Rushton Farm Wild Carrot!
this week's
HARVEST
Rushton Farm Bag
This list may change, but here's our best guess of what you'll be getting in your share this week.

Buttercrunch Bibb or Little Gem
    Lettuce heads
Radishes
Broccoli raab
Scallions
Bok choi
Garlic scapes
Beet greens/spinach
 
Pick up time is 2 - 7 pm!


WORK AT THE TRUST!

 

We're looking for a special person to join our staff.  Learn more about the job.  

 
   

Farm dinner 

HAPPENINGS 

Complete and updated calendar always available at www.wctrust.org.    

 

  • June 8, 2011

    Wednesday "Just Show Up" Volunteer Day at the Farm

    Starts: 9:00 am

    Ends: 4:00 pm

    Location: 1050 Delchester Road, Malvern, PA

    Description:Here's a great way to get your hands dirty, help the farm, and learn about...more details 

  • June 15, 2011

    Wednesday "Just Show Up" Volunteer Day at the Farm

    Starts: 9:00 am

    Ends: 4:00 pm

    Location: 1050 Delchester Road, Malvern, PA

    Description:Here's a great way to get your hands dirty, help the farm, and learn about...more details 

  • June 18, 2011

    Rushton Farm Market Opens

    Starts: 11:00 am

    Ends: 3:00 pm

    Location: 1050 Delchester Road, Malvern, PA

    Description:Farm market selling fresh produce from the farm. Rushton Farm is located on Delchester Road,...more details 

  • FORKS FARM

    Now delivers to Rushton Farm regularly!   

     

    Place your order for sustainably produced grass-fed beef, poultry, and other meats and dairy at Forks Farm.   



    KEEP US IN THE LOOP!

     

    Email is our primary means of communicating all CSA matters, so please contact us if your address changes, or if you'd like a family member's address to be added to the CSA mailing list.   




    WHEREABOUTS
    Rushton Farm SignRushton Farm is located on Delchester Road, just south of Goshen Road in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania.


    Ashley, Lisa, Joanna and Fred 
    CONTACT US
    Ashley
    Lisa
    Joanna
    Fred
     

     

    Tomato tasting

    Bee hives


    Ashley

    Swallow
    ARCHIVES
    See prior recipes and read past issues of the Wild Carrot.     
    Week  of  June 6  ~ Issue no. 4
    IN THE BAG tidbits from Fred

       

    FarmshedThe Rushton Farm Staff was pleased this past week to see the familiar faces of our returning members and greet our enthusiastic new members.  When you visit Rushton Farm for your weekly pick-up you may notice that in addition to the crops in the field the farm features several small gardens.  The first is the native garden located on the south side of the entrance to Rushton Farm.  This beautiful garden features native perennial flowering plants.  There is also a quiet sitting area located within the garden if you care to take a quiet moment of reflection (or hide from the oppressive heat).

    In front of the Farmshed pickup area is a culinary garden featuring herbs, perennial flowers and vegetables.  Each week, featured herbs will be listed on the chalkboard in the Farmshed.  These herbs and others are available for our members to "pick-your-own".  We ask that you check with a staff member before you harvest herbs not listed on the chalkboard as they may not be fully established.

    To the left of the Farmshed Garden is the cutting garden.  This garden features many varieties of flowers that members are welcome to cut as the flowers bloom throughout the season.  To the left of this garden is our perennial garden which offers some beautiful flowers as well. Like the Farmshed Garden we ask that you look to the chalkboard or ask a staff member before cutting from maturing plants.

    These gardens offer an opportunity to harvest herbs, cut flowers and learn more about the plants that are native to our landscape.  We thank our dedicated volunteers who help to maintain and manage these wonderful additions to the landscape of Rushton Farm.


    -Fred

    THE DIRT report from the field

    Kid with potatoes

     

    This past week at the farm we focused on preparing garden beds and playing catch-up with our planting schedule.  We now have melons (yum!), our second planting of tomatoes, more lettuce, our second planting of green beans and many more vegetable crops in the ground ready to grow!  It's exciting to see the farm fields fill up and crops begin to fruit (we'll have sugarsnap peas next week) - although with that comes the responsibility to care for the growing number of crops in the fields. 

     

    One crop that you'll be excited to receive this week is garlic scapes - they're as fun to look at as they are to cook with!  Garlic scapes are the unopened flower heads from the garlic bulbs we planted last fall, and mean that garlic bulbs will be coming sometime in a little over a month!  Chop the scapes up raw in foods like pesto, or use them as you would garlic in cooking.  When refrigerated, garlic scapes keep for about a month.

     

    Rushton Farm is a beautiful place to work and to visit - being surrounded by meadows, forests, horseback riders, beautiful birds and the vegetable crops we are growing is such a life-giving experience.  One high school student who volunteered for a day with us last week said she loves working with us because she loves supporting life, and the work we do here at the farm is very much about supporting life - providing healthy food for people, pollen and nectar for bees, flowers to bring joy to those who see them, and a beautiful place for people to visit. 

     

    Please consider taking a walk around the trails in the newly opened Rushton Woods Preserve this week when you come to pick up your share of vegetables.

     

    -Joanna

          

     

    Heirloom Tomatoes RECIPES

      

    Farmhouse Salad with Garlic Scapes and Radishes

     

    � pound of spring greens (lettuces, arugula, watercress with stems discarded, etc.)

    1/4 pound heirloom radishes (assorted colors and sizes are nice), very thinly sliced

    1 garlic scape,very thinly sliced

    2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

    2 teaspoons freshly-squeezed lemon juice

    Salt and freshly ground pepper

     

    1. In a medium bowl, gently toss the greens. Add radish slices to bowl.

    2. Drizzle extra virgin olive oil onto salad and toss gently. Add salt, freshly ground pepper, and lemon juice and gently toss again.

    3. Plate each salad and top with a small sprinkling of garlic scapes.

     

    -Recipe adapted from Brooklyn Farmhouse  

     

     

    Stir-Fried Asian Greens with Chiles and Garlic

     

    1 medium-size bunch (about 13 ounces) tender Asian greens, such as bok choi, baby bok choi, baby Shanghai choi, choi sum, baby kai lan, or water spinach

    3 tablespoons peanut oil

    4 cloves garlic, peeled, bruised until juicy with a flat side of knife, and coarsely chopped into 3 or 4 chunks

    1/4 teaspoon salt

    1 to 2 fresh red Holland chiles or other hot fresh red long chiles, such as Fresno or cayenne, stemmed and sliced on the diagonal into thin pieces (optional, but the chiles add appealing color and gentle heat)

     

    1. Carefully inspect the greens, discarding or trimming off any spoiled stems or leaves. Trim the bottom ends off and discard. Wash the greens in several changes of the coldest possible water; tepid water might cause them to wilt, and you want them to stay as alert and perky as possible before being cooked. (Note: Because bok choi and baby bok choi tend to have pockets full of sand in the nooks where the leaves meet the center stem, be certain to pull the leaves back slightly away from the stem when you're cleaning them. There are few things worse than a mouthful of sand when you want a mouthful of greens.)

     

    2. Cut the cleaned greens into pieces 2-1/2 to 3 inches long. If any of the stems are particularly wide - say, more than 1 inch - or are tough or sinewy-looking, cut them in half lengthwise. If you're using baby bok choi or baby Shanghai choi, you can either leave the heads whole or cut them in half lengthwise - it's up to you. Spin the greens dry in a salad dryer or set them aside to air-dry on a kitchen towel or paper towels; they needn't be bone dry - a little dampness won't matter.

     

    3. In a wok, 12-inch skillet, Dutch oven, or soup pot (any pot large and wide enough to comfortably hold the greens will do), heat the oil over medium-high heat. When it's hot but not smoking - it should appear shimmery - add the garlic, the salt, and, if using, the chiles. Saut�, stirring until the garlic just begins to lose its rawness, about 1 minute. (Try not to let the garlic turn golden or golden brown, which would give this dish an inappropriate roasted taste.)

     

    4. Add the greens. Raise the heat slightly and immediately begin to vigorously stir-fry the greens around the pot. Continue to vigorously stir-fry the greens until they just begin to go limp but the leaves remain a spring-green color and the stems are still crunchy-crisp, 3 to 4 minutes, depending on the type of greens. Taste for salt, adding only a pinch more if necessary (a little salt goes a long way with greens).

     

    5. Transfer the cooked greens to a large serving platter and serve promptly. Be careful not to pile the greens in a small bowl; since the greens will continue to cook for a minute or two after they're removed from the heat, a serving bowl that crowds them may cause them to overcook and become mushy.  

    -James Oseland

    Cradle of Flavor: Home Cooking from the Spice Islands of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore

     

     


    we're still

    LOOKING FOR A FEW GOOD VOLUNTEERS
    could you be one?

    Girls with strong arms!Interested in getting more involved at the farm?  We're looking for several people to fill each of the following three areas.  No real muscles required for these jobs!

    Meet and Greet - be a friendly face on pick up days and re-stock the farmshed and answer questions about the share.

    Events - be on hand at events to help with registration, serving, set-up, parking, cooking, clean-up, etc.

    Share the Bounty - be a driver on Wednesdays to take produce to the hungry at West Chester Food Cupboard.

    For more details and to find out how to sign up, see our Volunteer Form .

    -Eliza Gowen & Liz Strawbridge
         
    Willistown Conservation Trust