Farm to Folk Newsletter July 22, 2008
Please note that Ragbrai will be in Ames on Tuesday, July 22, so there may be some traffic congestion. The Ragbrai route is through the campus area and the camping area is at the Iowa State Center. Main Street Cultural District has some events planned too and Main Street will be closed from Burnett through Tom Evans Park.
Farm to Folk is a member of the Buy Fresh Buy Local Campaign. Here is a link to the weekly BFBL newsletter:
http://www.drake.edu/news/dbletter/buyfreshbuylocal/
Meet the Members
This week we introduce Sue Posch, a third year member of Farm to Folk. Sue found F2F while helping Nan Bonfils of Full Circle Farm as she was growing crops for Angela Tedesco’s Turtle Farm CSA in Granger. Interested in a CSA share but not having the upfront cash, nor relishing the thought of a trip to Granger each week, Sue began hunting and discovered F2F just down the road from her office at ISU’s Study Abroad Center. She became a guinea pig for the fledgling a la carte system. One thing led to another and now if you are one of the early arrivals at pick-up, you’ve likely seen Sue setting up tables, toting in produce and busily putting together the a la carte orders each week. She’s a great asset to the F2F community. When not volunteering at F2F, Sue keeps busy restoring her old bungalow in Boone that she shares with seven special needs cats, supporting them with her second job as a medical transcriptionist at Boone County Hospital.
Berry Patch
Judy Henry says the red currants are looking especially beautiful this year. They will bring some for sampling on Tuesday. Also they have strawberry freezer jam available now at $5/jar.Now harvesting ; blueberries, cherries, raspberries, red and black currants, gooseberries .-Blueberries for u-pick only Saturday mornings 8 -12,
please bring your own container (ice cream pail)
Pick your own hours are Monday - Saturday 8 -12
Iowa Fresh Produce
Hello all-
Last week's 4.5+" of rain dampened the rush to get out the irrigation but we've resumed that this week and hope to avoid another such dowsing towards the end of this week... We also got our lettuce house up ( a bit later than I had hoped ) but it seems this year that is how everything is going... and sometimes late would be better than having to forego it all together.....
Shallots and garlic have been pulled and curing..... we now have about 1/3 of the onions shedded as well. For comparison sake - we planted the same amount of onions etc as we have the past several years. This year however the plants numbered a few less /bunch( we buy these as I have only so much room to start plants and each year it seems to be less)and with all the
drowning due to the rains we will be harvesting just about as many as we had going into November 2 years ago. No flat racks of them to have to work round this year! They were due another weeding however and given the short period of time they would be left in the ground ( the old farmers almanac says members of the onion family should never see an August sun) we began a
bit earlier than normal. The prairie chickens must have been surprised by that as well as I had noticed them hanging about around there. This morning, upon checking their clutch is now 6 eggs strong so they haven't abandoned it and we'll give them a wide berth for as long as we can. Seems a bit late for them as well but I'm sure they had their own troubles with the weather
this season.
The last of 4 fledgling barn swallows finally listened to its parent's incessant urgings ..... or perhaps succumbed to hunger . None the less it flew off yesterday. They've been fun to watch and as many foraging trips as the parents had to make I can only imagine what the mosquitoes would have been like without all those mouths to feed!
Even without sighting bumble bees this year the zucchini is finally
beginning to set fruit- a bit later than normal but the plants were stunted early on and have finally begin developing a good root system as they've grown more the past 2 weeks than the prior 5 it seems. No harvestable fruit yet but hopefully within 2 weeks the supply should be ample.
For July 22nd look for:
Beans- probably some of each green and wax
onions
Beets
I happened to catch a bit of Letterman's monologue last night. With the recent ordeal of salmonella in the lettuce coming from Mexico and E.coli in the tomatoes he said its somewhat surprising that the healthiest thing in a BLT these days is the Bacon. Thank goodness we can enjoy it all and not have
to worry.
Bruce
Small Potatoes Farm
Hello Everyone,
Deliveries
Deliveries will include carrots, potatoes, onions, basil and beets.
Also, we hope to have peppers by Tuesday.
Greens Share will be either lacinato kale, red Russian kale or collards.
Happenings (from the desk of Stacy)
Hello CSA members, this is Stacy. I thought I'd give Rick a break and compose the update this week.
As I'm sure Rick has detailed, it has been a difficult season thus far, and particularly for me. I am one who likes things just so. Unfortunately, the trifecta of spring flooding, baby, and poor employee have made that an impossible expectation. In fact, as I write this, our employee has not been seen nor heard from since last Monday. We suppose he has quit.
This is a great disappointment to Rick who had been hoping to fire him, but was unable as we could find no replacement.
Last season's employee, Celso, was amazing. We three worked so efficiently and were so caught up that there was time for tending flowers, dinner before 10 pm, going out on Friday nights, taking Sundays off, painting, mowing, etc. At the end of the day everything on the list was crossed off. Now, whilst standing in knee high grass, surrounded by chaos we occasionally reminisce about how things were with Celso. The history of the farm is demarcated by the arrival of Celso, and we are sadly in AC (After Celso) epoch.
I've been having a recurring dream that involves me driving a vehicle at great speed with no brakes. It doesn't help matters that this has actually happened two times while I've been delivering to Ames.
My psyche may be more delicate, but Rick is not immune to our hardships. Not inclined to get up early, he's been literally shooting out of bed at 6:30, 6, and sometimes 5:30 AM, as if propelled by anxiety. Because I must care for the baby, he must do most of the work and is out until sunset. I'm using Matilda's diaper pins to hold my pants up, but his already thin frame has become positively skeletal. He's been given over to a fiendish craving for meat. He devoured half a pork shoulder (courtesy of Cindy Madsen) at lunch the other day and was later found collapsed in the chard where he'd been hoeing when his digestive system rebelled.
There is good news. We've begun harvesting your garlic and so far it looks great. There is a mid season potato ready to harvest and sizable beets and peppers. The peas are waning, but the bean plants look terrific and will eventually take their place. The greens have pulled through the wetness and are cuttable. We uncovered the replanted summer squash today and it will be flowering soon. Rick broke my good cosmetic tweezers while de-egging the squash plants. That just a few plants appear afflicted with vine borers is consolation for my facial hair.
Rick insists there is demand for his mother-in-law segment so I'd better include it: While discussing our labor problem with my mother the other day on the phone she suggested I advertise our position to, "the people at hospitals.
-"At the hospitals?," I asked . "I don't know what you mean."
-"You know...the people who mop the floors, do the laundry, take out the trash. They always seem desperate and needy. I bet you could find someone there."
In the Kitchen
Basil is on the horizon for you. We had our first pesto tonight. I ran 1 cup of basil, 1/2 cup olive oil, 3 cloves garlic, and some sunflower nuts in the food processor, and poured the mix over pasta.
Most Notable Event
Rick found a white mulberry tree on the farm. Though commercially available it seems quite exotic and he was very pleased this discovery.
Recipes
Lemon Quencher Drink
from Glenda Stormes-Bice
5 cups water, divided
10 fresh mint leaves
1 cup lemon juice (I used concentrated and guessed on amount)
2/3 cup honey
2 teaspoons lemon peel (I skipped this to, since I was lemon-less, but
think it would add a crisper taste)
Mint sprigs and lemon peel strips, optional for decoration
In blender, combine 1 cup water and mint leaves, cover and process for one minutes. I did this with about ¼ cup of water and the mint in my tiny food processor but I think you would get a better blend in a blender. Strain the mixture into a pitcher, or leave the leaves in while it sets up. I did this, they all floated to the top and I just spooned them out the next morning.
Add the remaining ingredients and stir until blended. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight. Server over ice.
¾ cup = 96 calories
27 grams carbs
Trace of fat, fiber and protein.
No cholesterol
2 mg sodium
See you Tuesday!
Marilyn, Corry and Deb