Star Hollow Farm

Farm News: Week of Saturday, November 12, 2011

On-the-farm
There were some seriously cold nights over the last week or so — temperatures on our porch thermometer read 20 or 21 degrees several mornings recently. That pretty much puts the kabosh on most outdoor crops, although a few (kale, radishes, some herbs) will tolerate it. We’ve been busy wrapping up most of our fields and crops outside, getting plastic row covers and irrigation lines and tomato cages out of the fields and back up where they are safe for the winter. For produce we’re now counting now mostly on our high tunnels, greenhouse, storage crops and other crops from our farmer friends.

Baby (meaning tender & new) ginger
You may recall that we wrote about an experiment we were doing in the spring, planting small pieces of ginger that came from a farm in Hawaii, and trying a new method of production so that we could have local ginger for you this winter. Well, after considerable expense and effort, we lost our crop. But a neighbor, Tim, also tried it, and he did get some. I’m afraid it’s awfully expensive, but considering the trouble it was and how little was got, it’s not out of line. We had some in our dinner this evening, and it tastes just like the ginger you buy in the store. It’s just smaller and fresher, and won’t last as long. Pennsylvania-grown ginger — what would William Penn think of that? Hope you like it!

[Photo: The apple table while packing orders last Friday.]

Produce Quality
We think about quality all the time, when we harvest and pack orders. Our goal is to give you our best produce so that when you open your box on Saturday you say “Wow, this is great!” That’s the plan. But sometimes there are confounding factors. What if we’ve already sold something and then the harvest doesn’t look as nice as we would like? Is it better to short you something you may be counting on, or give it to you but not have the quality there? Sometimes, if we know something is not great to begin with, we can advertise it as “seconds” so that you know what to expect. Anyway, my point is that we’re trying to provide you with nice produce. We hope that you will appreciate the freshness and all, and that if there is a small imperfection you don’t have a problem using a paring knife. But — if you ever get something that is really not any good (onions are often hard to judge) — we encourage you to let us know and we’ll give you credit.

This week’s planned produce list

Apples: Fuji, Granny Smith, JonaGold, Stayman, Apple-a-Day mix.
Greens: arugula, bok choy, cabbage, Swiss chard, lettuce (2 kinds), Lacinato kale, microgreens mix, salad mix.
Veggies: beets, carrots, cauliflower, celeriac, garlic, baby ginger, Jerusalem artichokes, onions, parsnips, peppers , potatoes (Yukon Gold & German Butterball), radishes (red, Daikon, watermelon), rutabaga, shallots, sorrel soup pack, sweet potatoes, hothouse tomatoes, turnips (purple-top, sweet white, mixed specialty), winter squash (acorn, buttercup, butternut, delicata, kabocha).
Mushrooms: crimini & Shiitake.
Herbs: basil, cilantro, dill, lovage, marjoram, parsley, rosemary, sage, savory, thyme.
Other food items: eggs, butter, cheese, preserves. New or back are several goat cheeses and applesauce.
Firewood: We’ll have kindling for sure… I’m still waiting for a call back from USDA about whether or not we’re clear to bring hardwood down from PA to DC because of the Emerald Ash Borer problem. If you don’t see it in the store, either they’ve said NO or they just haven’t gotten back to me.

Harvest Box contents
This week’s box contents are planned to be Cherokee red leaf lettuce, mixed chard, broccoli, carrots, garlic, Yukon gold potatoes, turnip soup pack (turnips, onion, parsley & a recipe), and pink lady apples.

CSA volunteers
Many thanks to Kirstin, Sarah and John for their help handing out orders at the truck last week. We really appreciate your help!

Thanks much to all of you for your support,
Randy, Chris & all at Star Hollow Farm

General farm info: starhollowfarm.com.
CSA-specific info: starhollowfarm.com/csa.
Online CSA store: store.starhollowfarm.com.

8 November

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Farm News: Week of Saturday, November 5, 2011

Winter’s here!?
We had our first hard frost last Friday morning, the latest that’s happened since we’ve been farming. And the next morning, Saturday, it snowed several inches up here, the earliest that’s happened to us. Anything going on with the weather we should know about?

Well wasn’t last Saturday just a lot of fun? Up here they were calling for 5 to 8 inches of snow starting early Saturday morning, so I left home just after 2 AM to be able to make if over a nearby mountain pass before the snow started. I drove in slush and rain all the way down, arriving at 18th & Columbia about 5:30. I took a short nap, then went to The Diner for breakfast. It was still raining when I came out at 7:00, and I worked in the rain from then until the market closed about 1:00. Sales at market were the smallest in the last 6 months and the smallest October market in years. But with our CSA orders, we actually ended up with a decent bottom line for the day. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

[Photo: One of our high tunnels — unheated greenhouses — this afternoon. Outdoor production is effectively over here on the farm after several 25 degree nights.]

Garlic trick
I got an email from one of the companies I get seeds from occasionally — Seeds from Italy — and what caught my eye was a link to a YouTube video on how to peel garlic fast. Being a garlic kind of guy, I checked it out, as you may want to do. It’s called “How to peel garlic in less than 10 seconds.” Seems to work. My only caution to you would be: don’t peel up more cloves than you need for the dish you’re making, as they won’t store well already peeled. May be a great idea for a big tomato sauce, but I’m not sure what else. Fun anyway, though!

This week’s planned produce list

Apples: Fuji, Golden Delicious, Nittany, Stayman, Apple-a-Day mix.
Greens: arugula, bok choy, cabbage, baby chard, cress, lettuce (4 kinds), red Russian kale, microgreens mix, salad mix.
Veggies: beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, carrots, cauliflower, celeriac, celery, fennel, garlic, Jerusalem artichokes, leeks, onions, parsnips, peppers (green bell, Jalapeno), potatoes (Yukon Gold, Russian Banana), watermelon radishes, rutabaga, scallions, shallots, sorrel soup pack, sweet potatoes, tomatoes (hothouse, green fryers, romas), turnips (purple-top, sweet white, mixed specialty), winter squash (acorn, buttercup, butternut, delicata, kabocha).
Mushrooms: white and yellow oyster.
Herbs: basil, chives, cilantro, dill, lovage, marjoram, parsley, peppermint, rosemary, sage, sorrel, spearmint, thyme.
Herb sampler pack: done for the season.
Other food items: eggs, butter, cheese, preserves.

Harvest Box contents
This week’s box contents are planned to be Bibb lettuce, pea shoot sample, mixed cooking greens bunch, cabbage, onion, Yukon Gold potatoes, green bell peppers, Daikon radish, Confection kabocha squash, and 3 Granny Smith apples.

CSA volunteers
Many thanks to Markus, Lauren, Ryan & Susan for their help handing out orders at the truck last week during what was a rather unpleasant day. We really appreciate your help!

Thanks much to all of you for your support!
Randy, Chris & all at Star Hollow Farm

General farm info: starhollowfarm.com.
CSA-specific info: starhollowfarm.com/csa.
Online CSA store: store.starhollowfarm.com.

1 November

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Star Hollow Farm is a small-scale family farm located in southern Pennsylvania, 100 miles north of Washington, DC. We grow a wide range of produce, mostly in small quantities, more than half of which is sold through our online market & CSA.
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