11/8/23 Newsletter: Rain, Wood Chips and Garlic
This past weekend’s rain wasn’t that much in quantity but it and the mild temperature following was ideal for germinating our cover crops! Now it looks like we might get a bigger rain early next week and we’re ready.
Last week I mentioned in the newsletter that we had gotten a chipper to process a couple years worth of trimmed wood. This week we were able to use those wood chips to feed the soil in our veggie beds.
Why do we have so much wood? Singing Frogs Farm is on an 8.8 acre property in the bottom of the Atascadero Valley Bottom. Our field space is only 2.25 acres but we call ourselves a 3 acre farm because there are of course roads, the barn, nursery, compost piles and such.
As a side note… we don’t talk about it much but we grew veggies for 170 CSA members this year (and that’s only half our produce) off of 2.25 acres! Intensive farming!!
So what are the other 5+ acres. Well there is the Kaiser family house, and we do have 6 ponds (they don’t call us Singing Frogs Farm for nothing!). But above and beyond that we have more space and in that space we have worked to plant and nurture a plethora of perennials over the last 16 years. First off we have hedgerows through our property and wind breaks around the edges of our property. Just last winter and this summer we planted a new wind break in a wind gap on the north side of our property. Side note: with climate change we’re having more and more destructive winds from the north and as our perennials are maturing the one hole along our north edge created a horrible wind tunnel just where we have our largest hoop house… which was torn due to the chaotic north winds the last two winters.
But all those perennials need maintenance. Our four large Oberhasli goats (Mocha, Romanesco, Cauli & Flower) help us maintain much of this area and we have 6 pastures (plus hopefully more this winter) along the perimeter of our property we rotate them through. Still, we do more trimming of hedgerows and trees to maintain sun on our crops, fire mitigation and the general health of our ecosystem. This means we have a a lot of wood. That wood is a resource.
We were thrilled to have last week’s chips cover most of the pathways in a field that has very good but not amazing soil. We just got some soil tests back and the soil organic matter in this field was 9 rather than 10+ in other fields, and had high (but not as high as other field s) biological respiration. The wood chips will slowly decompose in the pathways, really boosting the fungi which will of course reach into the veggie beds and bolster the soil food web. We would love to mulch all our pathways but it is a resource and expensive both in cost and labor.
Many people say not to use wood chips in veg production because they are so high in Carbon and the decomposition can lock up nutrients (especially nitrogen) such that other soil life is decreased during it’s decomposition. Our soil biology (even in this field) is so high we don’t worry about it. We’ve been told we could put wood chips on our beds… but we don’t go quite that far.
Something else happened on our farm this week, for the first time in over 12 years: We planted Garlic! We trialed garlic our first few years and found that it took up too many of our beds that we needed in spring but we think we’ve intensified enough that we can try this crop again. We planted over 1500 Red Chesnok Garlic the last couple days. This is a hard neck garlic which means means we will additionally have Garlic Scapes in the spring!! We’ll see if this is a new Singing Frogs product to stay.
Produce Notes & Recipes
This Week’s Box
Rainbow (SR) OR Red Russian (WC) Kale
Butterball Potatoes (Front Porch Farm)
Delicate Winter Squash (SR) OR Broccoli (WC)
Green Cabbage
Green Tomatoes
Apples
Family Boxes: Spinach & Green Peppers
This week we have two items from other farmers… First off those of you in Santa Rosa are getting Delicata Winter Squash from Summerfield Waldorf School, this is completing a rotation from two weeks ago. Please see our 10/25 newsletter for write up and a recipe.
We also have the first of our potatoes… Butterball Potatoes from Front Porch Farm! We’ve loved supporting Front Porch since they’ve started up just outside of Healdsburg and hope to also have some of their amazing Polenta in our Add-On Store later on this season. You’ll also find these potatoes as well as storage onions and garlic that we’ll both be using in CSA and our Add-On Store. Note, we never have items from other farms at farmers’ markets… just you
Butterball Potatoes are an heirloom golden Russett-type potato. Butterball Potatoes are somewhat flakey and we love them for their sweet taste and versatility. They are lovely boiled with butter or baked but also hold their shape in soups and stews. Everyone has 1.5 pounds of them. They have been a favorite for CSA members but honestly are the most expensive potatoes for us to buy in so we only have a limited amount. They also store less well than other varieties so you’re getting them first!
Kale and Olive Oil Mashed Potato Recipe (101cookbooks.com)
For this recipe, chop the kale quite finely otherwise it gets floppy, Also stirring the kale in too much it can lend a slight green cast to your potatoes, so just barely stir it in right before serving. Also, on the potato front - feel free to use unpeeled potatoes if you like something a bit more rustic (and nutritious). I picked up some yellow-fleshed German Butterball potatoes at the market last week and they added the visual illusion that the mashed potatoes were packed with butter. Didn't miss the real thing a bit.
1.5 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
sea salt
3 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch kale, stems stripped, leaves chopped
1/2 c warm milk or cream
freshly ground black pepper
3 scallions, white and tender green parts, chopped
1/4 c freshly grated Parmesan, for garnish (opt)
fried shallots, for garnish (optional)
Yes, we do have the very last of the Tomatoes for you today. They are not the sexiest… but just keep them on your counter as they ripen and they’ll be great added to something.
We have some lovely Green Cabbage for you today.
Skillet Potato and Cabbage Pancakes (Farmer John’s Cookbook)
1 c shredded cabbage
2½ c grated potatoes, any kind
¼ c diced scallions
1 clove garlic
1 egg, beaten
1½ tsp salt
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
¼ c butter
2 Tbs oil
sour cream or apple sauce (optional)
Place cabbage in steamer basket and set over 1½ inches boiling water.
Place grated potatoes in a clean dish towel. Gather up the edges, twist the towel tight, and hold the bundle over the sink. Squeeze out as much moisture as you can. (While this step helps you get nicely browned and crisp pancakes, it is not absolutely necessary).
Combine the potatoes, cabbage, scallions, garlic, egg, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Mix well and then use your hands to form thin, loose patties of the size you prefer.
Combine the butter and oil in a large skillet over med-high heat; heat until butter melts. Add as many patties as will fit in your skillet without overcrowding; press down on them firmly with the back of a spatula. Cook until the pancakes are brown to your liking, 7-10 min. Flip the pancakes, press down firmly and cook until bottoms are brown, 7-10 min.
Top with sour cream or apple sauce if desired. Serve hot.
We have just a few Apples going out today. They are a mix from about four different trees but all crisp and good for fresh eating or they would be great in a salad with the Green Cabbage.
Family Boxes have Green Peppers. After putting our driveway gate in the pepper plants finally bounced back but there was not enough Summer to get them ripened. Peppers develop green and the turn red/orange as they sweeten. We harvested these as we were clearing the plants after they were frost tinged last week. We also have an early Spinach, we hope to have enough to do a rotation sometime soon but for now we have enough for Family Boxes.