Birthdays, Brassicas and Succession Planting
CSA Pick-Up July 28-31
Our little boy turned 1 on Sunday, and as we celebrated with family and friends, it was a great reminder of all the life bursting around us this time of year. Onions are bulbing, new potatoes are ready to dig, and tomatoes are beginning to ripen. The flowers are in full colorful bloom lining the garden, more trays of brassicas are ready for transplanting, and another row of lettuce is newly seeded in its bed. There’s so much to do, but there’s so much to enjoy at the same time!
As I’ve mentioned, we’re doing a lot of succession planting, and it’s a good thing–an insurance of sorts that comes in handy if something is to happen to one round of a crop. For example: we woke Sunday morning to find the sheep escaped from their fence and on the other side of the field. On their way to the northern border of our property, they stopped in the garden and ate 300 bed feet of crops: kale, broccoli, and cauliflower.
The kale had been beautiful, an early seeding we were letting get really big before harvesting, and the broccoli and cauliflower had been growing nicely for a late summer harvest. It was a sad thing to walk through the decimated rows, but those next successions just ready to go in now will take their place. We won’t have broccoli and cauliflower as early as we’d like, but we will have it.
In the meantime, more peas are coming on, and this week we’re offering U-Pick Peas at the farm on Thursday from 4:30-6:00 during CSA pick-up. All CSA members are welcome, including folks who pick-up in Montpelier.
This week on the menu: beets, carrots, cucumbers, bunching greens, herbs, onions, and potatoes
Farm Fresh Flowers
We harvested 2 buckets of flowers for a small wedding this weekend. Rudbeckia, Zinnias, Sunflowers, Salvia, Calendula, and more! Do you have an event you’d like flowers for? Please let us know! We can do buckets or bouquets for your party or just for your kitchen table~
New Chicks Arrive
Our new batch of chicks arrived last Friday. They’re now peeping away, and soon enough will be rotating around the pasture. This group will be ready to go in early October, but until then we have plenty of pasture-raised, organically fed chicken in the freezer. You can pre-order a number of birds, or pick one up at CSA pick-up.
Potato-Crusted Quiche
Edge made this quiche for Waylon’s birthday party, and it was a hit!
Ingredients:
5 eggs
4 mid-size potatoes
1/2 C yogurt
1/2 C milk
3 cloves garlic
1 C chopped greens
1 small zucchini
1/4 C herbs (oregano, thyme, and/or sage will work)
4 ounces fresh mozzarella
To Prepare:
*pre-heat oven to 375 degrees
*Thinly slice potatoes, cover with oil and salt and line a cast-iron pan w/them. Bake in the oven for 5 minutes.
*While the potatoes cook, whisk the eggs, yogurt and milk together. Saute the zucchini, greens and garlic, and let cool, then add to the egg mixture. Finish by mixing in a healthy dose of your choice of herbs.
*Pull pan out and let cool for 5-10 minutes. Pour egg mixture into pan, top with slices of fresh mozzarella. Bake in oven until top lightly browns and sides begin to bubble, about 20-25 minutes.