2016 – Week 2 Newsletter

“Your imagination costs you nothing, but it will cost you everything if you refuse to use it.” ~Robert Battle

Week 2 produce list:

• Radishes
• Romaine lettuce
• Boc Choy
• Broccoli
• Cabbage
• Scallions
• Kale
• Napa cabbage – full/single
• Mizuna greens – full/single
• Cilantro – full/half
• Leeks – full
• Asparagus – full

Week 2 farmer notes

• Welcome to summer 2016 everyone – we hope it is a great one for all!
• Lots of crops this week for salads, slaw, stir fry and sautéing
• Last of the asparagus for another year – it needs ample time to put energy into fortifying the bulb/root for next year’s production
• Use the bottom 6 inches of leeks cut finely and sauté or use in a soup
• Mizuna is an Asian green with a little kick for a salad or braising
• See our recipes for Napa and Boc Choy this week
• Some of the broccoli got a bit past prime with last weekend’s heat
• We still have some produce and egg shares available for this season if you know of anyone who may want to jump in at a prorated price
• Wash all produce before eating and enjoy!
  

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  Monitoring and Managing Field Pests

  Managing a variety of field insect pests and varmints is a constant chore on the farm.

  Here is a list of our most common ‘problem friends’ and what we do to minimize their havoc:

  Flea beetles have 2 distinct life cycles around mid May-mid June and again in August. They are very small shiny black bugs that chew holes in the leaves of the cruciferous family primarily. You will notice some of their handiwork in the leaves of the Boc Choy and Napa this week. We cover many a crop with a woven row cover called Agribon, but even then some sneak beneath to munch.

  Colorado Potato beetles will decimate a crop of potatoes or eggplant if left unattended. We walk and manually pinch early on, but once the potatoes flower (right now), we drive the tractor on high gear with the loader half way down on the plant and whip them off the plant and into the loader bucket. Then thousands upon thousands are squished with our foot.

  The Cucumber beetle is a small oblong yellow and black striped bug that affects the squashes and cucumbers beginning about this time. They can easily obliterate a plant in a few days if not kept in check. Some seasons are worse than others and so far this year is fairly decent. We have an organically approved spray called Pyganic which contains Pyrethrum (a botanical insecticide derived from chrysanthemums) on hand if the infestation warrants its use to save the crop.

  The Cabbage looper is a green worm that likes broccoli and cabbages. You may see some small green eggs or small worms in the deep folds of these crops this week. Soaking this produce in salt water helps clean or else just rinse well before you cook them. The loopers are worse in the broccoli and cabbage delivered to you in the fall period.

  Deer. Deer. Deer. Oh my god, deer! These guys are everywhere all the time. They particularly like to wander through and taste and play with lettuce, beets, chard, peas, and about anything else that is sweet. We cover, double cover, and, sometimes, triple cover some of these crops to keep the deer at bay.

  Raccoon are notorious for coming and ravaging the sweet corn and raspberries the day before harvest. We put up electric fence at 4, 8, and 12 inches to keep them out of the patch.

  Wish us luck!! ~ Norm

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Vegetable of the Week: Napa Cabbage and Boc Choy

Both Napa cabbage and boc choy are members of the brassica family and are tasty in stir-fries, soups, or raw in a salad. Both are technically cabbages; Napa (meaning the leaf of any vegetable in Japanese) cabbage is also called Chinese cabbage, while boc choy is known as white cabbage.

To tell the two apart in your box, Napa is lighter in color than boc choy and looks similar to Romaine lettuce. If you try out the raw leaf you’ll notice a mild peppery flavor. Boc choy looks a little like a head of dark green chard leaves, and it has a more traditional cabbage flavor.

Cruciferous vegetables like these, as well as broccoli, kale, brussel sprouts, and others, strengthen the immune system because they are high in vitamin A carotenoids and vitamin C, essential antioxidants. They also assist the inflammatory system because of their high levels of vitamin K and omega 3 fatty acids.

Enjoy these Asian veggies in some tangy and nutritious kimchi made of Napa cabbage, or by sautéing boc choy (maybe with some cilantro) in an Asian noodle or curry dish.

It’s  grilling season and July 4th will be here soon. Here are a couple recipes to make your barbecue even tastier.

Stir-Fried Bok Choy and Mizuna

This can be done straight on the grill with a cast iron skillet or prepared before for a cold dish at your potluck. It’s tasty with any meal and can add a fresh twist to burgers and dogs.

Homemade Sauerkraut 

The ten minutes of prep time when you get your box will pay off when you can dress your Brats with your own batch of this addictive condiment.

Makes 1 to 1 1/2 quarts

 Ingredients
1 head of yummy Earth Dance Farm Napa Cabbage (about 3 pounds)
1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt

1 tablespoons caraway seeds (optional, for flavor)

1 sliced jalapeno (optional, for flavor)

1 sliced cucumber (optional, for different crunchy texture)

Instructions

1. Slice the cabbage: Discard the wilted, limp outer leaves of the cabbage. Slice into thin ribbons. (Optional: save one of the big outer leaves for packing later)
2. Cabbage massage: Transfer the cabbage to a big mixing bowl and sprinkle the salt over top. Begin working the salt into the cabbage by massaging and squeezing the cabbage with your hands. Gradually the cabbage will become watery and limp — more like coleslaw than raw cabbage. This will take 5 to 10 minutes. If you’d like to flavor your sauerkraut with the optional ingredients, mix them in now.
   
3. Pack the cabbage: Grab handfuls of the cabbage and pack them into the container.  Every so often, tamp down the cabbage with your fist. Pour any liquid released by the cabbage while you were massaging it into the container.→ Optional: Place one of the larger outer leaves of the cabbage over the surface of the sliced cabbage. This will help keep the cabbage submerged in its liquid.
4. Weigh the cabbage down: Once all the cabbage is packed, slip the smaller container into the cabbage filled container and weigh it down. This will help keep the cabbage weighed down, and eventually, submerged beneath its liquid.
   
5. Cover: Cover with a cloth and secure it with a rubber band or twine. This allows air to flow in and out, but keeps out dust or insects.
6. Add extra liquid, if needed: If after 24 hours, the liquid has not risen above the cabbage, dissolve 1 teaspoon of salt in 1 cup of water and add enough to submerge the cabbage.
   

Ferment the cabbage for 3 to 10 days: As it’s fermenting, keep the sauerkraut away from direct sunlight and at a cool room temperature — ideally 65°F to 75°F. Check it daily and press it down if the cabbage is floating above the liquid.

Because this is a small batch of sauerkraut, it will ferment more quickly than larger batches. Start tasting it after 3 days — when the sauerkraut tastes good to you, remove the weight, screw on the cap, and refrigerate. You can also allow the sauerkraut to continue fermenting for 10 days or even longer. There’s no hard-and-fast rule for when the sauerkraut is “done” — go by how it tastes.

Recipe Notes:

• Bubbles, Foam or White Scum: These are all signs of a healthy, happy fermentation process. The scum can be skimmed off the top either during fermentation or before refrigerating. If you see any mold, skim it off immediately and make sure your cabbage is fully submerged; don’t eat moldy parts close to the surface, but the rest of the sauerkraut is fine.
  
• Store sauerkraut for several months: This sauerkraut is a fermented product so it will keep for at least two months and often longer if kept refrigerated. As long as it still tastes and smells good to eat, it will be. If you like, you can transfer the sauerkraut to a smaller container for longer storage.
• Hot and cold temperatures: Do everything you can to store sauerkraut at a cool room temperature. At high temperatures, the sauerkraut can sometimes become unappetizingly mushy or go bad. Low temperatures (above freezing) are fine, but fermentation will proceed more slowly.