Little projects

The farm is partly on paternity leave this year.  But we still have some tasty projects simmering.

Garlic and Herbs are looking nice

Rosemary is cruising

and the chive blossoms are very pretty in omelettes

We also got to take our first ever father/daughter trip to Fedco!

Inspecting the sage blossoms.

Wintery Summary

What happened this winter?

First the ground froze...

...and I thought that would be a great time to plant garlic.

The chickens found The Great Pumpkin.  (and ate it) 

The deer found my parsley (and ate it)

I moved the chicken coop to another field...

...but the chickens had other ideas.

The hoop house got buried in snow...

...as did the truck...

...and the chicken coops...

so we eloped!

(that makes sense right?)

Meanwhile, the deer ate everything left in the field...

...and we had a baby! 

 Looking forward to spring!

Fall Cleanup and Hurricanes

Hey there!  Here's what has been going on as we finished the summer CSA and started fall cleanup.  The farm looks pretty nice.  Plenty of older plants in the ground, and many more blank spaces as others have been tilled in. 

The left side of the hoophouse still has some perennial flowers growing, but they'll come into their own in the spring.  There are still a few onions out there and some broccoli to keep them company.

The winterbor kale has ben trucking along and shows no signs of giving up!

But it can look a little goofy after picking all season.

We took down the yurt before hurricane Sandy.  It was a nice shelter for some of the nastier weather this fall, but I did not want to deal with strapping it down for a hurricane.  It's been in plenty of high winds, but mostly the canvas takes a long time to dry.  After a few nice sunny days, it was ready to pack up for it's next adventure.  Where to?

We finally took down the pea trellis!  That only took,...uh, 4 months...  Other things were going on ya know.

The netting is strong stuff though, so it's ready for use another year.  Ah, there's a nice blank space in the field now, ready for some winter rye.  Or maybe garlic?

To prepare for the hurricane we added extra wiggle wire on the parts of the hoop house which normally roll up.  There is normally a little gap there, but in a high wind, it could lift up the whole side, and then possible the whole hoop house.

We also added more soil to hold down the row cover over the herbs and salad greens.  This worked ok,  the wind caught a few holes in the row cover, and ripped it open in places.  But most of the row cover stayed in, or close to the bed...

And then the storm blew in.  The sound of the wind in the trees was mixed with raucous ocean waves crashing!

The air was thick with misty rain and smelled of the sea.

The trees were waving around plenty too.

This was the worst of it down in the creek.  We feel very fortunate, and hope that others who got hit by the hurricane harder can recover quickly.

And then it was Halloween.  Say, I've got an idea for a jack-o-lantern!

 It met mixed reviews from the trick-or-treaters...

First Frost

We had the first frost of the season early Saturday morning!  As such, we spent Friday evening harvesting all the remaining peppers by headlamp.  Soooo, thats about 150lbs of peppers.  Sweet red bell peppers, green peppers, and Jalapenos.  Peppers anyone?  Salsa?  Jambalaya?

Big bucket of Jalapenos

The next morning, the pepper plants were pretty sad looking.  No more brightly colored fruits.

The look of a plant burned by the frost has a sort of 'wet' appearance to it.  All the leaves are dark and droopy.

Meanwhile, inside the hoophouse, we harvested the last good tomatoes and pulled out all the vines. They survived the frost just fine inside, but we need to put lettuce and spinach in there.  Make some room!

The last of the tomatoes.

Off on the sides of the hoophouse I had rows of basil which I had intended to harvest Friday night, but never got around to it.  I figured it would survive inside the hoophouse, but alas, not so!  It got cold enough inside the hoophouse to kill the basil (it's pretty wimpy stuff anyway) but the peppers right next to them were fine.  Yep, more peppers...

Hey, more dead stuff.  Nasturtium.  Toast.

Outside, there are rows of lettuce and bok choi under row cover.  It's still looking fine after the frost, and the hoops which support the row cover should help it along for quite a while.  

Things are winding down out there.  But I've got a pretty big to-do list to put the field to bed for the winter.

Last CSA pickup

Hey, it's the last week of the summer CSA!  My how time flies.  The chickens say "wow, I remember when we were just eggs!"

And the tomatoes remember when they were the star of the garden.  Eh, they look pretty grim now.

But there are more tasty veggies in the ground for this winter!  Here we have 50ft of lettuce, it just needs some heavy row cover for the chilly nights.

Rutabagas are lurking underground.

And Black Spanish Radishes...
These things just look awesome.  Bright white flesh, dark black rind, and deep green leaves.  Bam!  They're also darn spicy.  We like them roasted with other root veggies. But if you don't get around to it, they store for weeks once their tops have been removed.

 I'll channel my inner Mario Bros. 2 and get them pulled out of the ground.  (you know, on the old 8 bit Nintendo?  anyone? anyone?)

Uh, anyway.  There is plenty of parsley.

Today Rob and I put the next wave of beets is in the ground, though I'm not sure when they'll be ready.  The light rain was nice for the transplants, but the paths got a bit muddy/sticky.

Did I mention that the horseradish plants really took off?  Yep, they look like they'll eat you.  Watch your step!  If anyone would like some of this, stuff, I'll dig up a few roots later this fall.  If you have not made horseradish sauce before, beware!  When you grind it up in a food processor it's like you set off a chemical mustard gas bomb in your kitchen.  Run!  Grinding it up on your porch is advised.  The pungent sinus-clearing-deliciousness of fresh horseradish is worth it through.

Oh, we also put in spinach!  This winter staple is loving the cool wet weather...

...and so is rob.

We set up the yurt this past weekend for a little extra shelter.  It's nice to be out of the cold and rain for a bit.  Thanks to the folks who made it out to the farm this weekend for our gathering!  I hope to have more opportunities to meet more of you fine folks again!

So that's it for the summer CSA, but as you can see there are lots of tasty things in the ground.  I'll keep posting what I'm up to and let you know what we're harvesting through the cold months.  We hope you can continue eating in season with Blue Bell Farm!


Whatcha Eatin?

Roasted Rutabagas (and root veggies)
inspired by Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison

1 1/2 lbs turnips or rutabagas, peeled and quartered (black radishes, and potatoes too!)
salt and freshly  mille dpepper
canola or safflower oil
3 small bay leaves
2 rosemary sprigs or 6 thyme sprigs

Preheat oven to 375.  Lightly oil a shallow roasting pan or baking dish.  Parboil rutabagas for 15 min or until barely tender.  You can add scrubbed and quartered black radishes and potatoes for the last 3-5 minutes of boiling or until they are barely tender.  Wick off the extra moisture with a towel.  Toss all the root veggies with enough oil to coat them lightly, then season with salt and pepper.  Transfer them to the dish with the herbs and bake, uncovered, until tender when pierced with a knife and browned, 25-30 min.

Rutabaga Fries

This one is pretty darn similar to the Roasted Rutabagas, but perhaps you find fries more appealing...

Peel and slice rutabagas into long batons or french fries.  Soak them in water for 30 min, then drain and towel dry.  Toss with vegetable oil to coat lightly and a few pinches salt.  Spread them on a sheet pan and bake at 400, turning occasionaly, until golden and tender, 30-40min.  When down etoss them with a little finely minced rosemary, sea salt and freshly cracked pepper.

Baked Winter Squash

A practical approach to preparing squash for any number of uses.  Cut a squash in half, then scoop out the seeds and fibers.  Brush the cut surfaces with a thin film of oil and set the squash, cut side down on a sheet pan.  Bake at 375 until the squash looks wrinkled, soft and about to collapse, usually about 30 min.  The cut side should be richly glazed.  Place upright on a serving plate, season with salt and pepper, a tad of butter and serve.  Or scoop out the flesh, mash it with butter and return it to the shell.  You can also use this squash to make a puree, soup or pie filling.  (butternut pie!)