we can work on projects in the field. Lise's dad David has taken on a series of construction projects to ensure that our store and greenhouse are functional. Many other individuals and school groups (including from Willow Hill and Salem Community Charter School) have lent a helping hand this summer as well. We feel so lucky to have such a great community of volunteers providing help at just the right moment!

Two helpers deserve particular mention this week, as we will no longer be enjoying their company out in the fields this season. Becky, who provided an enormous amount of help harvesting, washing, planting, seeding and weeding with us four days a week completed her planned move to Chicago last week to be close to family and begin her studies in Early Childhood Education. We are going to miss her, but we're hoping to lure her back next summer! Also, our friend Christine has steadfastly showed up all season, sometimes with a whole crew in tow, to help plant and weed a number of crops. She took farm volunteering to the next level two weeks ago when she showed up to weed carrots while in the early stages of labor! You may see her sometime in the store in the coming weeks with (hopefully) our newest farmhand: daughter Josie!

It's great to look back on all that has been accomplished so far this season with the help of our friends, but of course, the hard work isn't over yet. We continue to work on controlling weeds in many of our fall crops (as well as occasionally in the crops we're harvesting now!). We still have a few crops like lettuce, bok choi, napa cabbage, radishes and greens to seed and transplant for late fall harvest. We're also working on building our soils for a strong season next year by seeding cover crops. You may notice this week that the beautiful field of flowering buckwheat in our western field was tilled under. We seeded the buckwheat earlier in the summer to smother weeds and build organic matter. After 10 days of flowering, we tilled in the buckwheat and are now preparing to seed some winter peas and triticale. As we till in more and more spring crops, we'll be making space for more soil-building cover crops in the next month.

Buckwheat pre-flowering


In the CSA:
Escarole
  • Watermelon - this week we're featuring Starlight, which is a variety of red watermelon. These are not the seedless watermelons you might be used to seeing in the grocery store. Time to plan some old-fashioned watermelon seed spitting contests!
  • Red Ace Beets - germination on our fall plantings was much better than in the spring, so we should be enjoying beets more regularly in the coming weeks.
  • Escarole - not to be confused with lettuce, this green should be cooked, as it is bitter when raw. This is particularly tasty in soup or cooked with white beans.
  • Peppers- green, purple, flamingo
  • Heirloom Tomatoes - these tomatoes are what tomatoes are all about! They are sweeter, more colorful and possess more intense flavor than red slicers. Make a colorful tomato salad out of Pruden's Purple (actually pink), Striped German (yellow with pink streaks), Valencia (orange), Cherokee Purple (brownish purple with green shoulders) and Cherokee Green (yellowish green).
  • Slicing Tomatoes - the standard red tomatoes are still pretty tasty, but once heirloom tomato season begins I tend to use these for cooking and save the heirlooms for raw eating.
  • Red Potatoes
  • Eggplant
  • Lettuce
  • Nelson Carrots
  • Arugula
  • Red Russian Kale
  • Mustard Greens
  • Cucumbers- pickling and slicers
  • Summer Squash
  • Zucchini
CSA pick-your-own:
  • Husk Cherries or Tomatillos
  • Cherry Tomatoes - Jasper, Sungold, Black Cherry, Matt's Wild and Mountain Magic
  • Hot Peppers - Jalapeno, Serrano and Capperino
  • Sunflowers
  • Dill and Cilantro - there's a newer planting that is looking pretty good this week!
  • Lemon and Thai Basil
  • Oregano
  • Thyme
In the store:
In the store this week we will have most of the items that are available in the CSA. In addition, we will continue to carry corn from Verrill Farm.
 
 


Week 8


When we begin work on cool, dark, mornings in August it feels for a moment like the season may be beginning to wind down. However, red potatoes, peppers, and eggplant are here to prove that the height of the season has just arrived. Not only are the summer crops notable for brightening our dinner tables, but many of them are longer season crops that we have worked on for months now, making the harvest all the more deserving of celebration. For example our seven varieties of sweet peppers were carefully seeded in slot trays in the greenhouse April 9th, just a couple of weeks after we moved to the farm. A month later we potted them up into larger celled trays to make room for growing roots and continued their care in the greenhouse. When the plants were almost ready we prepped the beds, putting down drip irrigation lines and plastic mulch. By June 4th we were prepared and found the time among our many projects to get 750 pepper plants into the ground. After planting we mulched the pathways in-between the tomatoes with straw to prevent the growth of weeds and set up irrigation. Your can imagine our excitement when we finally began to harvest the first peppers two weeks ago! In addition to the green, purple and flamingo peppers available this week we have yellow, orange and red peppers to look forward to later in the month. Despite the shorter days of August our jam packed cooler tells us that the summer harvest is in full swing!

In the CSA:
  • Peppers- green, purple, flamingo
  • Red Potatoes
  • Tomatoes- Red slicing tomatoes will again be the stars of the distribution this week. In addition, we will have the first of our heirloom varieties available this week or next.
  • Eggplant- Japanese, beatrice, and nadia
  • Lettuce- The summer crisp lettuces are great at surviving the summer heat and are perfect for burgers and crispy salads.  We are now planting the more delicate lettuces again and they will be ready for September harvests.
  • Nelson Carrots
  • Arugula
  • Red Russian Kale
  • Yukina Savoy
  • Tokyo Bekana- These light green ruffled leaves are great in salad or lightly cooked. 
  • Kale- Toscano and curly
  • Cucumbers- pickling and slicers
  • Summer Squash
  • Zucchini

CSA pick-your-own crops:
  • Cherry Tomatoes- Sungold, Jasper, Black Cherry, Matt's Wild Cherry
  • Mountain Magic Tomatoes- A "cocktail" tomato in-between a cherry tomato and slicing tomato in size.
  • Sunflowers!
  • Coriander Seed- For the best flavor grind just before use.
  • Dill Seed
  • Lemon and Thai Basil
  • Oregano
  • Hot Peppers: 
    • Jalapeno
    •  Serrano- Pictured right, Serrano peppers are hotter than Jalapenos and are distinguished by their narrower shape. We have them labeled so you can be sure to pick the hot peppers of your choice!
  • Husk Cherries- Husk cherries are a sweet a relative of the tomato that grows inside a husk. The berries are ready when they have dropped to the ground and the husks appear dried. Berries still attached to the plant will not be sweet so be sure to only pick up berries from the ground beneath the plant. 

In the store:

In the store this week we will have all of the items available that are in the CSA except for some of the pick-your-own herbs. In addition, we will have tomatillos. We will also continue to carry corn from Verrill Farm.
Ratatouille
Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen

Mediterranean vegetable stew 4-6 servings

1 medium onion, chopped
2 medium bell peppers, in strips or cubes
2 small or 1 medium zucchini (and/or summer squash), cubed
1 small eggplant, cubed
4 cloves crushed garlic
2 medium tomatoes, in chunks
1 bay leaf
1 tsp each: basil, marjorm
1/2 tsp oregano
dash of ground rosemary
3 tbs. burgandy or dry red wine of your choice
1/2 cup tomato juice
2 tbs tomato paste
2 tsp salt (approximate)
black pepper to taste
1/4 cup olive oil
freshly chopped parsley

Heat olive oil in large, heavy cooking pot. Crush the garlic into the oil. Add bay leaf and onion, salt lightly. Saute over medium heat until onion begins to turn transparent. Add eggplant, wine and tomato juice. Add herbs. Stir to mix well, then cover and simmer 10-15 minutes over low heat. When eggplant is tender enough to be easily pricked by a fork, add zucchini and peppers. Cover and simmer 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper, tomatoes and tomato paste. Mix well. Continue to stew until all vegetables are tender. (How tender is tender? Do a taste test and decide what seems right to you).

Just before serving mix in the fresh parsley.

Serve on a bed of rice, or in a bowl, accompanied by some good french bread. Top with grated cheese and chopped black olives.