Abbe Hills Farm CSA

Greetings everybody,

This week, we’ll have cabbage, kale, chard, beets, zucchini, green beans, new potatoes, onions, leeks, kohlrabi, broccoli, and cilantro.

I hope you are liking the cabbage, because we’ve got hundreds of them that are all about ready to cut.Cabbages were planted in 4 different groups, but of course, they are all ready at the same time.Green beans are coming on slowly, but we will have some for the Monday people this week for sure.Leeks are like mild onions and are especially good cooked.Be sure to wash them well; soil can get caught between the layers.

Of course, the big news is the cool weather.We’re enjoying it, but the heat loving crops like summer squash and zucchini, green beans, tomatoes, basil, eggplant, peppers, sweet corn, melons, squash, and cucumbers are all on vacation while they wait for the warm to come back.Most of these crops stop growing if the temperature is below about 65^o or 70^o, so when the nights are as cold as they have been, and the days are cloudy and cool, the plants don’t develop very quickly.Some crops may not be fully mature by the time of the killing frost if they are delayed too much during July and August.It’s potentially a BIG problem for the field corn because we planted so late in this part of Iowa.So, hope for some of those sticky, hot nights and days between 85^o-88^o.It’s hard on the people, but it’s good for everything else.

The beets have been fabulous.If you’ve had beets of all different colors, it’s not because you cooked them wrong and they leaked!They come that way.Check out this link to see some of the different kinds of beets that we plant.Who knew they came in so many shapes and colors?http://www.johnnyseeds.com/catalog/subcategory.aspx?category=1&subcategory=9

The potatoes you are getting now are a variety called “Dark Red Norland”, and are the most common variety for “new potatoes” around here.“New” means freshly harvested.The skins are so tender and tasty that you don’t have to peel the potatoes.We’ve been eating them boiled, then browned for a minute with a little butter and salt, or roasted in the oven with oil and salt.I think new potatoes are about the best thing ever.You may notice that they taste quite a bit different than the ”new” potatoes that you get from the grocery store for most of the year.That’s because the “new” potatoes at the grocery store aren’t really new.They’ve been sitting around in storage for up to a year.Really, they are just the potatoes that were too little to go into the regular 5-pound bags, so they are marketed as if they are something special.The real deal – the ones we have now -are what’s really special.Enjoy them.

The kohlrabi this week are HUGE, and maybe even a little bit fun.Take one, and then enter your winning recipe in the “Giant Kohlrabi Recipe Challenge”. Let’s see what you can do with one kohlrabi.Cooked, raw, chopped, creamed, pickled, roasted – do whatever it takes to make it great, then send me your recipe and I’ll share it with the group.Remember that kohlrabi are better if they are peeled, and sometimes big ones are a little woody on the inside.I haven’t tried one yet (too scared of them), so I’m not promising anything.Go for it.

I’m selling tickets for the upcoming raffle to benefit the Southeast Linn Community Center.This is the primary fundraiser for the center, and the profits are used to support its day-to-day operation.Southeast Linn serves people in the Mt. Vernon and Lisbon school districts by providing services for children, families, and seniors, including our food pantry.As you might imagine, more and more people are needing help every month, so it is imperative that we keep Southeast Linn afloat.Please consider buying 5, 10, 20, or 50 raffle tickets.You might win something cool, and you’ll be helping to meet very real needs of people right here in our community.The drawing will be August 8^th at Sauerkraut Days in Lisbon.

We’re making up the July movie night this week.Hope it’s warm enough to sit outside!The movie is “Babe”, and according to the library catalog, it is a “swine drama”. Movie night is Wednesday evening, July 22.Garden tours start at 7:30, movie starts about 8:30.The movie is free.Bring the kids, the neighbors, and lawn chairs.We’ll make the popcorn and provide soda, and donate the money to the food pantry.

Do you want to know more about certain vegetables?Are you figuring out how to use everything?Got a great source for recipes?Have your tried something new and want to share it?Zap me a note and let me know your thoughts.I’ll try to address them in an upcoming newsletter.

Hope for some heat.

See you this week,

Laura