Farm News Crop Forecast
U-Pick Recipes Nuts and Bolts
Greetings!
Funny how last newsletter started with “Summer!” — it felt like it had just arrived — and now it has felt like Fall for a week!
It sure has been pleasant, and pretty. The sunshine is a huge relief for all farmers right now. About two weeks ago we had a hard 3″ rain; some places in Rice County had 6″. It had been hot and sunny before that storm, but the ground still got muddy and puddly real fast.
It’s been just barely warm enough to keep warm weather crops growing. This week’s “heat” — we might hit 80! — will be better for that than the 67-70 degree days. The cool weather crops are loving this fall weather — broccoli, cabbage, greens, lettuce (though we have other lettuce problems), brussels sprouts etc. The tomatoes, peppers and melons are moving but sizing up and ripening very slowly.
The melons are really interesting. They were 2-3 weeks behind in growth at the summer solstice, which is when they typically start flowering. Being so small, and still very cool, cloudy and rainy out, we left their covers on — which helped them catch up on some growth but kept bees and flies out. Without that early growth push and enough pollination, we have fewer fruits for the beginning of watermelon season. The later flowers did better, and so did the cantaloupes, which started flowering a week later, after the plants had doubled in size and we uncovered them.
Our neighborhood wild turkey flock has discovered watermelons are good. They’ve pecked open a few dozen…so we bought some big sheets of bird mesh and some stakes and covered the planting to keep them out. So far that’s working.
We also had an oversight in our winter ordering and didn’t have enough row cover for the whole planting. It was an interesting experiment — the plants that weren’t covered got beat up pretty bad by all the June rains, while the covered ones looked like happy houseplants. The uncovered ones were smaller, then caught up in July — then they got sick and spread some of their illness to the covered ones , which had been totally healthy. That will lower cantaloupe yields a little, but probably not enough to be a big problem.
The challenges and repercussions of a wet spring! We and other farmers are hoping this sunny warm stretch holds on through September and well into October. And if we do get more rain that it’s gentle and modest amounts, then right back to sunshine!
Crop Forecast
Tomatoes are out there but just staying green. They have been ripening slowly, but now are starting to catch up! There are some random diseases in the first planting because of the rain but there are still plenty more on those plants, and even more on the later plantings, so when they start coming there should be lots. We are going up in amount this week! We are still hoping to start tomato boxes next week, but we really just have to wait and see what next Monday’s harvest is like. I will let you know on Monday late afternoon if we have enough tomatoes for boxes. If we don’t, we will get you a box later when they really start coming in.
Melons!! This is the latest and slowest melon start in many years. There aren’t enough ripe ones for this Tuesday, but probably will be enough for Thursday, and for the next few weeks. We should be able to make up the missed day to Tuesday folks at the peak or end of melon season.
For now it’s just red watermelons, but yellow watermelons and cantaloupes should be ready next week. A few orange watermelons will come in after that, and we’ll finish with the big pink watermelons at the end of the month. With the cool summer and lower yields, our melon season will probably be just one per share per week (in good melon years we can give 2 per share for a couple weeks). We’ll probably have them for 4 weeks, give or take, depending on temps, sun and yields.
Green Peppers will keep growing and coming in. The first ones to turn red will be in a couple more weeks, Hot peppers will start about when the reds start.
We’re sorry if you’ve had any leaf lettuce rot on you. That last 3″ hard rain really bruised and tore some leaves, which rotted a few day later. We tried to pick around them but it was either have a few bad leaves in there or no lettuce at all, so some sneaked through. We did lose a planting or two to that damage, but we have more coming soon, and lots more coming at the end of the month. For now, we have plenty of greens and we will still have a limit on lettuce this week.
Sweet onions— Our onions in general just barely squeaked through this year. Most of their growing life was cloudy and rainy and cool, so there are a lot of small ones . They stayed alive and we got a harvest though!! We’ll have sweet onions for this week and possibly next. As the skins dry in the field, it gets harder to clean, so we will be leaving the skins on the sweet onions from now on. You can still store them by keeping them in the fridge. After sweet onions, we’ll switch to baby leeks or storage onions. Once we start storage onions — which will soon be in the greenhouse curing — we usually have them all fall. The yields are still uncertain but that should work out.
Also for the next couple weeks — Garlic!!!!! , Beets, carrots, cucumbers, eggplants, peppers, sweet onions, summer squash and zukes, broccoli, cabbage, fennel, plus kale and chard. Salad Greens look great, but for leaf lettuce we might have a week or two more with limited amounts.
What’s for U-Pick?
Beans — We haven’t had a chance to walk the beans to see what amounts will be for this week, so check the board before picking. Mediocre germination, some deer browsing and probably the cool weather is keeping them from keeping up with demand, but they’ll keep going.
Big Basil Past the Solar Panels! We have a wholesale planting that regrew after we picked it and we want to share it with you! It is past the solar panels. Erin likely won’t get a flag on it until around noon on Tuesday, so please don’t go looking for it until then. There is a TON out there, so this is your week to get lots of basil for pesto! You can cut it from the bottom and bring large bags for picking. We will be mowing it after this week, so come this week! (but after noon on Tuesday)
Flowers There are plenty of beautiful flowers out there even though some are sick.
Cilantro and Dill are still chugging along.
Cherry tomatoes will trickle in more soon — we’re uncertain about amounts for this week–please check the board– and probably by next week, we will have alot! Please pick them ripe and don’t pick more than the limit—we want to make sure there is enough for Thursday folks!
This spot in the newsletter will keep you informed, but always check the U-pick board when you’re here to see what’s available and picking amounts.
Nuts and Bolts
Bulk Produce for You
Check here each newsletter for what we have available for extra purchase.
To place a bulk order, simply email us at least 2 days ahead of the day you’d like to pick it up. Orders can be picked up at the farm during our regular pickup hours, but it doesn’t have to be your share pickup day. Usually we can make an order on the spot, too.
This week’s selection is : Cabbage for $2/head, Chard for $3/ lb, Beets $1.25/lb, carrots $1.25/lb, Cucumbers, summer squash and zucchini for $1.50 /lb. Broccoli too, though we may have to cancel an order depending on the day’s harvest.
Share Pickup Hours TUESDAY and THURSDAY 1:30-6:30 pm.
Change Pick-Up Day Form — Click here. Please fill out this form instead of emailing us. Thanks!
Where is the farm? 4151 320th Street West, Northfield.
Please Drive Carefully —Children are everywhere.
If You Send Someone Else to Pick Up Your Share — Please forward them the basic pickup video in this link , which was also sent in an email earlier in June. Then just tell them to introduce themselves to us in the barn, just so we know and we can show them around.
We love having all of you come to the farm! Thank you for making it such a great place to be!
Your farmers,
Erin and Ben, with Allia, Alexandra, Elliott, River, Seneca, Sai Dang and Crew
Sesame Noodle Salad with Cucumbers
16 ounces spaghetti, broken into thirds
4 Tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons vegetable oil or light olive oil
6 tablespoons lime juice
Dash of Cayenne
3 cucumbers, seeded and thinly sliced
2 carrots, grated; or 6 radishes, thinly sliced (optional)
3 green onions, minced
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
Cook the pasta according to the package directions, drain, rinse with cold water, and set aside.
Meanwhile, prepare a dressing by whisking together the soy sauce, oils, lime juice, and cayenne.
When the noodles are cool, toss with the dressing to coat.
Stir in the cucumbers, additional vegetables (if desired), green onions, cilantro, and sesame seeds.
Serve this Asian-inspired salad alone or as a bed for marinated tofu, grilled chicken thighs, or flank steak.
Broccoli Pasta Salad
1 package (16 oz) spiral pasta
¼ cup olive oil
2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
2 Tbsp lemon juice
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
4 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2 Tbsp fresh chives
2 cups broccoli, florets and peeled stems
1 cup chopped sweet peppers
1 cup chopped red tomato
1 cup cubed cheese (Monterey Jack or your choice)
2-3 cups mixed salad greens
Cook pasta, drain and cool.
In a large bowl, mix olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
Add pasta, stir to coat, and refrigerate 1 hour or more to marinate.
When ready to serve, stir in herbs, vegetables, and cheese.
Serve on a bed of salad greens.
Open Hands Farm 