Fresh Garlic!

Howdy Pennypackers! This week's share features the first of our fresh garlic harvest! We are just as excited as you to see these potent bulbs of beauty and zing, but there are some special directions for our garlic this year. The bulbs we are sharing are not for storage or replanting. Use them quickly, as their shelf life will only be a couple weeks. Early in the season we were hit by a vigorous fungal disease called White Rot (Sclerotium cepivorum). It is not harmful to humans, however it is deadly to garlic and all other vegetables in the Allium family (onions and leeks especially). This particular fungus is attracted to chemicals found only in the roots of Alliums and can survive in the soil for 15 years, with no proven organic or conventional treatments. Therefore, the introduction of this fungus to our field depleted our yields of garlic this year and will have serious repercussions for our planning and planting of all Allium crops in the future. We have culled the majority of infected bulbs and skins but some bulbs may be partially compromised and therefore store for less time, so again, use them quickly. Due to careful precautions in the field (e.g. washing boots) and the kindness of mother nature, we have not see any signs of White Rot in our onions, leeks, or scallions, so you will see more of them within the coming weeks!

 

Farmer Jenny

 

TIPS - How to Pick Herbs 

We were late this year in getting all the herb beds planted. As you may have noticed, a few beds are still struggling and are not abundant enough to pick.  Annuals, such as Basil, Dill, and Cilantro, were planted last month and are just not profuse enough yet for 400 families' culinary needs. Although Sage and Parsley are perennials, we planted them again this year after they died due to overharvesting last year. Alas, now some of the new Sage is dying from over watering!  Tarragon was also replanted this year since the flavor of the former plants had become undesirable.  Rosemary just went in last week.
 
Plentiful enough now for all your needs are Oregano (tomato sauce seasoning), Bronze Fennel (sweet, licorice flavor), Thyme, Chives (add fresh as scissor-cut little bits to salads or topping for potatoes), and Mints (add to salads, smoothies, or iced drinks).
 
We ask that you take only a little of any of the other herbs -- just what you will need to season your week's food-share.  Be patient, knowing that quantities of Basil for pesto, Dill, Cilantro, and Parsley are grown as "crops" on the farm and will be coming soon as units in your food shares.
 
In general,

1. Always cut with scissors
2. Cut above a leaf notch since new branches will spring off of the leaf notch
3. Never cut all the branches of a plant, this is likely to kill the plant since the leaves make the food for the roots. Plants need at least two branches of leaves to keep alive

Storage:  Consider using a large cottage cheese sized tupperware with a moist paper towel in the bottom to store your handful of herbs together in the refrigerator for the week.
 
Identification:  We are grateful to volunteers Melanie Kittrell who painted the posts yellow, and Susan von Medicus and Vivian Gast who added the lettering for the lovely new signs naming each herb bed.
We hope that you are enjoying the Coriander seeds available to take home on their woody stalks from the Harvest House. Some of you will plant the seeds for home-grown cilantro, or grind the seeds as a seasoning for lentils, rice, cauliflower, pancakes, pickling, and other flavorings.
 
Bonus:  Finally, we will arrange to prepare some temporary pots for anyone wishing to take home plants to grow at home: spearmint, peppermint, or lemon mint. Please email your request, name, and phone number to suscurry@comcast.net