Farm News – September 11, 2017
Hello Everyone, we have another nice share for you this week, including another round of sweet corn. Last week the corn we sent was Silverqueen, an old standard variety. This week we are sending an heirloom variety called Luther Hill. This is a variety that is well renowned in the tristate area, with its fans known for seeking it out. It was actually one of the parents that were used in creating the hybrid Silverqueen. It has rather small ears but boasts excellent flavor without the cloying sweetness of the new supersweet hybrids. A few groups were shorted their Silverqueen last week and will receive it this time around and the Luther Hill for next week. Everyone will receive some corn at least twice this season. We have one more planting but it is uncertain how well it will yield. There is a low incidence of earworm but it is still possible you may find one on the tip of some of your ears.
We are also sending watermelon to most of the groups that have not yet received any. It is not as sweet as I would have liked, but we have had a bit of a heat/sunshine deficit this season. We are also buried in beans at present; there will be a lb. for all and extra for premium share members. The ones with the purple streaking are heirloom varieties: Rattlesnake (purple-green) and Dragon Langerie (aka Dragon’s Tongue) (purple-yellow). In case you are overwhelmed by the bean bounty, keep in mind that beans are easy to freeze. They need 1 minute in boiling water or steam to blanch them, then into ice water or running cold tap water to stop the cooking process. Then toss them into a sealable bag and you will have beans to use this winter. Blanching is important because it destroys enzymes which breakdown vitamins and turn sugars into starch.
We are announcing several opportunities to visit the farm in the coming weeks. The first will be this Sunday 9/17, a farm visit we are hosting in conjunction with LocalShare to observe National Gleaning week. LocalShare is a group that works with local farms to collect their culled and excess produce for distribution to food banks, pantries and soup kitchens. Gleaners are volunteers who help harvest un-needed produce that would otherwise go to waste in the field. The event is from 11 am until 4 pm (or as long as folks want to hang out). It will be a potluck barbecue, featuring farm tours, gleaning, and maybe some live music.
The share for this week will be: Parsnips, lettuce, eggplant, summer squash, beans, colored peppers, choice of arugula or tatsoi, leeks, fingerling potatoes, choice of cilantro or parsley and sweet corn. Premium shares will get shallots and extra beans.
The fruit share for this week will be: Peaches and Jonamac apples.
Enjoy! Farmer John
