Garden Lane Community Supported Agriculture – Week #15 L E Garden – September 10, 2014 Dear friends of the farm, When we heard the weather prediction for today, we decided to pick everything yesterday afternoon, that we needed for today. We weren’t even sure we would be able to get into the fields today, and it wouldn’t be a good idea in most areas, and the front field is flooded again. I was thinking of something I remembered from my childhood, and whoever knows why we think of such things; it was a saying that when a person went underwater for the 3rd time, they were not going to come up again; they were drowned. I think it was used to scare us a bit around water, and somehow make us be more careful. I somehow doubt that is exactly true, but I’m having a hard time imagining that our crops in the front field can survive another underwater experience. My heart is a bit heavy today. Ron has the pump running to drain water from our front field again. This shows a row of our summer squash in the foreground…see the pump in the background. clip_image002 It’s pretty difficult to give much of a Crop Report today, since so many crops are in jeopardy. We will hope for the best, but besides the heavy rains, another big change in temperatures is in the forecast, another cool front. As a result of the brief heat spell, all of our lettuces went to seed. clip_image004 These rows of eggplant and tomatoes are planted in raised beds, yet there is no sign of the beds, just water. Today from LE Garden… Green Beans Tomato Medley Cucumbers Ripe Sweet Peppers, mostly red, orange or yellow It has been a rare occasion this season for everybody to get the same things, usually because we didn’t have enough of something for everyone. Well today we have enough of these 4 things to fill all shares with the same kinds of produce. Green beans are producing pretty well, although we weren’t able to pick in the flooding area for so long that many of the beans there have gotten too big to be considered quality beans. clip_image006These are some of the tomato varieties you may find in your medley. What is a Tomato Medley? It just means you are getting a mixture of several kinds of tomatoes. From our farm, most tomatoes are heirlooms, although a few of the cherries and medium sized pinkish tomatoes are hybrids…ones whose flavors we think rival some of our favorite heirlooms. There seems to be confusion at the markets about what the term heirloom means, so I thought it might be a good time to talk about that. There are all kinds of heirlooms in the plant world, some fruits and ornamentals, but we are particularly interested in vegetable varieties. Heirloom vegetables are all open-pollinated, so in order to save this seed without it becoming crossed with other varieties of the same family, the plants need to be kept somewhat isolated from other varieties in the same family, or you may end up with a new variety, a cross. Many people ask me why I don’t save seed from our plants, let’s say tomatoes for instance, to use for the next year, and the main reason that I don’t, is because it could easily be cross pollinated with other tomatoes because we grow so many different varieties of tomatoes in close proximity, about 40 varieties. The other reason that I don’t save many seeds is that it is a time-consuming practice…collecting, labeling, drying, packaging, labeling packages. There are 2 varieties of peppers and one variety of tomatoes that we save seed for, because I can no longer find the seed for those varieties on the market, even from seed preservation groups. When immigrants came to the United States, most brought their seeds for favorite vegetables with them to plant in the new country. Most heirlooms have been saved, originally among ethnic groups or families because of some specific feature or use. The top feature is often flavor, but may also include a specific disease resistance, or such things as fewer seeds, thicker or thinner walls, depending upon whether the vegetable would be dried or stored or just used fresh. I’m not certain when hybridization became popular in the vegetable world. A hybrid variety involves crossing particular varieties to produce a specific new variety. In the tomato world, hybrids were developed to benefit growers by providing a broader range of disease resistance, or such things as stronger/tougher skins to make them more suitable for shipping, or to make them a certain size, which is also a factor in shipping. For some, it was important to have a more easily managed plant size. For others, especially those who live in a cooler or hotter climate, temperature tolerances are important. There are so many characteristics to consider in choosing which seeds to grow for your specific ‘wishes’. For me, one of the main factors I look for is ‘flavor’. If a variety doesn’t say anything about good taste it immediately has a strike against it. Heirloom tomatoes are more challenging to grow, because most have thinner skins which split more easily. Most are indeterminate varieties, which means they are usually bigger plants that help them produce over a longer period of time. That can present a space issue. Heirlooms tend to be more prone to ‘ugliness’ which can be a marketing problem. We still feel that their unique flavors and colors are worth the extra trouble. I hope this explanation has helped you to understand what heirlooms are, and most hybrids have some parentage from the heirloom world, and some wild varieties, which don’t even taste good, are used in hybridizing to help with disease resistances and plant vigor. Another newer method to help tomatoes with plant vigor and heavier production is grafting of vegetables…a discussion for another time. Your tomato medley will include hybrids and heirlooms, tomatoes of all sizes and colors. Enjoy! Any more questions? Until next time, Linda Ebert L E Garden A Favorite Summer Salad Chop into bite-sized pieces in quantities that suit your individual taste, about 7-8 cups total…Pickles, Sweet Peppers, all colors if possible, Tomatoes, more than one color, Onions, Sometimes Olives. Dressing: 1 cup oil 1 cup vinegar ½ cup sugar Seasonings to suit your taste…salt, pepper, basil, dill, mustard, garlic, Italian seasoning mix, celery seed. Mix ingredients in a blender until the sugar is dissolved, and pour over vegetables. Salad is best when left to marinate overnight. Lots of people were talking about making soups at market yesterday. I guess they were anticipating this cool spell. We sold many more sweet and hot peppers than usual for all kinds of chilli and soups using tomatoes and peppers. Several also mentioned Stuffed Pepper Soup with rice, tomatoes and peppers. JALAPENO POPPERS Recipe from Taste of Home magazine 1 pound Jalapenos, about 10, halved and seeded Mix together well: 8 oz. cream cheese 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese 6 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled 1/4 t. salt 1/4 t. chili powder 1/4 t. garlic powder, or 1 of Lizs fresh cloves of garlic Spoon about 2 T. of mix in each pepper half, and roll in: 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs Bake at 300 degrees in greased 15x10x1 inch pan 20 minutes for spicier poppers 30 minutes for medium spice 40 minutes for mild poppers Serve with sour cream, onion dip or ranch dressing for dipping
Posted on: Wed, 10 Sep 2014 23:08:05 +0000
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