Early June

Wow it's JUNE already!

The season seems to be flying by already! I had a seeding spree on Wednesday and seeded greenbeans, summer squash, zucchini, winter squash corn, pumpkins...Ahh it felt good to get it all in--despite getting poured on halfway through! Still some spots are sloppy wet, but this drying wind will help out and make some more of the soil workable. I still feel behind and that things aren't growing very fast, but I think that is partly due to the incredibly early season we had last year. It has spoiled me for life : )

We had a GORGEOUS year for flowering fruit trees. Hopefully the pollinators had time to do their work in between rain events and the flowers will turn into some juicy fruit. We have planted several fruit trees (pear, plums, peaches, cherries and one apple) since we moved here. Many of themn are still young, but severl of them should be ready to set their first fruits! We also uncovered a row of old apple trees. Over the past 5 years, we have been pruning them down to be a more managble size and this year was the best flowering year I have seen. I think they are McIntosh! Although they are still too tall to harvest from, we have cleared out the understory in hopes to pick "drops".

The cows arrived on Monday on they are happily chewing their cud. We had a couple of escapees, but hopefully that will be it for the year! I meant to take a photo and keep forgetting...so you have to look at a photo of rhubarb instead. I am using a new pasture this year which I think will work out great, but I cannot see it from the house. So I have been driving down there a few times a day to check on them. Once they settle in, I should be able to just go once a day. It has been enjoyable visiting them and they are becoming more and more clam--one even lets me scratch him.

I am still not sure when weekly pickups will be maybe starting June 21st--we'll see. Grow spinach grow! For now you can enjoy...

This Week's Loot: Asparagus, rhubarb, parsnips, lettuce, scallions, lemon balm, chives, sorrel

Cooking Tips:

So I have been writing farm notes and attaching recipes to them for 10 seasons now. I am running out of recipes : ) Plus Zach and I don;t really use recipes, we sort make things up. Although I admit I will look at recipes for ideas. Anyway, this year I think I am mostly going to direct you to the places I searched for out weekly meals and hopefully they will inspire you too!

RHUBARB

This past week I have been experimenting with rhubarb...I made a rhubarb pit with meringue topping, a rhubarb/sorrel sauce for fish and a read about a roasted rhubarb salad that sounded good, but I haven't got to it yet.

Check out this website: www.rhubarbinfo.com

LEMON BALM

I mostly use it for sun tea or fresh as a lemony garnish, but this website gave me some new insights too: www.superherbs.net/Lemonbalm.htm

What is the difference between leeks, scallions and chives?

Leeks are a vegetable. Sometimes interchangeable with onions, but usually standing by themselves. Leek and potato soup, braised leeks, etc. Green leaves of leeks are very tough and fibrous and not eaten, but are excellent to use in soup stock.

Scallions, aka green onions. Good for salads, baked potatoes, Mexican stuff. Both green and white are used. Eaten raw, you will get the most flavor.

Chives are finer. Excellent for garnishing. No white on this one, only bright green with a nice light onion flavor.