August 2011  

Written by Jane Weissman and produced by Justina Fargiano 

In This Issue
Tomato Taste Off CANCELLED
Farm Rules
Recipes
Back in Print: QHF Cookbook
Souper Tuesday
Thanks: Farm Stand Board
Weather Report: A Conversation with Scott
In the Field/At the Stand
What is This? How Do We Use It?
Lost Ladybug "Found" at QHF
Bees Need Mary Woltz
A man and woman are weeding the melon patch.  He asks, "Honeydew you want to get married?"  She replies, "Yes, but you know we cantelope!"

 

-- just one of the silly jokes told by apprentice Matt Mueller

 

The 13th Annual

Great Tomato Taste-Off

CANCELLED

tomatos

Late Blight, seen earlier this summer west of Amagansett, has arrived at Quail Hill Farm, compromising the tomato crop.

 

At The Common Table
POSTPONED due to Hurricane Irene

Peconic Land Trust and Quail Hill Farm are working with the chefs over the next few days to find an alternative date for this magical evening.  Thank you for your patience and consideration as we work on rescheduling.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Robin Harris at 631-283-3195 or email her.

PLEASE AND THANKS

members harvesting

With more land in production, more people can harvest. To make harvesting an enjoyable experience for ALL, please:

 

OBSERVE FARM HOURS

Fields open at 8 AM and close at 5:30 PM.

 

OBSERVE SHARE LIMITS

Check farm stand board and signs at the end of harvest rows. Ask a harvesting neighbor if in doubt. If no share limit is posted, harvest only what you can reasonably use until the next harvest day.

 

HARVEST ONLY in rows headed by signs or poles with ribbons

 

No CELL PHONES

No DOGS

No YELLING ACROSS BEDS

No TRAMPLING PLANTS

 

Thank you!  

 

RECIPES

 Click here for new and delicious ways to prepare Beets, Fennel, Garlic, Okra, Peppers, Potatoes, String Beans, Swiss Chard, and Watermelon. Thanks to Elaine Altman, Barbara Dilorenzo, Linda Lacchia, Sarabelle Prince, Dorothy Roskam, and Jane Umanoff & Bo Parsons for their great recipes.

 

RECIPES WANTED!  QHF E-News is always looking for creative ways to prepare farm produce.  Please email your favorites for vegetables that are now in the fields/on the stand or coming soon to .  If the recipe is not yours, be sure to include its source (book/author or web site) and note any adaptations or tips.

 

For recipes from recent years, click here.  

 

SHAKESPEARE AT 

QUAIL HILL FARM 

 

AS YOU LIKE IT

performed by the

GREEN THEATER COLLECTIVE   

 

Saturday, September 17 at 5:00 PM  

Sunday, September 18  

at 2:00 PM 

in the Apple Orchard

as you like it 

Young and old delight in this environmentally friendly performance of Shakespeare's great comedy.  No sets.  No artificial lighting.  Street clothes worn by 7 actors performing multiple roles.  Tiny footprint.  Huge impression.

 

"Lope de Vega, the great Spanish contemporary of Shakespeare's, described theater as merely "two boards and a passion." The merry high jinks of the Green Theater Collective clearly show that with enough passion there is no need for the boards.

 

BACK IN PRINT!

 

the third edition of the

Quail Hill Farm

Cookbook

 

Now Available at the Farm Shop.

cookbook

Edited by Hilary Leff and Linda Lacchia, this indispensable cookbook and farm guide features inventive recipes (many from the annual Pot Luck, At the Common Table, and Harvest Dinner events) as well as sections on harvesting and storing vegetables. A great addition to your cookbook shelf!

 

THE SOUPER TUESDAY FINALE 

was held on August 30 at the Amagansett Farmers Market on Main Street in Amagansett.

soup

Those who were able to savor a delectable soup created by the Amagansett Farmers Market using ingredients grown by Amagansett farms on Peconic Land Trust managed or owned land. Meet farmers from Quail Hill, Amber Waves, Balsam, and Sunset Beach farms and the people behind the new Amagansett Food Institute were present. All enjoyed the wine tasting courtesy of Michael Cinque, owner of Amagansett Wines & Spirits. A great success, Souper Tuesdays will return next year, if not sooner.  Thanks to all who participated! 

 

FARM STAND HARVEST BOARD

 

Many thanks to Susan Malfa and Jon Rose for creating the wonderful border - a true evocation of mid-summer's bountiful harvest - on the chalk board that greets members at the farm stand.

Susan's board

As high summer morphs into early fall, look for a new board by Sydney Albertinini.

 

Volunteer artists WANTED! The harvest board will continue to be changed as the season progresses. (It's Scott who does the interior lettering.) Email Jane  if you are interested. Please & thanks!  

         

 

AT THE FARM SHOP

 

QHF Eggs

 

Bees' Needs Honey

 

from Ronnybrook Farm....

Milk, Butter, Ice Cream, Yogurt, Drinks

ronnybrook

French Fridays at the Farm

by Sydney Albertini

 

from Taste of the North Fork...

Garlic Scape Pesto

   

AT THE FARM STAND  

 

CARISSA'S BREADS is now a Saturday fixture at the farm stand.  Every week Carissa offers new treats: breads, muffins, scones, eclairs, and quiches.

 

Info: Website 

Special Orders: Call 917-715-8453 or email Carissa.

 

YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS

ARE WELCOME

 

Please email recipes, anecdotes, news, photos, poems, etc. to e-news writer/editor Jane Weissman or call her  

at 631-267-6963.

   

quail hill farm
Producing over 500 varieties of organically grown vegetables, flowers, fruits, and herbs, QUAIL HILL COMMUNITY FARM is located on 220 acres of land donated by Deborah Ann Light to Peconic Land Trust.  For membership information, call Robin Harris at Peconic Land Trust at 631.283.3195 or email her.
   

 

A Community Supported Agricultural (CSA) project, Quail Hill Farm helps to ensure the survival of agriculture on Long Island's East End by bringing together community members, farmers, and agricultural land in a relationship of mutual support. Quail Hill Farm is a stewardship project of Peconic Land Trust.

Harvesting on Birch Hill

 

Please be aware that Peconic Land Trust is renting 2 acres on Birch Hill to Jon Wagner & Karin Bellemare of SUNSET BEACH FARM. They needed land to farm and it is part of the Trust's mission to support and encourage young farmers.

 sunset beach fields

Should Quail Hill Members harvest from their fields - located far to the right of the gate? The answer is NO! Jon & Karin's crops are the basis of their livelihood.

 

Please note that there are no stakes on their fields with colored ribbons - which, at Quail Hill, is an indication that those rows can be harvested (QHF CSA rule # 1).

 

Thank you for understanding and assisting in the support of a sister farm. 

 

WEATHER REPORT

A Conversation with Scott

 

It's late August and summer crops are at their full height - literally and figuratively. "The growing weather has been amazing," Scott reports. "There's been plenty of heat since mid-July which was, as usual, dry. Yet, just when needed, it rained and then it was back to sunny days." One downside to the beneficial combination of heat and even rainfall is the weeds. They are everywhere, prevalent even on farms that use more conventional (i.e., chemical) methods.

 

Against all hope, the Late Blight did come to Amagansett. For the past few weeks, farm members have harvested cherry and the early-ripening tomatoes, but it is clear that this year's crop is now badly cpotato cropompromised. There are still viable tomatoes on the vine, well worth the search for as long as they last.

 

The great success of the season is the eggplant crop. The Colorado potato beetles, after feasting on the spuds, moved as an army to the eggplants, which they also love. The potato yield was somewhat reduced by the beetles, but there are plenty of spuds to satisfy both summer and winter shareholders. Grown in the valley, the eggplants got daily attention from the farm's apprentices whose herculean efforts of handpicking the voracious pests off the plants saved the crop. Unlike most years, a second generation of beetles did not develop, for which the farmers were most grateful.

 

Speaking of pests, the Mexican bean beetle has been feasting on the string beans, the hairy, yellow larvae merrily munching on the leaves and stems, but fortunately not the beans themselves. Alas, the use of pedio wasps (Pediobius faveolatus) - they parasitize adult bean beetles - is no longer an effective control, and the search is on for another organic solution. The good news is that a third planting of beans is coming along on Birch Hill.

 

Many thanks to farm members, Ursula Lee and Sarabelle Prince, who spent several days sortingarlicg, grading, and hanging the garlic (and to Frank Lee for the continued supply of biscotti). For a while, "seconds" are being distributed at the farmstand and they should be used right away (or processed with olive oil and stored in the freezer for winter use). But there are plenty of beautiful bulbs, soon to reappear on the stand, stored for winter shares, and saved for seeding, which takes place in October.

 

The autumn crops have been planted - fall squashes, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and oriental cooking greens. The sixth and last batch of lettuce was recently planted and all that remains to plant are some more oriental greens, radishes, and turnips.  

 

Autumn at Quail Hill is a season of great bounty - harvest baskets overflowing with both late summer and early fall crops. We have much to be grateful for.

 

IN THE FIELDS / AT THE STAND

 

Fruits and Vegetables: Arugula, Cabbage, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Garlic, Kale, Melons, Mizuna, Okra, Onions, Peppers, Potatoes, Raspberries & Blackberries, Spinach, String Beans, Swiss Chard, Tomatillos, Tomatoes, Zucchini & Summer Squash. Herbs: Basil, Borage, Chives, Cilantro, Dill, Bronze Fennel, Anise Hyssop, Lemon Balm, Lavender, Lovzinniaage, Oregano, Parsley, Rosemary, Sage, Tarragon. Flowers: Ageratum, Calendula, Calliopsis, Coxcomb, Galardia, Irish Poet (mention these to Scott and he'll recite Yeats), Kilamanjaro/Snow on the Mountain, Marigolds, Mexican Sunflowers, Purple Salvia, Scabiosa, Snapdragons, Sunflowers, Ox-Eye Daisies, Verbena, Zinnias

 

COMING SOON!

Bok Choy, Beets, Carrots, Edamame (Soybeans), Daikon, Husk or Ground Cherries, Lettuce, more Potatoes, Radishes, Spaghetti Squash, Tatsoi. More Flowers: Cosmos: Pink and Bright Light, Globe Amaranth, Zulu Daisies

 

WHAT IS THIS?  HOW DO WE USE IT?

 

Of African origin, OKRA was brought to the United States three centuries ago by enchained slaves. Okra is in the same plant family as hibiscus and cotton. When harvesting okra, look for young pods free of bruises, tender but not soft, and no more than 4-5 inches long. Many prefer dishes that use the whole pod. When cut, the pods release a sticky substance with thickening properties - good for soups and stews - which has unfairly led to its slimy reputation, albeit deserved when pods are old, big, or improperly stored. Okra doesn't keep well for more than a few days. Use as soon as possible or store it in the refrigerator wrapped in paper or a plastic bag. Okra freezes well; wash and dry  the pods well before putting them in a freezer bag. Cut the pods while still frozen before cooking.

 

Covered with an abundance of starshaped, borageWedgewood-blue flowers with distinguishing black anthers in their centers, BORAGE has traditionally been associated with good spirits and well-being. According to Pliny, "A borage brew would eliminate a person's sadness and make the person glad to be alive." Borage tastes a bit like cucumber and its edible flowers add zest to green or fruit salads. While its leaves can also be added to green salads, it's best to cut them up small enough to negate the plant's hairy texture. The leaves can also be used with beans, spinach and peas.

 

LOST LADYBUGS "FOUND" AT QUAIL HILL FARM!

 

Ladybugs are ferocious yet essential predators; they eat many plant pests including aphids and mealy bugs. Several native ladybug species that were once very common have, over the past 20 years, become extremely rare due, perhaps, to the loss of  

agricultural land and the introduction of non-native ladybug species whose population has grown with their range.

 

The nine-spotted ladybug or C-9 (Coccinella novemnotata), a native species thought to be locally extinct, had not been seen on Long Island since the late 1980s when, ironically, the ladybug became the official New York State insect. On July 30, Peter Priolo of Cornell Cooperative Extension in Suffolk Cpeter prioloounty visited Quail Hill to lead a group of youngsters in a ladybug search as part of the Lost Ladybug Project. Imagine their joy at finding a C-9!

 

Two weeks later on August 16, Peter returned to Quail Hill, joined by three scientists from Cornell University: John Losey (Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in Entomology), Leslie Allee (Research Associate, who developed and directs the project) and graduate student Leonard Stellwag (studying under John and whose dissertation is on ladybug biology). The search for more ladybugs was well rewarded - over 263 ladybugs were collected, representing 7 species. Twenty C-9s were found - 8 females and 12 males - the first by farm apprentice Miriam Goler, who as an undergraduate at Cornell had studied Integrated Pest management with John. A few of the C-9s were brought back to Ithaca where the scientists will try to establish a breeding population in captivity.

 

The Lost Ladybug Project relies on volunteer spotters. You can help by going out and finding ladybugs. Photograph them and upload digital images to the lost ladybug website witc-9 ladybugh the following information: time, date, location, and habitat. (Print photos can be mailed to the project). The website offers detailed information about ladybugs and the ability to view, sort, map, and graph the 10,000+ ladybugs found so far. There are also children's activities and a 4H SET curriculum as well as beautiful ladybug materials to download and print. And don't forget to listen to the ladybug song! For additional information, visit the ladybug page on Cornell's website.    

 

BEES NEED MARY WOLTZ

 

Of the 85 hives tended by beekeeper MARY WOLTZ, founder of Bees' Needs honey, 13 are located at Quail Hill Farm. On Saturday, August 20, Mary gave a presentation at the Farm about her work. 

 

By removing surplus food, Mary created sufficient room for the queen to lay eggs and for the hive's population to grow without overcrowding. When too crowded, bees will swarm and establish a new population, fine in May and June. But at this time of year, a new population would have a hard time establishing itself before the onset of the cool weather. What bees really need to do now is produce food to last them through the long cold days ahead and to grow their population in order to stay warm. Bees born in fall live longer than their summer sisters and they provide continuity when the queen stops laying eggs for a couple of months during winter.

 

It was an awesome sight to watch Mary "dance with bees." She wears no protective clothing and, as she works, she talks to her "sweet, lovely girls" in soft, melodic tones. Girls? At this time of year, a thriving hive - which is a matriarchal society - houses one queen, a few hundred male drones and, perhaps, 50,0Mary 00 to 70,000 female bees, all functioning as one unit.

 

The bees flying in and out of the hive were as calm as she - although a soothing smoker stood nearby, mainly to dislodge bees so Mary could return the cleaned frames to the boxes without squashing them. As she reassembled the hive - the two brood boxes on the bottom, then an inhibitor screen to prevent the huge queen from going into the three supers that were placed on the top - Mary spoke about the challenges and rewards of beekeeping, a bit about the bee's life cycle, and the health of local bee populations.

 

Throughout her fascinating discourse, Mary showed no concern about getting stung. Stinging is a defense mechanism, and the bees certainly felt no threat from her, only trust. In a 2010 interview, Mary told the Sag Harbor Express, "When visiting them, if I am feeling vulnerable then I am not only more careful but also, as I am moving into their home and their environment, more sensitive to how they might feel."

 

The name of Mary's business - Bees' Needs - reflects honey beesher attitude toward her girls; she places the needs of the bees before anything else. In recent years, bee populations have suffered grave losses due to colony collapse disorder (or honey bee depopulation syndrome). However, Mary's losses have been minimal, which she attributes to her non-invasive beekeeping techniques that focus on the general wellbeing of honey bees.

 

While, Mary's honey is available for purchase in the farm shop, fervent honey lovers might want to join Bees' Needs community supported apiculture (CSAp).   Email or call Mary at 631.702.5657 for more information.

 

DOWN IN THE VALLEY

Member & (former) Farmer News

 

FAREWELL & THANKS!

August 19 marked the last day of work for the hardworking LANDON Roseman, volunteer-extraordinaire who worked most mornings since early July, and apprentice MATT MUELLER, who is about to enter his freshman year at Tuft University's School of Engineering. Their hard labor and good humor (not to mention Matt's silly jokes) make light of heavy work.

 

OKRA & EGGPLANTS

Apprentice MARK STONEHILL writes: On Friday, August 5th campers and counselors from Bridgehampton Child Care Center visited the farm for a farm tour and work day. I led the children on a potatoestour of Birch Hill and the Valley where they discovered new foods like okra and little white eggplants (that actually look like eggs!). After tasting some vegetables, the children met the chickens and ducks, and dug potatoes with Farmer Scott. The fruits of their labor were well received - their 50 pounds of potatoes became French fries for lunch the next day! Many thanks to Hilary Rogers, director of the center's summer camp, for making a memorable field trip for both the campers and farmers!

 

NOFA SUMMER CONFERENCE

Apprentice MIRIAM GOLER writes: Mark, Jen, Barrett, and I got a weekend off from the farm in the middle of August. Shocking, considering the work to be done at this time of year, but we figured Scott, Lizzie, and Matt could hold down the fort. What took us away from all the weeds? The NOFA (Northeast Organic Farming Association) summer conference. This year there was a focus on draft animal power, which was especially exciting for me since I am looking to learn about farming with horses and would like to work on a farm with draft animals for the coming year. One of the workshops I went to let us practice harnessing a draft horse and gave us a chance to try driving one. It was super fun!

   

CHOSEN ARTIST

Farm member ROSS WATTS is one of 14 emerging artists whose work is in Artists Choose Artists, the currentRoss Watts exhibition at the Parrish Art Museum in Southampton. Seven prominent East End artists were invited to select two artists to mentor and with whom to exhibit. Ross was chosen by painter Dan Rizzie. The show runs until October 9th.  Pictured is his 40" x 112" piece Before the Law (acrylic, collage and staples on wood); the photograph was taken on Birch Hill.  

 

Quail Hill Farm is a stewardship project of the
Peconic Land Trust.

For information concerning Quail Hill Farm, please contact Robin Harris at 631-283-3195 or by email, or visit us online at www.PeconicLandTrust.org/quail_hill_farm

The Peconic Land Trust conserves Long Island's
working farms, natural lands,
and heritage
for our communities, now and in the future.


For more information concerning the Trust, call us at 631.283.3195 or visit us online at www.PeconicLandTrust.org.

This Quail Hill Farm eBlast is written
by Jane Weissman and produced by Justina Fargiano.


A copy of the last financial report filed with the New York State Attorney General may be obtained by writing to: New York State Attorney General's Charities Bureau, Attn: FOIL Officer, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271 or Peconic Land Trust, PO Box 1776, Southampton, NY 11969.