Greetings
from Dancing Hen Farm!
Welcome to
Week 6 of our 2019 CSA! Week 6 is NOT an
egg week. We hope everyone is enjoying
their Week 5 boxes.
What a
difference a week makes. Last week, I
was talking about a beautiful weekend and wanting to spend every minute
outside. This weekend was quite the
opposite. High humidity and high
temperatures and even the dogs didn't want to spend time outdoors! Yesterday brought the rain and hopefully today
we awoke to cooler temperatures. These
cooler temperatures are a much needed relief for us. As I have said before, the hot temperatures
are good for ripening our summer crops, but not real good for the farmers or
our animals.
Cucumber
season is officially here. And zucchini
season continues. Time for those creative recipes. Speaking of cucumbers, Farmer Don asked me to
talk a bit about the pickling cucumbers being harvested right now. They are beautiful and as I have said before
they can be enjoyed fresh or pickled.
These cucumbers are a variety called "deli star cucumbers",
after the barrel of large Kosher pickles seen at your local deli. These pickles are traditionally brine
fermented for preservation, compared with vinegar pickling. This is the same principle of lacto
fermentation used to make sauerkraut and kimchi. I have fermented a number of different
vegetables, but have to admit, I have never made fermented pickles. Maybe before cucumber season ends I will have
to try a small batch.
As I have
indicated in previous newsletters, our fields are looking good right now. Some of our crops (tomatoes and peppers for
example) are a bit behind due to the wet spring, but everything is quickly
catching up. Eggplant and tomatillos are
looking really beautiful this year and I would anticipate some tomatillos being
available in the next week or two.
Eggplant, tomatoes and peppers all have fruit on the vine, so now we
wait for them to mature. Kale and chard
continue to look really beautiful and our next rotation of salad greens should
be ready in the next few weeks as
well. Purple and sweet basil is very
nice right now and should continue
Farmer Don
and I do try to carve out some non-farm time for ourselves. One of our activities, after farm chores are
done, is to go for a drive and get ice cream.
We usually load up the dogs and drive up through the Sullivan Falls area
to Ricketts Glen park. We stop occasionally
to soak in some of the magic of the woods and to give the dogs a chance to
explore. We sometimes also take a quick
drive through the park campground. This
week during our drive temperatures were still in the upper 80's with stifling
humidity. This got Farmer Don and I
talking about campfires. Farmer Don loves
a campfire, something he learned at an early age camping all over the country
with his family. No matter how hot (or
rainy), there is always a campfire if Don is around! On this drive, he was convinced at least
fifty percent of the campsites would have fires. So, we started counting. The results?
The jury is still out. Farmer Don
is convinced he was correct, but since we quickly lost count and started reminiscing
about past camping trips, I think the data is inconclusive! There are two campgrounds at this park and
one had quite a few (at least fifty percent) fires, but the other campground
was surprisingly void of fires. A debate
to be continued, perhaps around a campfire!
I will end
here. The crew is here harvesting and
need to get ready for a doctor's appointment.
Lots of appointments coming up in the next week, so I will be busy. Thank you again for your support, by joining
our CSA, by buying from us at market and by keeping us in your thoughts and
prayers.
Until next
week.... be safe, be well and enjoy those veggies.
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