July 29, 2024
Summer Blend
by Farmer Derek

Harvest #13 (Week A) should include onions, cucumbers, zucchini, scallions, basil, garlic, celery, eggplant, hot peppers, sweet peppers, shishito peppers, tomatoes, watermelon, and potatoes. Some items will be a choice. U-pick should include herbs, string/snap/green beans, cherry tomatoes, tomatillos, blackberries, edamame, and flowers. Please remember your scissors.

For several reasons, including slug/snail feasting, hot + dry weather, poor potting mix, there may be a week or two without lettuce.

July 29, 2024
Workshifts for Week of 7/29/24
by Farmer Derek

This week's workshift schedule:

Bring gloves, water, a hat, sturdy shoes, and a pad for kneeling (if necessary for you).

We meet under the large red maple at the end of the barn by the pick up room.

Please be here by the scheduled start time (it might be hard to find us in the fields otherwise).

July 29, 2024
Next up for U Pick - Edamame
by Linda Dansbury

Another much anticipated U-Pick crop, edamame, makes its debut this week. Don't miss out on getting your share - they keep well in the fridge for at least a couple of weeks and are great to freeze for enjoying throughout the year. They must be cooked prior to enjoying - bring a large pot of water to a boil and add a lot of salt - about 2 tablespoons for a 6 or 8 quart pot. You want to use a large pot because they boil over easily. Add the beans, pods and all, and simmer for 8 - 11 minutes. I start testing at 8 minutes. Once they are desired tenderness, pour into a colander and run cold water over them until cool enough to handle. They are great enjoyed warm with a sprinkling of flaky sea salt - or any spice you like!

They can be frozen in their pods - allow to dry on a towel and then place on a cookie sheet and put in freezer until frozen. For long keeping, place frozen pods in freezer bag or container. To use, simply defrost and enjoy, or remove beans from pods and use in recipes that call for edamame, lima beans, or fava beans. They can also be shucked into individual beans and frozen as described above and then defrosted later to use in recipes. I normally do a combo of both methods of freezing each year. A couple of my favorite recipes on this site are the Summer Vegetable Ceviche, Three Bean Salad, and the Egyptian Edamame stew. All of these incorporate more than one of the crops we are currently receiving. Enjoy!

July 29, 2024
Kiddo Brown Bag Lunch Summer 2024
by Melanie Swain

Greetings Farm Families!

Once again we're having a Kiddo Day Brown Bag Lunch at Anchor Run Farm! Please join us Saturday August 3rd 11am - 2pm.

Bring a brown bag lunch to our Kiddo Day at the Farm. There is plentiful picnic table seating under the pavilion, but feel free to bring a blanket or chairs if you want to spread out around the lawn.

We will provide a kid friendly activity while we all get to socialize and watch our kiddos get covered in dirt. Don't forget to bring your own drinks, sunscreen, and non-toxic bug spray.

Hope to see you there!

- Melanie, Maylyn and Travers

July 29, 2024
Zucchini Days
by Linda Dansbury

Like some of you, I also have a garden of my own, so at times the amount of veggies can be overwhelming. Over the years I have done more and more preserving: soups, casseroles, freezing veggies such as peppers and beans, etc. Recently I have been focused on a variety of zucchini breads. I place a lot of the breads in the freezer for use throughout the year - we eat for breakfast, serve overnight guests, and even a chocolate version that is delicious with berries and ice cream as a dessert! Two recipes I am particularly fond of right now are Easy Blueberry Zucchini Bread and Chocolate Zucchini Bread.

July 22, 2024
It is Pepper Season!
by Linda Dansbury

If Mother Nature allows, we will receive a lot of peppers from now until frost. See below for some tips.

Peppers, sweet - peppers are so versatile - equally delicious raw, as cut up in green salads, added to bean and pasta salads and salsas, and cooked. In cooking, stir, fry, short saute and longer braise or stew. And absolutely delicious when grilled. One of the things I like to do (and there are many which you will read about over the course of the season) is grill peppers till nice and charred and then put them in a bag. Once cool, peel off the skins, cut into slices, removing the seeds and ribs. Place in a bowl, add a pinch of salt, a few thin slices of garlic, and some nice olive oil. A splash of balsamic vinegar is also delicious. Eat these peppers plain, on a good slice of bread, as a sandwich topping, in salads, etc. They will keep in fridge for a few weeks - if they last that long! Ripe (orange, yellow, red) peppers will probably arrive in August.

Peppers, hot - as I wrote last week, there are a variety of hot peppers, with varying heat so you can choose what you like. If you have too many, freeze them whole, as is, in plastic bags - they will keep for a long time and can be added to whatever calls for hot peppers throughout the year.

Shishito peppers - have become very popular the last several years, showing up at farmers markets and on restaurant menus as appetizers. They can be eaten raw, but are best known (including in my home) as being quickly blistered in a pan in oil and then salted when they come out. We also grill them in a grilling basket and then drizzle with a bit of olive oil and salt when they are nicely blistered. It is said that about 1 in 10 are hot, but normally even the hot ones are not very hot - I did have a hot one in a restaurant some years ago that was extremely hot, but have never experienced that locally.

July 22, 2024
Welcome Summer Veggies
by Linda Dansbury

Most of what I enjoyed this past week were repeats with slight variations based on what was in my fridge - green bean salad, cucumber salad, veggie packed lettuce salads, served alongside a simply grilled steak, marinated and grilled chicken, or a nice piece of fish. Here are a few new things:

Cucumbers, garlic, onion, dill - made Narrow Bridge Refrigerator Pickles from this site - very easy and yummy.

Green beans, scallions, cilantro - prepared a green bean salad Asian style (I normally lean more toward Italian style for green bean salads).

Tomatoes, zucchini, onion - found a new delicious dish: Italian Zucchini Casserole. It took a little while to prep, but then was great! We added a layer of sweet Italian sausage that we precooked so that it was a complete meal. It was delicious reheated as leftovers a couple of days later and we plan to make it ahead of time and serve to friends that are coming next weekend.

July 22, 2024
Potato Possibilities
by Farmer Derek

Harvest #12 (Week B) should include fresh onions, cucumbers, zucchini, lettuce, scallions, basil, garlic, celery, eggplant, hot peppers, sweet peppers, shishito peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, and carrots. Some items will be a choice. U-pick should include herbs, string/snap/green beans, cherry tomatoes, tomatillos, blackberries, and flowers. Please remember your scissors.

July 22, 2024
Workshifts for Week of 7/22/24
by Farmer Derek

This week's workshift schedule:

Bring gloves, water, a hat, sturdy shoes, and a pad for kneeling (if necessary for you).

We meet under the large red maple at the end of the barn by the pick up room.

Please be here by the scheduled start time (it might be hard to find us in the fields otherwise).

July 22, 2024
Carry That Weight
by Farmer Derek

Besides feeling good about some received rain, we're also stoked about some quality hauls of two big crops, onions and potatoes. We finished retrieving the entirety of the onions last week and the yield and quality of both the red and yellow varieties is up this year (1700lbs red, 850lbs yellow). It's satisfying and a bit of a relief when a crop you're initially worried about finishes strong. I even began doing some research a few months ago about alternative onion growing strategies due to some perceived early transplant loss and weed pressure. In late February we start with 25,000 seeds, dropping 2 into each cell of a 288-celled tray, totaling about 43 trays. These grow in the greenhouse for about 6 weeks before they're planted outside in early April. Due to a recently new pest, the allium miner, we used to cover the entire patch with row cover, held up by installed hoops, to keep the bugs away. Wind, rain, and weeds made this method unfavorable. After a few seasons of this, last year we decided to try growing unprotected again. Loss due to the bugs was no worse than when they were covered so we won't be covering again, a relief to all.

Ah, the potatoes. How did they do it? Super dry and super hot and still a fairly robust yield. So far we've harvested all of the Red Gold and Dark Red Norland varieties and have started on Yukon Gem. Like the onions, their performance is above our average. I was pretty concerned by June's weather when they were supposedly bulking up. They're a tough crop to get water to due to their acreage and also the way they grow in a relatively thin, elevated mound. I managed to put our giant sprinkler on about half the patch once during June's 3-week dry spell. During late spring their foliage was the tallest and most robust I've seen, so my thinking now is that they transferred enough stored energy from upstairs to downstairs once their tubers started to develop. Thankfully there was enough rainfall early in their life and/or they had just the right fertility in the soil. We're not quite halfway through the overall potato harvest or the number of varieties, but hopefully the overall yield and quality remains constant. By the way, during yesterday's 7-9am workshift, we harvested 3,000 pounds - thank you CSA Members!

July 22, 2024
Kiddo Brown Bag Lunch Summer 2024
by Melanie Swain

Greetings Farm Families!

Once again we're having a Kiddo Day Brown Bag Lunch at Anchor Run Farm! Please join us Saturday August 3rd 11am - 2pm.

Bring a brown bag lunch to our Kiddo Day at the Farm. There is plentiful picnic table seating under the pavilion, but feel free to bring a blanket or chairs if you want to spread out around the lawn.

We will provide a kid friendly activity while we all get to socialize and watch our kiddos get covered in dirt. Don't forget to bring your own drinks, sunscreen, and non-toxic bug spray.

Hope to see you there!

- Melanie, Maylyn and Travers

July 15, 2024
Almost Tomato Time...
by Farmer Derek

Harvest #11 (Week A) should include fresh onions, cucumbers, zucchini, cabbage, head lettuce, italian dandelion, fennel, scallions, basil, garlic, celery, eggplant, hot peppers, tomatoes, and carrots. Some items will be a choice. U-pick should include herbs, string/snap/green beans, cherry tomatoes, tomatillos, blackberries, and flowers. Please remember your scissors.

July 15, 2024
Workshifts this Week (7/15/24)
by Farmer Derek

Looks like the heatwave will be over by Thursday...Hooray!

This week's workshift schedule:

Bring gloves, water, a hat, sturdy shoes, and a pad for kneeling (if necessary for you).

We meet under the large red maple at the end of the barn by the pick up room.

Please be here by the scheduled start time (it might be hard to find us in the fields otherwise).

July 15, 2024
Rain Missed Us, But...
by Farmer Derek

Ah, the cadence, cacophony of cicadas, it must be high summer. Sure will feel that way for the next few days. On the heels of another missed rain opportunity, this one might feel especially painful. As farmers we live without air conditioning in a non-closed-up environment and getting through the daytime bursts of heat are challenging. We pull the shades, close the doors and windows, mostly for the mind. Sitting in front of a fan provides momentary relief. When we're out in it working, shade and water breaks are a must. Even, slow nose-breathing is required. Temporary, flow-like meditative states can arise. Afterwards, a particular type of accomplishment satisfies. It toughens, it hardens. We abide until rain and cooler temperatures arrive.

Farm work marches on. Miles of aisles are mowed biweekly. Tomatoes are pruned, harvested, trellised. Fields are turned over and planted with cover crops. The last of the uncropped fields are prepared for fall veggies. Crops are seeded, transplanted, cultivated, weeded. Everything is harvested. Nothing is wasted. Large single crops are retrieved: carrots, garlic, onions, potatoes, winter squash, pumpkins. Pests and diseases attempt to make inroads. We miss the calls of the amphibians but enjoy the chorus of insects.

July 15, 2024
Summer's Bounty is Beginning
by Linda Dansbury

Additional veggies are arriving, first at a trickle, and then hopefully, pounds per week.

Tomatoes - the farm grows a multitude of varieties to extend the harvest and allow for enjoyment in many culinary ways: plum or paste tomatoes to cook sauces, hybrid slicers, which tend to be sturdier and keep longer, and a large variety of cherries and grape for u-pick. When I do my pick up, I take some of each to extend my enjoyment and avoid losing some because I didn't eat them fast enough. I keep them on the counter, until really ripe and soft, and then refrigerate to avoid them rotting. (editor's note: RIP heirloom tomatoes - too hard to grow, too susceptible to disease, too fragile)

Peppers, sweet and hot - the peppers we get right now are considered unripe because they are still green. Later in the season, we will be graced with bright orange and red ones. Enjoy them the same way. They will keep on your counter for a few days, but do prefer being refrigerated. As with tomatoes, the farm grows many varieties - especially of the hot varieties for your enjoyment, no matter how much heat you like in your food. I love using some hot peppers in cucumber and grilled green bean salads. Delicious!

Eggplant - as with the above crops, our farmers select a wide variety of eggplants to use in many different dishes. They are all great grilled. Check out this site for Asian dishes incorporating the long, thin eggplants and for recipes such as Eggplant Parmigiana and Baba Ganoush, which incorporate the globe types.

Fresh onions - may be in the pick up room this week, if not definitely next week. They will only keep for a short time on your kitchen counter so use them up or refrigerate.

July 15, 2024
Maple Syrup and Honey - Preorder by 7/23/24
by Farmer Dana

July 15, 2024
Anchor Run Farmer Rides For Anchor House Foundation
by Farmer Craig

This summer I will pledge to partake in a cycling, walking or running endurance adventure to support the mission of Anchor House, a multi-service charitable agency in Trenton, NJ for abused, runaway and homeless youth and young adults. This is a challenging and exciting event, which I have been fortunate enough to be involved with over the past few years. I am very hopeful that we can partner together for this great cause.

Please consider supporting me by making a tax-deductible donation toward my goal of $750 so that Anchor House can continue their mission to help children, teens, young adults and families.

For more information about Anchor House and their mission, please follow the link below:

https://www.anchorhousenj.org/

Thank you in advance for your support. I truly appreciate your generosity. Together we can make a difference.

Best - Craig

July 15, 2024
Ugghh, the Heat Goes on!
by Linda Dansbury

It is difficult to get in the mood to cook when it is this hot - I have been eating large salads for lunch and making different types of salads to enjoy with dinner. Please share how you have been enjoying your harvest by emailing me at lindadansbury@comcast.net. I will share with fellow members.

Lettuce, tomato, cucumber, scallion, celery - enjoyed my simple version of a Greek Salad by chopping everything and placing in a large bowl. Sprinkled sea salt, pepper and oregano over the top. Drizzled with red wine vinegar and good olive oil and crumbled some good feta over the top - delicious!

Zucchini, cherry tomatoes - made a simple but yummy dish. Spiralized a zucchini and put the "zoodles" in a colander. Roasted some cherry tomatoes that had been tossed in olive oil, salt, pepper and oregano just until they started to brown. Cooked a bit of spaghetti and when cooked, poured the pasta with the water over the zucchini noodles, to barely cook them. Place all noodles back into the pot, added pesto (I happened to have made a batch the day before) to our liking, a drained can of white beans, and some grated parm cheese. Mixed everything up well, plated it, topped with the roasted cherry tomatoes, a little more cheese and a few small basil leaves. A nice summer dinner.

Fennel, celery, carrots, parsley, tomato - since it was supposed to rain all day/night on Friday, and we had a large piece of cod in the freezer, we decided to make a very traditional fish soup - I guess that's what made the rain go away completely, at least in our locale.

Cucumber, scallions, parsley - my grandmother always made cucumber salad by very thinly slicing cucumbers and scallions or onions, and making a vinaigrette of salt, pepper, celery salt, a light vinegar and light oil. To this day, when I make it, I am taken back to being at my grandparents house.

July 15, 2024
Potluck Rescheduled for 7/28 5-7pm
by Farmer Dana

Due to a scheduling conflict, the next potluck has been rescheduled from 7/21 to 7/28, 5-8pm. Hope you can make it!

July 8, 2024
Summer Daze
by Linda Dansbury

Last week gave us some truly pleasant days/evenings but now and into the future it looks like we will need to find ways to stay cool. Please send your favorite summer ways to enjoy your veggies at lindadansbury@comcast.net. I will share with fellow members.

Beets, parsley - I needed to use my beets up so made a version of the Mama Aleta's Pickled Beets and Eggs on this site. I just did beets and onions and skipped the eggs this time around.

Green beans, scallions, basil, parsley - made a salad, Italian style - made a red wine vinaigrette, added dried oregano in addition to the fresh parsley and basil. Sometimes I add chickpeas and/or feta cheese to make it a bit hardier and will add cherry tomatoes once they are available.

Cucumbers, scallions, parsley - one of the cucumber salads I like to make is a German version, but not creamy - the dressing is a light oil and vinegar with a bit of salt, pepper and celery salt. My grandmother always prepared it this way. I may add some thinly sliced celery to it this week.

Fennel, thyme, garlic, parsley - enjoyed the Lentil Salad with Fennel and Herbs alongside a grilled salmon filet.

Cabbage, scallions - wanted to saute the cabbage but wasn't sure what to do to make it more interesting - the recipe on this site Roasted Cabbage with Black Bean Sauce was a delicious side dish for grilled chicken.

July 8, 2024
Eggplant, Tomatillos and More
by Linda Dansbury

Summer is showing it's fierceness in it's early weeks, and the new veggies are representing the heat.

Eggplant - you will see quite a variety of eggplant types in the pick up room - over the summer, try them all. The "globe" varieties are great sliced and grilled, made into Eggplant Parmigiana, grilled until blackened and soft and turned into Baba Ganoush, and countless other preparations. The Japanese type are great grilled, and a couple of my favorite dishes with these are Thai Style Eggplant Salad and Eggplant and Green Beans in a Spicy Garlic Sauce. The eggplant from the farm is not treated with anything to extend shelf life, so needs to be used fairly quickly - within a week is best.

Tomatillos - this is such a fun u-pick crop. Find a spot in the row in which they have already fallen off the plant. If you pick them, make sure they are getting yellow or purple and the husks are drying out and split. Then they are ripe - the ones you find in the supermarkets are picked early and are typically bright green. To prepare them, peel off the husks and rinse off to take the stickiness away. They can be used raw in salads or salsas, as in the raw version of Salsa Verde or the cooked version - Grilled Salsa Verde or the Stewed Chicken with Tomatillo Sauce. Tomatillos store well in a plastic bag in the fridge, keeping for at least 2 weeks.

Celery - Everyone knows celery and how to eat it raw with other veggies (such as carrots, cucumber, string beans) in a crudite platter - perhaps with your own Baba Ganoush or in the Celery and Mushroom Salad. Celery is also delicious cooked as in Braised Celery. The leaves are delicious chopped up and added to a salad. Don't throw anything away - freeze in bags, along with other parts of veggies you aren't using (stubs of onion, carrot tops and/or peels, etc) to use in veggie stock.

July 8, 2024
More Summer Staples Trickle In
by Farmer Derek

Harvest #10 (Week B) should include cucumbers, zucchini, cabbage, head lettuce, italian dandelion, beets, fennel, scallions, basil, fresh garlic, celery, eggplant, and carrots. Some items will be a choice. U-pick should include herbs, string/snap/green beans, cherry tomatoes, tomatillos, and flowers. Please remember your scissors.

July 8, 2024
Workshifts this Week (7/8/24)
by Farmer Derek

This week's workshift schedule:

Bring gloves, water, a hat, sturdy shoes, and a pad for kneeling (if necessary for you).

We meet under the large red maple at the end of the barn by the pick up room.

Please be here by the scheduled start time (it might be hard to find us in the fields otherwise).

July 8, 2024
Just Another Heat Blast
by Farmer Derek

I'm going to try to keep this short and sweet since I haven't found time to compile the newsletter until today, Tuesday, a harvest day. Our great crew is currently out there retrieving all the delectable goodies for today's share. Very soon I will join in the process and begin washing the vegetables in the barn with Farmer Dana. Also the various u-pick crops need their aisles mowed which I'll try to get to soon.

So why am I sitting on my butt under a fan on the porch working on the computer on a harvest morning? Mainly because I spent 12+ hours yesterday working outside under the assumption we were going to receive Beryl remnants starting midweek. In anticipation of the rain that will probably end up disappearing from the forecast we embarked on the great garlic harvest of 2024, seriously altering our 20-year-old method. Instead of hanging to cure, we trimmed off some of the tops and put the bulbs under shade cloth in the hoop house. This method is used by other farms and we're excited to see how it goes for us. So far it feels very manageable and has significantly reduced the number of labor hours for the harvest. For you garlic harvest aficionados out there, we'll still host shifts for pruning and trimming at some point.

Cover crop season also commenced yesterday. The majority of our spring fields were finished being harvested so over the past couple of weeks we removed all the crop growing infrastructure, mowed, and chiseled the ground. Yesterday, over an area that used to be the home of strawberries, peas, beets, chard, lettuces, cilantro, dill, cabbage, kale, arugula, bok choy, komatsuna, radishes, turnips, and carrots, I sowed a cover crop mix. I have been using, almost exclusively, a mix of oats and buckwheat for mid-through-late summer sowings, but this year we felt compelled to diversify a bit. So yesterday I put down a mix of sunn hemp, red clover, oats, buckwheat, teff, and sunflowers.

Now we just need some rain. Stay cool.

July 8, 2024
Maple Syrup and Honey - Preorder by 7/23/24
by Farmer Dana

July 8, 2024
Anchor Run Farmer Rides For Anchor House Foundation
by Farmer Craig

This summer I will pledge to partake in a cycling, walking or running endurance adventure to support the mission of Anchor House, a multi-service charitable agency in Trenton, NJ for abused, runaway and homeless youth and young adults. This is a challenging and exciting event, which I have been fortunate enough to be involved with over the past few years. I am very hopeful that we can partner together for this great cause.

Please consider supporting me by making a tax-deductible donation toward my goal of $750 so that Anchor House can continue their mission to help children, teens, young adults and families.

For more information about Anchor House and their mission, please follow the link below:

https://www.anchorhousenj.org/

Thank you in advance for your support. I truly appreciate your generosity. Together we can make a difference.

Best - Craig

July 1, 2024
So Much Deliciousness
by Linda Dansbury

The veggie variety is expanding almost weekly - there are so many choices of produce and of how to enjoy them as so many of these veggies are versatile in the ways you can enjoy them. Here are a few things we enjoyed this past week. Since we are getting into high zucchini season, I will probably be bringing out the air fryer for zucchini fries and will prepare some type of zucchini pizza boats in the coming week(s). Please share how you are enjoying your harvest by emailing me at lindadansbury@comcast.net and please put Anchor Run in the subject line.

Lettuce, radicchio, fennel, parsley, scallions, cucumber - made a "veggie" salad - saying this because there was a high ratio of veggies to lettuce. I shave the fennel so it doesn't dominate and made a slightly more vinegary dressing. Topped with a few crumbles of feta cheese - a very nice counterpoint to a grilled steak.

Cucumber, scallion, cilantro - made the Spiced Cucumber Sticks from this site - I found this recipe last year and made it a couple of times but this summer it has become our go-to snack. Although I make it pretty much as stated in the recipe, I am sure you can change up the spices - maybe substitute cumin or coriander for the chaat.

Cucumber, scallion, cilantro - enjoyed the Vietnamese Cucumber Salad, again on this site - yum!

Zucchini, scallion, radicchio - grilled these up and loved them with just flaky sea salt and good olive oil. The leftovers I had in a frittata for lunch the next day.

July 1, 2024
New Month, Changing Produce
by Farmer Derek

Harvest #9 (Week A) should include cucumbers, zucchini, cabbage, head lettuce, italian dandelion, beets, fennel, scallions, cilantro, dill, basil, fresh garlic, and carrots. Some items will be a choice. U-pick should include herbs, string/snap/green beans, and flowers. Please remember your scissors.

July 1, 2024
Workshifts this Week (7/1/24)
by Farmer Derek

This week's workshift schedule:

Bring gloves, water, a hat, sturdy shoes, and a pad for kneeling (if necessary for you).

We meet under the large red maple at the end of the barn by the pick up room.

Please be here by the scheduled start time (it might be hard to find us in the fields otherwise).

July 1, 2024
So Long, June
by Farmer Derek

Wow, that was a tough month! I really hope July is a bit more mellow. We fortunately received almost an inch of rain total last week from two quick showers. That's not enough to fully quench the farm's thirst but it should be enough to temporarily satisfy most unirrigated crops. It should also be just enough to momentarily pause the irrigation of bare ground crops but most grown in fabric will still require their weekly dose. I'm just hopeful we get back on a regular rain event schedule (but not too much too fast, please). Enduring two separate 3-week dry spells this early in the season is pretty stressful. Overall, that was our 2nd driest month of June in 16 seasons, with 1.75" received, the majority just last week. I don't have temperature data recorded, but it's probably safe to assume it was also one of the hottest months.

Just before the rain commenced last week, we did manage to transplant the 7,000 strawberry plants for a 2025 harvest. That's always a daunting task and it feels good to have that accomplished, especially so with the rain that followed. We've now entered a brief lull in transplanting for a few weeks, until the first wave of fall plants start going in, including broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, rutabaga, beets, chard, kale, and arugula (we still have weekly lettuces and herbs to plant, however).

The gap in large transplanting projects will allow us more time for crop maintenance and harvesting. Big crop harvest events this month include garlic and carrots in the first half, and probably onions and early potatoes in the second half.

This period between spring and fall crops is also a time of managing crop clean up and dealing with residue. It's best to mow and incorporate any spring crops that we also grow in the fall to thwart pests and diseases by getting rid of any hosts. Last season this didn't work out too well and we suffered pretty significant loss in some of our early planted fall crops so we're going to make sure we get in right this year. Another technique for dealing with this issue is having a good distance between spring and fall crop locations, which we aim to do.

Happy holiday week and lovely weather!

July 1, 2024
A Couple More Newcomers
by Linda Dansbury

Have you used up your scapes and think you need to go buy garlic? Nope, see below:

Fresh Garlic - is simply the garlic, with bulbs that have not dried/cured yet. It is much more perishable - but having said that, I have found over the years that it keeps well on the kitchen counter - no need to refrigerate. Use it as you would the dried garlic - it is a bit less pungent, but certainly has full garlic flavor.

Carrots - need I say anything? Remember to shred them into slaws, julienne and stir fry, and if you boil for a few minutes, they are also delicious grilled along with other veggies.