Garlic Harvest

Last week we harvested our garlic! You will know when it is time to harvest when 1/3 of the plant has turned brown.  You can eat the garlic fresh right now, but in order for it to last it needs to be dried on the stalk.  The best way to do that is to hang it to allow for air to get evenly all around the plant.  We hang it in our garage and in a few weeks we will be ready to sell the cured garlic!

We saved some of our best looking heads from last year and used it as seed garlic to plant this year's crop and will do the same next year!

Our flowers are coming along beautifully and new this year are our sunflowers! I love these varieties because they are not typical of what you usually see. This variety is delicate and pale yellow. We sell them as a bunch at the market and they make great gifts for a friend or for yourself!

Market

This Saturday, July 14th, we will have:

- Green Beans!
- Beets
- Swiss Chard
- Cilantro
- Carrots
- Parsley
- Basil
- Kale
- Cut Flowers

Weeds!

So far, I think we've been doing a good job of keeping up with the weeds. Terry and Bev have been on top of it during the week and with the aisles being wider this year, Terry is able to till up the weeds saving us a lot of time.  We really only need two people at the market every week so 2 weeks ago Terry stayed home and weeded before it got too hot and last week stayed back and Anne got a lot done on that 98 degree day on Saturday.

One of the weeds that is hard to keep under control is purslane. Although you can eat it and I've seen some people sell it at markets, we just try to get it out as fast as possible.

The other weed is hairy galinsoga. It's funny how after you've done a lot of weeding you develop a preference for certain kinds. The ones that come out easily make for a very satisfying job and the ones that have an intricate root system make you want to scream! Luckily these two come out easily and it makes a huge difference if you weed when the soil is slightly damp than when it is dry.  The goal is to get weeds out before they flower because then you deal with a lot more than you want. We don't put our weeds in the compost pile, and instead dump them over the hill by our ravine. 

In other news, we got a helpful hint from a friend about growing cucumbers this week. We've never been successful with cucumbers because of the cucumber beetles but she said that if you plant 3 radish seeds around each cucumber seed and let the radishes grow and go to flower, it eliminates the problem! We sure hope it works for us and we'll let you know how it turns out!

We've started another planting of arugula and are going to keep it covered the entire time because we've had a bad flea beetle problem.

My dad read that radishes can grow throughout the summer if they are shaded, so we are trying some more radishes in the cold frame.  A few weeks ago it was evident that the radishes did not like the heat because they had a thick skin and were very woody.  I will keep you updated on all of our experiments!

Market

On Saturday, July 7th, we will have:

- Cilantro
- Parsley
- Basil
- Kale
- Beets
- Carrots
- Swiss Chard
- Arugula
- Flowers

Lentil Salad

We are finally into the summer squash season in Cleveland! I love to grill pattypan or sautee it, or even stuff it. Today I went to the Tremont farmer's market and picked up some pattypan and broccoli from Maple Crest Farm (our neighbors at the Geauga Fresh market) to add to my dinner. 

This meal was an effort to use up some things in my fridge and pantry. It consisted of french lentils, cucumber, sauteed pattypan and broccoli, fresh mint, feta cheese, a shallot, lemon juice, olive oil, vinegar and s + p. Some of the best meals come out of using up what you have.  Lentils are versatile and take on a variety of flavors very well. I easily could have added peppers, avocado, chickpeas, parsley, you name it. I am a firm believer that almost any combination of any vegetable makes a great salad with just a little bit of olive oil and vinegar, s + p!  Be creative!

Market

This Saturday, June 30th, we will have:

-Arugula
-Cilantro
-Parsley
-Basil
-Kale
-Carrots
-Beets
-Swiss Chard

Beauty and the Beets

I realized I haven't posted any recipes in a while and I was thinking about it and thought I would share with you how to cook beets. Every week at the market people ask us how to cook them and how we eat them.  It is very easy to cook beets and you have options! 

Roasting
Pre-heat your oven to 375 F. Cut the tops off the beets (save them for later) and put the beets in an oven-safe pan, put a little bit of water in the bottom of the pan, and cover with a lid or with foil.  If your beets are very different sizes, you can cut them up into even pieces. Depending on the size of the beets, it might take over 45 minutes to cook them. Check with a fork and if the fork goes in easily to the center, you know they are done. Rinse in cool water and then peel with a knife. The skins will peel right off like a boiled potato.

Boiling
Cut off the tops of the beets and cover with water in a pan. Simmer for about 45 minutes, until tested with a fork. Again, the skins will be very easy to peel off.

Beet Greens
Rich in Vitamin A, the greens should not be composted! Cook them like you would swiss chard or kale. You can sautee them with garlic, onions, and olive oil and they cook down a lot and make a great side dish. They are also great raw served in a salad!

I used to hate beets but now love them.  I love to cook them, slice them, and serve them on a plate drizzled with olive oil, vinegar, s + p, and a little bit of chopped basil.  On top of a salad with arugula and goat cheese and candied walnuts is also a killer combination.  If you are really into beets, you can also make borscht - a hearty beet soup!

Now for the beauty part. This week our tables at the market were bountiful and looked fantastic. We even had a few flower arrangements that we made from our perennial garden. 

I took some time on Friday night to walk around and take some close ups of some veggies because it is easy to forget how beautiful they are and what they turn into from tiny little seeds!

Green Cabbage

 

Savoy Cabbage