Season
11
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| 22nd Harvest Week | August 21st - 27th 2006 |
Season
11
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| Want a printable copy of this newsletter? Click here for a pdf file of the paper version. |
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“If
we were not so single-minded about keeping our lives moving,
and for once could do nothing, perhaps a huge silence might
interrupt this sadness of never understanding ourselves and
of threatening ourselves with death.”
What’s in the Family share: and in the Small share: ... and if you have an extra-fruit option:
CALENDAR Aug 25, 26, 27 Sat. Sept. 23 new! Sat. Sept. 30 Sat. Oct 21 |
Always Planning. It's the middle of August and we are already sowing our late fall and early winter crops. Timing is important, it is easy to get distracted, to think our summers are endless just as the tomatoes are starting to ripen, and forget to plant the crops that will mature in October and November. Right now the buckwheat, a summer cover crop, is being mowed and plowed into the soil where our fall and winter crops will be planted. The soil preparation is very important for both fall and winter crops since the rains create very different growing conditions. First the land is tilled more deeply to improve drainage by pulling long shanks (almost 2 feet deep) through the soil. We add compost and mineral soil amendments such as gypsum and rock dust, and finally, before shaping the beds, we carefully grade the field for optimal drainage. After that we use oversized listing shovels that push the soil up into rows that are subsequently shaped into beds. These beds will be taller so that that the winter crops don’t get "wet feet." Next year’s strawberry plants have been ordered and I am excited about a new variety we’ve been experimenting with over the last two years called Albion. It is a day-neutral variety like our tried and very faithful Seascape (day-neutral means the plant's flowering and fruiting patterns are not affected by fluctuations in day length). Albion, which we grew right next to the Seascapes this year, has shown itself to be more vigorous, developing more foliage which in turn protects the berries during unusually hot days. We lost many berries to sunburn this summer, but the Albions were less affected than the Seascapes. Like most day-neutral varieties, Albion has a nice even production pattern. Another benefit to growing Albions is that, according to University of California Extension research, it is more resistant to Verticillium wilt, the most common soil-borne fungus affecting strawberries. This fungus is the primary reason conventional strawberry growers use Methyl Bromide, a highly toxic and ozone depleting gas, to fumigate the soil before planting their strawberries. But the main reason I like Albions is their excellent flavor: sweet, with a nice balance of acids. They are pretty addicting. Eat one and you instinctively want to reach for the next berry (I have a similar reaction when I eat the Sungold cherry tomatoes). The way to tell an Albion apart from a Seascape berry is that its seeds are set deeper into the flesh and its shape is a little more rounded at the tip. - TomHeads up... there will
be a Winter Share this year!!  |
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Notes
from Debbie’s Kitchen . . . . .
. . . Have a recipe you’d like to share? Contact
Debbie. Joel writes: I'm new to the whole CSA thing and I've been pretty distracted by the birth of my second daughter two weeks ago... as a result I've been pretty much kale-ified to within an inch of my life. Chardinated. Collarded. It's raining greens and the fridge was getting full! Luckily, I have friends who know how to use the bundles of greens we've
been getting in a yummy breakfast that even my greens-unfriendly family
likes. Joel continues: The addition of carrots, cilantro, and garlic to our
share meant I made an old staple: garlicky carrot salad. I keep last
season's lime juice in ice-cube form in our freezer for just such a use
as this! I also heard from member Jessica Gillis, who sent this next recipe, with her comments: Italian Tomato Bread Salad from “Tomatoes and Mozzarella” by Hallie Harron and Shelley Sikora. Serves 4 1 medium red onion, halved and thinly sliced 2/3 C minced green onion 1/2 medium-size English cucumber, diced 1 tbsp. capers 3 medium-size ripe tomatoes, cored and coarsely chopped 1 lg. garlic clove, minced 8 oz. day-old hearty Italian bread* 1/4 C lemon basil or regular basil leaves, coarsely chopped 1 C shredded mozzarella cheese Olivada Dressing (recipe follows) Place all the ingredients in a large bowl and gently toss to mix well. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day, but allow to come to room temperature before serving. Olivada Dressing (makes about 1/3 C) 2 tbsp. store-bought olive tapenade 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice 1/4 C extra-virgin olive oil 1 garlic clove, minced Pinch of cayenne pepper Whisk all the ingredients together in a small bowl. Store in the refrigerator in a clean glass container for up to 3 days. *Jessica says, “The bread is important – it needs to be a chewy “country” type loaf and is best torn up into large bite-sized pieces, which this recipe doesn’t mention. I always make the salad first then let it sit while I cook the rest of the meal. The dressing needs to soak into the bread but not to the extent that it is soggy and the bread falls apart. I might add chopped parsley too (since we have it). This is one of my favorite summer salads! I serve it with grilled meat, fish or veggies. I also like the idea of using tapenade instead of just chopped olives, which is what I usually use when I make tomato bread salad.” *Click Here* for a link to a comprehensive listing of recipes from Live Earth Farm's newsletters going back as far as our 1998 season! You can search for recipes by key ingredient. Recipe site is updated weekly during the season. |
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