Week 6&7 2012

Steed Farms set a new time record for fastest harvest-2 hrs.  That is the fastest we have ever harvested.  We had to sprint the whole way as I went out to the truck on Saturday and found a flat tire.  The bigger problem was that thieves broke into my truck to pull their truck out of the mud as they were stealing my metal about two months ago causing about $1700 worth of damage to the truck.  I didn't realize until I tried to change my tire that they also stole my jack handle (which was also metal along with my battery that was mounted under the hood) and I couldn't lower my spare tire.  So we all piled into the van and ran to our local tire supply (McGee Tire) and had to buy a replacement.  Then make a mad dash to the farm and pick.  We managed to finish up just as our supporters were arriving.  What a crazy morning. 

We have been having up and down temperatures lately and things seem to be just sitting there.  My strawberry experiment is not yielding like I had hoped.  The tomatoes are looking great and I just planted eggplant in the greenhouse and will be adding cucumbers shortly. 

This last week we planted spinach, beets, more carrots and diakons, turnips, leeks, more onions, and broccoli raab (which I love).  The regular broccoli is starting to bud and should be picked next week along with kholrabi.  Lettuce is slowly gaining size and will be picked either this week or next. I am not sure if some of the potatoes we planted are going to grow back or not.  We had some that were just breaking through the soil and froze back to the ground.  They are starting to regrow but I'm not sure they will make a crop.  I hope they do. 

I was happy to see one bag of the red new potatoes left after the pick up last week.  They were a hit in our house.  Anna even wanted to take them to school for lunch!  That is the Irish side of her.  I'm the same way.  If I had to pick between fresh eggs or potatoes as our members did last week, potatoes would win out every time for me.

Some of our members had asked about the roselle jam we made so I thought I would include the recipe.  I took the roselle buds (about 2 cups) and removed the seed pods.  Then I put them in a blender just to get bit size pieces.  Then I added about 2 cups of sugar and boiled it until it was frothing.  I then added the sugar free pectin and allowed it to cook in.  Then just follow normal jam making proceedures and place into jars.  It was absolutely delicious.  Here is a link to more than you probably ever want to know about roselle.  http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/roselle.html

Season's Greetings and Happy New Year 2012

We would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  We started off the new year with a critical cold event.  We lost two crops of potatoes that were just maturing and the other one was just breaking through the soil.  I will probably get to harvest the first planting and we can have small new potatoes but it is not what we hoped for.  The roselle is history and it looks like the Swiss chard which was going to be harvested this weekend got frosted back.  We will see how they come out.  I was just thinking a few weeks ago that this might be an extraordinary winter with no freezes and was just about to plant more beans.  I am certainly glad we didn't.  They would have been just about 2" tall and frozen to the ground.  This is why we plant winter veggies during the fall and winter.  Summer veggies would all be frozen out.  Everyone longs for tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, etc. but eating seasonally is about adjusting our recipes to what is available and able to grow.  It is also about taking advantage of the greens that we have now by making dishes and freezing them or blanching and freezing them for the summer when they won't be available.  I know our supporters will balk at the idea of craving bok choi in May and June when there is none available when the last thing they probably want more of right now is the same.  But it will happen and you will be glad when you open the freezer and pull out that frozen bag of greens.  Here is a great story of how trying to do the right thing at the market place turns out bad and how we not only need to eat responsibly but also locally and seasonally.  We thank our supporters for having that same mind set.  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/31/science/earth/questions-about-organic-produce-and-sustainability.html

I am trying to grow some tomatoes in the small greenhouse as an experiment since the space wasn't being used but it is a risky venture and so far they are doing fine.  My little strawberry experiment in one gallon pots are doing fine but the yield is too low yet to do it on a large scale we have been getting about 2 pints a week with about 80 plants.  I also moved them into the greenhouse to protect the fruit and blossoms. 

I struggled to get the plastic on my greenhouse on Monday with 10-20 mph winds.  I was trying to put a new roof of plastic on the greenhouse.  I could only bring the greenhouse poly up and across the greenhouse into the headwind.  So I had a giant parasail that I thought might rip or crush the house frame when I was trying to tack it down.  I was considering how the Lord calmed the winds on the sea of Galilee and was wondering if He would do the same at that moment.  Instead, He sent a person with a problem that needed my help.  I offered to help with the problem and he offered to help on the greenhouse.  Interesting how the Lord works sometimes and both problems got resolved!