It's Going To Rain Soon, Right?

My gosh, it has been the driest spring since I have been market farming.  It is only April, and our largest pond, about 5 acres, is completely dry. Our second pond, about 4 acres, is supplemented with us pumping well water into it every night.  From this pond we use both "trickle" and overhead irrigation for most of our row crops on the back side of our farm. Our greenhouses, where our baby greens are grown, are irrigated with well water.  This afternoon we noticed that almost all of our spinach, beets, turnips, and radishes were wilted from the constant wind that blows from the south every afternoon.  We've now got over half of our tomatoes transplanted in the ground, along with most of our summer squash, zucchini, and cucumbers. With no rain forecast in site, one has to worry if we have enough well capacity to keep everything going. We're optimistic that we'll be okay. Below are a few photos of our last two weeks of CSA shares etc. The wonderful sugar snap peas are about finished, too little rain/too much heat. The good news is that we are hopeful that the green beans will begin next week  and Red Lasoda "new" potatoes in a few weeks. Strawberries were good while they lasted but they are gone for the season. The native "dew berries" that grow wild on our farm are about ripe for picking, so blackberries will soon be ready. Hopefully we'll find a local sustainable source of blackberries as well. For those of you that are CSA members and wondering what to do with all those beets you received this week, we have provided a recipe, courtesy of one of your fellow farm members, found further below.

In our Full Shares the week of April 20th, two bags baby salad greens, bunch of spring onions, 6-7 Beets w/tops, 6-7 Radish w/tops, small box micro greens, bag sugar snaps, assorted baby summer squash/zucchini.

In our Full Shares the week of April 13th, two bags baby salad greens, bunch of spring onions, 5-6 Beets w/tops,  two bunches of mustard greens, bag sugar snap peas, small box micro greens, a few summer squash/zucchini , pint strawberries.

 

 Lots of baby beets just picked and freshly rinsed

 

Our delivery trailer almost filled up. The back of our pick up truck was full of coolers containing our frozen pastured pork and poultry as our CSA Meat/Poultry shares began this week too. So happy that this is just a once per month delivery in the spring/summer. Whoever invented dry ice, we're grateful. 

A recipe note from a fellow farm member:

Hey Van,

I made this recipe with your beets tonight --it was a hit ! The beet greens were delish too. We used vinegar in the beets as opposed to the butter option. Thought I would pass it along for you to share if you'd like. We are really enjoying our veggie share :)

Best, 

Roasted Beets and Sauteed Beet Greens

Yield 4 Servings

Ingredients

• 1 bunch beets with
• greens
• 1/4 cup olive oil, divided
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons chopped onion (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (175 degrees C). Wash the beets thoroughly, leaving the skins on, and remove the greens. Rinse greens, removing any large stems, and set aside. Place the beets in a small baking dish or roasting pan, and toss with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. If you wish to peel the beets, it is easier to do so once they have been roasted.
2. Cover, and bake for 45 to 60 minutes, or until a knife can slide easily through the largest beet.
3. When the roasted beets are almost done, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and onion, and cook for a minute. Tear the beet greens into 2 to 3 inch pieces, and add them to the skillet. Cook and stir until greens are wilted and tender. Season with salt and pepper. Serve the greens as is, and the roasted beets sliced with either red-wine vinegar, or butter and salt and pepper.

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving  Calories: 204 | Total Fat: 13.9g | Cholesterol: 0mg