Walking the fields photo by Denessa Statler Open house was a lot of fun this weekend; thanks to all who came. We really enjoyed showing everyone around the farm, and sharing great food made from our crops. I know Gavriel couldn't wait for some kids to show up to show the around, and how to pull carrots. We hope everyone had a good time, and enjoyed being able to pick crops to bring home, meet Grindstone's pigs and turkeys and take a dip in the pond. . While it won't include swimming, we will be hosting a similar event in October. It is always such a pleasure to meet our CSA members and get feedback from you and to put faces to the names!
I didn't bring my camera out for the tours, but my friend Denessa Statler from The Dreaming Crow did! All the open house picture this week are from her. Loads of thanks to her and her family for helping out, along with my parents, Joan and Dan Wells, and the whole crew at Grindstone for the barn tidy up, and letting us host the potluck at the pond.
One couple found an almost ripe acorn squash on their u pick trek through the fields. It's a bit early yet, but it's a good sign that they are doing better than we realized. I'll be touching base with them at the Regional Market on Saturday to find out how it tasted. We pulled quite a few handfuls of carrots (which helped to thin them to give the others more room to grow) the first picking of string beans as well as a couple handfuls of cherry tomatoes. While we are still a week out on having enough cherry tomatoes or cucumbers to put in shares, you will be getting purple or green string beans this week.
I didn't bring my camera out for the tours, but my friend Denessa Statler from The Dreaming Crow did! All the open house picture this week are from her. Loads of thanks to her and her family for helping out, along with my parents, Joan and Dan Wells, and the whole crew at Grindstone for the barn tidy up, and letting us host the potluck at the pond.
One couple found an almost ripe acorn squash on their u pick trek through the fields. It's a bit early yet, but it's a good sign that they are doing better than we realized. I'll be touching base with them at the Regional Market on Saturday to find out how it tasted. We pulled quite a few handfuls of carrots (which helped to thin them to give the others more room to grow) the first picking of string beans as well as a couple handfuls of cherry tomatoes. While we are still a week out on having enough cherry tomatoes or cucumbers to put in shares, you will be getting purple or green string beans this week.
picking some peas by Denessa Statler
If you missed our open house, Grindstone Farm is holding their's from 2-8 Saturday the 26th of July. You will still be able to tour the farm, u pick blueberries ($3/lb) a potluck dinner, swimming and live music. Go to their website: www.grindstonefarm.com for details. The blueberries are just starting to come on nicely and we expect to start getting them in CSA shares in the next week or two. If you'd prefer to order by the flat, you can always place an order with Grindstone Farm to be delivered with your share, along with many of the other great products they carry, from organic fruits, to pastured meats, as well as Wholeshare orders.
In my rush to get things ready for our Open House Saturday night, I stepped off the truck wrong and rolled my knee pretty bad. I have not been as useful in the fields as I'd like to be. That being said, Workshare Folks, this would be a great time to come fulfill some hours, it would give Travis the extra bit of help he needs while my knee gets back to normal and get some of your hours out of the way. Please contact us ASAP if you have time to come in this week (not Thursdays)
Some field notes for what you can look forward to. The tomatoes while not quite ripening up yet are heavy with fruit. Hopefully with this week's forecast of sun and high 80's they should be ripening up in abundance and be in shares next week, along with carrots and cucumbers. Lettuces want to bolt (or flower) in the high temps so we are picking a lot this week along with some baby bagged lettuces for shares. As I stated previously the winter squash is doing very well with softball sized pie pumpkins already and full sized acorn squash! The leeks are loving their deep raised beds and the brussels sprouts are starting to put out their little bulbs of sweetness. We have quite a few hot peppers starting already, mostly the early jalapenos, and some bell peppers starting to fruit as well. Some of the melons have baseball sized fruit on them We haven't successfully grown melons here in many years, but it looks like we may have a nice crop this season. When Joseph's are ready, we'll try to get some to you as well. The green and purple string beans are coming on great in all 4 plantings we have. We may be opening these up for u-pick in the coming weeks after we've picked for shares, so keep an eye out for a note on them if you'd like some for canning for freezing.
This week we will be harvesting the following:
Basil
kale
lettuce
mixed salad greens
string beans (purple or green)
snow peas
summer squash
swiss chard
and we will be getting some Garlic Scapes from Grindstone, and possibly cucumbers from Joseph Gingerich.
In addition to your veggies this week, our friends at Cranberry Ridge Farm in Williamstown have offered samples of their fine goats milk soap to put in shares this week. Using all natural ingredients including their pastured goats milk, essential oils and natural colorings for their soaps, we hope you enjoy it! In addition to the soap they also make artisan goats milk cheeses, and fine whole grain breads. Many of their breads and cheeses are available from Grindstone. If you like the soap and would like more, you can place an order with Matt or Rhonda to be delivered with your share.
In my rush to get things ready for our Open House Saturday night, I stepped off the truck wrong and rolled my knee pretty bad. I have not been as useful in the fields as I'd like to be. That being said, Workshare Folks, this would be a great time to come fulfill some hours, it would give Travis the extra bit of help he needs while my knee gets back to normal and get some of your hours out of the way. Please contact us ASAP if you have time to come in this week (not Thursdays)
Some field notes for what you can look forward to. The tomatoes while not quite ripening up yet are heavy with fruit. Hopefully with this week's forecast of sun and high 80's they should be ripening up in abundance and be in shares next week, along with carrots and cucumbers. Lettuces want to bolt (or flower) in the high temps so we are picking a lot this week along with some baby bagged lettuces for shares. As I stated previously the winter squash is doing very well with softball sized pie pumpkins already and full sized acorn squash! The leeks are loving their deep raised beds and the brussels sprouts are starting to put out their little bulbs of sweetness. We have quite a few hot peppers starting already, mostly the early jalapenos, and some bell peppers starting to fruit as well. Some of the melons have baseball sized fruit on them We haven't successfully grown melons here in many years, but it looks like we may have a nice crop this season. When Joseph's are ready, we'll try to get some to you as well. The green and purple string beans are coming on great in all 4 plantings we have. We may be opening these up for u-pick in the coming weeks after we've picked for shares, so keep an eye out for a note on them if you'd like some for canning for freezing.
This week we will be harvesting the following:
Basil
kale
lettuce
mixed salad greens
string beans (purple or green)
snow peas
summer squash
swiss chard
and we will be getting some Garlic Scapes from Grindstone, and possibly cucumbers from Joseph Gingerich.
In addition to your veggies this week, our friends at Cranberry Ridge Farm in Williamstown have offered samples of their fine goats milk soap to put in shares this week. Using all natural ingredients including their pastured goats milk, essential oils and natural colorings for their soaps, we hope you enjoy it! In addition to the soap they also make artisan goats milk cheeses, and fine whole grain breads. Many of their breads and cheeses are available from Grindstone. If you like the soap and would like more, you can place an order with Matt or Rhonda to be delivered with your share.
Adonia, the carrot master by Denessa Statler
This week's recipe uses the beans. While the purple beans are pretty exciting to most folks, they do lose their color when steamed. They hold some of their pigment when sauteed though.
String beans with garlic
From www.foodnetwork.com
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds string beans, both ends removed
Kosher salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon good olive oil
2 to 3 garlic cloves, sliced (you can substitute the scapes for cloves in this recipe)
Freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Blanch the string beans in a large pot of boiling salted water for just 1 1/2 minutes. Drain immediately and immerse in a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. When they are cool, drain and set aside.
Heat the butter and olive oil in a very large saute pan over medium heat and cook the garlic for 1 to 2 minutes, tossing occasionally, until lightly browned. Add the string beans, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss together. Reheat the string beans and serve.
In conclusion I'd like to share just a few fun pictures of the relaxing part of family life on the farm.
String beans with garlic
From www.foodnetwork.com
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds string beans, both ends removed
Kosher salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon good olive oil
2 to 3 garlic cloves, sliced (you can substitute the scapes for cloves in this recipe)
Freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Blanch the string beans in a large pot of boiling salted water for just 1 1/2 minutes. Drain immediately and immerse in a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. When they are cool, drain and set aside.
Heat the butter and olive oil in a very large saute pan over medium heat and cook the garlic for 1 to 2 minutes, tossing occasionally, until lightly browned. Add the string beans, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss together. Reheat the string beans and serve.
In conclusion I'd like to share just a few fun pictures of the relaxing part of family life on the farm.
first ripe beauty, many many more to come! this yummy cucumber made it's way into the potluck salad.
How many cherry pits can YOU fit in your mouth?
Gavy enjoying some pond time
the little green giants
on top of the world on a clear blue day
an incredible sunset at the farm; the picture doesn't do it justice
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