Posts Tagged ‘lettuce’

Newsletter 3.15

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on May 10, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

IN YOUR BASKET

  • Skyphos Butter Lettuce
  • Ripbor or Red Russian Kale
  • Perfection Fennel or Hon Tsai Tai
  • Tyee or Tarpy Spinach
NOTES FROM THE FIELD
   Welcome back to the “winter” vegetable CSA. We hope everyone is enjoying the spring greens that were missed over the rainy winter. The spinach – two varieties called Tarpy and Tyee – are rapidly maturing in this warm weather, so expect to see quite a bit more in the next couple weeks. To keep your greens fresh for a few days in the refrigerator, we recommend you wrap them in damp dishtowels. This will keep them a tad moist, just like the misters in the produce case do at the grocery store.

One section of the Coyote Field is planted with brassicas (cabbage family crops).

The first planting of broccoli is just barely starting to go to head (flower), so expect some later this month. We are growing a lot of cauliflower, broccoli, and cabbage at Heart Arrow Ranch and in Potter Valley. This past week alone, the kales have really taken off. Our chard is still quite small, but you can still expect some before the end of the CSA. Also, the beets have amazing greens and the roots should be sizing up this month. So, there’s a lot to look forward to. This week, it’s all greens, and we will have more harvests of arugula and radishes in the weeks ahead.

Here we are transplanting onions in Potter Valley

This week, the change to warm weather was marked by moving our sheep from the rangeland at Heart Arrow to irrigated bottomland in Potter Valley. We have them munching down the grass in a field where we plan to grow about 4 acres of melons and winter squash. The “natural lawn mowers” are quite happy helping us to remove all the organic matter so we can plant there on time.

Eat well,

Adam & Paula

A view of the sheep enjoying the rangeland at Heart Arrow Ranch a few days before moving to pasture in Potter Valley.

Spring Butter Lettuce & Parsley Soup

Adapted from PressDemocrat.com, 5/12/10

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 yellow onion, diced
  • 1 big head of butter lettuce, cored, washed and dried
  • Salt & pepper
  • 1 cup, loosely packed, Italian parsley leaves
  • 4 cups homemade chicken broth or stock, hot
  • 4 tablespoons plain whole milk yogurt (optional)
  • 2 tablespoons fresh snipped chives
  1. Heat olive oil in a medium soup pot set over medium-low heat, add the onion and sauté until soft (about 15 min.) Stack the lettuce leaves and cut them into ¼-inch wide slices.
  2. Add the cut lettuce to the cooked onions and stir gently until the lettuce wilts (about 2 min.). Season with salt and pepper, add the parsley and pour in the chicken stock.
  3. Increase the heat to high and when the stock boils, reduce the heat and simmer gently for 4 minutes.
  4. Remove from the heat and cool just slightly. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup thoroughly. If the soup seems too thick, add water to reach your preferred consistency. Taste and correct for salt and pepper.
  5. Ladle into soup plates and top each portion with a spoonful of yogurt, if using, and a sprinkling of herbs. Serve immediately.


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Let us eat Lettuce!

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged on April 22, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

Coastal Star

Waldmann's

Skyphos

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Llueve

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , on March 27, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

Llueve. That’s “it’s raining” in Spanish. We’re practicing our Spanish, and it’s fun! The past month and a half, a fellow named Lorenzo has been working with us two or three times a week. Despite the rain, Adam and Lorenzo have been progressing putting up fencing for a pasture area at Heart Arrow. The old rangeland fencing is very old and mostly barbed wire which doesn’t keep our sheep in. So, they’ve been hiking around the hillside, taking down the barbed wire, putting in new wooden posts here and there with concrete, and stapling on new fencing that will keep the sheep and cows in. It should only be a couple more days of fencing before that first pasture area will be completed, but it will take a couple years before we have all the pastures at Heart Arrow ready with new fencing.

We’re not going to let the rain stop us from growing spring produce!

This is what happens when you try to eat our cabbage, raton.

While we’ve been able to transplant out trays of lettuce, spinach, beets, chicory, collards, cabbage, and cauliflower out of the propagation greenhouse, there are still many crops that are ready to go into the ground. But they have no place to go! When will the rain stop and the soil dry out a bit so we can cultivate? Heart Arrow and the Coyote Field being smack in the middle of wildlife habitat, we have no shortage of pest issues. Most recently, the birds have been finding their way into the greenhouse again, probably seeking some refuge from the frequent downpours, as well as to feast on our lovely lettuce and chicory. For now, we are covering the trays with row cover to provide a physical barrier.

Pac Choi

Some of the collards, cauliflower, and cabbage (repollo!) that we transplanted in the Coyote Field during a dry spell earlier in the month are looking a little hammered by the hard rain and birds. But hopefully this coming week’s sunshine and warm weather will help them bounce back. For now, we have row cover on them again, but they really need more sun.

Arugula

The little bit of pac choi that is grow in the same field is coping okay and growing a small amount. The arugula, still small, is looking pretty happy in the cold frame, too. We also have a short bed of lettuce under row cover, but right now, we are transplanting the new lettuce into the newly-constructed high tunnel or hoop house. Whatever you want to call it, the plastic structure will be great for protecting crops from the rain and keeping the soil warm.

The vegetables growing in the small 20′ by 50′ greenhouse are looking pretty good:

Green Lance

Espinaca

We recently applied compost, shoveled up raised beds, and have transplanted lettuce, beets, and new spinach in the 30′ by 60′ hoop house. It’s a lot of hand labor, but currently, that’s how we deal with late heavy rains! Now when are we going to be able to get those potatoes in the ground…

Transplanting on our knees (nos piernas!)

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Rainy April Day

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , on April 28, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

Sometimes, people ask us, “What do you do when it’s raining?” As a matter of fact, we work! Regardless of what Nature feels like, there is some farmin’ to do.

Today was no exception. We knew the big downpour was coming, so the day before, we did as much vegetable transplanting as possible and dug out the trenches/culverts on the hillside to ensure no veg beds would wash away. We also had to make sure the equipment and tools were covered or put away so as not to get wet and rust.

It rained a lot! This morning, Adam and Alder dug some culverts to stop the erosion in the recently cultivated Pond Field. I harvested produce (cauliflower, lettuce, sugar snap peas, broccoli shoots, and green chard) for Head Start and made the delivery in Ukiah. While in town, I purchased 6 bales of wheat straw for mulch. The guys up-sized some summer seedlings in the greenhouse and cut seed potato in preparation for planting later. There was some lunch where we discussed techniques for growing potatoes and how to find more shareholders for the Live Power CSA (which you should join!).

After some administrative computer stuff, I joined Adam and Alder in moving the sheep and cows into a new pasture area in the rangeland. Herding the animals has gotten easier with three of us instead of just two. Cell phones help too. We took down the fence, put it up in the new place, and herded the ovines and bovines – all pretty much at the same time. It went pretty smoothly. No cows went wild, no sheep scattered. I think we are getting better at herding.

Later, Adam and I threw straw down in the gullies in the Pond Field to prevent any more erosion. So, we got a lot done despite the rain, some wind, and a short spell of hail. We did see the sun a couple times, as well as some rainbows! And of course, the daily chores – checking the meat chickens and egg layers, feeding the livestock guardian dogs, and watering the greenhouse – were taken care of.

I was able to take a few pictures of the spring vegetables when it was not raining.

We have a couple beds of broccoli and cauliflower flourishing at the Pond Field.

These are some beds of different lettuce varieties growing in the north section of the Coyote Field.

This is radicchio under the floating row cover. The birds like to eat it if they can get to it.

These are beets we transplanted a while ago. We usually sow beet seeds directly into the vegetable bed, but because the soil has been so wet these past couple months, we had to start them as seedlings in the greenhouse.

Cabbage! - up close and still growing in the south section of the Coyote Field. Many other brassicas and lettuce are growing in this section.

Here is more lettuce (left) and one of our plantings of peas (right), ready for trellising.

Driving down the hill at the ranch, I spotted a rainbow over the vineyard. You can sort of see the grapes to the right.

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In the Greenhouse

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , on March 5, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

We have diligently been seeding spring vegetable crops in our new greenhouse. For continual harvest through the spring, we seed a number of each vegetable every week or 2 weeks. Look at how well they are starting!

The Siskyou sweet onions have just started to pop through the soil.

This is one of several varieties of lettuce we are growing.

On this table we have basil, various brassicas, and beets (not yet germinating).

These seed potatoes are being allowed to sprout a bit before we plant them.

Here are more brassicas and chicory.

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Newsletter 2.9

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on February 2, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

February 2, 2010

IN YOUR BASKET THIS WEEK

Garlic
Various Winter Squash
Firecracker or Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce
Farao Cabbage
Scarlet Nantes Carrots
Mixed Beets

NOTES FROM THE FIELD

Despite the rain, we worked a bit on the greenhouse frame, although we need to weld back together one pole. We are also making little cold frames so we can get more spring veggie starts going. Cold frames are basically like cloches or mini greenhouses. Right now, the greenhouse at Adam’s dad’s house is completely full of spring seedling trays, most of them on heated mats. We have all kinds of brassicas, Asian greens, and chard started.

We are making the cold frames with cinder blocks and panes of glass. Simple, yet protective!

We have pulled out the broccoli that flowered way too early and are transplanting chicory in its place. Many crops, like the cabbage and kale, are also starting to flower earlier than they did last year. This may be because of the warm weather we had late fall. The peas and fava beans have started to flower for what seems like the third time since we planted them in the fall. Hopefully, the cold will not burn the buds again. More Brussels sprouts will be ready next week. Pray for a period of dry weather so we can seed and transplant more crops and maybe get some cultivation in!

broccoli flowering too early :(

pea plant is starting to flower

FYI, next week we will be sending around short surveys. While we try to make ourselves available to the membership, the survey is a nice venue to formally receive membership feedback.

Lastly, we are planning out our spring, and we are raising CSA meat chickens again! We order our first batch of chicks soon, so if you’re interested, contact us.
Eat well!
Adam & Paula

Three C Salad
(from Cathy and Janie)

Ingredients:

1 carrot
¼ head of cabbage
handful of currants or flame raisins
Annie’s Shiitake & Sesame Vinaigrette
(see homemade alternative below)
Caraway seeds (optional)
Walnut pieces

Instructions:

1.    Grate carrot into a large bowl
2.    Chop off about ¼ of a head of cabbage and slice into thin strips. Add to carrot.
3.    Throw in a handful of currants or flame raisins.
4.    Dress with Annie’s Shiitake & Sesame Vinaigrette. Toss all of the above.
5.    Throw in a couple pinches of caraway seeds if desired. Top with broken walnut pieces.

Alternative Dressing:

Whisk together in a bowl:
3 tablespoons Thai fish sauce
3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
½ teaspoon chili flakes
1 tablespoon mint (chopped)
1 tablespoon basil (chopped)
1 ½ tablespoon sugar
Salt and pepper

** Please email (pmanalo@gmail.com) any recipes you might like to share with the rest of the CSA membership. If its ingredients match the week’s harvest, we will include it in the newsletter. Thank you!! **

baby lettuce

the deluge of water caused this second planting of cauliflower to rot

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October

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on October 23, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

red express cabbage

red express cabbage

lacinato kale, broccoli

lacinato kale, broccoli

red Russian kale, Lincoln leeks

red Russian kale, Lincoln leeks

spinach, beets, Swiss chard

spinach, beets, Swiss chard

collards, Brussels sprouts, tendersweet cabbage, Napa cabbage (under cover), red romaine lettuce (under cover), tadorna leeks, cassius cauliflower, bolero & napoli carrots

collards, Brussels sprouts, tendersweet cabbage, Napa cabbage (under cover), red romaine lettuce (under cover), tadorna leeks, cassius cauliflower, bolero & napoli carrots

Napa cabbage

Napa cabbage

red romaine lettuce. you can see how the recent rain has brought forth the weeds!

red romaine lettuce. you can see how the recent rain has brought forth the weeds!

zucchini and lemon cucumbers still in production

zucchini and lemon cucumbers still in production

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Newsletter Week 19

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , on April 19, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

April 18, 2009

IN YOUR BASKET THIS WEEK

Scarlet Nantes Carrots
Ruby Ring & Cortland Spring Onions
Red Ace Beets
Lincoln Leeks
Fiero Radicchio
NOTES FROM THE FIELD
If you saw us at the Ukiah Saturday Farmers Market, you already know the story about this week’s lettuce. We harvested beautiful dark lolla rossa and tango lettuce only to find the super frilly leaves had caught on to the plastic fibers of the row cover that protected them all winter. Because the plastic was too difficult to remove, and we don’t want you eating plastic in your salad, we sadly had to chuck them. Lesson for the future: use more and taller wire hoops to keep the row cover off those varieties of lettuce. However, next week, we should have baby pac choi and lettuce that we planted about a month and a half ago. It’s amazing to see how much more quickly these greens grow in the spring versus in the winter! Hopefully, the last planting of cauliflower will be heading at that time, too.

Speaking of next week, we hope many of you CSA members can make it to the farm event. Many of you who signed up for the CSA after our kickoff party in October have yet to even see the garden site and farm. We hope in the future, we will have membership gatherings at the farm more often.

This week, Adam spaded up the corner of the garden for potatoes, as well as half an acre of the Hale Ranch. The wind was very challenging; it’s one of the drawbacks of farming on the hill at Heart Arrow. We had to secure down our greenhouse plastic, and many of our tomato, cucumber, and summer squash plants were damaged by the strong wind. But fortunately, it is warm now, and we are starting more plants. We also moved the sheep onto the rangeland outside the deer fence and had some good cow chasing happen this week as well.

Eat well!
Adam Gaska and Paula Manalo

corner of the garden. spaded up for potato planting.
corner of the garden. spaded up for potato planting.
garlic for this coming winter CSA season.

garlic for this coming winter CSA season.

NOTES ON THIS ISSUE

Right now, there is a Pine Siskin on the Blue Oak tree outside my window, meticulously hunting and eating whatever bugs she can find on the new leaves and catkins. She plays her part in keeping the tree healthy while getting enough to eat. It’s comforting to see nature at work, with all the critters doing their part. If only we present-day humans could work with nature in the same way as the Pine Siskin. The Pomo Indians did work with nature, and consequently managed to keep their eco-system in balance for 10,000 years. More likely than not, we present-day humans aren’t going to match that record.

Now we are severely out of balance and it’s the fault of present-day humans. When we try to regain that balance, as Michelle Obama did recently in starting an organic garden at the White House, the purveyors of poison criticized her. She should, they said, put “crop protection products” on the garden! Calling pesticides “crop protection products” doesn’t make them any safer; they retain their water polluting and bird-killing characteristics, no matter what they are called. Birds will die and children sicken while agri-business makes a lot of money selling “crop protection products.” If we stopped using them all together could the planet regain that balance?

This weekend Bill and I watched two documentaries on water. We saw Chinese rivers so polluted with pesticides that they were in horrific condition. The rivers were mostly dry, polluted messes. Soon, there won’t even be water for Chinese industry to produce the cheap products that are exported to the rest of the world. What then?

We present-day humans have to say “no” to the purveyors of pesticides and cheap products that really aren’t cheap at all when you figure in the destruction that isn’t immediately obvious to use as consumers. The CSA is one small step in putting nature in balance. Nature in balance is beautiful.

Janie Sheppard jsheppard@pacific.net

Basket 19 Salad

(Bill Radtkey and Janie Sheppard)

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 head fiero radicchio leaves cut crosswise into 1/3 inc ribbons
  • 1 ruby ring onion, bulb part sliced thin as possible into circles
  • 2 scarlet Nantes carrots, grated
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, pressed
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 teaspoon Balsamic vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
Instructions:
  1. Place radicchio, onion rings and grated carrots in a bowl.
  2. In a small spice jar put the remaining ingredients for the salad dressing.
  3. Shake the salad dressing ingredients to emulsify them and pour over the radicchio, onion rings, and grated carrots. Toss. Serve.

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