Late Blight, The Food Chain & Home Gardens

An excellently wide-ranging article on the factors that might be involved in this year's severe and wide-spread late blight.

In other news: DEET is a neurotoxin in insects and mammals, study claims.

More at science daily.

Food Inc. ...

... plays at the Naro through Thursday, August 6th.

"No evidence of a health benefit from consuming organic"

A new study from the UK Food Standards Agency finds.

Week 10 (July 25, 2009)

In this week's share ... basil, carrots, cucumber, lettuce, potatoes, peppers, squash, tomatoes, zucchini, 1 of green beans or kohlrabi or okra

Where are the young farmers?

A frequent topic of conversation at pick-up. Reported on in
USAToday.

Related: video of Joel Salatin on the topic (and others).

Pilot article on local community gardens

Here.

Week 5 (June 20, 2009)

In the share this week .... cabbage, cucumber, kale, lettuce (buttercrunch or romaine), Korean peppers, tatsoi, zucchini, beets or turnips.

Week 4 (June 13, 2009)

In the share this week ... Arugula, Beets, Broccoli or Chard, Lettuce, Tatsoi, Turnips

Included in this week's newsletter is a recipe for beet chutney. Looks delicious! Please email Kathleen at truehome0802 at yahoo dot com how you like the recipe if you decide to try it. Or you can always post feedback and recipe ideas below in the comment section of this blog.

	Insect Duty: The chickens are now being allowed roam the whole farm during the day, looking for bugs to eat.
	Celery lookin' good. I'm happily anticipating celery harvest. John's celery is much more flavorful than the grocery store stuff.
	Blueberries beginning to ripen.
	Portulaca. Note the red stems. A relative of purslane. When I was chatting with Kathleen during CSA pick up time this morning, she mentioned that she had planted some at the front of the farmhouse this week.
	No need for shovels right now. Harvesting is the order of business on Saturdays.
	Empty boxes at the end of pick up time are always a good sign. See you next week!

Greens, Greens and more Greens!

Hi, fresh and local organic food lovers,

Here it is, the beginning of June, and though I'd love a big , red, juicy tomato and a cucumber, our fields are dancing with greens: Collards, Kales, Lettuces and Swiss Chard, to be precise.

As I assemble another newsletter for the CSA, I am learning that Greens of all kinds supply so many wonderful vitamins and nutrients- there's no need to worry about the veggies of the hot summer- they will arrive in due time. It is the time to love the greens, clean them,chop them, steam and saute them, put them in a stir fry with some onions and tofu, mix them into a fritatta, slice them thin and pile them on a pizza, swish them in minestrone soup. Yes, delight in the greens while we have them- and this farm's green production is such a treat- after a long winter and a rainy spring!