· Lettuce
· Bok choi
· Kale
· Sugar snaps
· Basil, parsley or dill
· Broccoli
· Zucchini and summer squash
· Garlic (not cured yet which means that the outside has not turned papery, you still need to peel each clove)
· Walla Walla onions or green onions
· Turnips or kohlrabi (time to cook the kohlrabi or grate it into slaw)
· Beets
Spinach
The rains have returned and that is good news for some crops and criminal for others. The lettuce, spinach, basil and beans are delighted with the water to their roots. The alliums (garlic, onions etc.) are subject to rust. The rust lives in the soil and is brought out by wet weather. The garlic is ready to pull due to the severe rust, the size is small but they have to get out of the ground this week. The tomatoes are doing great so far but very susceptible to early blight if the rain continues. Enough already! The weeds are LOVING the rain and can be seen growing in every bed.
We have managed the farm with Juvencio working at 10% but the weeds are winning. We had some great helpers this week attaching the onions; Monica, Kris, Marilyn and a former member Ron (he is a champion weeder, he encouraged me on and we finished 2 whole beds). Dee and Dan helped make a dent in another bed last night. Needless to say there are 3 beds of onions to go and 30 other beds with a variety of crops covered in weeds. We are calling on all weeders to come on out and help stem the tide of overwhelming weeds. Even if you can just work for 2 hours it will help, come out any evening or even later today (the cool weather and recent rain has made them easy to pull).
I spent hours pruning and training the tomatoes and within the week they will need another pass through to get them going up and not out. The hoop house tomatoes are setting fruit as are the cherry tomatoes. We are cautiously hopeful for a great tomato year, but the rain has to stop. The cucumber beetle update is fair. We are finding some varieties less delicious and they are thriving. If you are a green zucchini or Sweet Meat winter squash you are destined for destruction, they love you. Diego and I found >50 beetles on one plant!! The battle has moved on to new strategies of us roaming the garden and finding these “trap plants” and killing as many as we can at the time we find them. We continue to use the “Surround” and Pyrethrin mix that gives the plants a fighting chance.
The hoop houses are changing, the spring crops are almost done. The 8 feet tall sugar snaps are falling over and have stopped blooming and the Chinese Broccoli has finally given up and gone to flower. The 180 feet of amazing Chinese Broccoli produced for 9 weeks! The cucumbers that will take their place will be put in the ground this week as well as a seeding of summer daikon radish.
Fava Beans are on the horizon. Next week will be a huge harvest with lots of small hand picked crops. The Favas, sugar snaps and maybe green beans will be ready to pick we will need helpers. Please do sign up for help in the months of July through October. We are planning the canning party for some time in September but the timing will be tough given a lot going on in our lives with Jacob heading off to college and Lyn being involved in conference in California. Hopefully we can fit it in.
The harvest festival is scheduled for October 14th so mark your calendars. The Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center will have the grand opening of the Wellness Center on October 19 and 20th. I have been working on this project for 4 years and am VERY excited about showing it off to you all. Many more details to come over the next few weeks, needless to say you are all welcome to come to the open house. You can watch the progress at www.virginagarcia.org .
Stir-Fried Kohlrabi from The Goodness of Potatoes and Root Vegetables
3 kohlrabi, peeled
3 medium carrots
4 tablespoons peanut or safflower oil
3 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
1 inch piece gingerroot, peeled and thinly sliced
3 green onions, sliced
1-2 fresh chili peppers, sliced, optional
salt
4 tablespoons oyster sauce (optional)
3 teaspoons sesame oil & soy sauce, each
Slice kohlrabi and carrots into thin ovals. Heat oil in large heavy skillet; when it begins to smoke, toss in garlic and ginger. Stir once then add kohlrabi and carrots; toss and cook 2 minutes. Add green onions and chilies; stir-fry 1 minute, then pour in ½ cup water. Cover, reduce heat and cook 5 minutes. Remove cover and toss in a little salt and the sesame and soy, and oyster if using. Serve with rice.
SAUTEED BOK CHOY W/ CASHEW SAUCE
Serving Size : 4
1/2 c Cashews — roasted
1/4 c White vinegar
1/4 c Water
1/4 c Sugar
1/4 c Soy sauce
1 tb Ginger — minced
7 dashes Tabasco sauce
2 tb Basil — finely chopped
2 tb Mint — finely chopped
1 1/2 lb Bok choy — washed & dried 1/3 c Peanut oil 1. In a food processor or blender, combine the cashews, vinegar, water, sugar, soy sauce, ginger, Tabasco, basil and mint, and puree. 2. Separate bok choy leaves from stalks, and cut stalks into 1-inch-long- pieces. In a large sauté pan, heat oil over high heat until hot but not smoking. Add bok choy and cook, stirring briskly, for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, until it is bright green and well seared. Remove from heat, drape with cashew sauce and serve at once. Yield: 4 servings. Approximate nutritional analysis per serving: 340 calories, 25 grams fat, 0 milligrams cholesterol, 1,065: milligrams sodium, 7 grams protein, 25 grams carbohydrate. ** New York Times — Living Arts section — 29 November 1995 **
Bok Choy Stir Fry
This is an easy recipe.
1 1/2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon dry Sherry
1 teaspoon oriental sesame oil
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1/8 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
3 1/2 cups thinly sliced trimmed bok choy
1 5-ounce can sliced water chestnuts, drained
3 green onions, cut into 1-inch pieces
10 1/2 ounces extra-firm tofu, drained, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
Combine first 4 ingredients in small bowl; mix well. Heat vegetable oil until very hot in heavy large wok or skillet over high heat. Add garlic, ginger and crushed red pepper. Stir-fry until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Add bok choy and stir-fry until just wilted, about 2 minutes. Mix in water chestnuts and green onions and stir-fry until onions are tender, about 1 minute. Add tofu and lightly stir-fry until tofu is just heated through, about 2 minutes. Pour over soy mixture. Stir-fry until liquid boils and thickens, about 1 minute.
Steve’s Cold Beet Borsht
1 bunch beets with tops
6 C water
1/3 C sugar (a little less)
½ t salt
Juice of 1 1/2 to 2 lemons
1 C fat free plain yogurt
Dill weed
Remove top of beets, cut up and boil separately. Cover beets with water
and boil having 6 cups of water remaining, boil till tender. Pour hot beet
water into bowl leaving the last table spoon or so in pot to avoid dirt.
Add sugar, lemon juice and salt to beet water mix and taste. It should have
a fairly strong taste of sweet and sour. Thoroughly mix yogurt with one
cup of beet water and then mix this with the remainder of the water. Grate
beets and add with the cooked tops to the beet water. Chill and serve with
additional yogurt in each bowl (2 table spoons or so) to taste. A sprinkle
of dried dill weed is also nice