Kretschmann Farm Sept. 12, 2006
don@kretschmannfarm.com www.kretschmannfarm.com
Greetings from the Kretschmanns,
What a treat
last week to have the ground dry out a little.
Toward week’s end, in quick order, we cultivated and hoed the carpet of
tiny weeds which had sprouted in the lettuce and fennel, used the rolling
basket weeders on the newly sprouted spinach, and then rototilled and seeded
the last of many direct seeded crops. It
always strikes folks strange that here it is September and we are still
planting like there is no winter tomorrow.
But spinach, turnips, mesclun greens, lettuce, radishes, dill and
cilantro which were seeded should all make good growth before the really cool
weather comes. At this late date, many
of the usual pests will hardly be any problem at all.
As the cover
crops slowly take over the fields, we can start to see the “light at the end of
the tunnel.” In addition to being a
mental relieve on that score, it’s also a little of a relief in that the most
vulnerable period for our soil is at an end when the cover crop takes
root. Throughout most of the summer,
because of tillage, the soil lies vulnerable to any heavy rainfall which could
wash it away. Wes Jackson of The Land
Institute has brought the issue of human dependence on annual cropping to the
fore. It’s something which has marked
agriculture since it’s beginnings 10 milenia ago. We hardly think of it here in the
This week we had
hoped to launch into picking what looks like a great winter squash crop and to
make a good start on the
We’ve been
happy that the tomatoes continue in abundance.
They are showing signs they will tail off in production soon. We had been avoiding picking the San Marizano
plum tomatoes because there were so many others and the plum tomatoes last
longer on the plants. So we have a little bonus this week of these types. Enjoy them while it’s the season. It will be a long winter of longing…
Enjoy the
first of the cider. It’s a little tart
yet. There are a lot of earlier maturing
varieties in it, which tend to not to have the sugars of the later ones. As the season progresses, you will notice how
the flavor will sweeten and change to a whole different bouquet. Sally’s Cider Press, where we get our apples
pressed into cider, has
installed a new ultraviolet pasteurizer.
This does an excellent job of preserving the fresh character of the
juice.
Hope you are enjoying the change of seasons and our
garden offerings, we are, sincerely,
Becky, Don, & The Kretschmann Crew
Many
subscribers will recognize this recipe from past newsletters. It is still one of our seasonal
favorites. It was originally made for us
by Becky’s opera singing sister Georgine when she returned from
Pasta
a la
Beets,
Grapefruit Glazed: Boil beets until tender, slip off the skins,
slice. Then bring to a slow boil ½ c.
orange juice, ½ c. unsweetened grapefruit juice, 1 tbs. orange zest, 1 tsp.
honey, and ½ tsp. minced fresh ginger.
Reduce sauce by half and toss with beets.
Raman
Coleslaw: Make your favorite type of slaw, then toss in crumbled Raman noodles. A little shredded pepper or carrot makes the
color interesting. Good slaw is easy from scratch—slice cabbage thick as a nickel,
add 3 tbs vinegar, 3 tbs honey, a little salt.
Generally, Add a little more honey for this raman type of coleslaw..
Special Order Items: Green Cabbage—bu. box $15. (Great time to make
sauerkraut.) Hungarian Hot Wax Peppers—1/2bu. $18 Jalapenos—1/2 bu $20. Tomatoes—20# box (half bushel +-)--$10
Italian pickled peppers? It’s really
easy to do and can be done in about 2 hrs. on two
consecutive evenings. Use either the
Hungarian or Jalepeno peppers. Recipe is
on our website with the newsletters.