the busiest time of the year. We are just on the verge of full production and it seems that there aren't enough hours in a day. The last of the cantaloupe and watermelon crops are in. I don't remember exactly the number of melons that we planted, but it is upward of 5,000. Then you have all the other stuff.....it's easy if we can use the transplanter or seeder. We probably have planted close to 10,000 plants this year--not counting any sweet corn or any of the fall crops that will get planted next week.Before we can start the autumnal "garden", weeding must be done! All farmers battle weeds and everyone has their favorite way or special implement. Yesterday, the swiss chard, 2nd crop of arugula and mustard greens and carrots needed to be liberated from the insidious grasses, velvetleaf and volunteer sunflowers. We plant quite a few sunflowers for the turtledoves (mourning doves, if you prefer) and shred off the seed head in the fall. If you want to know what comes next, come see me at the market. I think most of you have a good idea (hint: Bill hunts).
ANYWAY, we had three rows of arugula, mustard greens and swiss chard that were about 75' long (or maybe longer--Emily thought it was about 10 miles) that needed work. The area between the rows had been tilled, so weeds weren't a problem there. Since we didn't get very good germination from the seeds, the rows are pretty skimpy, giving the weeds a foothold. So, it was find the plant, carefully pull the closer weeds away by hand, then use a hand tool to chop away the weeds between plants. Of course, there was no consistency between plants and the chard is extremely tiny and blended in well.
In this situation, the only solution is intensive hand weeding.
Chemicals can't be used because not only will they kill the weeds (yay!), but will also kill your plant (sob!). Garden hoes can be useful, but it is very difficult to get close to the plant without uprooting it. So we used the best implement known to man: hands. Kid hands are especially good at this task--think little fingers! Yes, we make our kids toil in the fields and yes, they do know the difference between the weeds and plants. This is Allie on the left, and Emily on the right. Most of you know Allie from the market; Emily tends to stay home and sleep on Saturdays! They both do very good work and we do pay them. This picture illustrates how thick the grasses are in the rows. We are working about a 1/3 into the field; our land goes all the way to the trees in the back--this section is about 6 acres. Way, way in the back is a blue pickup and Bill & Karen are uncovering the cantaloupe crop. Plants are sending out vines like crazy and there are lots and lots of blossoms.The carrots patch was a little better; the rows were shorter and we were only dealing with velvetleaf (a beautiful plant if you don't farm) and the volunteer sunflowers. These guys are big, so we didn't need to sit down or scoot on our bottoms. Sunflowers have surprisingly deep roots so it took a little more muscle to pull them out. This is our first go at growing carrots (customer repeat request), so we are pretty excited. They are all top right now; it will take quite a few weeks for the root to develop and form. They are over in the NW corner of the land, up on the "sand hill". The loose, sandy soil should let us grow some fantastic carrots. I'll take some pictures when I'm out there again.
With the longer days and hotter temps, this is probably the last week for the head lettuce. I've illustrated what a
"bolted" head of lettuce looks like. Bolting or going to seed is what cool weather plants do (as do all plants eventually) when they reach the end of their growing season. The plants stretches up, send out flowers to attract pollinating insects and becomes bitter to discourage insects from eating the mother plant before seeds can be produced. Our lettuce patch is a mess, but we'll mow it down and plant some fall items in its place. This plant is actually some bok choi and behind it is some Red Oak Leaf lettuce, plus a variety of weeds and grasses. What's new this week? Do I dare tell you? We couldn't believe it when we did a crop check! I'll give you a hint: it starts with a 'T" and rhymes with potato...............yep, we've go
t tomatoes!Now to be fair, these aren't the put-on-your-sandwich type tomatoes; these are a grape tomato variety and are a translucent yellow. Taste testers reported that they have a lovely flavor, sweet and juicy. Disclaimer: there aren't very many just yet----so, you will have to be early (i.e., first in line). I don't know if there will be enough to fill a pint container, so it may be a few 'maters in a baggie. I know more when I get out there tonight.
Have you experimented with cooking any veggies this summer? One of our CSA members asked this week what else we could do with green onions. Bless our CSA-ers, they have had a bunch of green onions every week so far! Off the top of my head, I wasn't sure what else to do with them other than eating them raw or chopping to decorate a main dish. Later that night, as I was fixing dinner, I got inspired by Ina. Ina Garten or the Barefoot Contessa is one of my heros--man, I would LOVE to be her neighbor! I know, Hamptons, rich people, etc, etc, but I just love her excitement over good friends and good food. She makes just a big of a fuss over simple mac & cheese as she would over a fancy meal.
Anyhoo, one of the ways she fixes veggies is to roast them in the oven with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and a pinch of "good" salt (if you watch her show-you know what I mean!) So, channeling that, I cleaned some green onions, leaving about 4" of green and marinated them in some olive oil and balsamic. They went on the grill ( about med-high) until they were limp and had those great grill marks. Back onto a plate for a little fresh olive oil and balsamic, sprinkle of salt and serve! Yummy!
Another question I get is, "What else can I do with radishes?" Thanks to Nicole and her innovation, roasting or grilling is an option. Earlier today, inspiration struck again! I was looking for new recipes and ran across shredded diakon radishes----hmmmm, what about shredding/grating regular radishes and making a slaw-like dressing? At lunch, I went home, shredded up 2 red and 2 white radishes, added a little rice vinegar and olive oil and salt. YUMMY! This would make a great addition to a fish dish (tilapia anyone? You can get it at the market!) or with ribs (again, available at our market, too) or just on its own. We will have plenty of radishes this week, so get an extra bunch to try.
What will we have? I'm glad you asked!
- Head lettuce-mostly Red Oak Leaf, maybe some other kinds
- Leaf lettuce
- Red, white & French Breakfast radishes
- Watermelon radishes-different! These have some bite to them, but would be good shredded
- Zucchini--dust off your zucchini bread recipes! It's that time!
- Summer squash
- Broccoli
- Leeks--National symbol of Wales and a member of the Onion family--try them grilled
- Green Onions--grill these too while you're at it!
- Turnips--I grilled these, too. I actually like them this way.
- Collard greens
- Mustard greens
- Arugula
The market opens at 7:30 am (come early and get your coffee!) and is open until noon. Plan on staying to enjoy the musical talents of Austin Found and letting the kids explore Children's Acres. Twin Oaks & TJ Chicken will be grilling and handing out samples (do not skip this!) and WJBC will be live broadcasting. It will be a busy, fun day, so don't miss out!
See you at the market!
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