February

 Embracing Winter

My winter kitchen rendezvous continues with a fresh batch of cranberry ketchup.  I was first introduced to this delight when I worked at Willow Pond Farm in Sabattus.  A customer would bring us a bag of fresh picked cranberries every year and Jill would turn it into this fascinating condiment. Living in Maine where we are lucky to have so many fresh berries, I wanted to continue making this gem at Little Ridge.  Folks are sometimes shy to try it, but once they do, they are hooked.  It's spiced nicely with just enough sweet and tart cranberry flavor.  It pairs perfectly with pork, chicken and burgers AND it's a gorgeous shade of deep cranberry!  

We are proud owners of a new walk in cooler!  We have been in need of additional cooler space the past couple years but I have not sprung for one because they are freakin' expensive!!!  Even used ones are nearly 10 grand and, well, that is a hard pill to swallow.  This baby actually came all the way from California.  I found a company who was passing their PPP (COVID aid money) along to their customers (who are mostly ag and restaurants).  It was still a good chunk of change, but a good deal, and brand spanking new so I should not have any problems with the compressor for a long while.  John and I took advantage of the lovely weather and assembled her piece by piece.  I won't bore you with the hitches that came along with some missing parts during shipping and somewhat lean assembly instructions (although they were in plain english, yes she was handmade right in Cali).  But what I do want to share is our ingenious way of getting the super heavy ceiling panels in place.  Unfortunately there is no footage of our genius because we needed all hands on task, but let me tell you it was brilliant.  We used our block and tackle that we use to lift crates of onions up to the 2nd floor of the barn. I think it was even sort of safe.  Way safer than lifting a heavy, super slippery awkward object 9 feet in the air, over our heads, while climbing a ladder.  So, yep, the brilliant inventor of the block and tackle saved our backs and although it took some finagling, we set the ceiling panels in place and voila!  we have a new cooler. 

Another toy, another deal.  Every year I go to a conference in NH and at the trade exhibits, I drool over one particular farm implement.  It is made by a fellow farmer in PA and the videos he displays shows this beauty flinging weeds leaving strawberry plants happy and weed free.  It's a simple tool with lots of flexibility so I can use in many crops beyond the strawberries.  This winter I reached out to him (again) asking the price and shipping fee.  It's reasonably priced for its use, however still several thousand dollars.  With a sigh I figured I would continue to make due with the implements we already have and continue with lots of hand weeding. But then a few minutes later he emailed me about a NY farmer who wanted to sell his model and upgrade to the larger model.  And just like that I found my toy at a discount price!  

I decided to take a drive and pick it up in NY.  I was also able to enjoy a view of the Hudson and the Catskills, take a few hikes and visit a fantastic farmer friend.  A perfect deal all around I should say : )

I hope you are finding sweet deals and ways to embrace winter too!

January

Welcome 2021

This time of year brings me back to summer.  How? you ask.  I begin to pull all of summer's bounty that we packed away into the freezer out.  And from this glorious stash I make tomato sauce for us and jams and butters for you!

I do not generally spend much time in the kitchen cooking (that is Zach's area of expertise), I do, however, love preserving and processing food.  Squirreling it away for future use and unexpected tastes of seasons which seem far away.  Next week's journey will be through June's precious strawberries and late summer's raspberries and blueberries.  And then on to fall with Maine apples and cranberries.  Look for fresh products on the Little Ridge Farm shelves and on FarmDrop! 

Thus far we have been blessed with a mild and bright winter.  While John and I packed FarmDrop bags, last Friday, Simon sat upon his favorite perch and kept watch on us.  He is a good reminder of playfulness on a whirlwind day.

The warmer January weather allowed us to harvest spinach from the hoop house for our Winter Share this week. It is dark green, thick and juicy and tremendously sweet.  It seems as though a mouse found it's way into our sweetness and Puffa is patiently awaiting its return.  He did bring me a "gift" later in the day, although I cannot be sure it was this spinach eating culprit.  Hopefully, yes.  

I hope you may find memories of a special season and it can carry you to a happy place!!  

December

 Merry Holidays!

I hope they find you cozy and warm and with a belly full of local goodness!  Wow what a beautiful snow we had!! So light and fluffy, Simon made a bed out of it ; )  Wish we had snowfall like this always; shoveling sugar and walking through clouds.

We have been taking advantage of winter thus far and have gone on some gorgeous hikes.  I admit I am a bit jealous that Zach is going today, but since the snow storm was Thursday, I had to move CSA pick up to today and FarmDrop was yesterday...  So while I do not get to play in the snow, I get to see all of your lovely faces, which is equally as nice : )

Inside the home, we are blessed with a shower of Christmas Cactus flowers.  A nice show this year, reminding us how much we have to give when we take the time to rest. 

Seed order is already in and most of my seeds for 2021 have already arrived!  Over the years, I have done my order by Jan 1 to ensure I get varieties I like.  This year, I jumped on it even quicker as seed & product supply is short due to COVID (shipping complications and more home gardeners buying seeds/raising livestock).  I received a grant this year to build another Hoop House and although we are not building it until spring, it was just delivered yesterday.  I was nervous with shipping complications, it would not arrive when I needed it.  As it was, it took nearly two months to arrive after I ordered it.  It feels a little strange to be completely done with 2021 seed and supply and livestock (turkey poults, calves, piglets and their processing dates!), but I also feel secure and prepared.  Know that you are in good hands with us here at Little Ridge Farm!!  We love you and want to keep you well fed : )

I listened to a podcast while I cleaned onions for CSA pick up (ologies, of course, on "awesome-ology").  It focused on gratitude and the interviewee recommended every evening noting a "rose, rose, thorn, bud" (positive, positive, negative, future positive) about your day.  Looking back on the whole of 2020, these are a few of my rose plant parts....

Rose: a quieter schedule, allowing evenings to be more spontaneous and do what I felt rather than what was scheduled.

Rose: the rebuilt energy around buying local food and products -- seeing the awe of folks realizing (or re-realizing) how much Maine can produce

Thorn: seeing Simon getting older

Bud: the chance to do it all again in 2021; live this life, be a farmer, go on walks, snuggle my pets, laugh with friends, eat amazing food prepared by my thoughtful husband, revel in nature's unbelievable gifts from seeds to water to the rays of the sun.....

Whishing you the Very Best This Holiday Season!

Thanksgiving

 A Time to be Grateful

2020 has certainly been a challenge on so many levels.  More than ever I have been grateful for nature.  It has been a place of safety for me and luckily my job allows me to bask in it daily.  I hope, you too, have found safety in something you love or maybe a new-found gratitude.  

Maybe an unexpected color or sight.   A pleasant fragrance.  Or even the pleasing touch of something unnoticed before.  Less rushing from place to place has reawakened my senses.

I spent the last couple of days harvesting for pick up this week before the temps got too cold.  Most of the time I worked quietly listening to the birds and the breeze; watching bright oak leaves skip across the soil.  The light was glorious, low and direct, the plants' leaves were shining, beaming, happy.

 

Some of the time I listened to a podcast called "ologies" about cucurbitoligy (the study of pumpkins).  It was a fun podcast where the host interviewed this sweet 75 year old woman who was a cucurbitologist.  She loved pumpkins and truly thought they were magical, her joy for them rubbed off on me.  I learned two things 1) that historically pumpkins were often dried and turned into flour and 2) that pumpkins are a berry not a vegetable.  I mean, I am a Botanist by schooling and I knew they are a fruit not a vegetable, but I forgot they technically a berry.  (If you start to go down that road, it gets mind boggling what we call berries aren't really berries and what we call vegetables are mostly fruits.)  In any case, I was reminded of the uniqueness of pumpkins and their varieties and how beneficial they are to us as food, medicinal properties and a little magic.

Although this Thanksgiving may look quite a bit different for you than usual, I hope some magical gratitude finds it way to you in unexpected ways.

Blessings on your meal,

Keena

LAST SUMMER SHARE

2020 has certainly been an abnormal year.  And for all the no fun it has brought, time still has flown by.  And for some reason I feel energized and motivated to farm a successive season rather than bundle up and sleep like I usually do this time of year.  Unfortunately Maine's winter will prevent me from firing up the greenhouse and starting tomato seeds right away, but what it does provide is time for planning.  I already have a healthy list started of ideas, changes, reflections, projects.... to propel me through winter and into spring.  AND a healthy fridge full of colored veg to nourish me.  Do you?!  I still have a few Holiday & Winter Shares available.  And if you aren't sold by those, be sure to check out our weekly FarmDrop!! https://littleridge.farmdrop.us

The welcomed rain gave a much needed drink to my fall crops.  They are a bit smaller than usual, but they are MUCH bigger than just 2 weeks ago when I thought I would be serving you chinese "leaves" in stead of chinese cabbage!  The deer have been enjoying them as well which means they must be extra tasty.  The lettuce seemed to be their favorite, so you will have to get creative with salads this week : )

Last Friday was my 45th birthday and I have been enjoying a few gifts since then ... I have been slightly addicted to after lunch chai.  So I was gifted double chai spice loose leaf tea and homemade ginger cookies to dip.  Perfect for a fall day!!

I hope you are finding joy in little things and filling your bellies with good food.  THANK YOU for loving Little Ridge Farm and for trusting us to serve you.  We are excited to continue our CSA and use FarmDrop as a complimentary service.  We hope you find both of these a light in your family's lives.

This Week's Bounty: a bit o' lettuce, chinese cabbage, pac choi, savoy cabbage, carrot, onion, leek, potato, red/golden beets, green/red tomato, hot pepper, parsley and your choice of winter squash or pie pumpkin

FALL HARVEST

Pulled over 1000lbs of carrots out of the field yesterday before the rain.  One more bed to go.  After that we still have beets, celeriac, leeks, cabbage, radishes.... but we are well underway!

  

Now that we are finally getting the much needed rain (about 8 weeks too late) I am hoping the last of the field crops will get one last growth spurt.  The fields are covered in leaves and the remay (frost protection blankets) I have put out are torn apart by deer hooves and fox feet.  The cooler temps bring in the wildlife looking for last minute calories before winter sets in.  I feel the same, as I can't seem to eat dinner early or fast enough at the end of my day!

Alright, I have to bundle back up and head back out into the rain to get kohl rabi which I forgot to harvest : )

This Week's Bounty: lettuce, chard, green/red tomato, delicata/acorn squash (as a part of your weight), onions, potato, kohl rabi, hot pepper, celery, parsley

 

FALL TREATS

Zach cleaned up and composted the flower garden and the beds in front of the pick up barn.  Most flowers were hit by the cold but he lovingly left two beds in the pyo garden that had a few spots of color left.  From a distance I thought it was a little silly as it all looked to be dead, but as we played a game of Can Jam Sunday evening, I was inspired to pick a bouquet.  Adorned with parsley and sage, my fall bouquet wakes me up every morning with a smile.

I sucked mom into helping clean and bag tomatoes and corn for the freezer.  It is always a lot of work, but we are ever so grateful to have mouthfuls of summer in the depths of winter.  The sun was warm (much warmer than in my house!) and it was nice to chat with mom as we worked.  Peppers are next and then I think we are done freezing.  Then come January I pull out the tomatoes and all the fruit I have stashed and heat the house with the making of tomato sauce and jam!

Hope you are all finding moments of warmth, color and friendly chatter : )

This Week's Bounty: celery, parsley, onion, scallion, gold beets w greens, sweet/hot pepper, red/green tomato, carrot, fennel bulb, acorn/delicata squash

 

FALL CROPS

Walking around the farm this time of year is always a mix of feelings and the drought has made them more intense.  I enjoy the fall colors and strangely right as the season changes is when we get the highest yield of summer's best (tomatoes and peppers).  I guess the best way to describe my feeling is spending an immense amount of time planning for a big event, like a wedding, and then in a flash the day comes and goes and you wonder if it really ever happened. ...all the prep and labor to get plants in the ground, many that take all summer to grow, and then "whoosh" over night a freeze comes and half my work is erased.  BUT THEN, the wild asters and red maples brighten the field edges and fall crops, which I feel like can't be possibly be still growing in autumn's waning light and no rain, DO GROW and brighten our plates and palettes.

These cute little radishes are survivors.  Radishes are "supposed" to mature in 25 days.  I seeded these Aug 10th (nearly 50 days ago).  We have had .5" of rain since then.  The tops are only 2.5" tall but they actually made a sweet bulb.  

And this cover crop has amazingly grown so tall and lush in the drought.  The bits of moisture we have had the past few days are supplying much needed water to the bees and they and other insects are happily buzzing about in here.  This spot will be a new hoop house next year, so I am excited to be feeding the soil with some nice organic matter.

Oh my, this blog was a bit scattered. Sort of how I am feeling right now!  My brain has kept me awake he last several nights with worry and change and long to do lists.  Not much different than any of you I know.  So here's to a bright fall and crisp mornings!  May we all find grounding, peace and good food.

This Week's Bounty: lettuce, hot/sweet peppers, red/green cabbage, potato, leek, potato, celery, cauliflower, red/green tomato, parsley

SUMMER'S HARVEST

Our days are filled with harvesting and trying to still squeeze in other necessary tasks (like buttoning up the hoop house for freezing temps! and getting to important office work!) Although the drought has taken a bit of the brightness out of September, it does make for easy harvest.  The plants are less dirty which, most importantly, means we are leaving more soil in the fields rather than washing it off and losing it.  It also means getting the tractor and truck through the fields is less damaging to the soil structure and we will not get stuck - which may or may not have happened in the past 😏

I was worried this year's onions were going to be small due to lack of rain but they sized up nice and will store beautifully.  My dad helped build this pulley system allowing us to cure crops in the upstairs of the barn.  Thanks to him and Archimedes, we brought in over 2000lbs last week and hoisted them up to the barn loft with very little effort.

Simon helped harvest rainbow carrots yesterday.  They are the first of the fall and winter storage carrots we have harvested and they look great.  Generally by now we have pulled out about half the storage carrots and delivered them to the food bank (we have a contract with them) but we have been so busy with fresh harvest, we have not had time.  The weekend brought a killing frost and so nature has taken care of the cold sensitive crops (I was sad to say goodbye to the still gorgeous basil and flowers), so now we will move on to the storage and root crops.  Hoping 20 degree nights hold off for a bit longer!

This Week's Bounty: lettuce, celery, carrots, beets, broccoli, tomato, onion, peppers... 

Sept 15th and 18th

 Sunny September

The farm runs with lots of generous help from my employees, work shares, trades and volunteers. Every day lends itself to a long list of tasks and some days I am not sure how we will get it all done; many days we don't!  But yesterday's list was important to complete.  Harvesting and covering cold sensitive plants as the forecast was predicting a low of 37.  It worked out perfectly.  Michael, a person I trade a share with was able to stay later into the evening and help me finish the majority of the list.  Of course days preceding the coldest nights always seem to be crazy windy, so wrestling fabric is always fun, and an extra set of hands is precious.  I used blankets to cover the cherry tomatoes and when the wind finally died down, I went out with my head lamp to make sure everything was still in place (only a few minor adjustments were needed, thank goodness).  It's hard to believe we are covering up for cooler weather after such a humid and heat filled summer, two of those days were just last week!

With the cooler weather shift, we have a veggie shift.  By now the cukes and zukes are tired, but the fall brassicas and squash are stepping up.  Eating seasonally is second nature to me now and I have not missed a cucumber, but I have been devouring melons and peppers.  Two fruits whose season is short and I seem to crave them when they are here.  I have also been super into tomatoes this year and am happy with the bountiful harvest.  We pulled in 600 lbs yesterday out of the field!  These tomatoes are slated for Turtle Rock Farm, who turns them into yummy specialty products (find them on FarmDrop!)

This Week's Bounty: lettuce, corn, melon, celery, pepper, soybean, parsnip, squash, tomato, onion, broccoli/cauliflower, parsley, basil and maybe some cilantro : )

September 9th and 11th

 Farm Colors

Every year there are crops that do well and others not so well.  And every day there are parts of the farm that catch my eye and others that make my stomach tighten.  It's amazing how every growing season carries it's own challenges and triumphs (or luck?) and that how one can be a farmer for over 20 years and so much of it is still up to Mother Nature.

Along with lovely tomatoes, the celery has been stellar this year.  Beautiful and sweet.  I went a little overboard on how many I planted, so I hope you are enjoying it because you will see it for the next several weeks :)   Also note that celery can be blanched and frozen for yummy winter soups and stews.

Summer lettuce has been a bit of a struggle but this new variety "Magenta" has been a delight.  A mini red romaine, light flavored and crunchy....perfect for blts!

I feel lucky to have another wonderful melon year!  The flavor is AMAZING!! and the size has been quite generous too.  They are a short season but such a treat!

The turkeys were not so sure of the colorful melons....they circled around them and clucked and gawked but none dared to try them.  Wow those turkeys are such Chickens!!

This lovely sunset kept me company on my long drive home from a cabbage delivery last Thursday night.  I had a moment wishing I were at the farm to enjoy the scene but then I was grateful to have a Maine family business to sell an incredible cabbage crop to (heads as big as basketballs!) who will turn it into some amazing kim chi!  

This Week's Bounty: lettuce, celery, peppers (sweet and hot), beans (yellow, green and dragon), beets, melon, tomato, basil ... 

September 1st and 4th

 September Friends

The pigs have new neighbors!  We moved the turkeys out there last weekend and the pigs are both curious and a little unsure of their new friends.  When we move the turkeys, they get to roam free until we get the new space set up.  Some of their roaming has taken them into the pig pen, which is exciting until they notice a large hog is following them.  It is kind of funny to watch, but luckily the turkeys can fly because I do not put it past the pigs to take a curious nibble like they do to my boots and clothes every day : )

Yeah! lettuce!  The summer's heat and humidity definitely melted some of my mid summer lettuce plantings.  But with a little tlc and cooler days, these new plantings are coming around nicely.  Chuck thought so too.....shortly after we transplanted them, he munched some to the ground and we had to cover them with netting so he couldn't get into them anymore.  bad Chuck.

What a relief to get some rain.  We ended up with just under an inch.  Most things still look amazing, but some of certainly lost some vitality with the prolonged hot and dry.  Cucumbers and zucchini usually tire out around now, but it seems as though they have quit a week earlier than my usual date. We are certainly into the transition of fall veggies ... more cabbage, leeks, squash and garlic!

I am writing this eating lunch, a delicious veggie soup full of beans, carrots, celery, onion, tomato and chuck steak.  So rich and full of nutrients, I think every bite makes me stronger : )  See recipe below and Zach's amendments.

The color in the fields make me smile.  The eggplant are doing amazing, the peppers are starting to ripen and the winter squash is peaking through the vines.  It's a funky time of year, as it still is hot and seems like summer, but fall is on its way and the fruiting plants know this.  They stop producing green leaves and rather put energy into ripening their fruit and seeds.  We harvest almost all day every day, filling our crates with bright tomatoes, sweet melons and beans.  There are a few zucchini and summer squash plants still producing, but mostly they are tired and are cheering on the neighboring peppers.  The spaghetti squash are ready, but I can;t bring myself to harvest them yet as it makes me feel like summer has passed....I must wait until September ; )

This Week's Bounty: lettuce, chinese cabbage, eggplant, pepper, mini red onion, beets, new potato, zucchini, cucumber, beans, tomato, parsley, basil and melon for full shares (half shares next week)

The Farmer's Table: 

How to Cook Dragon Tongue Beans

• Dragon Tongue beans are lovely steamed or quickly simmered. It intensifies their delicious nutty flavor. They will fade in color, but you will still see some purple here and there.
• Dragon Tongue beans are also perfect for pickling along with fresh herbs, spices, and other vegetables.
• You can also stir fry them with other vegetables.

Dragon Tongue Bean Salad

Vegetable Beef Soup -- Zach's modifications ... no potato (bc they were not harvested yet), zucchini instead of okra.  blanched deseeded fresh tomatoes.  Used chuck steak. YUM!!

stew beef and chuck steak can be found on our FarmDrop!

 

Summer's Delights

We took a quick trip to Hampton Beach Sunday/Monday and brought a little of the farm with us.  The surf was wild from a storm off the coast.  The sun was bright with a cool ocean breeze, a wonderful break from the hot hot days we've had on the farm.  Monday is a big harvest day and I was so relaxed to know I had an awesome crew back here working so I could get away...and knowing that it was not brutally hot back home made me not feel guilty about laying on the beach : )

New crops this week!  melons, peppers and sweet onions.  These, Ailsa Craig, are a large sweet onion perfect raw or even grilled. 

Pick Your Own Flowers are looking glorious -- be sure to pick before summer slips away!!

This week's bounty: baby romaine lettuce, sweet pepper, melon, dragon tongue beans, cucumber, zucchini, summer squash, sweet onion, hakurei, fennel bulb, kale, cilantro, dill, basil

 

August 11th and 14th

Today is the kind of "sweat even if you are not moving" kind of day.  These pants are on the line waiting to be hosed off before I put them in the wash.  They are actually only from two days' worth of work ... I have been changing my clothes at lunchtime since they are so sweaty and disgusting.  I am grateful for my house which has AC, a nice break from the oppression.  I do feel bad for my poor plants baking out there, wish I could bring them inside too : )

An amazing Maine dinner last night ... cucumber salad, broccolini and beautiful lobsters gifted to us from a shareholder.  Delish!!!

This week's Bounty: cabbage, leeks, broccolini, carrot, green beans, celery, cukes, zukes, summer squash, basil, parsley

 

August 4th and 7th

SUMMER MUNCHING

The deer have found the chard this year so when we harvested lasted week, we had to cut out several leaves that had been munched.  The pigs LOVE chard, so they profited in the loss...I am beginning to wonder if it was a conspiracy : )

Senior Chuck has been a bad bird too.  He has been dining on our blueberries which is ok, I don't mind sharing a few, but yesterday I discovered he helped himself to some newly transplanted lettuce.  Hmmmm I am pretty sure we have loads of grass around for him to eat.  bad Chuck.

Tomatoes are beginning to ripen and they are oh so good and beautiful! So far it has been a good year for tomatoes and the field plants are looking as good as the hoop house ones.  We harvested a colorful array yesterday afternoon from the field.  They are mostly the smaller varieties, but he slicers are starting to turn color too!

I am looking forward to a bit of rain today, but hoping the storm is not damaging.  It looks like it is not going to hit us as much as originally planned.  I am excited for the break in the heat today, it has definitely been warm.  I usually do ok on a hot day, but it's the day after where my body feels exhausted.  Getting out of bed this morning was not so easy : )

This Week's Bounty: lettuce (? possibly not, I am not sure the next planting is ready), zukes, cukes, chines cabbage, beans, peas, pac choi, purplette onions, broccoli, eggplant, dill and tomatoes (just a few this week)

July 28th and 31st

So So HOT

This photo was taken Saturday night just after 8pm.....in the pea patch, not along a river as my beer may suggest.  This time of year you can often find me late night harvesting peas or raspberries or just wondering the farm talking to my plants.  It's a lovely way to spend a summer evening.  TODAY however, I am inside the AC writing this Blog and catching up on emails.  If one's pores get cleansed by sweating, then mine are squeaky clean after this afternoon.  HOLY MOLY WAS IT HOT!  We persevered and weeded 200' of near lawn and harvested over 170lbs of green beans.  Yes you read right, beans!  (tomatoes are coming soon, but not quite : )

And this picture... I just had to add it again.  I have never had such an amazing crop of raspberries.  There are millions of them and this heat makes them ripen ever so quickly -- please please come when you can!  come multiple times! 

Lot of new crops to harvest, we are keeping up as best we can with all that needs tending.   We are nearly done with transplanting for the year, so now it is the final weeding and harvest harvest harvest. There are many many planting I am very pleased with, so beautiful and plentiful. Hope you are enjoying every bite!! 

This Week's Bounty: lettuce, hakurei turnip, sugar snap peas, broccoli, cukes, zukes, summer squash, green beans, kale, chard, baby carrots, basil, parsley and scapes

The Farmer's Table:

I am sure you need another kitchen gadget, right?!

We LOVE our spiralizer.  We mostly use it on zucchini.  We either steam the spirals or lightly saute them, then use them just like pasta with red sauce or olive oil and other veggies.  

In the morning, we cook them up with eggs -- so so so good

No need to be afraid of a large zucchini ever again!

Broccoli and Beer Cheese -- we do not use the bread on top and it is still magnificent : )

July 21st and 24th

Oxygen

A few weeks ago I asked for a "smidge" of rain and someone commented that we need way more than a smidge.  And indeed, we did, but I am farmer enough to know to be careful what you wish for ... "1 smidge" is > or = 3 inches (we got 9) and a "bit of heat" is > or = to 85 .... we have been at a Heat Advisory for the last 3 days : )  Oh my it has been hot!  Sent the crew home early today.  I just went out to start the tractor to do a little evening cultivating.  Yowza!  I think I will wait another couple hours!  The pigs have a nice moat and they have been lounging like hippos in the mud.

We went from dust dry to drowning pretty quickly and it has been nice to have a bit of a break from daily rain.  Of course we all know as humans we need Oxygen to breathe, but did you know our cells metabolize that oxygen tp give us energy?  Plants need oxygen for the same reason.  Root respiration is very important in organic production because the root zone is full of natural microorganisms responsible for converting organic nutrients into usable ions (think plant food). These microorganisms require oxygen since they work and respire too.  When the soil becomes saturated there is no room for oxygen and the plants cannot respire, therefore cannot take up nutrients and therefore cannot grow.  These few drying days have allowed most of our plants to recover for a breath but a few, in the wettest spots, need a little assistance and so I will add additional fertilizer to get them jump started again.  It's mostly the cucumbers and zucchini ... the cabbages and broccoli look amazing and the onions are bulbing up nicely!!

stir fry delight!  hope you are having fun eating your veggies.  be sure to share your favorite recipes!

This Week's bounty: lettuce, cabbage, mini red onion (pictured above), radish (i think, maybe), tat soi, pac choi, broccoli, zukes, summer squash, cucumbers (!), beets with greens, sugar snap peas, basil, scapes