Sundog CSA August 8th, 2022

This past week has gone by in a blur of sweat as the temperatures and heat indices continually flirted with triple digits. We did catch a shower or two which totaled almost a quarter of an inch in the gauge for which we were grateful. Humidity levels were up and down – mostly up and we felt the rivulets of sweat running downhill as we sat and milked in the barn at nights since it did not really cool down much from those daytime highs until well after the sun had disappeared. What always frustrates me is how the weeds outgrow my carefully planted, watered, mulched and debugged crops. Why do blister beetles eat carrots and beets instead of velvetleaf or pigweed or sticker plants or burr marigold? That would be helpful if we could work together – them eating weeds and us growing crops! 😊 We spent our spare time pulling weeds and getting out seeds to stick in the dirt. We are more than halfway through the summer and it is time to be thinking about some fall crops such as turnips, kohlrabi and maybe some cabbages. We are going to try to replant the cucurbits – squash and cucumbers, one more time. Hopefully we will have missed some of the bugs as the season begins to head towards fall and what we hope is a long Indian Summer.

So, our new bug this week is an Eggplant Lace Bug. We are not excited about this bug as it tends to be a negative as far as our eggplant production. Aphids are also stepping up their attacks and we have seen more blister beetles this week. There are a few Harlequin bugs but not huge numbers yet. Huge green worms were found on the parsley and the Tomato Hornworms are back for a third or fourth round. We continue to monitor the armyworms and feed any we find to the chickens. Blight doesn’t seem to be increasing so we are hoping that the baking soda spray is keeping it under control.

If you are coming in late in the evenings this week, remember that it is “show time” in the sky! The August Perseids showers are due to peak this week. Some of the sites say August 11 and 12 and another site says the 13th. Since we do not have many chances for rain in the forecast this week, it might be one of the better viewing years for the meteors. There is absolutely nothing like tying your wishes to those sky streaks that are gone in an instant.

YOUR BAG THIS WEEK –

• Beets
• Potatoes
• Cherry Tomatoes
• Large Tomatoes
• Eggplant
• Okra – tiny taste of this fun plant!
• Sweet Peppers
• Basil
• Chard

INFORMATION SHARE – Chuck sent me this really interesting information about potatoes and a link if you want to read more. I forgot to put it in the newsletter last week and I apologize – BECAUSE I really appreciate any and all shares. I love learning new information and trying new recipes almost as much as I like playing in the dirt! Thank you, Chuck!

POTATOES - Here’s a potato tip that I came across. For those of us that are interested in diversifying and supporting the gut microbiome (Yes, it’s a thing). When you cook potatoes (or rice or most “starch’s”), if you put them in the refrigerator and let it cool off and then eat them, the starch in the potato becomes what is called “resistant starch” and is very good food for the gut microbiome. There is some question whether you should or can heat them up or cook them again, like make hash browns. Some say not to do that, but others are silent. (That is not the case with rice, I’ve heard that the more times you reheat rice, the more “resistant” the starch becomes. And here is the link: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/9-foods-high-in-resistant-starch

From FARM FRESH RECIPES by Janey Majure - These are recipes for CSA subscribers

TOMATO SANDWICHES

3 oz. cream cheese. Softened 1 Tbsp. grated onion 1 Tbsp. chopped parsley

1 Tbsp. minced green pepper Salt & Black Pepper to taste 4 firm tomatoes, sliced

Combine cream cheese, onion, parsley and green pepper. Season with salt and pepper. Drop a heaping tablespoon on one tomato slice. Top with another slice and press together to make a sandwich.

TOMATO PARMESAN TART

2 eggs ¾ cup cream Salt and Pepper

4 tomatoes ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided

1 baked 9-inch pie shell or tart shell

Beat eggs with cream, and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside. Slice tomatoes ¼ inch thick, sprinkle with 2 tsp. salt. Places layers of paper towels to drain 10 – 15 minutes. Sprinkle 2 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese on bottom of baked pie or tart shell. Add half the tomatoes in a layer, slightly overlapping. Sprinkle with half of remaining Parmesan. Add remaining tomatoes in another layer, sprinkle on remaining Parmesan and pour egg mixture over all. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 – 25 minutes or until custard has set. Serve hot or at room temperature. Refrigerate leftovers.

So here is the Eggplant Lace Bug on an Eggplant leaf. I love what the leaf looks like but I do not like seeing these bugs in residence on the leaves.

Seth thought if they met, they would be friends. From the looks on their faces, it was dubious as to the outcome.

Taking a break from pulling weeds, Izzy found this guy, poised for take-off. His wings are magical in their invisibility and yes, he flew on release without a backwards glance!

Cows at the summer pasture coming in for a treat this past week. Seth and Izzy look forward to exploring in the creek while the cows chow down.

There is something in the small things in this world - like how rain coats grass stems!

Who wants to test the fence to see if those in charge remembered to plug the electric in?

Anyone who has had chickens knows that they are sort of defenseless – especially against the likes of raccoons. This past week has been one of the “alert” weeks where no matter what we were doing late in the evenings as we are cleaning up in the kitchen, sharing events of the day, walking in from the barn, we have been listening and waiting. It has been a week of racing outside at a second’s notice with flashlights and sometimes our pants and sometimes not, sometimes our shoes and sometimes not but there is always yelling and threats to the predators. It has been a week of sadness as we had chicken losses Sunday night. The determination of the raccoons became matched by ours and we have not lost a single chicken since that night. There has been no white flag waved so the watch continues nightly. The funny thing is that we open the chicken house door and shine the light on everyone and they look surprised and a tiny bit crabby at being woke up! Apparently, they are not as worried as we are!

Blessings from the farm – stay cool! Teresa, Jen, Zach, Izzy, Seth, Dan and Katy