Greetings from Dancing Hen Farm! I hope everyone is enjoying their Week 7 CSA boxes. Week 7 is an egg week, so if you purchased an egg share, you should have received eggs in your box this week. Please also remember that the half dozen eggs available as a choice item for the CSA are in addition to your egg share.
Sorry this newsletter is getting out a bit late. This was a very busy week on farm. The beginning of the week brought some unexpected personal issues and then we had a visit from some family members midweek. We love to have visitors on farm. This week we welcomed my uncle and two of my cousins. Our families were very close when I was growing up, so it was great to catch up with everyone and reminisce a bit. This was the first my uncle and one of my cousins had been here. I think their biggest impression of the farm was that we have too many chickens and here I was worried about all the weeds!!!
Tonight is a full moon, a Full Blue Moon. Blue Moon because this is the second full moon in July. The first happening on July 2. We have not had a Blue Moon since 2012 and knowing Don and I we probably talked about it in 2012! According to the Farmer’s Almanac, this moon is also known as a Full Buck Moon or a Thunder Moon. Be sure to take a step out on the porch and enjoy tonight’s moon. I just find full moons so magical. I love how bright they make the nighttime landscape. Just don’t try what I used to try in my younger years – driving without the lights. Yeah, probably not one of my smartest moves. Don was never very pleased with me if he were a passenger in my car during my night vision experiments!
Nope, I am not going to talk about the weather!
But, I am going to talk just a bit about late blight, another of my favorite topics! Late blight is spreading very quickly in the states around us. Many of the NY counties bordering PA are now positive for the disease. Farmer Don is worried enough that he began a copper spraying program this week on our tomatoes. We have our fingers crossed, as our heirlooms are just now starting to exhibit the slightest bit of color. As I have said in past newsletters, I am sure I will be talking late blight again before the season closes.
For the most part our fields are looking really good. Our lettuce has finally started to grow and so far the deer seem to be keeping away from it. In the next week farmer Don will do one last harvest from our greenhouse cucumbers. These plants will be pulled up and this bed will be replanted. The winter squash is doing very well. Fruit is already sizing up nicely and we are looking for a nice winter squash harvest this year. Spaghetti squash will be the first to appear in your boxes, followed, most likely, by delicate squash. Speaking of squash; it is definitely summer squash and zucchini season. We even have neighbors sneaking some into our walk in cooler! Our first summer squash planting is done and we are now harvesting from plantings 2 and 3. Our 4th planting is quite large and is already starting to produce some fruit. We will most likely plant a 5th and final small planting of summer squash and hope for a mild fall! Beans and greens continue to go out and continue to be rotationally planted. We are still harvesting all the basils, as well as limited numbers of other herbs. Farmer Don is gearing up for the last hurrah in the seed house. We like to shut the seed house down in August and do a final push to get everything in the ground for fall harvest. This year we are again hoping to extend our season with some low tunnels in our fields and plantings in our solar heated greenhouse.
Wow! Speaking of August. Happy August. It does not seem possible that tomorrow is August 1. Soon we will be sending the kids back to school and I will be talking about apples. And there is golden rod blooming along our road already, a sure sign we are on the way to fall.
Speaking of apples. Our trees are loaded with fruit this year. As many of you know we have a very old, very un-manicured apple orchard on our property. For the most part we do not even know what varieties are growing. We have been told by neighbors it has be 30 or 40 years since these trees were in production. We feel confident saying the trees are at least 50 years old, if not older. We will be offering these apples to our CSA members. We call them ugly apples, as they have not received any spray in the last 30 or 40 years and they therefore may have some disease or insect damage. They may be ugly, but they are really tasty! Watch for them to appear on the choice list in the next month or so, as some of our varieties seem to be early maturing.
Our kitchen seems to be fairly boring right now. Tonight, as I type this newsletter, farmer Don is busy making a chicken and summer vegetable stew to be served over rice. We have also been using lots and lots of summer squash! Zucchini is one vegetable I do not try and preserve. We just eat and eat and eat it while it is in season. We really love to grill zucchini. I also often simply saute it, either plain or with some onion, garlic and pepper. Throw in some sungolds and serve over pasta for a meal. Growing up my Mom always made a sausage, zucchini, tomato, and pasta dish. I am sure there is a recipe somewhere for this dish, but it is really simple to make. Start by browning some sausage in a large fry pan or dutch oven with a lid. While the sausage browns, get the water boiling for the pasta (my Mom always used elbow macaroni, I use whatever short pasta I have in the pantry). Drain the cooked sausage, if necessary. If desired, add chopped onion, pepper and garlic to the pan and allow the onion to soften. When the onions are soft, add some Italian seasoning and the chopped or sliced zucchini to the pan and put the lid on. Allow the veggies to cook until the zucchini is just about done. Next, add chopped tomatoes (or a can of tomatoes) to the pan, replace the lid and allow everything to finish cooking. Finally stir the cooked pasta into the veggies. Serve in large bowls topped with parmesan cheese. Add a fresh salad and some warmed bread and you have a feast!
On Saturday Farmer Don and Farmer Phil will be at the Back Mountain Library Market from 9 to 2. This market is now at the Dallas Elementary School. On Sunday, Farmer Don will be at the Mountain Top Farmers Market at the Crestwood High School. At both markets we will have our usual supply of eggs, chicken, pork and organically grown veggies. Look for lots of summer squash!, sungolds, and greens on the table. If you come by market, please be sure to stop by our table and say hello. Farmer Don loves to meet CSA members and friends of our farm.
It sounds like our dinner is ready, so I am off to eat. Have a great week!
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