Farm to Folk Newsletter June 17,2008

“A little extra info from the farms to the folks”

website: www.farmtofolk.com

Farm to Folk is now a member of the Buy Fresh Buy Local campaign.

People can use this link to pledge to buy fresh and buy local: 

https://www.law.drake.edu/centers/agLaw/pledge.aspx

Paul's Grains will tentatively come next Tuesday. This depends on the size of the order,

so if you'd like to get something from them this is the week to let me know.

To see what they offer go to their website at: http://www.paulsgrains.com/

A bit about the Pauls:

Since 1964, our family has raised and marketed grains without the use of chemicals on the soil,

on the plants in the field, or in the storage bins. Grain that we cannot raise is bought from

farmers who do likewise.  We will be delivering to the Farm to Folk distribution site two or

three times this year.

Full Circle Farm will have weekly deliveries of their grass fed beef. Say hi to Brian,

their full time farm hand, and buy some great beef.

Berry Patch : Fruit shares will be delivered weekly now. Besides bringing berries to F2F,

we will sometimes be at the corner of 13th and Grand in Ames with berries for sale.

Please call the farm to find out our schedule. 382-5138.

Grains of Wisdom: Bagels, ciabatta and scones will be available. Please pre order to reserve what you'd like.

www.grainsofwisdom.com

 
Small Potatoes Farm  
Hello Everyone,  
Deliveries
 
We will again have lettuce (hopefully), onions and radishes. In addition we have some 
turnips from Turtle Farm - our neighbor and fellow organic certified CSA. They needed 
harvested or would have gone to waste. These are Japanese sweet turnips and I think 
you'll love them raw. Trust me. 
 
Happenings (Or Rain, Rain Go Away) 
We trudge through a melancholy most of the day. Mud, mosquitoes and overcast skies. 
Finding it hard to believe it just keeps raining. We are around 9 inches for the week. 
We have crops under water and standing in water. Much of the rest are in waterlogged soil. 
It would be fair to say at this point there will be crop losses, but the extent will be unclear 
until the soil dries out. Space dedicated to crops will be replanted, but long-season crops 
(90+ days to harvest) may be canceled in favor of faster growing crops.
 
We have lost summer squash, melons and cucumbers. I believe the squash and cucumbers
could be replanted. We are in jeopardy of losing winter squash. We would probably switch 
to the shortest season variety we could get for replanting. We'll have later beans, rather 
than early. We can't plant our second planting of tomatoes, as there is standing water in the field. 
The plants are patiently sitting in their flats. Some peppers and eggplant are underwater. 
The greens field has standing water, is not weeded or thinned. 
This includes our broccoli and cauliflower. New planting and weeding have come to a standstill. 
Here are some images (before last night's 3.5 inches of rain) 
http://www.smallpotatoesfarm.com/June_2008.html.
 
The carrots, beets, some lettuce beds, radishes and potatoes seem to be doing well. 
They have to be weeded and hilled though (potatoes). Some potatoes began flowering, 
indicating tuber formation. The effect of not being hilled will be detrimental. Much of our garlic 
is on a hill and I think over half will do o.k. We may have to suspend deliveries for a period, 
but will keep you updated on that possibility. No decision has been made yet.
 
That is the crop report and I know it may sound grim. It is. But the weather changes and 
we'll adapt. It is our worst weather related set back since we began our CSA, 
but we know from experience the season is long and we yet have opportunities to 
deliver a lot of good food before it’s over.
 
For those of you that are long-term CSA members, you have the perspective of a long time 
horizon and may have some comfort in the average share of produce you have received since 
supporting the farm. For new members, it is more of harsh experience, akin to investing your 
savings in the stock market just before a downturn. Fortunately, for both the farm and the market, 
over time there has historically been a reasonable return.
 
So, as you read this please know two things. First, we will continue to do the best we can, 
always grateful for your support. We know that the risk you share with us is what allows 
us to continue to keep this farm going. And second, the prosperity of the farm will turn around, 
hopefully sooner rather than later. 
 
What We're Eating and Tips  
For root crops like turnips and radishes, remove the tops and keep the roots sealed in a glass jar 
or plastic bag. The plants are alive and will continue to respire if you don't - sending water from 
your root and softening it. The tops on both can be used. Our employee says his family used the 
radish tops to cook with eggs and really didn't use the root! 
 
Last night Rick made a pizza with green onion and asparagus. 
Betty Crocker pizza dough recipe,  spaghetti sauce, throw on whatever is on the counter and 
cover with a little cheese. It was quite good.
 
Here is a recipe from Kay M., Rick will get it on the website soon. 
I usually make this later in the season when I have had quite enough fresh lettuce salads, 
but still have lettuce in the fridge.

It goes like this;



Vegan Wilted Lettuce 

2-3 heads leaf lettuce (Romaine, red leaf, etc.)

salt and pepper, to taste

1/4 to 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 to 1/2 cup water

1 tablespoon to 1/4 cup honey

A few splashes of good soy sauce 

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup (or more!) finely sliced white or red onions
Separate lettuce leaves, rinsing as you do so. The slice the leaves into fat ribbons and place into a large glass bowl.
Measure vinegar, water and honey and mix together. 
In a fry pan, heat the olive oil and add the onions.  Stir the onions to coat them with oil, then fry them until crispy 
(brown and crunchy) on both sides.
While the onions are crisping, sprinkle salt and pepper to taste onto the lettuce and toss. 
When the onions are ready, pour in the vinegar mixture and stir together.
Bring to a boil (about 2 minutes top). Add soy sauce if desired.
Remove from heat. 
Pour the warm sauce over the lettuce and toss.
After giving this a try, adjust the amounts of onions, vinegar and honey that suits your taste. 
Sometimes I add a clove or two of minced garlic to the onions just when they are about done. 
(for my garlic loving husband.) 
 
Rick and Stacy

Iowa Fresh Produce

Hello everyone -
Rain still continues to be a paramount issue around here this Thursday
afternoon.... the field ponds have become more numerous and larger than last week and 
this was after many had finally gone down last Saturday. More rains last night have no doubt 
added to the troubles. Summed up: just too much rain!
 
And with all the rain comes cooler temperatures and lack of sunshine so we've been dealt a triple blow. 
The veggies need less of the former and more of the latter. From the looks of things around here I would 
say we are a good two weeks behind schedule already in what we should have available now. 
Some of the crops will catch up, other will just go by the wayside I'm afraid.
 
Saturday evening / Sunday- showers hit hard causing road closings both to the East and West of us. 
We were all but marooned there for a while and yet we are 1 1/2 miles from the nearest creek. 
Farm fields just can't absorb the water resulting in flooding around here that is worse than back in "93. 
Crop areas not under water continue to ooze water from the side hills and thus the weeds are beginning 
to get a foothold. Hopefully a day or two of sunshine will allow the water to dry up so we can once again 
get after the weeds before they become totally out of hand.
 
Peas began blooming last week (about 1 1/2 weeks later than usual) and are somewhat stunted due 
to the rains. It will most likely be a short crop as the first planting is partially washed out as well.
 There are some bright spots however! I went out yesterday and searched the 1/2 acre I had planted 
in winter squash one day a couple weeks ago. It took a while to find any plants as all footprints from 
planting had been washed out but once I did find a row I could make out where the other rows were. 
I'm happy to say they are doing better than I had thought especially after an initial look and I thought 
the whole area might have to be replanted - if it dried out. Beets too, which are atop the hill, seem to 
be thriving and looking fine, pepper plants are making a comeback after being ravaged by torrential winds 
and what tomatoes that have been planted are now showing signs of growth....
 
Perhaps I've dwelled a bit much on the weather but it has impacted the garden tremendously!. 
In the past two weeks we have been able to 'mud in" a few plants but no seed planting has occurred. 
As a result you may find that some vegetables may not be as plentiful for distribution as I had hoped. 
Some substitutions may occur and some week's distributions in the near future may be less than what 
I would hope for. Please bear in mind that we growers are doing everything we can. Let's all hope for a 
late Fall.
 
 
For Tuesday we will be bringing:
 
Spring mix
Spinach
Radishes
 
Bruce
 
 

RECIPES – please send recipes. deb@farmtofolk.com

There are two above in the Small Potatoes letter.

See you Tuesday!

Marilyn, Corry and Deb