Turtle Times
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Vol. 14, No. 9, July 14, ‘09 7260 NW 58th St., Johnston 50131 278-4522 (577-9208)
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Rain: 7/8, 0.5”; 7/9, 0.2”; 7/10, 0.4; 7/12, sprinkles (est.)
In the Box . . .
Potatoes ‘Caribe’
Lettuce ‘Ermosa’, ‘Speckled’, or ‘New Red Fire’
Endive ‘Tres fines’
Summer squash ‘Raven’, ‘Costata romanesco’, ‘Sunburst’, ‘Dark star’
Onion ‘Ailsa Craig’ or ‘Mars’
Cucumbers ‘Marketmore’, ‘Tokiwa’
Peppers ‘Romanian’, ‘Islander’, ‘Sweet Banana’ (some sites)
Basil
Ala carte options: lemon basil, thai basil, oregano, mint, chocolate mint, rosemary, parsley, tarragon ($1 ea.), Red Russian kale ($3), fennel ($4), flowers (snapdragon, celosias, $10)
Free to anyone requesting it: Swiss chard, marjoram, sage
Email (info@turtle-farm.com) if you want any of these free or ala carte items
Farm Update
Kobie and Krista Long, Donald Bustell, Nancy Rambo, and Nancy Wills made a nice dent in our garlic patch on Saturday. They helped pull almost a whole bed or one-fourth of the garlic we have planted. The weather cooperated superbly as well. And while the garlic harvest can sound like an emergency room with stabbing victims and broken necks, it was less violent this year—no stabbings! Thanks, volunteers!
This week we begin harvesting our bulb onions. We have had a nice run of scallions, and most of you are probably tired of them. From the time we planted them, we have had concerns over the onion crop due to a number of factors--the weather, farmer error, and other issues out of our control. And for a family like ours that can eat an onion or two daily, that is worrisome. Just after planting them we had a lot of onions die from what seemed to be rot at soil level. Weeds can be a major problem, so this year we made special efforts to weed and then mulch the onion patch. We accidentally missed one bed that we mistook for scallions (which we don’t mulch), which was actually Ailsa Craig onions and those are pretty much lost. The oat straw mulch we used turned out to be full of oat seed (our usual reliable source was out and brought us his neighbor’s straw), which in turn grows and acts somewhat like a weed—making our nice mulching job much less effective. We won’t know for sure what the onions will look like until we pull them, but this is your advisory to be forewarned for a less than stellar onion crop.
Our potato crop on the other hand is looking great. Last week we had ample Chieftain potatoes even though half the potatoes didn’t come up in the wet area. This week’s ‘Caribe’ look to be very prolific. Last year with the invasion of Colorado potato beetles, I was quite gloomy about what our potato chances would be this year. I even contemplated dropping potatoes until you sent back the end-of-year evaluation forms nixing that idea. So where are the potato beetles this year? We have counted maybe a half dozen, compared to last year’s half dozen per plant. No complaints here.
Potluck for the Swedes
Some of you may remember that last fall John and I took a trip to Sweden to search for his maternal roots. After we began planning the trip, we discovered some cousins there that we made contact with. They turned out to be delightful people that spent three days showing us John’s ancestral grounds. In August, three of those cousins are coming here for a visit. They are less interested in sightseeing than they are in absorbing American culture. One aspect we hope to introduce them to is a potluck by having one at the farm during the time they are here. So if you would like to meet Hans, Eva, and their son David and introduce them to a little Iowa culture, please plan to attend. Regardless of the cousins, the food is always great, and it’s a chance to chat with the farm crew and visit your vegetables! The date--August 16, 4 pm at the farm.
Recipes
Sue Forrester found this recipe and thought it was a nice summer squash casserole.
Seven-layer Gratin (from Family Circle Magazine)
3 medium zucchini, cut diagonally into ¼-inch slices
1 yellow squash, but diagonally into ¼-inch slices
¼ c. plus 2 T dried bread crumbs
½ tsp dried sage
1 T. flour
1 ¼ tsp. salt
½ tsp black pepper
1 can (8.5 oz) artichoke hearts, drained
1 scallion, trimmed and minced
1 ½ c. shredded Swiss cheese
¾ c. light cream
½ pound ground turkey
2 T. grated parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl, mix zucchini, yellow squash, ¼ c. of the bread crumbs, sage, flour, 1 tsp. of the salt, and pepper. In blender, puree artichoke hearts, scallion, ½ c. of the Swiss cheese, ¼ c. of the cream, the remaining salt and a pinch of pepper. Spread one-third the squash mixture over bottom of a shallow 2-qt. baking dish. Spread half of the artichoke puree over squash. Top with half of the turkey. Repeat layering; top with the remaining squash mixture. Toss together the remaining 1 c. Swiss cheese, remaining bread crumbs, and the Parmesan. Sprinkle evenly over gratin. Drizzle with remaining ½ c. light cream. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes or until squash is tender and top is golden. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. 6 servings. Can be assembled ahead of time and refrigerated (add 10 minutes to baking time).