Sundog CSA August 11th, 2025

It is definitely more than sprinkle raining this morning (Sunday) - just ask the goats! They refused to budge early this morning and with their noses in the air, pretended not to be able to see you standing there with your milk pail. Thunder with flashes of lightning made their decision seem wise so we headed to the house to wait it out. The weather has been interesting this week, going from feeling like a blast furnace to refreshingly cool without giving our bones time to adjust to those 20 – 30-degree differences. We are grateful for the rainwater as we spent part of yesterday carrying water to wilted plants.

RAIN TOTALS UPDATE: We had 2.63 in our gauge. Zach’s gauge holds 4 inches and it was overflowing!

Besides being dry and hot, gardens and farmer’s crops are facing a new challenge – armyworms in huge numbers. The local extension office sent out information concerning steps to take to try and control damage and the worms made the news as they are marching across people’s lawns, munching as they go. The news story on our local station reported that weather conditions were different here in northeast Kansas, making it a new place for the crawlers to visit. We had seen a few and so yesterday started looking specifically and found we are also hosting a very large population here on the hill. It is tempting to squash them but the numbers are so high that the few we would eliminate would not change population numbers. Spraying with the products that are being recommended is not an option for us so we will wait and see what happens. Maybe the hard rain this morning will convince them to move back south? Or north? Or maybe it would bring them to the surface and the birds in the neighborhood would have an unexpected picnic! Our new planting of beets was up and then not as someone or something ate the tiny seedlings off? It is tempting to blame the army worm invasion but we have no proof. We will try again when the ground dries out. Good news is that the rains have given the weather worn green beans a second shot at production so we are hoping to be picking again next week. They are blooming and have little beans galore!

The fences held this week so we had a little time to work on the building project. Lap siding is now on one of four sides so we are making progress. Windows on that side need to be replaced and the corner boards painted and nailed on. As we worked Saturday afternoon, in between the sweat drops that decorated my glasses, I spotted an object that looked like a dime so called to Seth to come and dig it out as he loves treasure. It was a depression era tax token and is now resting in Seth’s safe where he puts all of his treasures. I had not seen one and found it interesting that this tiny piece of metal was a “fractional cent device used to pay sales tax on small purchases”. The tokens were issued by municipalities, private firms and 12 state governments and were generally issued in multiples of 1 mill (1/10 cent). Tax tokens were made from various materials like cardboard, fiber, plastic and metal. I am not sure who lost their token up here on the hill all those years ago but it made for some great Saturday afternoon conversation as we worked through our opinions (no arguments!) on how to put up lap siding!

YOUR BAG THIS WEEK –

• Potatoes
• Peppers - Sweet and Hot
• Tomatoes - Cherries and Slicers
• Onions
• Okra
• Beets and Carrots
• Basil and Sage

POTATO INFORMATION: Potatoes are one of the leading vegetables grown worldwide. They have gotten a bad “rap” and definitely do not deserve it. It is what you do with this delicious vegetable that defines it nutritionally. If you get your potato allotment from a bag of potato chips or a serving of fast-food French fries, it could be true that it is not the best food choice. Alone, in its own skin, the potato is an excellent source of complex carbohydrates and minerals, particularly potassium, providing the skin is consumed. Potatoes are a fairly good source of vegetable protein as well. They will form a complete protein when eaten with meat, dairy or grains. Potatoes are a member of the nightshade family and are a native of South America, found growing in the Andean Mountain regions. They were introduced to North American in the early 1700s, from Europe. They, like the tomato, were viewed suspiciously due to their membership in the nightshades.

Above Information from: From Asparagus to Zucchini: A Guide to Farm Fresh Seasonal Produce

Mustard Lemon Potatoes From The Joy of Gardening Cookbook

Boil 4 cups of sliced or diced potatoes until just tender, about 10 minutes. Drain.

In a large sauté pan, melt 3 tablespoons butter, and add 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 teaspoons grated lemon rind, and 1 ½ teaspoons Dijon-style mustard. Add the potatoes and stir to mix and heat. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Traditional Potato Salad from The Joy of Gardening Cookbook

8 cups diced potatoes 6 tablespoons white vinegar

1 cup vegetable oil ¼ cup diced onion

1 teaspoon ground rosemary ½ teaspoon dried savory

¼ teaspoon celery seeds ¼ teaspoon dried thyme

Salt and pepper ½ cup mayonnaise

½ cup sour cream ½ teaspoon Dijon-style mustard

4 hard-boiled eggs, quartered and sliced ¼ cup minced fresh parsley

Boil the potatoes until tender, about ten minutes.

In the meantime, whisk together the vinegar, oil, onion and herbs. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Drain the cooked potatoes. Pour the marinade over the hot potatoes. Cover the bowl and marinate the potatoes for 20 – 30 minutes. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Chill the salad for 2 hours before serving.

Sage Potato Thins from One United Harvest, Creative Recipes from America’s Community Supported Farms

3 medium potatoes ¼ cup Parmesan cheese (optional)

½ cup sliced fresh sage ¼ cup crumbled bacon, cooked

1-2 Tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Line cookie sheet with parchment and spray or lightly brush with olive oil. Cut potatoes lengthwise in 1/8-inch slices and lay half of them on the cookie sheet. Layer sage, salt, pepper, cheese and bacon on potato slices. Top with another potato slice and spray or brush with olive oil. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 – 30 minutes or until slightly golden brown, flipping once to brown both sides. Serve hot.

Walking in the entrance of the high tunnel, Katy managed to pick up this handful of army worms. We have seen army worms before but never in this quantity and not this early in the year. Next door is one of our “regulars” looking very satisfied with a belly full of tomato bites and foliage – tomato hornworms. And here is a picture of the “tax token” that we found digging on our building repair project.

Remember last week’s recipe for Cherry Tomato Pasta Sauce? Here is what it looked like at our house this week – on the menu twice by request from Seth! And this is part of our improvised onion drying project. We took an old gate and hung the onions through it and it worked so well, that we did another one. Below is a picture of the pigs after today’s rainfall – pure bliss! Part of the goat herd watched us while we picked tomatoes today - not because they were interested in us but because they were very interested in our tomatoes – they love them so Seth fed them rejects and they snorted with pleasure. And if you look closely at this picture in the middle of the tools is a tiny little Carolina wren who decided to move in while we were working on this building. And the last picture on this row is a close-up of a gorgeous zinnia that CSA customer, Connie, shared with us this week – actually she brought us a whole bouquet!

Last night after we came in from chores, we realized that we had forgotten to bring our iced tea in from the barn, so Seth and I located a flashlight and headed for the barn. It took about 45 minutes to get there because of all the magical spider webs that had to be examined and commented on and of course, Seth wanted pictures sent to Aunt Jen and Uncle Zach of each web and its occupant – all six of the webs. He was especially drawn to the web that attached to his bike because he had parked it at the back porch on our way to the house. It had only been there a short time and here someone had already taken up residence. Seth questioned me about spider work hours and wanted to know if they “pack it up & move on when the sun comes up?” and I realized that I did not have an answer for that. My main concern about orb weavers is how to avoid wearing them on my head and when I explained that to Seth, he agreed that was a concern of his also. Tea in hand, we headed back, avoiding any chance of a headdress!

Blessings from the farm - Seth, Dan, Izzy, Katy, Teresa, Jen and Zach