News from the farm for Saturday, August 28, 2010

Hi folks,

If you didn’t come to the store last week, note that the store appearance has changed, but not its function. Also, I apologize for anyone that tried to use the incorrect link I initially provided. The store’s URL was changed several weeks ago, making it easier for you to remember: store.starhollowfarm.com. Also, if you haven’t checked them out yet, there are a couple of new features I’d like to call your attention to about our new info site. On the farm tour page there’s a Google Earth view that you can interact with (if you have GE on your computer) and actually go for a virtual “glider ride” over our farm, checking out the lay of the land and seeing what our part of the world looks like. Also, on the farmers market page if you shift from map view to earth view and then zoom down, you’ll see that they shot the satellite picture on a Saturday morning, as our farm stand canopies and farm truck are there on the corner! From our canopy set-up and a few other clues, I think it was shot in April or May of 2008.

This week marked the start of our main potato harvest season here on the farm. We lost a lot of leaves to disease, ending the growing season early, and weren’t at all sure what kind of a crop — if any — we would have. Sam, Anna and I used our single-row “shaker” harvester and dug nine 200-ft rows of potatoes yesterday. We got some potatoes alright, but yields are way down. Last year we averaged 4 to 6 bushels per 200-ft row. This year it looks more like 2 bushels. You can imagine what a difference that makes to us, since the costs of production were about the same. Sorry, but don’t look for cheap potatoes from us this year!

On a more positive note, our okra crop is coming on strong and we have a nice offering for you. We’ll be putting a small amount in the CSA boxes along with some serving suggestions, for those of you that don’t know what to do with it. Okra is one of the more interesting crops we grow — nothing else like it, really. It’s about four feet tall right now, and will grow to six or seven feet. As you can see, it also has lots of pretty yellow flowers that mark the start of a new pod. Besides thr crop’s beauty, the pods have an outer layer of micro-hairs that leave the picker feeling like they’ve been playing with fiberglass insulation … all itchy and scratchy.

Produce list (new or returned items in italics)

• Berries, Melons & Fruit:  blackberries, cantaloupes, apples (Gala & Ginger Gold), nectarines, peaches, bartlett pears, plums (Stanley & red heart).
• Greens: arugula, chard (rainbow & green), redbor kale, mixed bunched cooking greens, microgreens, lettuce (bibb), pea shoots, salad mix.
• Veggies: beans (green, Lima, Romano), carrots (baby bunched & mixed color), corn, cucumbers (pickles, slicers), eggplant (Italian & Rosa Bianca), garlic, okra, onions (red, yellow, cippolini), peppers (green & red bell, yummy orange, cayenne, jalapeno), potatoes (mini, Yukon, red, purple), scallions, shallots, sweet potatoes, tomatoes (red, green frying, heirloom, plum, cherry), yellow squash, zucchini.
• Herbs: basil (sweet, mixed), cilantro, parsley, peppermint, rosemary, sorrel, thyme.
• Mushrooms: crimini, portabella, shiitake, white.
• Other items: free range eggs, cheese, preserves, etc. Specialty goat cheeses (ash logs & demi-sec) are back for a week or two.

CSA truck volunteers
Many thanks to Sarah, Jamie and Alexandra for their help at the truck last week. We have a calendar at the truck for you to sign up for a two-hour shift handing out CSA boxes.  (At this time all shifts are covered into mid-October.)

Planned “Weekly Harvest Box” produce
Bibb lettuce, green beans, bi-color corn (2), gold potatoes, okra, red tomatoes, mixed basil, cantaloupe, peaches (2), Stanley prune plums.
   
Thanks much for your support!
Randy, Chris & all at Star Hollow Farm