Farm Message for Saturday, August 22, 2009

Star Hollow Farm News
For the week preceding Saturday, August 22nd, 2009
Hi folks,
(Don't know why, but the blogger dropped all my formatting this week. I didn't do anything different, that I know of.)
How y'all doin'? We had a big storm yesterday afternoon; huge ominous black clouds, swirling winds and intense downpours for about 10 minutes. It was the first drop of rain in over two weeks – our two hottest weeks of the summer – and we needed it badly. We got half an inch in that short period of time. There is an old-timers' “rule of thumb” that the perfect rainfall for vegetable growing is an inch of rain per week, slow and gentle. It happens that way once in awhile.
This week's planned produce: New or back-on-the-list items underlined. Note that, just like at the outdoor farmer's market, the fact that we open the market with a bunch of items doesn't mean that they'll all be available throughout the entire market. Some sell out fast. As always, it's first-come, first-served.
Greens: bibb and red leaf lettuce, arugula, braising greens, cabbage, rainbow and red chard, kale (Lacinato and green), pea shoots
Veggies: beans (green, Lima, Romano), beets, carrots (orange and purple), sweet corn, pickling cucumbers, eggplant (oriental), garlic, onions (cippolini and yellow), peppers (bell, mini-orange and assorted chiles), potatoes (Desiree pink, red, gold, purple, La Ratte fingerling and rainbow mixed), scallions, shallots, tomatoes (standard red, yellow, assorted heirlooms, Roma/plums, cherries), yellow squash, zucchini
Herbs: basil (Italian and mixed), cilantro, dill, parsley, rosemary, sage, savory, sorrel, thyme
Mushrooms: crimini, portabella, shiitake, white
Berries, melons, fruit: blackberries, blueberries, ever-bearing strawberries, cantaloupe, Ginger Gold apples, nectarines, peaches, Bartlett pears.
Other items: the usual eggs, butter and cheeses, plus jalapeno cheese, plus garlic / dill goat chevre, demi-sec and ash log goat cheeses. Also preserves and such, plus Mrs. Brechbill's strawberry / rhubarb jam.
On the farm: We started our main-season potato harvest this week, and I don't think I've ever been so happy to dig potatoes. We were worried that we were going to lose the whole crop with all they were saying about the late blight. We have potatoes planted in 14 different patches covering two-and-a-half acres, but the first one we dug looked just about normal, for tuber size and yield. Whew! At least we got some. (See the picture in the email, which shows three of the six rows we harvested: Purple Majesty, LaRatte, and Desiree Pink.) Of course, with yesterday's rain I should now be spraying again, at least those later-planted potatoes that still have some green tops, but seeing as I hate spraying – and I know I'm getting some potatoes – I'll probably let it go.
Even though it's still mid-August, it really feels like our season has changed. Help, help, our help is leaving! Jack, our oldest son, moved to Harrisburg last week and started a new job in town there. Russell, our ag college helper this summer, starts school in a week and finished up on Monday. Scott, our volunteer from the city, finished up last Saturday. Thanks to all of you guys for your help; it was great. Anna has just one week to go and then she's back to school also. Pretty soon it's just gonna be Sam, Chris and me again. And lots of potatoes.
We did get the cooler project all-but-done and used it last Friday. I finished the lighting yesterday. It's fantastic to actually have room to move in there as we pack on Fridays and to be able to roll two pallets and half a dozen hand truck loads onto the truck at 2:30 AM Saturday morning instead of 43 hand truck loads! (Until two years ago, we had to roll those loads all the way across the packing shed and lift the boxes one by one up into the back of the truck. That was before we built a dock that allows us to roll things on.)
Recipes: One of our CSA members posted a link to a recipe search engine on the blog. I haven't used it yet myself, but it sounds great. You type in a list of foods, such as what's left in your 'frig on Thursday or what you receive in your CSA box and it will search for a recipe that uses all or most of those ingredients. Pretty neat idea. If you're interested, (http://www.supercook.com/). Thanks Sheela.
Star Hollow Farm blog: (www.starhollowfarmcsa.blogspot.com)
CSA-Specific Information
Planned CSA produce for this week:
This week the plan is for mixed mini peppers, mixed potatoes, mixed cherry toms, green beans, sweet corn, an onion, sample of thyme, a cantaloupe, and tree fruit medley... ginger gold apple, Bartlett pear, peach and nectarine.
Enjoy!
Adams Morgan CSA volunteers: Thanks to Matt and Terry for their help handing out orders last weekend. We appreciate your help!

Thanks for your support!
Randy, Chris and all at Star Hollow Farm
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