Second Harvest

Hi all:
We open this week's story with peas!!! We're very excited in the garden this season to have peas so early. We're really using our mobile greenhouses to our advantage. These were started in February and it paid off with early peas. This photo is from this morning as the sun was just rising. These are Oregon Giant Snow Peas. They are the flat, large pods. Snow peas are great raw but really they are useful for any stir fry with vegetables (I suggest using your scallions and some of the spinach too).
Also in the bag with the snow peas are some Sugar Ann Snap Peas. These are also good in stir-fry meals but frankly, why waste the candy? Really, these are so sweet and good raw, we never even get them back to the house from the garden before they are gone. I put them all in the same bag to save on plastic but they are easy to tell from the snow peas.

This week's share also contains some of the same items from last week including the scallions I already mentioned, more Red Salad Bowl Lettuce and each of you got a full pound of spinach! The spinach was going crazy in the garden this morning. Between Brittany and I we spent 4 hours harvesting just spinach and pulled 50lbs out of the garden!!! Remember that while our spinach is tender enough to eat raw, even when it's large like this, it can also be braised. For a lesson on proper braising, click the archived post to the right under 2010 in June titled 'first harvest 2 of 2' and scroll down to the picture of Red Russian Kale. Braising is a great technique for cooking greens but not loosing the crispness or volume. Boiling this spinach will reduce it to about one hearty meals worth. Hard to believe looking at those two voluminous bags but it's true. Braising will keep you in spinach all week.

Also, this week is our first installment of Australe Lettuce. This is the head lettuce that is in the share bag. Isn't it beautiful. I tried this last season and it will forever be a keeper in our garden. I love the taste, the texture and the color is amazing in a salad or on a sandwich. Awesome stuff. Plus, from a production point of view, it's meant to be harvested small like this (actually it's called a miniature head lettuce). This means I can put more into less space and it is also easier to bag than some of the other lettuce varieties you'll get from us this season. We also put in another installment of radishes and that will be it on them for a few weeks until our next batch comes in. Hopefully that will be soon as they are a different variety and I'm looking forward to it.

And now, some photos of our work around the farm. I've been slowly working up our grape arbor over the past couple of years. I planted the grapes on some tough ground (read 'rocks') so they've taken a while to get with it. I was annoyed by that at first until I realized it just gives me time to work on the arbor. I only have to put up another piece when the grapes reach high enough! Convenient. Right now I'm working on putting up the skinny vertical pieces you see. This will give the vines something to cling to and expand upon. I want a wall of grapes!!!

Finally, our turkeys have arrived. They actually arrived last Friday (the first CSA harvest day of the season of all days) and I brought them home from the post office. They are doing quite well at this point but turkeys are very, very delicate. It's interesting based on the wild turkeys we have around the farm. I only ordered heritage breeds which are still able to fend for themselves and have some natural instincts but domesticated breeds are still just that. So as long as I can get them past the 'everything is a danger' stage, we'll be in good shape! Well, enjoy the share and I'll see you again next week.

First CSA Harvest of 2011 is here!!!

Finally! The moment is here. First CSA Harvest and delivery/pick-up of the year! This first one is very 'spring' oriented (obviously!).

Chives! Yes, those are eggs. No, the chickens didn't put them there. It's art! Actually, I did that to show what some of our members will hopefully use some of the chives for. Farm-fresh eggs with fresh spring chives! Great breakfast!

Another shot with the flowers! Did you know you can use the flowers? A quick google search will show you lots of ideas!!!

So I wasn't planning on radishes today but pulled back our row cover and they were ready! So you get some. White Icicle and French Breakfast Radish mix. Yes, they are supposed to be that long, not like the little round ones some may be familiar with. No, you don't have to eat them for breakfast.

This photo looked more clear on the camera. I was going for the scallions. They are looking pretty good in the garden coming up between some Australe Lettuce (which will be in a future share). This is a great example of the very intensive way we use space in the garden!

You'll also find a bag of Red Salad Bowl Lettuce in there. I love this lettuce because at the base it's green and the colors look great in a nice spring salad. Plus, it is good!

Spinach! By the boatload. We pulled 40 lbs of spinach off the garden today. This photo doesn't do it justice! It was like a carpet, too thick to even get through the walking paths. It's interplanted with carrots and peas. Yes, those are flowers on the peas (super early!!! thank you movable greenhouse #1).

Bread Shares! Check this out. I opened the bags to take this photo and was blown away by the awesome smell of freshly backed bread. This again is from the Rau family in Newport (right down the road from the farm). If you are jealous of the members who picked this option - it's not too late!!! Let me know if you would like to receive a loaf of this amazing, artisan bread each week with your produce share.

And here are a couple of shots of our work on the farm over the past week. Jim in the background with me fighting a slight breeze to cover our potato field with floating row cover. Hopefully this will keep off the dreaded Colorado Potato Beetle.

And here is our new washing station at the head of the garden. As you know we don't 'wash' produce. However, this does allow us to remove excess soil from things like radishes and carrots and cool spinach and lettuce, etc. See our salad spinner on the right. I made some changes to it this year and now it's more durable and more mobile.

Well, enjoy until next week and as always, I love/welcome your comments. That's how we improve!

Meet some of the crew!

Greetings all:

The delivery season is fast approaching but the farming season has never stopped here at the farm. I've been working since last October on getting ready for this season with seed orders, tool orders, networking, education and the nitty gritty, day-to-day, physical work of farming here in our beautiful hilltop location in Central Maine.

I wanted to take a few blog posts to introduce those who will be working with us on the farm this season. First, Brittany returns triumphantly this year in a new capacity. She'll be helping us out in the gardens this season and with harvesting but she'll also have her own garden at the farm. I can't wait to see what she produces and I know it will be amazing. Above, she's beginning to put our tomatoes into one of the hoop houses. We call this one the Quonset House.

There are certainly other people working with us on the farm but my camera data cord is not within reach so I'll post more on them later. Until then, meet some of the rest of the farm crew.

Here is Indy. I spoke about him in the last blog post. He's doing quite well and warming up to me quite nicely. I know it's because I bring the food and scratch his back but sometimes I think he might like the way I smell...like something good to eat. He tried to latch onto my knee the other day! This picture doesn't do him justice. He's a beautiful animal weighing in at about 250 lbs. right now. He'll get larger for sure but he's very active and working up some ground around one of our stone walls that's overgrown with honeysuckle (an invasive species by the way).

This photo tackles two birds with one stone. Ok, its actually one person, 30 birds and there aren't any stones but you get the idea. Lizzie is helping daddy feed the chickens in this picture. Yes, this was only about a week ago and yes it was cold enough for all that clothing.

Finally, here is a shot of my two favorite helpers (well, one helper and one future helper). Here is Lizzie and Martin at Martin's one month check-up the other day. He's doing well, gaining lots of weight and keeping mommy and daddy up at all hours. Just the way it should be! (Don't tell him I said that).

As always, everyone is encouraged to come out to the farm and look around, ask questions, etc. And if you ever want to work in the garden (as some CSA members do throughout the season) we love to have help from people who want an even more direct connection with their food.

A new season begins...

Well, actually the season is cyclical and never really ends or begins. Right around Thanksgiving the seed catalogs start rolling in and I begin scouring them and planning what to grow the next summer. I also inventory what we have for seeds. Below is just one of several boxes.
But tonight I began a yearly ritual that, to me, signifies the 'start' of the growing season. I began mixing my seedling soil. As I said, it's an annual ritual and one that is shared by gardeners and farmers worldwide and has been for a long, long time. I mixed my first batch of soil tonight in the basement of my home. While the plowtrucks went by outside I was downstairs, the dust and scent of peat moss heavy in the air, black, crumbly compost in buckets and rake or spade in hand, I spent about an hour and half mixing up a few batches of our starter mix.
Once I have a good bunch stocked up I'll begin making soil blocks and setting them on a homemade rack in the basement.

It's cool and damp down there which is the perfect condition to keep a few thousand soil blocks in until early/mid-February when I start planting our onions...

As I begin this process for 2011 I'm reminded how close the growing season is. Now is the time to sign-up for all of the many new, (and returning) exciting, local, beyond organic food options we have on offer. Visit www.parkerproduce.org to learn more about the many ways to enjoy real food from a family farmer you trust.

December Share!

Christmas is upon us!

At the Burgess Farm that means Christmas Tree Sales for a solid month! It's a lot of fun for everyone and that includes the whole family who is involved at the farm (including Lizzie). But by Christmas Eve we're all happy it's the last day of sales.

A quick note about the apples. They froze in the root cellar during that really, really cold stretch a few days ago. I was pretty bummed when I found them the next morning. But I did some research and found a University of Wisconsin paper showing that they are still fine to be used in cooked dishes like pie or sauce. Keep them frozen and then right before making whatever you are making, thaw them and cook them. In other words, they wouldn't be very good fresh eating because when they thaw they'll turn very, very soft.

I did not get to post a blog for the Thanksgiving shares so I figured I'd try to do it early for the Christmas Shares. Below are some photos of what is in the holiday shares.

Leeks on the left, Turnips in the middle and Australian Butter Squash on the right. This is my new favorite squash! It is interesting to look at, delicious and yields a ton of food! What more could ask for from a squash? Actually, from a gardening perspective it offers more. I've never seen a squash plant yield so many squash as this one did this fall. In the back are a couple of decorative 'Moonshine Pumpkins' and some Falstaff Brussels sprouts. The beautiful dark color will be augmented by the flavor now that they have seen frost. These loose their color as they are cooked.

This photo is from the Thanksgiving shares so it includes New England Pie Pumpkins. I will try to put one in each share but I'll also be putting in Long Pie Pumpkins. Delicious heirloom pumpkins that were the pie pumpkin in Maine a century ago. They are the only pie pumpkin that will ripen consistently after harvest. I picked them mostly green in September and they have been ripening in the root cellar since then. I also have included several types of potatoes in this share and hope you enjoy the variety.

Another shot of the Australian Butter. I love this squash!

Here is a shot of the leeks this morning just after I had uncovered them. They have been frozen and thawed a few times under there but the plastic allows the ground to warm enough to dig them. And Leeks are hardy enough to take a few freezings and still be edible and quite good.

Here is everything all laid out before it went into the box for the Thanksgiving shares. The December Holiday Share will have many if not all of the same things though some of the greens will be different due to the cold snap we just had (No Chard for instance).

A couple of specific notes:

Here is a shot of a carrot that has begun to crack at the bottom and show signs that it is not holding much longer in the field. The portion I'm holding however, is still perfectly good. I put carrots like this in during the winter because 'perfect' carrots are far and few between and there is no reason to discard an entire carrot because one section is bad. Cut off that part and eat the rest. The carrot will be sweeter for the frost. Yummy!

And here is a shot of the Long Island Improved Brussels Sprouts. You might have received this one in your share (or one like it) that shows the little black specks on the sprouts and stem. This is a result of excessive fall moisture followed by several freeze/thaw cycles. They don't look great when like this I admit. But, Brussels Sprouts are like several other Brassicas. They taste better after a few frosts. Not all of the sprouts you received will look like this, most look fine. But these specimens are still good. Just peel off the outer layer to reveal the good part on some of them.

Nothing to report on the turnips...I just liked this photo. ;-) They were frozen solid in the field but this is another hardy crop that will be able to stand that. You should be able to thaw them out just before using and have a great dish!

Here is a final shot of the garden for 2010. It was a great season and it was nice to be a farmer. More importantly, it was nice to be your farmer. Thank you for supporting local agriculture and choosing to feed yourselves and your family local, beyond organic, real food from Parker Produce. We hope to see you next season.

Happy Holidays to all!

Final share for 2010

Hi all:
Another season comes to an end for the Parker Produce CSA. It was certainly a great season. The weather made up for its niceness for the rest of the summer. We had 30 mile per hour, sustained winds and horizontal rain for the whole morning and into the afternoon. We tried to stay inside as much as possible but eventually had to brave the weather for a few things. Here Brittany is putting the Leeks into the bags after pulling them off the garden this morning. You'll notice this week's leeks are a different variety and they are much, much longer than last week's.
Blue Hubbard Squash is also in this week's share. It's a wonderful squash. If you're one of the folks who claims they don't like Blue Hubbard because it's too watery...I would suggest that perhaps you haven't tried cooking it quite the right way. Hubbards are a baking squash. Here is a a quick link describing the method I would use http://www.recipetips.com/glossary-term/t--34114/hubbard-squash.asp. These are from our garden and they came out pretty well this season for the stress of a late weeding. We also put in Buttercup from John for those who said they would like it.

Here is a shot of the leeks by themselves. As I said you will notice how much longer they are than the ones you received last week.

You will also find Red Russian Kale, a bunching green in this instance. We've been holding onto these all season and they turned out very well. Here is a recipe that we like in our house http://www.suite101.com/content/roasted-kale-a25130. Oven roasted Kale is a crispy treat. You'll have to scroll down past all the advertisements, etc. We also don't cut the stems off. They make nice handles for the kale. This is a delicious treat.

Finally, here is a shot of Brittany and I in the driving rain (which you can barely make out in the picture...which is weird since I could barely see Emily through it when she was taking the photo. Here we are using water collected from the barn roof to wash the leeks and carrots. This was the last thing we did before going in, sitting by the fire and getting dry. What a way to end the season.

You'll also find some tomatoes that need explanation. Green! We put a few ripe ones in, all that's left in the garden. Brittany pulled the bulk of the green tomatoes off the garden last week and they've been in the milk house. They will ripen in the warmth of your kitchen in the dark. Not all of them will ripen as some of them weren't mature. However, it's worth the effort to put them in a dark, warm place and check them daily or perhaps a little less frequently. This is a great way to enjoy local, beyond organic tomatoes later than possible in our climate. Here is a link to some interesting recipes for green tomatoes. I am actually going to try the pickles. Should be interesting. http://tipnut.com/green-tomato-recipes/

I hope everyone has enjoyed the season and that we will see you all in the Winter Club and next season! Enjoy and thank you all for participating in our beyond organic, local, real food chain!

The penultimate share...

Hi all:

We have Internet access again so I figured I'd post a quick blog update for this week's share. Many of the items are the same as last week which is good because I didn't have the camera this morning. Luckily, I took photos last week.

Here is a shot of the radishes just after they are harvested. This is how I count in the field. Bunching them in the field and keeping track of the bunches is the only way I've been able to keep track. This is much easier than guessing and having to come back out to the garden from the packing shed if I don't get enough.

Here is a nice shot of the top of the garden. This is just before the radishes were harvested. You can see the new greenhouse in the background. Happily, I've now completed the doors and end wall on the two ends and I'm in the middle of putting up the superstructure inside. It's much more secure now than it was in this photo. In the foreground you can see some of our low-tunnels which we use to cover things until the greenhouse tomatoes die off from frost and I can move the greenhouses over the fall/winter crops. Many of the things that will be available to our Winter Club members will come from this section of the garden which I can easily access in the cold, snowy winter.

Regarding this week's share, I first want to mention the leeks. Since I didn't have access last week, I hope everyone figured out a few things about the leeks. First, leeks are an amazing vegetable. They are a member of the onion family, they are beautiful, store well and hold in the field throughout the winter months if treated properly (i.e. mulched heavily). Most importantly, they are delicious and smell amazing when sliced and cooked. A couple of things you should know about leeks.

The first is the myth that only the white part is edible. I am continually shocked by the types of people who perpetuate this. Eliot Coleman himself mentions this in one of his books. The ENTIRE leek is good! And it all tastes like leek! There, now that's out of the way. The recipe I have for potato leek soup calls for 6 leeks. The recipe is considering only the white part of the leek. I've made the soup before with 2 medium sized leeks and used the entire leek. It's better. The photo above shows where I would cut the leek. The yellowish part above my finger is what I would discard, the rest is perfectly edible and tasty.

Next, due to the way leeks grow, are harvested and cleaned, they retain soil between the leaves. There is no way around this other than washing them thoroughly when you prepare them. As you can see in the above photo, this is one way the leeks collect water and other nutrients.

Here is one way to clean them. In the photo above, my ring finger is pointing at the outer layer which is often not worth keeping as it's mushy or damaged. You can peel it off like a banana peel. In my thumb and forefinger I'm pulling back a section of leek. You can do this and hold it under running water until it is clean. You will have to do this with each layer. A much better method in my opinion is possible if you are preparing an entire leek for something like potato leek soup. Simply cut the leek into medallions or any other cutting style you like. They put the pieces into a colander and rinse them that way, very thoroughly. You may even consider floating the pieces in a sink full of cold water for a while, then rinsing them in the strainer. It's more work than an onion but totally worth it.

You'll also find some winter squash in the share this week. If you are one of the folks who said you would like conventionally grown squash you'll have Buttercup in there (the green one). Everyone also got some Butternut (the yellowish one). The Butternut is actually from our beyond organic gardens. Those ones did alright after all. Brittany pulled them all from the garden this week and when I got there that day I was pleasantly surprised at how much we actually had. It didn't look like that much in the garden.

You'll also find two mixes. One is a small greens mix which contains Endive, Red Lettuce, Baby spinach and baby beet greens. The other is a braising mix containing Red Russian Kale and Mixed Chard.

Also in this week's share is the dwindling tomato crop. Frost is expected on Saturday night so we (and by we I mean Brittany-thank you Brittany) worked this week to pull all good tomatoes off the garden, green or not. They are all in the milk house, hopefully ripening. You will have received some green tomatoes today too probably (not everyone got green ones with their cherry bunches). You can put them in a darkened place, keep an eye on them and eat them as they ripen. Please note that not all green tomatoes will ripen properly. Simply discard the ones that don't.

Also, this week is the last of the zucchini and summer squash. I know some of you haven't enjoyed that part of the share. I am sorry about that but I have to say it's one of my favorite parts as the farmer. There really are few plants that I know of that will produce as much food from one plant as a zucchini plant. There are lots of options for zucchini of all sizes and perhaps this winter I'll have a chance to get some recipes together for them. That will help next year!

As always, please let me know if you have any questions. Next week is the last week of the CSA season for 2010. Please remember to return all bags and sign-up for the Winter Club.