Weekly Weeder

Olin-Fox Farms Volume No. 7 Issue No. 31 September 27, 2006

www.olinfoxfarms.com Summer Season Week12

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

Just when we thought the mosquito count was going to be unusually low for the entire growing season, the recent spate of wet weather hatched out another record year of those relentless blood suckers.  Old-time watermen say that annual flood tides are what triggers an explosion of those huge salt marsh mosquitoes which have plagued the region of late.  This past week especially has been almost unbearable for us, from sun up to sun down.  Most mosquitoes tend to stay out of the direct sunlight, but just stepping into the shade exposes one to ravenous swarms of flying piranhas.  Our best defensive strategy has been to work in the direct sunlight at mid-day, avoiding the shaded areas as much as possible, and trying not to work outdoors during the morning or any time around dusk. 
 
Despite the noxious hordes of ornery mosquitoes, we are forging ahead--- planning, planting, tending and harvesting the crops underway.  We are on the home stretch, coming down to the last four weeks of our
first All-Season CSA program.  Along with the overwhelming majority of our members, we have been pleased with the program thus far.  It's also our pleasure to announce that more of the Family of Fine Farms have decided to join in growing crops for the Winter Program this year, which will enable us to include more varieties in your shares.
 
As you already know, shares for 2007 programs are limited and, in a CSA, it is critically important for us to receive your share payments early on to enable us to purchase seeds and supplies for the coming
season.  So once again, we thank you for your continuing support of Community Supported Agriculture at the grassroots level close to home.
 
NEWSFLASH: The website has been updated for the 2007 Produce Programs. More updates are coming; however, our first priority, naturally, is tending the fields.  Your patience is appreciated!
 
This week, we are proud to be profiling Holly Hill Organic Farm, owned and operated by the Iris and Frank Keister family.  Theirs is a 'Certified Naturally Grown' operation, a designation awarded to small sustainable farms with a history of environmentally-sound agricultural practices using no synthetic chemicals or genetically-modified seeds.  Holly Hill has been in business for about 20 years, always aspiring to be good stewards of the land and of all creatures who live there with them.  Working in harmony with the natural order, they grow only organic foods, beginning the season with greenhouse-grown vegetables and bedding plants, adhering to strictly organic cultural practices.  Lettuce, radishes, onions and other vegetables follow for the spring garden season.  A bit later on, come such fresh-picked vegetables as asparagus, spring onions, beets, turnips, cabbage, peas, green beans, cucumbers, sweet corn, heirloom tomatoes, okra, peppers, watermelons, squash, garlic, herbs, potatoes, and sweet potatoes. In the early summer, they offer 'pick-your-own' tart cherries. Other fresh fruits include plums, figs, and Asian pears.  Summer vegetables, herbs, fresh flowers and fruits are harvested until the autumn season brings pears, apples and fall vegetables.  Other products include eggs, square bale organic hay, bamboo, jams and crafts.
 

 Weekly Weeder, September 27, 2006 Page 2

In fact, much of our CSA's excellent produce comes from Holly Hill, including those flavorful Brandywine/Holly Hill tomatoes with the pink-ish skin, the fragrant sweet basil, and those tangy sour cherries.  Located on Water View Road, in Water View, Virginia, about 10 miles north of Saluda on route 17 Saluda, or 22 miles south of Tappahannock on route 17, Holly Hill Organic Farm is open from 9 am to 6 pm, Monday through Saturday, from March until the first frost.  Phone Iris and Frank at 804-758-3639 for more information.

Crop Report

Bring out granny's cut-glass vinegar cruet, plenty of butter, and the salt and pepper!  The first greens of the season are now being harvested: colorful turnip greens and that wonderful “Tendergreen.”  Tendergreen is a variety of mild mustard, with a decidedly spinach flavor.  It?s very high in vitamins and has steadily gained in popularity over the last 2 years we have been growing it.  Other crops coming along which show great promise are peas, lettuces, broccoli, and cauliflower which ought to be ready for harvest in the next several weeks.  More French Fillet Beans are on the way as well.  With the cooler temperatures and recent additions to Emmit Snead's cackling chicken flock, those handsome brown Free Range Eggs should start to be in your shares more frequently, too. 

In Your Produce Basket This Week

French Filet Beans, Turnip Greens, Tendergreen, Kennebec White Potatoes, Red Delicious Apples, Rosemary

Recipe

French Filet Bean and Bacon Potato Salad

Phaseolus vulgaris: One of the more recent refinements in the species, French/filet beans, or haricots verts, are harvested at a very young stage, less than 1/4 inch in diameter. At this stage these beans are
very tender, stringless and flavorful. This small snap green or yellow bean is long and straight in shape, tender in texture, yet crisp and very tasty. The ingredients in this salad add so much flavor to a traditional
potato salad and, because of the lack of mayonnaise, it can be served at room temperature.

Ingredients
1 pound fresh French filet beans
12 ounces lean turkey bacon
3 pounds new red potatoes

Dressing
1 bunch green onions (or 1 cup), thinly sliced 1/3 cup fresh parsley, snipped
1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon dry mustard
3/4 teaspoon dried basil leaves (fresh if you have it!} ¾ teaspoon dried tarragon leaves
1 clove garlic, minced freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup tarragon vinegar ¼ cup chicken broth
1/2 cup canola oil
Optional Garnish: Fresh snipped tarragon

Steam the French filet beans until tender. Cook the bacon until crisp and cool. Boil the potatoes until tender. Combine all dressing ingredients in a bowl. Put the beans and potatoes in a large bowl and toss in the crumbled bacon, then the dressing.

Newsletter and Recipes by Ethan Brent, Official Newsletter Focalizer

Bon Appetit!