Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Shallots: the Jewel of the Allium Family

If garlic is the rose and onions are the pearl, then shallots are the jewel of the Allium family. We picked a few shallots for market this week, they are getting close to full maturity. They are beautiful big shallots. We typically plant in a double row like we do onions and we used lots of organic fertilizer. One of the rows was planted to a single row and had the benefit of enough fertilizer for two, so the shallots are really jumbo in that row.

Shallots have the delicate garlic flavor that the gourmet chefs love to use to give dishes that light fresh taste so unique to shallots. They don't yield as well as onions so they are a little more expensive but they are well worth it. Fresh shallots are amazing.

Starting this week we will have new crop shallots. We just finished the last of the shallots from 2012 so they keep amazingly well. Very few sprout at normal conditions, unlike onions, that often sprout if the conditions aren't just perfect. Yet they know when to grow very quickly when planted in the soil in the spring.

We keep our own shallots for seed from year to year. I got the original seed from Peaceful Valley Farm Supply, in Grass Valley, CA about 10 years ago. They are French shallots. Unlike garlic where you want to plant the biggest cloves possible, small shallots can grow several large shallots the next year if given excellent conditions.

I see in the seed catalogs you can start shallots from seed but I have never tried it. Seems like they'd not have enough time to size up. But I can't speak from experience. When you grow shallots from shallots you keep from the previous year that is called a set, just like it is for onions; which make them identical.

Shallots are a green leafy plant that likes extra nitrogen for the first 1/3 of the growing season. Then when we hit the long days near the end of June the shallots become storage machines and really start putting on the pounds. We back off on the fertilizer and watch the amazing transformation. They need an inch of water a week until the last two weeks before harvest, when they need to dry down and cure.

I'll include some recipes using shallots in future blogs.

Monday, July 29, 2013

If You Are At The Head of the Class You May Be in the Wrong Class

As students we strive to be at the head of the class and we should strive for the highest levels of learning. As adults we should still strive for the highest levels of learning but I'm not sure being at the "head of the class" is always the best strategy. Think about it, if you are the best performer in your work group, you probably aren't challenged and aren't learning as much as you could. Same thing applies to farming. If you are the best of the farmers in your peer group and aren't being challenged to new ideas and better methods then you are going to stagnate quickly.

So what to do?

Seek out a group where you are not the best and the brightest. A group that you can learn from and grow with. Find a group with new and different ideas. Learn how to use the technology better and how to use new resources. Sometimes I think that we need to think small as well as think big. Small farmers are often the best innovators. The big guys just don't have the time.

Read good books. Zig Ziegler said, "If you don't read, you can't lead". He meant that a good leader will always be challenging his mind with the best ideas and literature. Biographies of great leaders are a good place to start. Great speeches in time of war or social transition are also a good source of ideas and learning. Reading doesn't always mean sitting down with a book either. For me the cab of my pick-up and tractor is a class room of listening to books, speeches, and pod casts.

Ask to spend time with someone who has achieved what you would like to achieve in 10 to 15 years. Learn what they do that creates a successful environment. If you want to be a millionaire you need to do what millionaires do. If you want to be a successful organic farmer you need to learn and then master those skills.

What are the goals you want to achieve. What are your goals for your family. They say it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert and there is research to back that up. So what ever you sent your mind to do that sooner you get to it, the sooner you will reach your goals. But just because you have spent 10,000 hours, there is always someone who has spent 30,000 hours or 50,000 hours. There is always someone who learns quicker or who has worked harder.

So next time you are feeling like you are at the head of the class consider what that means and look to expand your horizons, try something new and learn from those that have more experience.

Saturday, July 27, 2013

Minnesota Gumbo

As related in an earlier post on okra, Lisa and I honeymooned in New Orleans 26 years ago. We sampled many of the local specialties and one of the best was the local gumbo. I've made gumbo many times and have adapted it to Minnesota and what is available locally in the summer.

The word gumbo is derived from African words for okra. Gumbo is a stew that can take many forms, one of the common threads through most gumbos is okra, which we are starting to sell this week at the farmers market.

Minnesota Ingredients:

1 cup of oil (coconut, butter or bacon grease)
1 cup of whole wheat flour
2 pounds Okra with stems and tips removed (Petersen)
1 large onion, diced (Petersen)
1 large green bell pepper, diced (Petersen)
4 stalks of celery, diced (Petersen)
1 pound of smoked pork sausage, sliced 1/4 inch thick (farmers market)
4 large cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
6 cups chicken broth
1 bay leaf
4 chicken breasts, diced or shredded
Creole seasoning (optional)

Directions:

  1. Whisk flour into the oil a roux is formed, about 8-10 minutes and the roux is the color of chocolate
  2. Cook the okra until the sap has disappeared.
  3. Mix the onion, bell pepper, celery, and sausage into the roux, cook for approximately 5 minutes. Mix in the garlic and cook another 5 minutes. Add the okra. Season; mix thoroughly. Pour chicken broth and add the bay leaf. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to medium-low, and simmer, uncovered for about an hour, mix occasionally. Stir in chicken, and simmer another hour.
  4. Serve over a bed of rice.
Kick It Up
  1. Many gumbos use seafood such as fish or shrimp.
  2. You can add more spice by adding the creole seasoning.
  3. A jalapeno or two will also add some spice.
  4. Ham is also a common gumbo meat.
  5. You can add some heirloom tomatoes to thicken the sauce.

A Simple Arugula Pesto

With the taste of Arugula Pesto still fresh on my tongue I thought I would write down the recipe. We has some really nice baby leaf arugula at the market today. It had a nice full flavor without being too spicy as arugula can be in the summer months. We succession plant every few weeks to keep our greens top quality.

The unique thing about ARUGULA pesto is it stays bright green even during cooking.

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh ARUGULA leaves, packed
2 cloves garlic (1 clove if you don't like strong garlic or if they are very large)
1/4 cup pine nuts or walnuts (you can toast or use raw)
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup Parmesan or Romano cheese

Directions

Process ARUGULA, garlic and nuts in a food processor until coarsely chopped. Add oil slowly and process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Mix in cheese if using immediately. If freezing leave the cheese out.

We used the pesto as a bruschetta on some fresh bread. We toasted our bread and that mellows the ARUGULA a little for a spicier pesto toast the bread and then put the pesto on it right before serving.

ARUGULA pesto works well on pasta and can be used to stuff squash blossoms.

Arugula and New Baby Potato Salad

Potato salad is one of the staples of of the summer time menu. Small new baby potatoes are the most flavorful and beat the socks off the storage varieties in the stores. Our arugula is also way more flavorful than store bought arugula. I think it is the minerals in our soil that punch up the flavor. These two vegetables are dynamite in the traditional potato salad with a little kick!

One of the keys to a good potato salad is to mix the dressing and the potatoes before the potatoes cool so the dressing is soaked up by the cooling potatoes.

Ingredients:

  1. 2 lbs new potatoes, baby red or Yukon gold
  2. 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
  3. 1/4 cup mayonnaise (you can make your own fresh if you'd like)
  4. 3 small sweet onions like Walla Walla or Alisa Craig
  5. 2 cups of arugula leaves, baby sized or roughly chop bigger leaves
  6. 1 small bunch fresh dill, chop dill weed finely
Directions:

Fill a 5 quart pot 3/4 full of water. Bring to a boil and add potatoes. Simmer for 20-30 minutes or until you can pierce the potatoes easily with a knife or fork. Drain potatoes and put them back in the pot. Slice warm potatoes into quarters. Add to a large mixing bowl.

Mix.together the yogurt and mayonnaise. Toss the potatoes with the dressing, then toss with the onions, arugula and dill. Season to taste with salt and pepper. 

Let rest in the refrigerator for an hour before serving.

Friday, July 26, 2013

Market Menu for June 27

We will have the following items at the market for Saturday, June 27, 2013 (New items are in Bold Print)

Raspberries (limited supply, better come early)
Okra
Garlic - New Crop
Leeks
Walla Walla Sweet Jumbo Onions
Chipolini Onions
Green Onions
Radishes - Red
Baby Spring Mix - Lettuce, Beet Greens, Kale (new lettuce bed this week)
Baby Red Russian Kale - Good Supply
Baby Kale - Regular
Arugual - Good Supply
Baby Cilantro
Fresh Cut Basil
Cress
Sweet Ruby - a fine frilly mustard green, Mizuna
Fresh Cut Herbs - Basil, Mint, Oregano, French Tarragon, Rosemary, Cilantro, Thyme
Dandelion Greens
Shallots - New Crop
Worm Farms - Red Wigglers, Worm Bedding, Worm Castings
Potting Mix - Made a Fresh Batch This Week
Cipotle Smoked Peppers
Smoked Sun Dried Tomatoes
Sun Dried Tomatoes
Herb Plants
- Rosemary
- Basil - Sweet Italian, Tai, Lemon, Holy - Herb of the Week (see Recipes on the VF Blog)
- Mint - Spearmint, Chocolate, Organge, Apple, Mint Mojito, Mint Julip
- Tyme - English, Posey, Lemon
- Sage, Tricolor Sage
- Cilantro - Herb of the Week
- Chives
Cherry Tomato Plants (Great Selection)
Harvest by August 30
- Black Cherry
- Sun Gold
- Red Grape
- Yellow Pear
- Sunshine Yellow
- Sweet 100.
Pepper Plants
- Red Bell
- Yellow Bell
- Jalapeno, Serrano, Anaheim, Pablano
- Habernaro
Dried Herbs
Lisa's Soap

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Is Okra a Vegetable for Dixie, Ya Shure?

Many of our customer seem very surprise when we start bringing Okra to market each year. Especially those that are from the south and new to town. "I thought Okra was a southern vegetable!" is the common refrain.

Well take it from an old Scandinavian. It just tain't so!

It takes a little doing but you can grow Okra in Minnesota. We typically get about a 60 day harvest window before the frost stops all the Okra festivities. Okra is very sensitive to cold; similar to basil in that respect.

Lisa and I were first exposed to Okra 25 years ago when we were on our honeymoon in New Orleans. We had a stew or soup called Gumbo that had lots of Okra in it. We had other strange foods while we were there like oysters on the half shell and blackened red fish (sounds colorful). I bought a New Orleans cook book and tried to grow some of the main ingredients.

I had promised to take Lisa some place where they had a beach for our honeymoon. I figured Lake Pontchcartrain had a beach and never checked any further. Well wouldn't you know it they only had a levee and not a beach. We looked all over but no beach.  We had fun anyway, but she reminds me that I still owe her a beach. You'd think that a French Quarter would be good enough. But I digress...

It is our anniversary today, so I guess I'm doing a little reminiscing.

I ran across a YouTube video a while back where an old gentleman with a thick southern accent was showing how he picked Okra. It was really comical. He had an electric golf cart that he drove along the Okra rows and picked Okra from the seat of his golf cart. He picked about 15 pounds that way and then showed his viewers how he froze the fresh Okra for use during the winter. The interesting thing was the Okra plants he was picking was 6-7 feet tall. It looked like a jungle. He'd reach in and snap off the pods. Very educational!

Because of our short growing season Our Okra never gets over 3-4 feet tall. See my post earlier this season on how we grow Okra.

I'll put a recipe for gumbo in a future post. It has lots of good vegetables in it that are typically available as soon as the Okra is.

Oh, by the way we are starting to harvest Okra this week. It might take a couple of weeks before all the plants are bearing and we have a large quantity.

Ya'll come get some. Ya shure!

We Want to be Your Farmer

"We want to be your farmer"

Not only our purpose statement but also articulates our goals and dreams.

Wouldn't you want to work with and buy from a family that pledges their allegiance to the health of your family?

A pledge that results in stewardship of the land to produce clean vegetables, just picked flavor, unique products, and organic growing methods; a family that is your friend, that greets you with smile,  that cares about your produce needs, that can coach you on food preparation techniques, that can advise you on food preservation, and that invests your food dollar locally.

"We want to be your farmer."

This is a repost for our new blog visitors.

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

How to Pick Smooth or Savoyed Spinach

I prefer Savoyed-Leaf spinach over Smooth-Leaf for the Farmers Market as I think the presentation is better. Savoyed-Leaf has better loft and fills the bag better. Smooth-Leaf packs down in the bag more. From a flavor stand point I can't tell the difference.

The savoyed varieties like Tyee have good powdery mildue resistance and resistance to other diseases.

I had some problems with damping off of seedlings last year. Turns out good old food grade hydrogen peroxide can help with this. Don't use the medicinal kind as that has preservatives. You can get a quart of food grade H2O2 at the Peoples Food Coop. Be careful handling it, as 35% can burn your skin.

Monday, July 22, 2013

Deer Annoy Me and What To Do About It

Deer Annoy Me! 

Mostly deer in the garden are a nuisance.

We typically try to distract them with delectable things they can eat in great abundance and get them trained to walk away from the garden crops they would eat. I planted some really nice alfalfa and vetch in one of the main routes to the river to get water. I also have four 500 foot rows of very prickly raspberries between the woods and one of our prime growing areas, this forms a natural fence, if you will (or at least it will when it is all filled in). 

The times the deer have been frustrating are:
  • Eating one bite out of the center of 100 heads of lettuce the week before they were ready for market. They could have eaten several heads and I would have not cared, but no, they had ruin them all. That was the point at which we switched to growing baby cut lettuce. Of course they pretty much leave these alone during the main part of the season and I often use electric fence towards the end of the season.
  • They often eat the tips off the green beans and edamame. I can handle this as they typically don’t eat enough to prevent blooming and beans. Maybe this actually concentrates the crop a little, by eliminating the last few stragglers.
  • Deer like sweet corn just like we do. I can share a few ears. But last year they ate all my popcorn. I don’t know what the big attraction was.
  • The last few years the deer have been especially aggressive with eating our late fall carrots. I think at this point of the season they are craving carbohydrates and just go wild after the carrots. I couldn’t deter them with an electric fence so we just had to harvest the crop. Maybe Cody the dog could help out here. He doesn’t much like carrots, but he does like chasing deer.
  • I’ve tried the stinky deer repellent sprays and I think the only thing they repel is me.
  • If they aren't too aggressive, blood meal can discourage the deer from munching on your favorite plants. But has to be reapplied after each rain. I sometimes use it as a spot treatment when I seen problems develop. It is also a great high nitrogen fertilizer for your early spring pansies.

Saturday, July 20, 2013

How to Cook Squash Blossoms

We have  1500 row feet of summer squash. In addition to the zucchini and patty pan, we get a large quantity of blossoms. We get asked how to prepare blossoms a lot, so here are some ideas we think your will enjoy.

  1. Batter fried - amazing flavor, but adds lots of calories for a low calorie food.
  2. Stuffed with a flavored cream cheese
  3. Stuffed with a flavored cheese, we like pepper jack
  4. Sprinkled with your favorite seasoning or herbs
  5. Dipped in egg and butter cracker crumbs
  6. Raw
  7. Sauteed with your favorite sauce.
  8. Stuff with a pesto or aoli
For serving a large quantity efficiently we like to preheat the oven to 350 F and spray a cookie sheet or two with a nonstick coating. Then stuff the blossoms with your favorite concoction and sprinkle them with your best yummy herbs (we like rosemary and thyme). They can be done ahead of time and then popped into the oven on the cookie sheets so they are all done at the same time. Good for a family meal or for serving at a formal party.

We sell a quart bag of blossoms for $3. It can cost $7 at some of the better restaurants for an appetizer of 3-5 blossoms. So you can experiment to your hearts content and it doesn't need to cost very much.

Friday, July 19, 2013

Market Menu for July 20

We will have the following items at the market for Saturday, July 20, 2013 (New items are in Bold Print)

Leeks
French Filet Beans
Squash Blossoms!
Baby Zucchini - Yellow and Patty Pan
Large Walla Walla Sweet onions
Chippolini onions
Candy Carrots
Garlic Curls
Baby Potatoes - Red and Yukon
Green Onions
Radishes - Red
Baby Spinach
Baby Spring Mix - Lettuce, Beet Greens, Kale
Baby Red Russian Kale
Baby Kale
Arugula - Good Supply This Week
Baby Cilantro
Cress
Sweet Ruby - a fine frilly mustard green, Mizuna
Fresh Cut Herbs - Mint, Oregano, French Tarragon, Rosemary, Cilantro
Dandelion Greens
Shallots
Worm Farms - Red Wigglers, Worm Bedding, Worm Castings
Potting Mix - Made a Fresh Batch This Week
Cipotle Smoked Peppers
Smoked Sun Dried Tomatoes
Sun Dried Tomatoes

Herb Plants
- Rosemary
- Basil - Sweet Italian, Tai, Lemon, Holy - Herb of the Week (see Recipes on the VF Blog)
- Mint - Spearmint, Chocolate, Organge, Apple, Mint Mojito, Mint Julip
- Tyme - English, Posey, Lemon
- Sage, Tricolor Sage
- Cilantro - Herb of the Week
- Chives
- Dill

Cherry Tomato Plants (Great Selection)
Harvest by August 25
- Black Cherry
- Sun Gold
- Red Grape
- Yellow Pear
- Sweet 100

Tomato Plants (Large 1 gallon pots and plants, Harvest by August 15)
- Brandywine
- Big Beef
- Beef Steak
- Roma - Assorted
- Lemon Boy

Pepper Plants
- Red Bell
- Yellow Bell
- Habenaro

Cucumber Plants - Slicer and Mini Slicer
Bean Plants, Pea Plants
Broccoli Plants Varies by Week
Dried Herbs
Lisa's Soap

Basil Pesto Recipe

When I wrote the post you can make pesto from about anything talked about the ingredients in Pesto but not the exact proportions. So here is a full recipe.

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
2 cloves garlic (1 clove if you don't like strong garlic or if they are very large)
1/4 cup pine nuts or walnuts (you can toast or use raw)
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup Parmesan or Romano cheese

Directions

Process basil, garlic and nuts in a food processor until coarsely chopped. Add oil slowly and process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Mix in cheese if using immediately. If freezing leave the cheese out.

It's Broccoli time

We are days away from harvesting our first delicious heads of broccoli. I don't plant the early varieties because I have had trouble with them buttoning and not getting a head to form. I like the mid season varieties planted after the last cold weather. Who knew when that was going to be this year.  These varieties make a nice head every time. We move on to later season varieties from this point on.

The later varieties tolerate warm weather but they really shine when summer turns to fall. We have often harvested our last heads of broccoli around Thanksgiving. With ice frozen in the beads of the head.

I like the variety Marathon from Johnny's for these late plantings.

We are still succession planting broccoli for the next 6 weeks. We will bring transplants to the farmers market if you want to try your hand at fall broccoli. It is some of the best broccoli of the year.

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Toasted Walnut Kale Pesto

Kale and toasted walnut pesto follows the theme that you can make pesto from about anything. We have some excellent baby Kale that makes a great pesto. Toasting the walnuts adds a nice additional flavor.

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Weed'em and Reap

Our farm team has done an excellent job this season with weeding. We have a world champion weeding team. When the weeds get over about six inches we typically pull them.  When weeds are smaller we use a stirrup hoe or wheel hoe.

With the plants like onions where we use compost in the row, we don't usually have substantial weeds until mid season. We are on the second and final weeding for onions, leeks and shallots. They look excellent and will take care of themselves for the rest of the season.

Monday, July 15, 2013

Nicole Arpin Essay - A Guest Post


This guest post is what Nicole Arpin wrote as a college entrance essay, in answer to the question "Write about a memorable meal". Nicole was a graduating senior in the class of 2013. She worked with our family on our farm for 5 years and attended Schaffer Academy with our children. We enjoyed having her as a part of our extended farm family.  She is an excellent student, hard worker, and role model for other young women. One of Nicole's interests is writing. 

*****
I bent over in a field of tomatoes, my knees dusty with black Minnesota dirt.  Turning my head in the general direction of my coworkers, I hollered, “What time is it?” “One thirty!” they shouted back. “Come on in for lunch!”   As we trudged up the well-worn hill toward the house, someone asked, “So, what’s on the menu today?” “Subs, of course,” was the bemused reply.  “What else?”

Saturday, July 13, 2013

Recipe for Delicious French Filet Bean Sauce

I developed a very tastey sauce for french filet beans. I used basil, rosemary, garlic and sweet onions.

Prepare the beans for sauteing by removing the stem and tip. You can chop the beans into smaller pieces or leave them half size.

Dice 1 cup of basil, a table spoon of fresh rosemary, two cloves of garlic and a small sweet onion. Cook in olive oil or coconut oil. Mix all ingredients and saute with green beans.

Serve warm or if you don't finish it is also good cold or warmed up.

The Magic of French Filet Beans

We picked two bushels of those magical french filet beans this week. This will be our first appearance for beans for the season. This is the only green bean we grow. After years of trials these are the best of the best. Always long, pencil thin and no strings.

We will have french filet beans all summer long. They are simply delicious.

The variety we grow is about 10 days longer maturity than normal green beans due to the long length.

There are some great recipes that work wonderfully with these beans. I will post some ideas.

Friday, July 12, 2013

Market Menu for July 13


We will have the following items at the market for Saturday, July 6, 2013 (New items are in Bold Print)

Squash Blossoms!
Baby Zucchini - Yellow and Patty Pan
Green Beans
Large Walla Walla Sweet onions
Chippolini onions
Candy Carrots
Garlic Curls
Baby Potatoes - Red and Yukon
Green Onions
Radishes - Red
Baby Spinach
Baby Spring Mix - Lettuce, Beet Greens, Kale
Baby Red Russian Kale
Arugula - Good Supply Coming Next Week
Baby Cilantro
Cress
Sweet Ruby - a fine frilly mustard green, Mizuna
Fresh Cut Herbs - Mint, Oregano, French Tarragon, Rosemary, Cilantro
Dandelion Greens
Shallots
Worm Farms - Red Wigglers, Worm Bedding, Worm Castings
Potting Mix - Made a Fresh Batch This Week
Cipotle Smoked Peppers
Smoked Sun Dried Tomatoes
Sun Dried Tomatoes

Herb Plants
- Rosemary
- Basil - Sweet Italian, Tai, Lemon, Holy - Herb of the Week (see Recipes on the VF Blog)
- Mint - Spearmint, Chocolate, Organge, Apple, Mint Mojito, Mint Julip
- Tyme - English, Posey, Lemon
- Sage, Tricolor Sage
- Parsley - Curly, Flat Leaf
- Stevia
- Cilantro - Herb of the Week
- Hyssop
- Chives, Leeks
- Dills

Cherry Tomato Plants (Great Selection)
Harvest by August 15
- Black Cherry
- Sun Gold
- Red Grape
- Yellow Pear
- Sweet 100

Tomato Plants (Large 1 gallon pots and plants, Harvest by August 1)
- Brandywine
- Big Beef
- Beef Steak
- Roma - Assorted
- Lemon Boy

Pepper Plants
- Red Bell
- Yellow Bell
- Habenaro

Cucumber Plants - Slicer and Mini Slicer
Pumpkin Plants, Squash Plants
Bean Plants, Pea Plants
Dried Herbs
Lisa's Soap

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

How to Plant Broccoli: The King of Cancer Prevention

How to Plant Broccoli

We start all our broccoli from seed and pick varieties that do well in our warm humid summers and cool fall weather. We planted about 75 plants this week. Broccoli takes about 40 days from a 3-4 inch transplant to harvest. We typically plant several different cultivars with slightly different maturities to assure a continuous harvest of tender sweet heads. We will start harvest in a week or so.

We bring transplants to market all summer long and are still planting seeds in July and August because fall broccoli is some of the best of the year. Broccoli does very well in the summer heat as long as it has plenty of water. It also acclimates to fall weather and light frosts very well. It is not unusual for us to still be picking broccoli until Thanksgiving if the temperature doesn’t get below about 20 degrees before then. 

We bring to market what we are planting so you can plant fall broccoli too.

So how do I pick the best varieties (see our post on seed selection). Broccoli is one area where I find that the heirloom varieties are completely unsatisfying for commercial use, where the customer is trained to want a firm compact head with small beads. So I look for the most expensive seed in the suppliers list, which typically has the best flavor, best disease resistance, best yields, firmest heads and most predictable maturity. This may not be what the purist gardener would look for, but as a grower for market this “works for me”?

One of our more distinguishing customers did a taste test a few years ago, where she bought broccoli at many different stands at our market. She said our tasted best. She did this over the course of several months in preparation for freezing some for the winter. She wanted to know what variety we planted. We had marketed three different varieties during this time and to her they all “tasted the best”.  Hmmm? Why would that be?

The secret to great flavor in broccoli is to first grow your crop without chemicals. No chemical fertilizers, no chemical sprays and no chemical pesticides. The second is to grow your broccoli in soils that have great minerals from kelp, fish emulsions, rock powders (like calcium), and most if all, lots of amazing compost to feed the soil! Usually we side dress with compost after the plants have been in the ground for a few weeks and are well established. If it is a difficult growing season like this year, we sometimes make a trench and fill the trench with compost, then plant the broccoli into the compost. You cant’ loose with this approach. Just make sure the transplants get enough water during the first week after transplanting (not a problem this year).

If you find cabbage loopers in your broccoli you can easily remove them with a quick dip in a salt solution of one table spoon per gallon of water. This isn’t a problem later in the season after the first few light frosts.

I harvest with a good sharp cabbage knife, our teens use a paring knife. Because they
are inexpensive if you loose them. Which only happens about once a day at our house. When we lived in town it was socks that got lost after every laundry. On the farm it seems to be paring knives. We by 5 packs by the case. When I was a teen and working for the seed corn company doing detassling, we used these same knives to cut out the volunteer corn from the good stuff. This was called rouging, but I digress.

Broccoli will keep several weeks in the vegetable drawer of your refrigerator. Keep the broccoli in a zip lock or handle bag tied shut so it doesn’t wilt. Use as soon as you can as the vitamin content tends to wane after a week or so. Still tastes good though.

Broccoli is one of the best cancer fighting vegetables and also provides great fiber for your system. Great tasting broccoli has more of the phytonutrients (a fancy name for plant nutrients) that keep us well. Eat to your good health.

Monday, July 8, 2013

Vital Not Viral

When Reed and I started our blog our goal was to provide useful information on the topic of market gardening and a family farm. We also wanted the content to be high quality and to use photography to add a level of interest. We are learning as we go and the project has been very educational for us both.

We wanted to develop a significant amount of content before sharing the blog address with a large audience. We now have about 150 posts published with about 175 posts written and pending publication over the next several months. We went public May 1 and have had 2500 posts read since then.

We will likely never go viral in the way some of the online content does, but that is not our focus. We don't want to be sensational or titillating. We don't need any big names or fancy titles. We aren't inventing any new technology or patents. Only tried and true information that has stood the test of time.

We are sharing the story of our families years of experience at raising and selling vegetables in the upper Midwest, near Rochester, Minnesota. We also have teenagers that have been involved in our farming operation since they were preschool children. Our family experience and raising children is intertwined with our farming experience and many stories in our posts come from when our children were young.

It is our quest to provide information, experience, farm lore, family stories, and answer lots and lots questions for our friends who are new to gardening and those who are very experienced. For many things there is no wrong answer only an alternate perspective.

If our blog is "Vital" not "Viral" we will consider our efforts a success.

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Candy Carrots Are Here

The moment we have all been waiting for. Candy Carrots are finally ready.

Our children call them candy carrots because they are sweet , delicious and bursting with flavor.  These are early Nantes type carrots and are exceptionally sweet. We grow them in soil that is cemical free so there are no off flavors or bitterness.

Despite the cool Rainey weather they are just perfect. We got them in real early and we should have a continuous supply for the rest of the year.

We picked 60 lbs and they won't last long.



Kale Salad With Almond Sweet Curry Dressing

Creamy Almond Sweet Curry Kale Salad (wheat-free, gluten-free, soy-free, oil-free, low fat, low salt)

This time of the year we have lots of fresh cut baby kale, so I was looking for a delicious dressing to go with this extremely healthy green. Kale by itself is pretty plain and is best if complemented by a good dressing. I tried several non-oil type dressings and picked the things I liked the best from each. So here goes, Almond Sweet Curry dressing.

Salad Ingredients

1 pound baby kale chopped (Petersen's)
3 carrots grated (Petersen's, new this week)
1/4 cup dried cherries or cranberries
1/4 cup slivered almonds

Creamy Almond Sweet Curry Dressing Ingredients

1/2 cup raw almonds (any almonds will do)
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
3 tbsp maple syrup (can also use equivalent stevia)
1/2 cups water (or more to thin if needed)
1 small clove garlic or can also use a shallot
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp sweet curry powder (I like Pensy's blend)
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions for Dressing

Using a high powered blender mix all ingredients until very smooth and creamy. Thin with water to the consistency you wish. Sample and add more curry if you wish. This makes a good full cup, you can easily double the recipe by doubling all the ingredients. This baby is really good and works well as a dip. Just cut back the water and chill before serving.

Instructions for Salad

Just toss carrots and kale with dressing. Sprinkle with slivered almonds and cherries.

Kick it Up

- Add an apple julienned or thin sliced fennel
- Red bell pepper julienned
- Grated Beet will give the salad a pink color
- Use other dried fruit (raisins, apricots, goji berries)
- Use fresh fruit like blueberries or strawberries


Friday, July 5, 2013

Market Menu for July 6, 2013

We will have the following items at the market for Saturday, July 6, 2013 (New items are in Bold Print)

Candy Carrots
Garlic Curls
Baby Potatoes - Red and Yukon
Green Onions - Walla Walla Sweet
Radishes - Red
Asparagus
Baby Spinach
Baby Spring Mix - Lettuce, Beet Greens, Kale
Baby Red Russian Kale - Good Supply
Arugual - Good Supply
Baby Cilantro
Cress
Sweet Ruby - a fine frilly mustard green, Mizuna
Fresh Cut Herbs - Mint, Oregano, French Tarragon, Rosemary, Cilantro
Dandelion Greens
Shallots
Worm Farms - Red Wigglers, Worm Bedding, Worm Castings
Potting Mix - Made a Fresh Batch This Week
Cipotle Smoked Peppers
Smoked Sun Dried Tomatoes
Sun Dried Tomatoes
Jumbo Pansys - Last Week, Jumbo Plants and Blooms
Herb Plants
- Rosemary
- Basil - Sweet Italian, Tai, Lemon, Holy - Herb of the Week (see Recipes on the VF Blog)
- Mint - Spearmint, Chocolate, Organge, Apple, Mint Mojito, Mint Julip
- Tyme - English, Posey, Lemon
- Sage, Tricolor Sage
- Parsley - Curly, Flat Leaf
- Stevia
- Cilantro - Herb of the Week
- Hyssop
- Chives, Leeks
- Arugula
- Dills
Cherry Tomato Plants (Great Selection)
Harvest by August 15
- Black Cherry
- Sun Gold
- Red Grape
- Yellow Pear
- Sunshine Yellow
- Sweet 100
Tomato Plants (Large 1 gallon pots and plants, Harvest by August 1)
- Brandwine
- Early Girl
- Big Beef
- Beef Steak
- Roma - Assorted
- Lemon Boy
Pepper Plants
- Red Bell
- Yellow Bell
- Jalapeno, Serrano, Anaheim, Pablano
- Habernaro
Watermelon Plants - Red, Yellow (Biggest Selection in Rochester, while they last)
Cucumber Plants - Slicer and Mini Slicer
Pumpkin Plants, Squash Plants
Bean Plants, Pea Plants, Sweet Corn Plants
Dried Herbs
Lisa's Soap

How to Plant Sweet Corn Transplants



How to Plant Sweet Corn Transplants

Over twenty years ago, when I had several community garden plots at the Essex park.  I wanted to grow a heirloom blue corn variety that could be eaten as sweet corn or  ground as corn meal. I had a very limited seed supply (maybe a hundred seeds) and I didn’t want to leave it to the vagaries of direct seeding. So what to do, I decided to start the seeds indoors in several flats and transplant them to the Essex park location. My strategy worked like a champ and I got nearly 100% germination and by hand placing the plants I got a very good stand. I planted the corn in a square block with the plants about a foot apart. I could weed very well between the plants and got great pollination.

This example from an experiment I did many years ago illustrates some key points about growing corn. 

Point one, early spring germination, especially with sweet corn, can be a little bit hit and miss. If you want to increase your confidence level, you can control conditions much better with transplants. That may not be practical on a commercial level, but in the home garden you can do some creative things with transplants that will almost guarantee success.

Point two, good pollination is critical to having a well filled out ear. Planting corn in a block, instead of a long strung out row, helps each plant pollinate their neighbor. In my example the 100 plants would almost be enough to have a viable genetic population. But you don’t have to have that many plants if all you want is good pollination. Maybe 8-10 plants in a block pattern or circle would do.

Point three, good weed control is essential and you need a little room to work around the plants. Better to weed gently with a shuffle hoe when they are small, than to have to pull big giant weeds and risk pulling out your crop.

If you want to make even better use of your space, plant a few bean plants in the shade of your corn or a winter squash plant. The Native American tribes called this the three sisters - corn, beans and squash. 

You can get sweet corn transplants from us through July 4th at the Rochester Farmers market. We will actually plant a little later than that, but that is a little risky in terms of first frost. The variety we like to mid season in a bi-color (white and yellow) called Ambrosia. I recommend you get at least three starts of three plants each for good pollination.

Baby Potatoes, The Harvest Has Begun

One of the significant milestones of the summer garden season is the start of the Baby Potato harvest. This afternoon I dug about 30 pints of very nice baby red potatoes. With the long days at the end of June they grow very quickly.

One indication of the start of the harvest is when the blossums appear on the tops of the plants. Those first few flowers are a harbringer of the small beautiful potatoes we wait patiently for. Just so happens we start picking peas this week too. Peas and potatoes baby, it doesn't get any better than this.

We plant extra potatoes for the first harvest as those are often small and sparse. We go through a lot of plants to get those first few potatoes. We plan ahead for that, but that is why those early potatoes command a premium price.

There's nothing better than a few roasted potatoes with rosemary or some boiled potatoes with cream sauce.






Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Baby Potatoes are Here

Baby Potatoes Are Here!!

We will start harvesting baby potatoes this week. The plants have been blooming and that portends the harvest. Our customers like the potatoes small so that is our mission. We pick fresh every week.

We will have two varieties, Yukon Gold and Dark Red Norland. Both are exceptionally early and have excellent flavor.

If the season was earlier, we have sometimes planted a blue potato so we could have red, white and blue potatoes for the July 4th weekend.

We typically battle against the evil Colorado Potato Beetle. We had very severe cold in December  before we had snow cover and I moved the potatoes to a different field. So guess what, no potato bugs in the potatoes this year. The rows are unblemished and nearly picture perfect. These voracious little buggers will eat every single green thing on a potato plant, leaves, stems and even the potatoes under ground. So it is nice to have a break from them this year. There are some very good organic controls for these, without chemicals. I have had conventional growers ask about how I handle these and they have switched to the organic method, good for them. I’ll save this for a future post.

We plant a new crop every 3 weeks for a continuous supply. We are going to plant our last planting next week. We keep the seed potatoes in the cooler at a dormant temperature until we plant. That keeps sprouting to a minimum.

Some curious things that I’ve seen happen with seed potatoes are... 

Occasionally, when we plant a whole seed potato the original seed potato is so well preserved by the plant that you could still eat it or use it to start a new plant. No wrinkles and no decay, even when it has been in the ground several months.

If a seed potato had a bruise or soft spot the earth worms will move in a clean out this decayed spot, but leave the healthy part of the potato alone. We find perfectly cleaned out little pockets where this happens, but the rest of the potato is firm and healthy. Good job Mr. Earthworm.

Potatoes grown from seed potatoes are not really seed at all but a clone of the original parent plant. Potatoes do bear seed from a mother and father, and these are used in the development of new varieties.

Tomatoes can be grafted on to the roots of a potato plant. There are close cousins in the Solenacea botanical family. If you grafted this way you can get potatoes and tomatoes from the same plant. No, I haven’t tried this. This is more of a curiousity than a commercial practicality. Despite the freaky nature of our blog name (designed to help you remember it), I don’t go much for freaky vegetable combinations.