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Week 17 of 28 from Valley Flora!

Beet Box -

Week 17 of 28 from Valley Flora! Broccoli, Fennel, Spuds!
Thanks for eating locally from our family farm!
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What's Cookin' on the Farm...
  • Valley Flora Hygge
  • Broccoli: Back So Soon?
  • Strawberry U-Pick still Open
Sweet peppers, my favorite September food group.
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What's Probably In Your Share This Week:*
  • Carrots
  • Yellow Onion
  • Zucchini
  • Tomatoes
  • Eggplant
  • Potatoes
  • Fennel
  • Sweet Peppers
  • Broccoli
  • Head Lettuce
On Rotation:
(Some locations will receive it this week; others in a future week)
  • Cucumbers
*Harvest Basket contents may vary between pickup sites in a given week depending on what's ripe and ready on the farm. Don't worry - if something is on the list but not in your tote, you'll get it soon!

The VF Crystal Ball - What Might be in your Share Next Week...
  • Leeks
  • Lettuce
  • Carrots
  • Broccoli
  • Zucchini
  • Eggplant
  • Kale
  • Tomatoes
  • Beets
  • Hot Peppers
  • Sweet Peppers
  • Parsley
Valley Flora Hygge
This is the moment I wait for all year, when the pepper plants are bent over under their load of circus-colored fruit. Reds, oranges, yellows, and even purple. It means there's nothing to worry about if I forget to pack my lunch in the morning: there's snacking to be had in every field, from carrots to sweet corn to celery to cucumbers to tomatoes to peppers to apples to pears to kiwi berries. The imperative is to eat, which for us also means to gather.

In Denmark and Norway, there is a word: hygge (pronounced hoo-ga). We don't have an exact parallel in English, but it essentially describes "a form of everyday togetherness....a cozy and convivial atmosphere that promotes well-being." It's about enjoying the good things in life with people you love, maybe even by candlelight. It's a cornerstone of their culture and some sociologists blame hygge on the fact that the Danes are among the happiest people in the world.

Hygge is pretty easy to come by these days around our table, surrounded by this cusp-of-fall abundance and the best crew we've ever had working on the farm. I hope your weekly harvest basket inspires a little hygge around your table as well.
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Back so Soon?
I feel like I was just apologizing to you about the super-sized heads of broccoli in your share, and eek! They're baaaa-ack! The fall brassicas are coming on strong in our new field and I fear it's a bit of an almost-instant-replay from early summer. Some of the  broccoli crowns are close to 2 pounds apiece (blame those nitrogen-fixing cover crops again!). The good news if you're not head over heels for broccoli is that there are only a few plantings for fall, compared to 5 or 6 in the spring, so the onslaught won't last nearly as long.

And to address the plethora of our top bumper crops of 2018 (broccoli and eggplant), a recipe that asks for both: Charred Broccoli Salad with Eggplant Puree

Sorry again. Please file complaints by mail with:

Mother Nature
Attn: Bumper Crops Complaint Division
10 Trillion Microbes Way
Planet Earth
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Strawberry U-Pick Still Open
Believe it or not, the strawberries are still fruiting and will continue to do so as long as the rain holds off. I'm personally eager for rain, but for those of you who haven't made your jam or put some in the freezer, there's plenty of elbow room in the patch right now and lots of fruit to be had. We notice that fall-picked berries sometimes have a shorter shelf life, so we recommend keeping them refrigerated for fresh eating or freezing/jamming them immediately.
 
Cleo, age 7, the new chalkboard artist at the farm.
The Farmstand is Open for Summer Hours!
Every Wednesday and Saturday from 9 am to 2 pm, rain or shine!

Fresh Produce
U-pick Strawberries
Homemade Jam & Hot Sauce

Please bring your own bags and u-pick containers!

Please note our hours are slightly changed from year's past, closing at 2 pm instead of 3 pm
 
For Recipes & Cooking Inspiration:
 
Valley Flora Recipe Wizard
Our own collection of recipes gathered over the years.
 
Epicurious
A vast collection of recipes, searchable by one or multiple ingredients
 
Full Belly Farm
Recipes from one of my favorite farms in California, pioneers of the organic movement since the 80s.

Farm Fresh to You
A storehouse of recipes, searchable by ingredient.
 
Helsing Junction Farm
A Washington farm that has a good collection of seasonal recipes geared toward CSA members.
Copyright © 2018 Valley Flora, All rights reserved.


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Bulk Sweet Peppers Available!

Beet Box -

96 Bulk Sweet Peppers Available! Stock your freezer, fill your belly!

Bulk Sweet Peppers Available Now!
It's the apex of sweet pepper season!
Time to stock up on Stocky Red Roasters!

5 pounds for $22.00, delivered to your pickup site.
  Sweet Peppers are one of the easiest things to put up for winter:
  • Chop up and freeze (no blanching necessary) for winter soups and stir fries!
  • Roast and freeze (or can or pickle) for an awesome addition to burgers, sandwiches, soups and more!
  • Make Roasted Red Pepper spread for the fridge or freezer!
  • Or, just eat them like popsicles, breakfast, lunch and dinner!
If you'd like to order, please send an email to Bets with your name, phone number, pickup site, and quantity of peppers you'd like (in 5 lb increments).
Thanks!

 
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Copyright © 2018 Valley Flora, All rights reserved.


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New Hampshire pizza dough maker, 35 other out-of-state producers seek Maine stamp of approval - Press Herald

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Press Herald
New Hampshire pizza dough maker, 35 other out-of-state producers seek Maine stamp of approval
Press Herald
For Brooklyn artist and part-time garlic farmer Aimee Good, an Aroostook County native who grew up on a potato farm, that connection to her home state and its legendary organic association was key. She went to Colby College in the 1980s, and MOFGA and ...

Week 16 from Valley Flora!

Beet Box -

Week 16 from Valley Flora! Napa Cabbage! Celery! Corn & Peppers!
Thanks for eating locally from our family farm!
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What's Cookin' on the Farm...
  • Corn Compost
  • The Time of Buckling Totes
  • Eggplant Tip from a Fellow CSA Member
Sweet corn, the backbone of our composting program.
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What's Probably In Your Share This Week:*
  • Carrots
  • Red Onion
  • Zucchini
  • Cucumbers
  • Tomatoes
  • Eggplant
  • Celery
  • Sweet Corn
  • Sweet Peppers
  • Napa Cabbage
  • Head Lettuce
  • Hot Peppers
On Rotation:
(Some locations will receive it this week; others in a future week)
  • Nothing this week...
*Harvest Basket contents may vary between pickup sites in a given week depending on what's ripe and ready on the farm. Don't worry - if something is on the list but not in your tote, you'll get it soon!

The VF Crystal Ball - What Might be in your Share Next Week...
  • Onions
  • Lettuce
  • Carrots
  • Cucumbers?
  • Zucchini
  • Eggplant
  • Potatoes
  • Tomatoes
  • Fennel?
  • Beets?
  • Sweet Peppers
  • Kale
Corn Compost
Corn, no matter how sweet, has a bit of a bad rap among farmers of my ilk. It's a heavy feeder, meaning it requires lots of fertility, and for the vast amount of space it takes up in the field it's a ridiculously low yielder (one ear per stalk and there's only one stalk per foot, which means it's barely paying the bills - if at all). We grow it anyway because what would a summer be without homegrown corn? (Yes, it's true, many a bad business decision is made at Valley Flora because of our stomachs).

But in the past few years since we've ramped up our on-farm compost production, corn has earned my new respect as a compost superstar. We mainly grow an organic variety called Allure, chosen after many years of trials for it's big bi-color ears full of deep, super-sweet, tender kernels that go "pop!" when you bite into them. Also, the plants reach towering heights of 8 feet or more, which makes the corn patch more fun to get lost in but also makes for huge amounts of green biomass.

According to John Jeavons, father of the modern bio-intensive gardening movement and auther of "How to Grow More Vegetables (than you ever thought possible on less land than you can imagine)," one bed of corn will make enough compost for two beds. That's good math. I hadn't heard that bit of trivia when we started composting our corn stalks, but it it was helpful affirmation that the labor investment to harvest the stalks and build the compost piles was worth it. It goes like this: once we've harvested all the ears from a planting and the stalks are still green, we pull the drip tape from the beds and log the corn stalks - either with a sharp machete or the weedeater with a blade attachment (and maybe eventually with the horsedrawn sickle bar mower). The stalks get hauled out of the field with the flatbed and trailer and then layered in a pile with cow manure we source from a dairy in Coquille. The hollow structure of the corn stalks and they way they criss-cross in the pile makes for great aeration and our compost pile temps usually rocket up to 140 degrees within the first week! Every pile gets turned with the tractor multiple times until the rains set in, at which point we tarp the piles for winter and let them finish.

It takes a few hours and some sweat to turn a corn planting into a compost pile but in addition to creating compost it solves a biomass problem in the field. A towering patch of corn stalks, even if mowed down and tilled under, takes a long time to decompose in the field. In the past that meant it was tricky to get our corn ground cover cropped in the fall - too much undigested biomass in the soil would inhibit the germination of the fall cover crops that we plant to protect our soil through the winter. Removing the stalks and turning them into compost leaves us a clean field that we can successfuly plant our cover crops into and gives us a beautiful pile of black compost to spread the next spring. Plus, the work-out means there's no need for a gym membership. Win-win-win :)
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The Time of Buckling Totes
After we pack Harvest Baskets on Tuesday and Friday we stack them seven high and roll them into our walk-in cooler, ready for delivery the next day. That's just the right number to fit on a hand truck, but at this time of year we can't always get away with so many in a stack; the bottom ones start to buckle and sag under all the weight of so much corn and so many eggplants and those dense Napa cabbages. It's kind of a happy problem to have.
 
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Eggplant Tip from a Fellow CSA Member
I got a great, helpful email from a CSA member who is coping fabulously with this year's bumper crop of eggplant. I thought it might be useful to those of you who are overwhelmed by the onslaught of aubergine. I don't have a microwave, but I kind of wish I did after reading this:

I am compelled to share my secret to managing all the yummy eggplant.

I cook it whole in the microwave for 4 minutes. Then peel if desired and cut into various sizes for soups, stews, curries. Caponata! It beats the labor intensive slice and salt and pat dry method. Usually it cuts down the amount of oil most recipes call for.

I don’t have any eggplant remaining and look forward to the next installment. I have been able to use it all, although I could freeze it for later use. It is delicious and goes quickly into caponata and baba ganouj, Thai red curry and eggplant marinara casserole. No fuss. All flavor.  Somehow it becomes a lot more “user friendly” for me cooked in this manner.
 
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Uma, making her way to the orchard through a field ready for cover crop.
The Farmstand is Open for Summer Hours!
Every Wednesday and Saturday from 9 am to 2 pm, rain or shine!

Fresh Produce
U-pick Strawberries
Homemade Jam & Hot Sauce

Please bring your own bags and u-pick containers!

Please note our hours are slightly changed from year's past, closing at 2 pm instead of 3 pm
 
For Recipes & Cooking Inspiration:
 
Valley Flora Recipe Wizard
Our own collection of recipes gathered over the years.
 
Epicurious
A vast collection of recipes, searchable by one or multiple ingredients
 
Full Belly Farm
Recipes from one of my favorite farms in California, pioneers of the organic movement since the 80s.

Farm Fresh to You
A storehouse of recipes, searchable by ingredient.
 
Helsing Junction Farm
A Washington farm that has a good collection of seasonal recipes geared toward CSA members.
Copyright © 2018 Valley Flora, All rights reserved.


unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences 

Email Marketing Powered by MailChimp

Planting the seed: Wilson's Fulton Farm inspires agriculture's next generation - The Shippensburg News-Chronicle

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The Shippensburg News-Chronicle
Planting the seed: Wilson's Fulton Farm inspires agriculture's next generation
The Shippensburg News-Chronicle
During the visit, Executive Deputy Secretary Michael Smith toured Wilson College's Fulton Farm, a working produce farm and environmental education facility at the Fulton Center for Sustainability Studies in Chambersburg. The organic farm provides ...

If you care about local, organic produce, learn a lesson from these farmers - The News Tribune (blog)

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The News Tribune (blog)
If you care about local, organic produce, learn a lesson from these farmers
The News Tribune (blog)
For more than a decade, Dan Hulse — the owner of Terra Organics — built a business on trying to bring local, organic produce to Tacoma and the South Sound. The vision included purchasing a farm near Orting in 2009 with his wife, Kim, and developing a ...

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