Fifth season summary and dreaming of spring

Winter is often a time of dreaming and planning for farmers. Our outdoor tasks diminish, and on cold days, we hunker down in our office with our space heater, maps, seed catalogs, spreadsheets, budgets, hot tea and ideas. This year we feel like we have a lot to reflect on and be proud of.

In terms of numbers, the 2018 season was our biggest season yet: we grew crops on more land than ever (13 acres), we had more members than ever (225 CSA and 73 Barrett’s Bucks), and we had a bigger staff than ever (12 fantastic field and store workers). We are really grateful to Katherine, Janel, Zach, Rebecca, Dave, Molly, Jacob, Ari, Alexis, Emma, Alice and Sophie for working with us this year and making this growth possible!

It was also a big season for us due to some notable successes. We had more veggies available for longer in the year – we added more variety to our early spring offerings, doubled the size of our late fall CSA to 100 members, and hosted a very well-attended pop-up farm stand in December. With the help of a grant from NRCS (Natural Resources Conservation Service) we had a 30’ x 96’ high tunnel constructed in the field for in-ground growing. This high tunnel (also known as a hoophouse) will allow us to improve tomato-growing efficiency, extend our greens growing a little into the shoulder seasons, and try out some completely new crops like ginger. In addition, this fall we broke new ground at the South Corey Meadow just down the road from us. Our plan is to continue to cover crop one acre for the 2019 season and then start growing potatoes there in 2020.

In terms of crop yields, we improved our popcorn variety selection, had another great tomato harvest, discovered a new favorite winter squash (Black Futsu), honed our greens-growing strategy to produce more greens with fewer holes, had an excellent onion harvest (so excellent that we ran out of protected space to cure them, and ended up losing a large chunk of them to rabbits!), and grew some of the largest sweet potatoes we’ve ever seen. Also, after years of battling Colorado potato beetles, we were finally able to rotate our potatoes across the street, which was far enough away that we reduced the pest pressure and had our biggest potato harvest ever. In many ways, this last one feels like our biggest victory of all!

Of course there were some growing challenges as well. Although we ended up with a really nice fall carrot harvest, we struggled with seed germination in the heat waves of June and July, leading to a longer gap between spring and summer plantings than usual. The extreme heat also caused a lot of blossom drop on our eggplant, which led to delayed fruiting and overall smaller yields. We also struggled with diseases in our melons again, which we think may have been due to some contaminated older seed coupled with some really wet field conditions. With the unusually rainy fall, we saw a lot of diseases in our broccoli and beets, leading to an almost total crop failure for broccoli, as well as some unattractive beet greens! And while the winter squash harvest was excellent, we do think that the wet field conditions at the end of squash growing season combined with sub-optimal storage conditions contributed to a lot of premature rotting of butternut and Honeynut squash.

While there is not much we can do to alter the increasingly wild and unpredictable weather we are seeing, we are always thinking about what things are within our control. Foremost on our minds is increasing the amount of protected growing space we use (high tunnels, for instance) and improving crop storage and curing areas. High tunnels are expensive, but fortunately there are grant opportunities to help with this. Crop storage space is a different sort of challenge because our overall indoor storage space is quite limited. Nonetheless, we are determined to get creative and are busy brainstorming elevated rodent-proof onion and sweet potato curing systems, as well as semi-protected structures to move some equipment out of our barn and make way for more indoor squash storage and refrigerated space.

Our practices of crop diversity coupled with a variety of membership programs are the two other main strategies that we’ve been using since the beginning to deal with climate uncertainty. It would of course be more efficient to focus in on a few types of crops and sell them in bulk. However, with fewer crops, you are oftentimes at the mercy of factors you can’t control (like the weather and disease), and a single crop failure or even moderate yield reduction can have a devastating impact on income for a farmer. For this reason, we grow a large number of crops, including over 50 types of vegetables, fruit and flowers, and across those crop categories we grow hundreds of varieties. Our community of CSA and Bucks members also helps to ensure that we don’t lose a dramatic amount of business for the whole year if we have one weather-related crop failure. This is because members have made a commitment to the farm, and while it may be a bad year for one or two crops, it’s always a good year for many other crops!

Farms are built on optimism, so while we’ve identified some challenges, we also are always excited to tackle those challenges and plan for an even better season the next year! We are currently in the process of applying for more NRCS funding to build 2 more high tunnels. These would be used to rotate our tomatoes each year, try out protected growing of peppers, cucumbers and flowers, and create more space for season-extending greens. We’ve also been thinking about ways to have more variety and a steadier revenue stream during asparagus season, so we’ve planned to grow more micro greens and we already planted a bed of tulips for cut flowers in May. For some later season variety, we’ve ordered ginger seed to plant in a smaller high tunnel that we plan to complete this spring. As mentioned before, we’re coming up with some designs for curing and storing increased quantities of fall storage crops. We’re also thinking about small fixes in our farm store set-up and signage that will make our shopkeepers’ lives easier, and hopefully improve customer experience too!

One of the most exciting things for us about this coming season is the number of people who are returning from previous seasons. In terms of farm crew, Rebecca and Dave are returning for their fourth seasons this year as part-time farmers (complementing their Irish Dance and English teaching lives respectively), Molly will be graduating college and joining us for her third season in the farm store and field, and Katherine is coming back for her second season as an Assistant Grower! In addition, Wyatt from the 2016 crew is making a welcome return from New Zealand for the summer and will be working with us part-time! We also already have a strong contingent of CSA and Barrett’s Bucks members returning for the 2019 season, some of whom have been with us since our very first season in 2014! These returning crew and customers bring dedication, energy and efficiency to the farm- it wouldn’t be the same without them!

The bustling December pop-up farm stand.

Farm stand pop-up this Saturday, December 8th!

We’re having one last veggie sale for the season:

Saturday, December 8th

9am - noon

Come by to stock up on carrots, potatoes, leeks and more. We’ll have limited quantities of several items (like spinach and microgreens), so come early! For a more complete list of what’s available, see below. We’ll be set up in the greenhouse that is attached to the farm stand, and as usual either cash or check will be accepted.

This Saturday at the pop-up farm stand:

• Carrots - 2lb and 10lb bags

• Potatoes (white Elba) - 5lb bags

• Cabbage

• Brussels sprouts

• Leeks

• Onions

• Garlic

• Spinach

• Microgreens

• Black Futsu squash

• Butternut squash

• Rutabaga

• Turnip

• Honey

• Barrett’s Mill Farm bags

Farm Updates, Last Week of Late Fall CSA and Bulk Orders

Those of you on the farm or driving past this week will notice a big change: construction of a high tunnel (also know as a hoophouse) has begun! We received a grant from NRCS to build a high tunnel on the property and since we are still busy harvesting, we hired the folks at Adam’s Greenhouse to build it for us. The work they’ve already accomplished in a day and a half would have taken us several weeks (especially since we would have to juggle the high tunnel construction with harvesting and putting the farm to bed for the winter). The new structure will allow us to grow tomatoes in a protected environment. The benefits include increased yields per square foot, protection from disease, earlier and longer production, as well as improved fruit quality. You can imagine we are very excited about this new development! You can see a smaller structure behind the main high tunnel. This is a structure we are constructing ourselves from used parts we purchased from another farm. We will finish the smaller house this spring and hope to plant our first crop of ginger! We have ordered seed from Hawaii and are excited to try out this flavorful, heat loving crop next year.

Before we get too caught up in plans for next year, don’t forget those of you in the Late Fall CSA have your last pick-up this week (Thursday 11am-6pm or Saturday 9am-3pm) and Fall bulk order pick-ups will be Saturday from 9am-3pm. Look for monthly farm updates from us throughout the winter, as well as more info soon about a December farm stand pop-up (likely December 8th)!

In the CSA:

• Watermelon radish - These tasty radishes are white and green on the outside and red inside, making them a colorful addition to winter salads and sliced veggies for dipping.

• Shallots - This relative of the onion has a flavor of red onion with a hint of garlic. Transitional.

• Salad turnips - They are less spicy than radishes and sweeter than purple top turnips making them great for eating raw in salads. They can also be lightly sauteed, with or without their greens.

• Popcorn - We distribute the popcorn on the cob. You can either place it in a paper bag and pop it right off the cob in the microwave, or you can rub two cobs together to dislodge the kernels and pop it in a pan.

• Black futsu pumpkins - These pumpkins are a dark color while growing in the field but now that they are ripe they are orange inside and out! Transitional.

• Lettuce - These mini heads are the last salad greens of the season!

• Kale

• Cabbage

• Brussels sprouts

• Potatoes - Both Peter Wilcox (purple skin, yellow flesh) and Elba (yellow skin, white flesh) this week. Transitional.

• Sweet potatoes - Transitional

• Leeks - Transitional

• Onions - Transitional

• Garlic

• Butternut - Transitional

• Carrots

• Rutabaga

• Purple top Turnips

Roasted Black Futsu with Jasmine Kale Rice

by Green Girl Eats

• One medium black futsu squash, quartered and sliced

• Olive oil

• Salt & pepper

• 1/2 teaspoon paprika

• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

• 1 cup brown jasmine rice or other fragrant variety, prepared according to instructions
  2-3 whole cloves

• 2 tablespoons fennel seeds

• 1/4 cup golden raisins

• 1 1/2 cups of kale (any kind), finely chopped

• 1/2 cup dry toasted pumpkin seeds, from your pumpkin of course

Start by getting that squash in the oven. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and arrange your squash pieces (skin on) in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Toss them in your olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika, cinnamon and cayenne until evenly coated. Transfer to the oven for about 35-40 minutes or until the squash has softened and easily peels away from the skin, rotating halfway through.

Meanwhile, get your rice started according to package instructions. Add your cloves, fennel seeds, salt and pepper to taste and just a touch of olive oil. As always, I'm super partial to the jasmines or basmatis. I don't know, they just add a little something extra and make the food feel a little fancier, plus they pair beautifully with the headier spices like cinnamon and cloves. 

In a small skillet over low heat, add your (rinsed and dried) pumpkin seeds. These will toast up quickly and can burn if you don't watch them closely. Stir them often until just barely browned, then remove from the pan and set aside.

When the rice is just about done, stir in your chopped kale. You want to just wilt it down, not cook it, so wait until you're just about ready to serve. Toss in your golden raisins. Serve alongside your beautiful slices of black futsu and top with your toasted pumpkin seeds. You could peel the skins off of the pumpkin before serving, but that way you may risk losing a lot of the glorious goodness within them (and the skins are edible!).

Classic Potato Pancakes

by Andrew Friedman, Epicurious December 2005

INGREDIENTS

• 1 medium onion, peeled

• about 3 1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled

• 2 large eggs

• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

• 6 tablespoons vegetable oil

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter

• Applesauce and/or sour cream, for serving

PREPARATION

Preheat oven to 200°F. Place 2 nonstick baking sheets in oven.

Using box grater or food processor fitted with grating disc, coarsely grate onion and place in colander set in sink. Coarsely grate potatoes, add to colander, and set aside to drain.

In large mixing bowl, lightly beat eggs, then whisk in flour.

Press potatoes and onion to extract as much liquid as possible, then add to egg/flour mixture. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Using wooden spoon or hands, mix well, but do not overwork.

In heavy-bottomed, 12-inch skillet over moderately high heat, heat 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter until hot but not smoking. Drop 4 scant 1/4-cup portions of potato mixture into pan and flatten with spatula to form four 3-inch pancakes.

Fry until bottoms are golden-brown, 4 to 5 minutes, then turn over and fry until golden-brown and crisp, an additional 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain; season immediately with salt and pepper. Keep warm on baking sheets in oven while making remaining pancakes.

Using paper towels, carefully wipe out pan. Add 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter and fry 4 more pancakes. Repeat with remaining batter, wiping out pan and adding 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter before each batch.

Serve pancakes hot with applesauce and/or sour cream.

Herbed Potato Gratin with Roasted Garlic and Manchego

by Jose Garces, Food & Wine November 2008

• 3 heads of garlic, cloves separated but not peeled

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 quart half-and-half

• 1 tablespoon chopped thyme

• 1 teaspoon chopped rosemary

• Salt and freshly ground pepper

• 5 pounds potatoes, peeled and very thinly sliced

• 9 ounces aged Manchego cheese, coarsely shredded (2 cups)

• 5 ounces San Simón or smoked Gouda cheese, shredded (1 cup)
  

Step 1    

Preheat the oven to 375°. In a 9-inch cake pan, drizzle the garlic with the oil. Cover with foil and roast for 40 minutes, until tender. Let cool, then squeeze out the cloves.

Step 2    

Mash the garlic to a paste and transfer to a saucepan. Add the half-and-half, thyme and rosemary and bring to a boil. Simmer over very low heat until reduced to 3 cups, 20 minutes; season with salt and pepper.

Step 3    

Arrange one-fourth of the potatoes in the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Top with one-fourth of the shredded cheeses and drizzle lightly with the garlic cream. Repeat the layering with the remaining potatoes, cheese and cream. Pour any remaining cream on top and press the top layer of potatoes to submerge it.

Step 4    

Bake the gratin for about 1 1/2 hours, until golden and bubbling. Let cool for 20 minutes before cutting into squares and serving.

New items for bulk order, Storage tips and Late Fall CSA week 3

We’re very excited to add sweet potatoes and Elba potatoes (an excellent white storage variety) to our bulk order offerings! Orders are due this Saturday, November 10th, and pick-ups are Saturday, November 17th. We have updated order forms available here. If you’ve already placed an order and would like to add to it, just send us an email! Remember, you don’t need to consume many fall crops in the same week that you get them. You can stock up in your weekly Late fall CSA or with a bulk order, and then feed yourself with Barrett’s Mill Farm butternut in January!

If you’re wondering where and how to store all your veggies, check out our storage guide. Many items like potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, garlic and squash shouldn’t be kept in the refrigerator and will store very well in a dark cool cupboard or pantry for months. If you’re wondering how to prepare your storage veggies, there are some ideas in the storage guide. Also, many of the vegetables we have now are excellent for making soups and stews. See below for two great ideas!

If you’re part of the Late Fall CSA, we are now in our third week, with one more to go! We will continue to have many of the veggies we’ve been enjoying for the past 2 weeks, as well as a couple of new items.

In the CSA:

• Popcorn - We distribute the popcorn on the cob. You can either place it in a paper bag and pop it right off the cob in the microwave, or you can rub two cobs together to dislodge the kernels and pop it in a pan.

• Black futsu pumpkins - This is a new variety for us - we chose it because it stores very well and it looked fun! These are about acorn squash sized and we recommend baking and stuffing them like you might stuff acorn squash. Bonus: the skin is edible! Transitional.

• Lettuce - The heads are small (our last 3 plantings struggled in the greenhouse in the summer heat and then struggled to size up out in the field) but still perfect for making salads!

• Escarole - This green looks like lettuce, but it has a more bitter taste and should be cooked. It is excellent sauteed with olive oil and salt or added to soups.

• Kale

• Cabbage

• Brussels sprouts

• Potatoes - Transitional

• Sweet potatoes - Transitional

• Leeks - Transitional

• Onions - Transitional

• Garlic

• Butternut - Transitional

• Carrots

• Mini daikon radish

Lise’s Dad’s Beef Stew

Loosely adapted from Julia Child’s Boeuf Bourguignon

• 3 or so lbs of stew meat, like chuck

• 2 or 3 cups of red wine

• 1 can beef broth plus 1 can water

• 1 or 2 bay leaves

• 1 tsp thyme

• zest of one orange

• 1 chopped tomato plus 1 tbsp of tomato paste,  or can of diced tomatoes plus ketchup

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• S & P to taste

Brown the beef well in vegetable oil. Put all ingredients in a pot, including from browning pan.

Simmer for 1 hour with lid on. After an hour, add the following:

• Pearl onions, or sliced yellow onion

• Potatoes

• Carrots

• Mushrooms (optional)

Simmer for another hour with the vegetables.

Lentil and Chicken Soup with Escarole and Sweet Potato

by Anna Stockwell from Epicurious.com, February 2018

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cooked chicken carcass (from 1 store-bought rotisserie chicken or homemade roast chicken)

• 1 lb. sweet potatoes (about 2 medium), peeled, cut into 1" pieces

• 3/4 cup French lentils (about 5 oz.), rinsed

• 1 tsp. kosher salt, plus more

• 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

• 10 celery stalks, sliced on the bias into 1/4" slices

• 6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

• 1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken (from 1/2 of a store-bought rotisserie chicken or homemade roast chicken)

• 1/2 head escarole, cut into bite-size pieces

• 1/2 cup finely chopped dill

• 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

PREPARATION

1. Place chicken carcass, potatoes, lentils, and 1 tsp. salt in a large pot. Cover with 8 cups water. Bring to a boil over high heat, skimming off any foam, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until potatoes are fork tender and lentils are cooked through, 10–12 minutes. Discard chicken carcass.

2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high. Add celery and garlic and cook, stirring often, until celery and garlic are lightly golden brown and tender, about 12 minutes.

3. Stir celery, garlic, shredded chicken, and escarole into soup and cook, stirring occasionally, until escarole is wilted, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in dill and lemon juice; season soup with salt.

Bulk veggie and Thanksgiving pre-orders!

We are now accepting orders for bulk Barrett’s Mill Farm vegetables, as well as local cranberries, mushrooms, honey, eggs, raspberry jam and raspberry vinegar infusion! Orders are due by November 10th and will be available for pick-up on Saturday, November 17th, 9am - 3pm. To place an order, download the form below and either mail it in with your check, or email melissa@barrettsmillfarm.com.