Beating Back the Weeds

Last night, like many a night before, we continued with our battle against really big weeds.  This time of year, in good soil, weeds like redroot pigweed and lamb's quarters turn into small trees with roots 6

Our Tine Weeder

inches in the ground.  When I should be looking over our onion field with row after row of beautifully-spaced and maturing white bulbs, I instead see a forest of green going to seed.  We got to this place this year from a wet spring which continued into early summer.  Oftentimes people think the major issue with lots of rain is that it sets back planting, but, on an organic farm like ours, the biggest challenge with a long, wet season is the inability to control weeds.  We use mechanical cultivation to take out weeds when they are just emerging.  Our cultivation equipment consists of an old Farmall H with shovels attached and a tine weeder which drags over the bed.  When not even able to walk on the totally saturated soils in June, we sure were not able to drive a tractor out there, and, once a full flush of weeds germinated at got to a good size, tractor cultivation doesn't do a great job of killing them.  So, it's come down to us, a lot of time, and our hands.  After a few weeks, I feel we are starting to win this war of attrition as we reclaim territory row by row.  It certainly is a great sight when I get to the end of a bed and can look back over the uncovered plants - ah, relief!  Recently rescued crops include the second planting of beans and a pretty bed of carrots.  

It was nice to see some members last week who came out picking peas.   But I know a lot of members still haven't been out.  Please know you are welcome and I'd be happy to show you the sights.  Got kids, maybe they'd like to see the pigs or give Peanut, the milk cow, a leaf of hay?  If you are in the neighborhood, stop on by.  Sunday's are typically good as we are almost always around.  

I hope you've been enjoying the "early season" veggies (hard to believe I'm saying that at the end of July).  I saw some cherry tomatoes turning in the high tunnel a couple days ago and melons starting to swell on the vine.  Over the next couple of week, expect to start making a transition to high season as corn, tomatoes, and peppers begin to ripen.

In the box: 

Cilantro 

Dill 

Red or Green Leaf Lettuce

Dino Kale 

Cucumbers 

Green Beans: Most of these are a variety called Grenoble I really like because of their dark color and waxy texture.

Pattypan or Staightneck Summer Sqaush

Sweet Onion: A variety called Ailsa Craig

Simple Cucumber Salad

Simply in Season (page 100)

So many of us (myself included) always reach for vinegar and salt when preparing cucumbers for the table, but, with so many now coming in, here's a creamy version which will use a few things from the box

3 cups cucumbers, thinly sliced 

1/2 cup sweet onion, thinly sliced 

3/4 cup plain yogurt

1-2 tablespoons fresh dill weed (chopped)

Place cucumbers and onion in a large bowl and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt.  Let stand one hour.  Drain.  Add yogurt and dill and serve. 

A 4-H Family Tradition

Sylvia's champion produce arrangement

When our daughter, Sylvia, was asking about what to bring to the fair, our obvious answer was "vegetables."  Being that this is the first year she could show and place (she graduated from Cloverbuds), it took us a bit to figure out exactly how to present the veggies for the fair.  We read through this publication Extension put together back in the 70's - an oldie, but goodie, I guess.  Then, Tuesday morning, we trounced out to the garden to pull in a assortment consisting of a cabbage, peas, cucumbers, beets, swiss chard, and summer squash.  Maree and Sylvia must have a good eye because she was awarded champion at the West Otter Tail County Fair.

One neat thing about the kids now getting into 4-H and the fair is that they are picking up on a long family tradition started with Maree's great-grandfather, Charles Goetschel.  Settling in Lake Elmo in the 1840's, Maree's family operated a diversified dairy operation up until early 2000's; I always say Maree grew up at the last remaining dairy farm in Lake Elmo, although I really don't know if that's true.  Apparently these guys were fierce competition at both the Washington County Fair and the State Fair, especially in field crops.  Maree's mom passed on this little clipping from the 30's about her grandpa Wally in his last year of 4-H.  

In the CSA box: 

Napa Cabbage

Bok Choi

Green Beans 

Summer Squash: Yellow and zucchini

Cucumbers

Swiss Chard: Colorful green with a blue band

'Imperial' broccoli
Bunch of Cilantro: One with a red band around it.  

Fennel: This one seems to freak people out, but there's a recipe below

Green Bean and Fennel Salad with Shaved Parmesan 

From foodandwine.com

1. 1 pound green beans
2. 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3. 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
4. Salt and freshly ground pepper
5. 2 small fennel bulbs (about 1 pound)
6. 2/3 cup shaved Parmesan cheese (about 3 ounces)

1. Cook the beans in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until nearly tender, about 6 minutes. Drain them in a colander and refresh under cold running water. Drain well.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the olive oil and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Thinly slice the fennel lengthwise, add it to the bowl and toss, then transfer the fennel to a platter. Add the beans to the bowl and toss with the remaining dressing, then transfer them to the platter. Garnish with the Parmesan shavings and serve.

Lida Farm now accepting SNAP benefits

In order to local foods more accessible to more people, there has been a lot of effort over the last few years for farmers markets to accept SNAP benefits (formerly known as food stamps) through EBT (Electronic Benefits Transfer...folks get a card like a credit card).  Our own farmers market in Detroit Lakes got authorized to accept SNAP  about 4 years ago.  It was not a great success.  We tried again last year, but the vendors chose not to pursue it again for this year.  Many felt we were not reaching enough people for all the logistics and effort involved - dealing with credit card companies and the wireless terminal technology does take some effort, much less communicating the program to all vendors at a time of year when everybody's under the stress of the farm season.  

I've always felt that good local food should be accessible to everybody.  Too often the only people at farmers markets or signing up for a CSA have graduate degrees and drive a Subaru or Volkswagen (things which also characterize myself).  So, recently we authorized Lida Farm itself to accept SNAP benefits and got enrolled in a program called Marketlink, funded through the USDA.  Since we were the only vendor authorized at our farmers market, we qualified and now have a iPhone with a card reader and even a wireless printer for receipts - pretty slick.  We will be able to start accepting SNAP at the Lakes Area Farmers Market in DL on Saturdays and also accept SNAP for CSA payments.

For CSA members we'll be open Sunday for a Pea Pick.  If you would like to pick some more peas, please come on out to the farm anytime from 9 am to dusk.

In the CSA box:

• Green Cabbage
• Kohlrabi
• Snap Peas 
• Radishes 
• Salad Mix
• Beets
• Summer Squash: Most got a yellow summer squash and a zucchini.  You'd use the yellow the same as the green 
• Cucumbers

Summer Squash Fritters

I'm really into these for breakfast.   They are good topped with some sauteed greens and green onions if you still have some around from a previous box.  

2 eggs 

2-3 summer squash 

Salt and pepper

T oil

Grate the summer squash like hashbrowns into a bowl.  Crack in a couple eggs, mix with a fork. Season with salt and pepper.  Heat up the oil in a skillet at medium-low heat.  Pour in the fritter mix and fry til firm and browned a bit underneath.  Flip and brown the other side.  Top with salsa, sour cream, whatever you like. 

Haying Season

We've finally reached one of my favorite times of the year: haying season.  I was a long time coming because of the rain, which has been messing with everything this year.  This has caused the fields to become overgrown and unruly.  One thing I most appreciate about hay cutting is the feeling I get when all the bales are being driven to the barn loft for stacking.  Looking back over the field, everything look so clean; together with smell of the baled hay, and you really have a rich feast for the senses.  .  I liken it to vacuuming your house or even getting your hair cut.  For just a little while, all is in order and you can sit back and appreciate.

Sylvia's photo of front hayfield

We actually have a lot going on in the fields and pastures this year.  In our front hayfield we currently have 5 pigs who will be assisting us in working up the field.  If there's one thing hogs like to do, it's rutting in the ground.  Since we're running out of space for produce, we need to utilize that field, which probably hasn't seen anything other than bromegrass for about 20 years. I'll first chisel plow the field and later we'll let the pigs loose on it!  Nice thing is that they fertilize while they work.  Starting this spring we now have a family milk cow in the back pasture plus a calf - exciting because bovines are new to us.  Throw in the bees behind the barn and our small flock of sheep, there's a whole lot of life going on out there!  Like the pigs working up the front field, the key to all these animals on a vegetable farm is that they integrate well into the operation to support the fertility of the fields so plants are healthy, and, in turn, the crops feed the animals.  It's a beautiful thing.

In the box:
Basil: Please don't refrigerate unless you like black basil.  There are two schools of thought to keep basil.    One, treat it like a flower; cut the end and put in a shallow vase.  Two, wrap in a damp paper towel and    keep in an open plastic bag to retain moisture.
French Breakfast Radishes
Snap Peas: These are edible pod peas, so don't shell them, just eat them
Strawberries: These aren't the prettiest of berries, but I think the flavor's there.
Dino Kale: A nice dark green kale...my favorite which Mar will make into kale chips - great.  See recipe  below from Simply in Season
Zucchini Summer Squash
Green Onions
Green Leaf Lettuce
Kohlrabi: Funny looking bulb.  Many simply peel, slice, and eat raw...can be added to salads like a radish.

Savory Kale 

(page 203 for those with cookbook)

1 onion, thinly sliced: In a large frypan saute in 1-2 T olive oil over medium heat until brown and crisp, not just soft.  Remove to a serving dish. 

1 bunch of fresh kale or swiss chard: Stack leaves, roll together and slice about 1/4 inch thick.  Saute in frypan for 1 minute. 

Several tablespoon and 1/4 teaspoon salt to taste: Add, cover, reduce heat and steam until tender.  Add water as needed.  Kale cooks in 10-15 minutes; swiss chard cooks a bit faster.  When greens are tender, drain in colander.  Return onions to pan and heat to sizzling. 

1 T tomato paste: Add and stir.  When this mixture is hot, return the greens to the pan.  Mix, heat through, and serve.