Weekly Weeder

Olin-Fox Farms Volume No. 7 Issue No. 30 September 20, 2006

www.olinfoxfarms.com Summer Season Week11

STANDARD REMINDER

Please be sure to wash your weekly share thoroughly before serving. To preserve freshness, it is NOT ‘table ready’ (i.e., pre-washed). We deliver your Olin-Fox Farms’ produce right from the fields to ensure highest quality.

This Week's News From the Farms

Despite the intermittment showers throughout the day on Saturday, the 4th Annual Locusville Music Festival went on and ran pretty much on schedule.  With only a couple of delays due to the weather, musicians and music fans had a wonderful time listening to the readings of Mary Gustafson Small to the beat of Stevie Jett on an African drum.  The crowd enjoyed listening to music from Plantation Blues performing Pirate Song to ballads and Irish/Bluegrass instrumentals performed by Evening Song.  The event came to a finale with musicians collaborating and jamming well into the evening.

Continuing the profiles of our Fine Family of Farms, we thought it appropriate to feature Locusville Plantation this week.  Owned by Miles and Sharon Coursin, Miles refurbished the 1850s mansion that was falling in when he bought it in 1990.  He built a chicken coop, the store and four other dependencies on the property.  He makes furniture out of old barn wood, which he sells in their store along with his ink prints, rocking horses and carved spoons.  He is a musician and plays the harmonica in several ensembles.  He manages to fit all this in between a nine-to-five job in Richmond, and a three-hour commute each day.

Sharon runs the plantation store five days a week. She alone maintains eight acres of gardens, two dozen chickens, and the marketing of the farm and its produce.  All the products grown on the farm are organic. The Coursons don't use any pesticides or unnat­ural fertilizers. While their prod­ucts aren't certified "Organic”; an expensive bureaucratic process, they like to say they use “heritage farming methods” and their prod­ucts are “naturally grown.”

The chickens roost in the shade of a giant male paper mulberry grove, which gives the backyard of the plantation almost a tropical feel. Early settlers to the area imported the paper mulberry from China with the hope that it could grow silkworm. The project failed, but the trees thrived. The Coursons have tamed their grove into a manageable shady hollow where they can rest in their hammocks. Tunnels through the arbor lead to the "Hilton" as they've nicknamed their chicken coop.

The Coursons get the benefits of living off their land, eating food they grow and trading with neighbors for other things they need.  A goal in the near future is to make the plantation self-sustaining enough that Miles can work there full-time rather than in Richmond.

She also makes crafts to sell, including crocheted rugs and pot holders, beeswax candles, painted gourds and wreaths.  She grows loofa in her garden and sells the dried sponges and grows a special variety of corn which she makes into brooms.  She cans, preserves and freezes some of the produce for the plantation. 

They participate in one market a month, the Irvington Farmer's Market on the first Saturday.  They opened the store on the property to provide them with a place to sell their crafts and produce.  Locusville Plantation is open Thursday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. April to December.  The plantation is in Lancaster County.  To get there, take River Road a mile past Ottoman, go left on Slabtown Road, then follow the signs. 

 Weekly Weeder, September 20, 2006 Page 2

Other News

The 2007 All Season and Seasonal Programs are now being offered.  New memberships are limited, so please sign up early to assure a spot.

Crop Report

The planning and planting continue as we continue to make the transition from Summer to Fall, you'll be noticing changes in your produce basket.  Crops like tomatoes and peppers are being replaced by potatoes, beans and sweet peppers, with some leafy greens to follow like kale collards and loose leaf lettuces, and of course Arugula.

In Your Produce Basket This Week

White Sweet Potatoes, Acorn Squash, Potatoes, Green Beans, Valley Girl Tomato, Yellow Squash, Honey Crisp Apples

For the Fruit Share This Week: Asian Pears

Recipe

1 acorn squash, halved lengthwise, seeded

1/2 cup dried cranberries or currants
1/4 cup hot water
4 tablespoons butter
¼ cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
1 cup fresh whole wheat or multigrain breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 425°F. Place squash cut side down in 8x8x2-inch glass baking dish. Cover dish, leaving a space to let steam escape. Microwave on high 10 minutes. Uncover and turn squash halves cut side up. Season cavities with salt and pepper.

Combine dried cranberries/currants and hot water in small bowl. Melt 3 tablespoons butter in heavy medium skillet over medium heat. Add onion and sage and sauté until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add breadcrumbs and stir until crumbs brown lightly, about 3 minutes. Mix in pecans and cranberries/currants with soaking liquid. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Mound stuffing into squash halves. Dot with remaining 1 tablespoon butter. Bake until heated through and crisp on top, about 10 minutes.

Makes 2 servings.

Newsletter and Recipes by Ethan Brent, Official Newsletter Focalizer

Bon Appetit!