7/10/24 July Update - Crops and Trees
Despite the heat, things are looking pretty great on the farm and we just can’t quite believe it’s July! Here are a few quick notes:
Our summer crops are coming on. We are excited to have the first of our Eggplant going out to Family boxes this week. Two kinds of Italian and two kinds of Asian Eggplant this year. The Italian are your typical purple and Annina, which is striped white and light and a very thin skin. This is primarily what families are getting today. It cooks just like regular eggplant but with a thinner skin (so easier to eat). We also are trying for the first time in several years two kinds of Asian Eggplant.
Our Pepper crop also looks amazing! We have a couple types of bell peppers, we’re excited to have Jimmy Nardello peppers, we have Shishitos, and a few hot peppers.
We farm in the cool Atascadero Valley Bottom. Thankfully this has meant that it’s been cooler for us this last heat wave than other parts of the county (albeit Tuesday it was 103 degrees). But generally that means that it’s too cool at night to grow these crops out of doors, they don’t want nights below 50 degrees and that is very common for us in the summer. As such, both of these crops are entirely grown in our hoop houses. These are plastic houses which means it’s warmer but also there is less wind and more humidity. However, our farming practices in these hoop houses are almost identical to outdoors. We are growing no-till, in the ground. These are also where all of our cucumbers are grown and majority of our summer squash.
Speaking of Cucumbers… They are ugly today. Really ugly. The Cucumber Beatles are hitting them (see newsletter from 6/19 talked about them). This is really only cosmetic, peel them and they’ll still be wonderful.
We made one really big change to our farm eco-structure the last two weeks specifically for our hoop houses. We are taking out two very large Cottonwood Trees that we planted 17 years ago from little saplings pulled out of Paul’s mom’s yard. They have grown so much that they completely shaded one and half of a second of our hoop houses (we have five total). It’s been sad, really sad, and it lets in a little more wind, but it’s been necessary. We are also leaving a tall stump thoughtfully, recognizing that these riparian trees will sprout back up in a big bush, which is honestly just what we want.
Continuing to talk about July, the crew has been working hard to trellis and prune our Tomatoes. We are thrilled they are starting to roll in albeit slowly. Families have a all of two Tomatoes in their box, a promise of what’s to come!
Our first succession of Sweet Corn is up to 6’ tall!
We harvested the first round of Garlic yesterday (they were a little small) with more to come later this week (they should be bigger in those beds).
Winter Squash looks amazing with some beds having mounds of leaves up to 4’ tall.
In Flower Land, we have Marigolds and Zinnias this week! With a few Rudbeckia, Amaranth and Dahlias close behind!! If you don’t have a flower subscription, you can always join OR just add a bouquet to your box any week or a single variety.
Produce Notes & Recipes!
This Week’s Box
Napa Cabbage
Kale Rotation: Rainbow (SR) OR Red Russian (WC)
Carrots
Kohlrabi
Cucumber (Maeso, Devine Heavner) OR Summer Squash (others)
Genovese Basil
Mixed Plums
Family: Eggplant + Red Slicer Tomatoes
The heat wave was hard for our lettuce, but we’re thrilled to have some really amazing salad ingredients. I would have jumped into a Napa and Carrot or Napa and Kohlrabi salad idea for you here but Sean (who’s packing your boxes this morning) said Kimchi!! He’s got a good point.
Kimchi can be more of a verb than a noun, just like pickling. You could make an easy kimchi of many different veggies as is pointed out by Doobydobap (See recipe below). I’m including two recipes so you can get a little sense. Kimchi pares well with so much, scrambled eggs, on a sandwich, on hot dogs, topping or as a side for many a meal.
Carrot Napa Cabbage Kimchi (Splendid Table)
2 pounds Napa cabbage
Generous 1/2 cup kosher or coarse sea salt
Cold water
5 scallions, trimmed, halved and cut into 1-inch pieces, green parts included
4 carrots, trimmed, peeled and cut into 2-inch matchsticks 4 Tbs ground Korean red pepper gochugaru or other mild chili pepper like ancho, New Mexican, Anaheim, Aleppo or pasilla
1/4 cup fish sauce
1- to 2-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped, about 2 tablespoons
6 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 Tbs salted shrimp, roughly chopped (optional)
2 tsp sugar
1. Cut the cabbage in half lengthwise and remove the core. Cut the cabbage horizontally into 1 1/2- to 2-inch ribbons and place in a large bowl. Sprinkle with the salt. Massage the salt into the cabbage, breaking it down a little. Cover with cold water. Place a small plate on top of the cabbage to keep it submerged. Set aside for 2-4 hours.
2. Drain and rinse the cabbage with cold water. Gently squeeze out any excess liquid and return the cabbage to the bowl.
3. Add the scallions, carrots, ground pepper, fish sauce, ginger, garlic, salted shrimp (if using) and sugar to the bowl. Toss with your hands until the cabbage is evenly mixed with the other ingredients.
4. Pack the kimchee into a clean, dry, 2-quart jar and cover tightly with a lid. Set in a cool place for 24 hours. It may bubble a bit. Open the jar to let any gas escape, reseal and store in the refrigerator. It’s ready to eat in about 48 hours, and gets better as it ages.
Kohlrabi Kimchi (doobydobap)
2 med or 1 lg kohlrabi (around 400g), peeled
1 tbsp coarse sea salt
2 spring onions, quartered
Sauce
½ onion
3 cloves garlic
½ tbsp ginger
2 tbsp fruit juice (I used orange)
4 tbsp gochugaru
4 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp sugar
Rice Glue
2 tbsp rice or 1 tbsp mochiko flour
½ cup water
Cut the kohlrabi into approximately 1.5cm cubes. Make sure to peel the outer layer of the kohlrabi as it is too fibrous! Slice the bottom and top of the kohlrabi off so it doesn't slide while cutting the outer peel. Pictures below to guide you if you've never worked with kohlrabi before!
Transfer the cubed kohlrabi into a large bowl.
Sprinkle the salt on the kohlrabi and mix it thoroughly. This process salts the kohlrabi to draw out moisture, so it stays crunchy while seasoning. Let it sit for at least 1 hour, turning it every 30 minutes.
We’re excited to have the first round of spring/summer Carrots for you. Our first early succession of Carrots rotted in the field in February (as did other farmers… just a wet winter), so this is the second succession.
We have the second and last round of Plums for you. These are primarily Santa Rosa plums (a Luther Burbank legacy) but there are a few others int here for you.
We’re back into beautiful Genovese Basil. Especially enjoy with your Squash, Eggplant and Tomatoes!
Summer Squash-Basil Soup (Gourmet, July 2008)
2 lb zucchini or other summer squash, trimmed and cut crosswise into thirds
3/4 c chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 c olive oil
4 c water, divided (I rec only 1.5 cups in soup)
1/3 c packed basil leaves
Julienne skin (only) from half of zucchini with slicer; toss with 1/2 teaspoon salt and drain in a sieve until wilted, at least 20 minutes. Coarsely chop remaining zucchini.
Cook onion and garlic in oil in a 3- to 4-quarts heavy saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add chopped zucchini and 1 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes. Add 3 cups water and simmer, partially covered, until tender, about 15 minutes. Purée soup with basil in 2 batches in a blender (use caution when blending hot liquids).
Bring remaining cup water to a boil in a small saucepan and blanch julienned zucchini 1 minute. Drain in a sieve set over a bowl (use liquid to thin soup if necessary).
Season soup with salt and pepper. Serve in shallow bowls with julienned zucchini mounded on top.
Note: I found 3 c water in the soup was FAR too much since the zucchini gets watery anyhow when cooked. I used chicken broth and that was yummy.