Kretschmann Farm Aug. 25, 2009
don@kretschmannfarm.com www.kretschmannfarm.com
Greetings from the
Kretschmanns,
Have you noticed anything
similar to what I’m witnessing now as I write this note? Two or three hummingbirds in the dawn light
are gathering nectar from the flowers Becky has planted by the side of the
driveway. Decades ago as I was growing
up, I had only seen hummingbirds in books.
Now, I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see them any day. Perhaps we have made the world a friendlier place
for delicate living creatures.
Even knowing no two
seasons are ever alike, it never ceases to amaze me the surprises and the ways
things can unfold. We rotate a fields every three years out of vegetable production into
a legumous, nitrogen fixing, deep rooted, and soil improving crop. Our preference is alfalfa. This is a tiny seed and has a difficult time
competing with nearly any weed. The best
seeding time to give it a competitive advantage is in early August. But that can be tricky because generally it
is very dry then. Last year, we seeded
in August into dusty ground, and didn’t see any rainfall until later in
September. What alfalfa sprouted then,
didn’t have time to grow and send down roots to survive the winter. But this year, the timing and the moisture
were perfect. Looking out on these
fields is like seeing green money in the bank.
(Actually, one could nearly calculate this, as alfalfa can fix some
300#/A of nitrogen and ammonia fertilizer is at $500/T+…) and little chance of banking meltdown here.
Then there’s all the other reseeded crops which are doing great
with all the free moisture--fall carrots, beets, cauliflower, broccoli,
cabbage, green beans, cucs, spinach, mesclun...
One special satisfaction is that we have a field of “Golden Ball”
turnips going great guns. These usually
don’t quite have enough time to fully mature.
They look, cook, and store so much better than the other Hakurei white
turnips which we’ll be seeding any day.
Had promised you peaches,
but when I checked in with the McConnell’s again they said they had
overestimated the peach crop but had an excess of nectarines. So…you’ve got those instead. This is a one-time thing as we experiment
with providing more local fruit. They
aren’t organically grown.
We are very busy
right now with the Big Dig. We’re
frantically trying to get our early seedings of potatoes, beets, and carrots,
out of the ground. Help? Next Saturday-10:00-3:00?
The amount for the
second half of the season is now coming due.
If you have gotten extras and don’t know the exact amount, we’ll be
sending out a detailed billing at the end of the month (the half-way point in
the season) which will include any missed weeks, and any extra things you might
have gotten.
Enjoying the cooler
weather, we are, sincerely,
Don, Becky, & The Kretschmann Crew
Tomato Update: Surprise! Lots of
tomatoes still coming out of the heavily late blighted
fields! Plants appear to be producing a
crop-regardless. Not sure what the
mechanism is, but they have all come at once.
Enjoy them while they last.
Pasta a la
We picked a little cilantro for you even though it
was well past prime just so you could have a little in….
Pico de Gallo or Fresh Salsa: 4 tomatoes, 1 bunch cilantro,
about 1 green onion (or 1 medium sized dry onion or a small bunch of
chives)--chop all these very finely. Add
salt, 4T lemon or lime juice, dash of garlic powder and if you like, about 1
tsp. of finely chopped hot pepper—go easy because they
are hotter fresh. Mix and enjoy with
chips or other Mexican fare. You can
also add chopped cucumber, bell pepper, or cooked sweet corn.
Tomato
Bruschetta (“Italian
salsa”): Dice up tomatoes, peppers, and onions. Mix with shredded basil. Salt
and pepper to taste. Toast your favorite bread or ideally, French
baguette, rub with garlic and top with mix.
String
Bean Salad: Boil or steam 1 lb. string beans. Combine 1/4 c. olive oil, 1/4 c. vinegar, 1
clove mince garlic, salt an pepper. Pour
over bean. Add 2 sliced tomatoes and 1 sliced onion.
New planting of zucs got a little out of hand,
but they are very tender. This is an old
favorite recipe…
Zuccanoes: Scoop
out several large zucchinis leaving about 1/4" shell. Finely mince the insides. Cook shells approx 2 min in boiling salted
water. Drain. Chop pulp. Mix with 1 beaten egg, 1 c. dry bread crumbs,
1 med minced tomato, ¼ c. grated Romano or Parmesan cheese, 2 tbs. minced fresh
parsley, and 1 minced clove of garlic. Stir into mix, ¼ c. broth, ¼ tsp salt,
dash of pepper. Stuff
zucchinis. Place into oiled
baking dish, drizzle with 1 tsp melted butter.
Bake @ 350 20 min. until tender. Meat eaters can add ground beef too.
Special Orders: Basil--$12/half bushel