Serenbe Farms
  CSA Newsletter and Recipes 4-16

August 18th, 2009

I just realized that this email had not been sent on Tuesday.  I'm so sorry for the delay!

Important Message from Paige--fall shares and a one week break for full share (Natalie's newsletter is below)
 
First, we've reached our halfway point for the full share!  I hope you are all enjoying your subscription; please send me feedback for fall planning.

Second,
no shares on September 22nd.  This will be the transition period from summer to fall.  We use this week to make sure that the farm is full of emerging fall crops and to take a chance for a brief vacation.  (Half shares, we'll make sure that you have the same # of shares, even if it means a make up day.)

Many of you have asked about the fall share option that I've mentioned in the margins of this newsletter.

If you've purchased a full share, you have already paid for your fall share.  If you have a spring/summer share, your share ends on September 15th.  To continue the shares, you must renew your membership by either purchasing a full fall share ($275) or a half fall share ($175).  The fall share begins on September 29th and continues until the beginning/middle of December. 

What will be in the fall shares?  Here's a list of veggies you will find in the fall (some familiar from the springtime):

Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Sunchokes, Sweet potatoes, Brussels Sprouts, Lettuces, Radishes, Turnips, Parsnips, Spinach, Rutabagas, Collard greens, Kale, Swiss chard, Garlic, Green onions, Carrots, Beets, Peanuts, Pecans, Bok Choi, Chinese cabbage, Herbs, Onions, Arugula, Kohlrabi, Fennel, and the remainder of our summer fruits: Tomatoes (green and ripe), Okra, Eggplant, Bell peppers, Hot peppers
Farm News and Recipes from Natalie (recipes below)
 
Waiting around for the fields to dry last Wednesday (very unusual, we are quite an industrious group), Paige put us to the test: a cover crop and seeding test which proved to be a lot more difficult than expected...especially considering it was matching.   It was definitely a good review.  With cover crops fresh on the brain, let's talk cover crops.  

Cover crops are an old-fashioned technique for growing your own fertilizer.   In a fallow period, instead of leaving the ground bare, we plant cover crops, which grow and are turned in, adding 'green manure' to the soil. 

The ground naturally strives to stay covered, have you noticed how quickly weeds will take over bare spots?

A way to manage the ground's need is to plant our own crops keeping in mind what cash crop we will be planting next.  Different cover crops have different qualities to contribute to the soil.  Some of the unifying factors of cover crops are:
  • if planted thick enough, they suppress weeds
  • they anchor the topsoil so that when a rain comes through there is minimal erosion
  • the more the cover crop grows, the more biomass it puts on, and the more active the microorganisms are to break it down when it is incorporated or tilled into the ground
  • they act as a catch crop meaning they hold nutrients near the surface instead of the nutrients leaching into our waterways
This last point is especially great over the winter time when nutrients leach out, the cover crop ties up the nutrients, keeping them close to the surface, giving the following crops a leg up in the spring.  

Here are a few that are growing in the field right now:

Buckwheat
buckwheatHarvesting sweet potato leaves last week was great because we were right next to a field in buckwheat and it was humming!  Lots of activity.  This is a huge perk of cover crops: by attracting a lot of beneficial insects (bees, lady bugs, bees), you are encouraging pollination of your crops. 

Buckwheat is a pseudocereal, meaning that it is not buckwheata grass but a broad leaf plant that can be used as a cereal - it can be ground into a flour.  Joining buckwheat in this category = amaranth and quinoa.  Buckwheat grows very quickly and is used in the summer between a spring and fall planting.  If we're looking to add more nitrogen to the soil, we incorporate it into the soil when it's flowering, right before it seeds, but if we want more carbon, we wait to incorporate it into the soil after it has gone to seed. 

Sunflowers
sunflowersWe have a good stretch of sunflowers also planted in with the buckwheat which is striking to say the least.  Sunflowers, I learned as a result of that quiz, have really long tap roots.  This helps break up compacted soil.  The seed is inexpensive (we're collecting our own right now in the greenhouse!) and we can harvest the flowers.    I've seen fields of sunflower in Europe, to be harvested for oil, but this year has been my first interaction using sunflowers as cover crops, it is gorgeous. 

There are two different types of cover crops: leguminous and non leguminous.  This has to do with the very important element of nitrogen which lies at the heart of all amino acids.  Air is 78% nitrogen, but this nitrogen is not easy for all plants to come by.   This is where the legume comes into play.  A legume hosts this process.  Buckwheat and sunflower are not legumes, but clover is!

clover-NIf you dig up a clover plant in your yard, you'll find small white nodules on the roots.  These host bacteria which take nitrogen from the air and convert it into ammonia, a second type of bacteria coverts this ammonia into nitrate - a plant usable form.   Crimson clover and winter peas were covering the ground in March when I arrived.  Crimson clover is beautiful.  Should I ever have my own place, I'm going to plant a yard full of crimson clover before doing anything else. 

Earlier this season you were eating pea tendrils, another leguminous cover crop, and edible nonetheless!  Love those. 

In the Midwest where you find a lot of corn, you will find they are planted in a rotation: soy beans and then corn.  The soy beans are fixing nitrogen in preparation for the corn, a heavy nitrogen eater.  If a plants' leaves yellow, than you know there wasn't enough nitrogen and that next year you should plant more legumes!

There is a LOT more to cover cropping and I recommend the attra website: www.attra.org and www.newfarm.com and any land grant university's websites for more information.   Using cover crops is a great practice on any scale. 

Upcoming events:Join us this Saturday at the farmers market for a Fall Gardening workshop hosted by Paige.  We'll talk about what to plant, when to plant, what the plants need, and how to keep your fridge stocked during the fall and winter (with little expense).
This week's share:

1 bu. Malabar spinach
1 bu edamame
3 lb tomatoes
1 lb cherry tomatoes
1 bell pepper
6 hot peppers
2 onions
5 cloves garlic
1 bu basil (purple ruffles)
1 bu parsley
3/4 lb okra!
1 lg or 2 sm melons
PYO 15 stems flowers and sunflowers
Yoga at Serenbe with Farms Volunteer Stephanie Pearce
 

Tuesday, Noon - 1:15 p.m. at the Serenbe Institute Studio; occurring every Tuesday. 

Please bring your own yoga mat & water.  Classes are Drop-in. Serenbe residents: $10; Non-residents: $12.  If you have a family of 4 or more, each additional person is $8.  Contact Stephanie Pearce for more information:  678-772-5192.
We're on Facebook!!

Become a fan of Serenbe Farms on Facebook (www.facebook.com).

You must have a page to become a fan of SF.  Search for Serenbe Farms and you'll find our page.

I'd love to see the site grow as a place for CSA members to discuss the produce, recipes, and other food topics.
Links
www.serenbefarms.com

www.georgiaorganics.org
www.slowfoodatlanta.org
Important Tidbits

--Always remember to wash your veggies.  No chemical residues I assure you, but you may find bug residues or dirt.
--Sign up now for our fall/winter share option!(included in full shares) 

--Volunteer on the farm!
Thursdays are volunteer days so come on down and get dirty (and maybe even learn a thing or 2)!
Tomato sauce

1 bell pepper - diced
2-4 pounds of tomatoes - quartered
Clove of garlic - minced
Olive oil
1 onion - diced

Heat pan, add a couple tablespoons of olive oil.  Add onion, stir until translucent.  Cut up the bell pepper and add to the mix.  Add the garlic 2 minutes before adding the tomatoes.  Cook until desired consistency, add salt and pepper and blend.  Serve over favorite pasta. 
Tomato
Pesto
Chicken

(Farmer
John made
this last
week and
it was delicious!)
 


Ingredients:
2 medium tomatoes (rinsed)
1 1/2 lbs, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
2 T vegetable oil
6 T sun-dried tomato pesto
1/2 c  shredded tomato/basil
mozzarella cheese
 
Steps:
1) cut six 1/4" slices from tomato, set aside.
2) trim excess fat from chicken, cut chicken into six equal pieces (squares).  Season with salt and pepper (wash hands). Preheat large saute pan on medium-high 2-3 min. 
3) Place oil in pan; swirl to coat. Place chicken in pan (wash hands); cook 4-5 min on each side, turning only once or until golden.
4) reduce heat to medium-low.  Top each with 1 T pesto, 1 T tomato slice, and then 2 T cheese.
5) cover and cook 10-12 min or until cheese melts and internal temperature of chicken reaches 165 F.  use a meat thermometer to check accurately ensure doneness.  serve.