Kretschmann Farm June 29, 2010
don@kretschmannfarm.com www.kretschmannfarm.com
Greetings from the Kretschmanns,
The gods of
fecundity are at it again--abundant waters from the heavens nourishing verdant
life hereunder. Do they make a rubber
refrigerator for all the greens? If
cookable greens or zucchini are getting ahead of you, freeze them for later
use.
With the rain
delays, thought I'd take a few minutes to fill you in a bit with a more
in-depth description about how we farm--some
of our agricultural practices and directions we're taking. Of course you know, we have always followed
"organic" practices, since long before such were legally defined with
the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 and the ensuing Program Standards.
These spell out an organic production system based on conservation and improvement of the soil and critically--the
organic matter. Both a long range and an
annual plan are required. All products
used in production need to follow organic guidelines and in many cases are
tested and independently approved; field
histories are required for three prior years, including crops planted,
amendments used... when and in what quantities.
Generally, most amendments and fertilizers need to be naturally occuring
and not chemically altered or synthetic.
When farm produce is claimed to be organic, independent certification is
required unless the farm grosses under $5,000. We have been certified organic since 1990. For many years, we followed what is most
common among organic farmers in that we used composted animal manures and other
composted organic waste as the basis of our fertility and soil improvement
program.
About 5 years
ago, soil tests were starting to show a pattern of high levels of major crop
nutrients because of many years of compost high in manure. Our soils have improved (!)so much that just
about all we now need is nitrogen--which tends to be used up annually. Our major source of nitrogen had been
manures. But, we had also always used
nitrogen fixing alfalfa as part of our rotation, and rye/vetch cover crops over
winters. Two years ago we completely
went off the use of manures. We have
transitioned to using nitrogen fixing crops such as alfalfa, clover, vetch, and
peas to provide our nitrogen. Symbiotic
bacteria colonizing the root systems of these plants takes nitrogen from the
air and fixes it in the soil. We've
always tried to maximize the use of that great engine which energizes our
planet--the sun--by keeping the ground planted at all times in
photosynthesizing plants. Thus as soon
as a crop is done, we seed a cover crop which continues to grow in the fall, in
the spring, and even in the dead of winter on any day the temperature will
allow. Having a thriving root system in
place also forestalls erosion. Likewise
we will often interseed lower growing plants like sweet clover between the rows
of growing crops.
Continuing to
experiment this year with a method to reduce tillage and erosion (and minimize
work), we roll-killed a dense growing crop of nitrogen fixing hairy vetch, and
planted a crop of winter squash in the heavily mulched field without tilling. The mulch will also conserve moisture. We've also begun using a mychorrhizal
innoculant. Mychorrhizae are symbiotic
fungi which actually penetrate into the root cells of plants and forage the
surrounding soil for nutrients and water which are provided to the plant. In return they get sugars. It's kind of like multiplying the roots
systems of the plants and allows them to more fully use the nutrients in the
soil. Of course it's nothing that
doesn't already occur widely in the plant world anyway--just new to the human
plant world of agriculture. We'll
describe some of our pest controls next week.
Hoping
you're enjoying everything----Don, Becky, & The Kretschmann Crew
Salad Kale: Remove stems
and break into bite sized pieces. Steam or boil 5-7 min., drain, douse with
cold water, drain again. The kale will be
bright green and when added to a tossed salad, gives it a chewy texture with a hint of sweetness. Try it!
Sauteed Fennel and Cabbage: Saute ½ c.
thinly sliced fennel, 4 c. shredded cabbage, ¼ c. minced onions and 2-3 cloves
minced garlic or scapte in 1 tbs olive oil 5 min. or until cabbage is just
slightly crunchy. Sprinkle with 2 tbs
grated Parmesan cheese or sesame seeds and serve.
Zucchini Frittata: Saute 1 c.
chopped green onions 2 min. Add and continue to saute for 3 min.- 2 cloves
garlic, 1 med. zucchini in 1/4" slices
Add 1/4 c. chopped basil, 1/4 tsp chopped thyme and 6 well beaten
eggs. Sprinkle with 4 oz grated
mozzarella and bake 350 deg. until eggs set (15 min.), then broil 2-3 min until
golden on top.
Coleslaw: My mom used to make coleslaw by putting cabbage,
carrots, and a little onion through a meat/nut grinder. The dressing was mayonaise, vinegar, sugar
and salt. Now we just slice with a knife
or grater, about as thick as a nickel.
If you add the salt when slicing the cabbage, it draws out the natural
juice of the cabbage. This then mixes
with the other dressing ingredients to marinate the slaw. Low-cal dressing is simple--just vinegar,
salt, and honey. (Or if you're out of mayo)
Approximate proportions for a dressing one cabbage are 1/2 c. mayonaise,
2 tbs. vinegar or lemon juice, 2 tbs. honey, and 1/2 tsp salt. Or make an Asian type dressing: 1T soy sauce,
1 T vinegar, 2 T sesame oil, 2 t. minced ginger, ½ c creamy peanut butter, 1 t.
honey, dash hot pepper. Add a little chopped
parsley, and green onion rings. Mix it
up, taste, and adjust as you like.
Kale with Spanish Rice:
Saute 1 clove minced garlic or scapes
and 1 diced medium onion in 2 tbs oil.
Add ½# chopped kale leaves and 1#
chopped tomatoes (2 cups), 1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp salt, and cook 3-5 min. until
kale is tender. Mix in ½ c. rice (brown
is fine) and pour mixture into oiled casserole dish. Bake @ 350 deg. until rice absorbs tomato
juice and is cooked (about 40 min.). Diced ham pieces or chorizo sausage can also
be added to tomato mix.
Veggie ID: Fennel--smells like licorice... Recycling:
We readily accept returned strawberry and blueberry containers which you get
from us. Sorry, we can't use odd
containers which you might get from other sources. Likewise, we don't reuse plastic bags or
rubber bands.
Farm Tour: We'll be part of the Buy
Fresh Buy Local Farm Tour, Sat. July 24 10:00-6:00. See ours, and our neighbors' farms.