Hello everyone!
We love hearing your feedback about some of the more unfamiliar crops in your share. It always surprises and delights us to hear you all gush about the Tokyo bekana! We've definitely found a winning crop in this green.
This week you'll see the return of more greens in your share as we shift to some of our cooler crops. One exciting new crop we're sharing this week is Brussels sprout tops.
We cut the greens off of the Brussels sprout stalks so that the plant can focus its final bits of energy into producing large sprouts. We harvest the sprouts themselves for Thanksgiving, so they still have a good couple of months to continue growing.
Brussels sprout tops are like sweet, tender collard greens. I have to give a shoutout to member Elayna B. - I remember her coming in to the store mid-week last year to grab another bunch after receiving the one in her share because she loved them so much! Definitely check out the Library of Resources for information about them and recipe ideas. When in doubt, use them as you would any other cooking green.
Remember, if you'd like to use the swap table this week, feel free to swap out one item of your choice. As we see the return of greens, this is a great resource if there's anything you're not a fan of, though we highly recommend keeping your Brussels sprout tops and trying them if you haven't before.
On Wednesday we took a ride to Monroe where we grow our pumpkins on family land. We hadn't checked on the pumpkins in weeks and had no idea what we'd find with our crop. But we truly expected the worst - this plot of land has no irrigation. Sure enough, it was a disaster and we had lost all of our pumpkins.
The plants just didn't take off like they should have with the lack of water, and what pumpkin carcasses we did find had been ransacked by critters looking for water.
While we were there, we checked out the ornamental corn and popcorn we planted. Randy said it needs to stay on the stalk to finish the drying process before it can be harvested, but is pessimistic that it'll hang on long enough before being eaten by something else.
Luckily we have a very small planting of pumpkins up at Booth Hill and were able to grab an armload. Laina and Felicia also rescued some that were growing out of the compost pile. Randy says there are still some green pumpkins up at Booth Hill, so we'll cross our fingers to at least get a few.
On Friday, we changed our store over for fall by putting out new product offerings. Take a look at some of the things we have in the store!
Winter squashes will most likely begin to arrive in your shares next week.
Plus, we moved our mums out front and they're ready for sale. They're $8 each or 2 for $15, and they come in 4 different colors: red, orange, pink, and yellow.
On Saturday, we held our second annual Bonus Box Harvesting Event! Every year we offer an Early Bird Registration period for enrollment in our vegetable subscription program, and one of the perks for signing up during that early window last fall was an invitation to the Bonus Box Harvesting Event!
We've held this on the same Saturday in September when our bounty is overflowing, and again we were blessed with the most beautiful weather. 56 families came to the event!
If this is something that you're interested in attending next year (and believe me, the more the merrier!), be sure to sign up for your 2023 subscription during our Early Bird window starting on Sunday, October 16th - we're definitely offering this same perk again. Here are some photos of our members having a blast!
Don't forget about our 2022 LGF Spud Specialist contest - a cooking contest with potatoes! Here's how it works. Cook an appetizing and totally unique recipe using potatoes, then send us a photo and description of what you made. Think outside the box beyond basic mashed potatoes and fries. What we're out to do is show the world how much fun and how creative cooking can be. Just saying, I saw a recipe for chocolate mashed potato cake!
The contest will close on September 25th, and we'll pick a winner the next day. The winner will receive a custom, commemorative prize for being the Spud Specialist! Check our social media accounts @laurelglenfarmllc to see the submissions. Good luck!
In Your Share (Listed approximately from shortest shelf life to longest)
Large:
1 pint of grape tomatoes
1/2 lb. of arugula
1 head of broccoli
1 head of bok choy
1 bunch of Brussels sprout tops
1/2 lb. of green beans
1 bunch of scallions
1 lb. of potatoes
1 onion
Small:
1 pint of grape tomatoes
1/4 lb. of arugula
1 head of bok choy
1 bunch of Brussels sprout tops
1/2 lb. of green beans
1 lb. of potatoes
Caring For Your Share (All of this information, plus long-term storage info, can also be found in our Vegetable Library of Resources)
Store Brussels sprout tops in a plastic bag in the fridge and use within the week. Wash when ready to use.
Store bok choy in a plastic bag in the crisper drawer of your fridge. Wash and pat dry when ready to use (within the week).
Most sources will recommend wrapping a head of broccoli in a damp paper towel in the fridge. We think the less air it's exposed to the better. Open air causes it to wilt fast. You can try putting your broccoli in a plastic bag in the fridge and using it within the week. Wash when ready to use.
Store arugula in a plastic bag in the fridge. When ready to use, wash in cold water and spin out in a salad spinner. Use within the week.
Store beans in a plastic bag in the fridge. Wash and blot dry when ready to use.
Store grape or cherry tomatoes in a bowl with lots of airflow on your counter. If stems are still attached, don't pull them off until you're ready to eat the tomatoes. Wash before using and enjoy within a few days.
Store potatoes in a mesh bag in a cool, dark place such as a cabinet or pantry, and ensure that they get plenty of air flow. Do not wash until ready to use, but wipe away dense soil, if any. Keep away from onions.
Store scallions roots-down in a glass of water in the fridge, like a bouquet. Cover the greens with a plastic bag. Or, store in a plastic bag in the fridge and use within the week.
Store dry onions in a cool, dark, dry place, such as a pantry, cabinet, or cellar. Ensure that they have plenty of airflow; you can store them in a mesh bag. Keep them away from potatoes.
The LGF Cooking Club
Potato Scones * Spud Specialist idea!
Scottish Rumbledethump Pies (use your Brussels sprout tops!) * Spud Specialist idea!
30 Minutes or Less:
Large Share Additional Ingredients:
Biweekly Catch-Up (A copy of last week's updates)
I am keeping this short this week since I now have the cold that Peter came down with last week!
Starting off with some very beautiful photos of the farm since it's such a beautiful time of year:
In front of this photo is a row of beets for the fall. We're still harvesting from our summer planting, but these will carry us into December.
This week, we're finishing up our planting for the season. Randy's deadline is always September 15th. Let's see if you can identify these crops by the remaining seedlings in the greenhouse.
Mustard greens.
Red cabbage.
Romaine.
And Swiss chard. The Swiss chard will be the last to go into the field, and then the lettuce will be used for hanging pots in the greenhouse to carry us into December.
Here are a few shots of the crew from the week.
They were getting ready to plant on Thursday.
Here's Eric among the mums, which will be out for sale next Saturday, September 17th, when we change over our store for the fall. This photo proves that the color green isn't just for spring!
Here are Emily, Felicia, and Laina planting cabbage crops.
And when I asked Carly to send me photos from the week, she sent me this funny one from Tuesday!
Tuesday's rain helped the crops a bit, but caused a ton of our tomatoes and peppers to split. We lost a lot of tomatoes from the sudden intake of water. The plums are still doing pretty well, and you'll see those in your share this week.
Here's an article that explains the difference between plum tomatoes and regular slicing tomatoes. The gist is that plum tomatoes are less juicy and better suited to cooking, which is what we recommend this week. The recipes we provided below are specific to plum tomatoes.
Generally speaking about tomatoes, our second planting is starting to produce now, and we anticipate having tomatoes until the first frost. The weather will determine the quantities we harvest.
We've been thinking a lot about next year's program, and you can expect to see the details released in about two weeks. Truth be told, we do expect to make some changes to the program. We're thinking ahead to what next year will look like with a new baby, and how much we can realistically take on. Most of the changes will involve simplification to the program, though most aspects and the core values will stay exactly the same! We love our subscription program and, along with our store, it's the most important thing to us.