News from Terra Firma Farm

Happy Summer Solstice! Yesterday was the longest day of 2011, and for us at Terra Firma, it was also the hottest yet. The thermometer here hit 103, and by 10 pm last night it was still 87 degrees.

In other words, it's Tomato Weather. And lo and behold, we did harvest our first tomatoes this week and we expect more -- lots more -- next week.

You won't see too many locally grown tomatoes around in stores or farmers' markets right now. We planted our early tomatoes over two different weekends in early March, squeezing them in between storms. Not too many other farmers in the area were able to do so.

We use a black plastic mulch to warm the soil, but it also has the benefit of keeping the ground dry underneath. This allows us to get in and plant just a day or two after rain. In March of 2011, we got just four days. And those days were not sunny and warm.

planting tomatoes

You may have already seen this picture, which I included in my March 16th newsletter. In this photo, there are 10 people working: one tilling the soil, two laying down the plastic, four running the transplanter, and three laying sprinkler pipe. On this particular drizzly Sunday in March, we worked until the ground got too wet to drive on, around dusk.

Despite the fact that it was actually raining when I took this photo, and the tomatoes are irrigated by drip irrigation under the plastic, we must always set up sprinklers to protect the tomatoes from frost. In our area, frosty nights commonly occur on the tail end of storm events -- sometimes a day or two after we plant. So we always set the pipe up while we're planting and keep it ready turn on in a moment's notice. Frosts are not always forecasted accurately, and it's not much fun assembling sprinkler pipe at two in the morning when it's 33 degrees.

This year March was so constantly wet that we didn't get any frost. We had already begun discussing removing the pipe from the field when forecasters started predicting a hard freeze on April 7th. It didn't get as cold that night as they thought it would, but it was a close call and we were very glad to have the sprinklers running.

Once the threat of cold was past, our biggest concern with the tomatoes was the chilly, wet spring. The plants simply didn't grow much in April or May. Many years, the tomatoes are five or six feet tall by June 1st. This year they were half that size. But with the warm weather of the last ten days, they are growing amazingly quickly, making up for lost time.

What the plants lack in foliage, they have made up for with fruit. With the exception of some of the more persnickety heirloom varieties, the plants are loaded. Keep your fingers crossed for a prosperous and abundant tomato season.

Thanks,

Pablito

In your boxes
   We didn't have quite enough tomatoes by box-packing time on Tuesday for all of your boxes, so Small box subscribers will have to wait until next week. Medium and Large boxes receive a basket of Gold Nugget cherry tomatoes. These are the earliest-ripening tomatoes we grow, and that is their main claim to fame. Just don't expect them to be the best tomato you've ever eaten :) Next week we anticipate starting harvest of our first Early Girls.
    To keep your first tomatoes company this week, we are also sending along a tiny bunch of Basil. Basil really doesn't like cold weather, which is why we always wait until May to plant it. Although it's been in the ground for a month, the stems are still short and the leaves small. We decided to cut it back this week to encourage more growth. Hopefully, the next bunch we send you will be bigger.
    The Cherries in your boxes are the last of the 2011 crop. We were very happy to be able to provide you with a steady supply of the little fruits this spring despite all the challenges that Mother Nature threw at us.
   You may get freshly dug New Potatoes in your boxes today, or the last of our winter potato crop. You should be able to recognize the new crop by their super-smooth skins, some of which may have peeled off during harvest and packing. These are delicate spuds and should be eaten quickly -- and refrigerated until then.
Valencia Oranges aren't easy to peel, and they have seeds. But they are sweet and ripe this time of year, and perfect for juicing or slicing up and eating.

And Not in your boxes
    Conspicuously absent from your boxes this week, for the first time since September 2010, are leafy greens. While we did hope to have spinach for today's boxes, the hot weather has rendered it unharvestable. Greens -- including lettuce, arugula, kale and chard -- don't taste so good when grown in extreme heat. We will begin planting greens again in late summer, and harvesting them again once the weather cools down -- usually in October.
   Another crop missing from today's boxes is Strawberries. Production in the berry field had already begun to tail off recently, and the plants this year never developed the big canopy they need to protect the fruit once the sun gets really strong. Most of the berries in the field were already cooked by Monday morning -- before the real heatwave even got started. With temperatures Tuesday morning started out warm and got hot really quick. Had we picked strawberries for you yesterday, they would have melted well before you got them home. And thus ends the Terra Firma 2011 strawberry season.

Recipe -- Shredded Sauteed Summer Squash
Summer squash, prepared and cooked just right, can be a refreshing substitute for pasta. You can use the shredder blade on your food processor, an Italian vegetable cutter, or even just a sharp knife to cut the squash into long, thin strips or rounds. You can cook it simply, as in the recipe below from longtime subscriber Melissa, or add additional ingredients...say, diced tomatoes and fresh basil.
So
Shred, grate, julienne, or otherwise cut zucchini or other summer squash into very thin strips.
Mince 3 cloves of garlic and saute in 2 T. melted butter until soft.
Add the squash and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Season with salt and pepper and top with grated parmesan cheese.