Sundog Farms

Sundog CSA August 18th, 2025

August heat has returned to our hill with temperatures ranging in the mid to upper 90s and way beyond that in the growing tunnels. Unfortunately, that has not cooked the pests that are feasting on the tomatoes! Worms are crawling everywhere, inside and outside and our hope that they would move on soon has not been realized yet. We are crossing our fingers that the forecast for rain this coming week materializes. The gauge registered .29 after Monday’s rain which has helped everything to survive. The cooling down in the evenings and the heavy dew is another help for people and plants facing the sun’s intensity in the afternoons.

It is a temptation to let the chickens loose on the army worms, however, our experiences with chickens leads me to believe that they would head straight to our tomato patch with its low hanging green globes and feast away, ignoring the crawling worms. Chickens like to peck holes in every tomato they are able to reach. I would not be bothered if they would concentrate on one tomato and eat it but they like to sample here and there, sort of like the worms! We are going to let them loose in our tunnels after the season to work on the nematode problem as our idea to bake them was not successful. We had laid down plastic in the hopes that the tunnel would get hot enough under the plastic to cook them but it must have just kept them warm through the winter. So, we will try tilling and re-tilling, letting the chickens scratch around and hope that this works. The nematodes ruin the root system of the plant; it has a difficult time up-taking water and it eventually dies without producing much of anything. You can easily tell if you have a nematode problem when you dig out the roots.

If you looked at the garden and saw the lush growth of the weeds, you would wonder why I am talking about the lack of water and the problems with pests because neither army worms nor nematodes seem to be affecting them. Sometimes I wonder if we would take up eating some of those weeds, if all of a sudden, they would be hit with pests and diseases like the cultivated crops? It is just hard for me to get excited about creamed cockleburs or stir-fried foxtail grass.

Who we found in the garden this week –

The first picture is an Isabella Tiger Moth, followed by a Mason Wasp. The third picture is of a Rabid Wolf Spider carrying her egg sac with her. The descriptive name refers to the spider’s rapid erratic movements as they hunt down their prey rather than build webs. The last picture is of a Green Cloverleaf Worm Moth or otherwise known as Black Snout. I like their second name much better! They are a definite pest and we don’t like to see them flying around the garden.

YOUR BAG THIS WEEK – Grown in an organic manner for which the army worms thank us!

  • Large Tomatoes
  • Cherry Tomatoes
  • Onions
  • Okra
  • Hot Peppers and Sweet Peppers
  • Potatoes
  • Green Beans (a few)
  • Beet and Carrot Bundle
  • Basil, Chives and a sprig of Rosemary

RECIPE SHARE –

BASIL CRACKERS – Recipe from “Easy Homemade Crackers” by Jim Long

Use Fresh Basil for this recipe if possible.
4 cups fluor ¼ cup butter 2 tablespoons sugar 1 cup milk 1 teaspoon salt Additional milk for brushing cracker tops 2 tablespoons fresh basil or 1 tablespoon dry, crushed Additional salt for tops

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Combine flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor. Pulse once to mix, then add the butter and basil, then pulse blend until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the milk and pulse blend until the dough forms a ball that stick together ( it will be fairly stiff).
  3. Roll out the dough on a floured surface to 1/8 inch thick. Using a cookie cutter or pizza cutter, cut the crackers and place them on an ungreased baking sheet. Prick the crackers with a fork several times. Brush the tops of the crackers with the additional milk and sprinkle with salt. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until they are lightly golden brown. Don’t overbake. Cool on wire rack and store in airtight container.
  4. Makes about 40 crackers.

Italian Bread Salad - from “One United Harvest – Creative Recipes from America’s Community Supported Farms”

2 cups sliced fresh vine-ripe tomatoes ¼ cup sliced fresh basil leaves 2 cups garlic croutons balsamic vinegar 1 cup sliced fresh whole-milk mozzarella cheese fresh minced garlic Freshly ground pepper

Toss tomatoes, croutons, cheese and basil leaves in a bowl. Sprinkle with vinegar, oil, garlic and pepper. For a more elegant presentation, leave basil leaves whole and arrange tomatoes and cheese individually over croutons on salad plate. Sprinkle with garlic and drizzle with oil and vinegar. Serves 2 as a light summer dinner or more as a side dish.
GARLIC CROUTONS Make your own croutons by slicing sourdough bread, brush with melted garlic butter, cut into cubes and toast on a cookie sheet at 375 degrees, turning occasionally, until brown.
Recipe shared by Jeane Duffer, Barklee Farm, Idaho

Fresh Tomato Sauce from “The Joy of Gardening Cookbook”

3 cups peeled, seeded and finely diced tomatoes ¼ cup finely minced shallots 1 tablespoon olive oil 2 tablespoons minced fresh basil ¾ teaspoon fresh thyme or ¼ teaspoon dried 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley (optional) Salt and pepper Combine the tomatoes, shallots, olive oil, and herbs. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour over cooked hot pasta. Pass grated parmesan cheese with the pasta.

SURPRISE! We had given up on Uno having a calf this season and put her on the trailer for the summer pasture. Katy found a surprise when doing the pasture check!

And another surprise on the way to town this weekend. Crawling out of the cemetery ditch was a slow turtle with a crop of moss growing on his broad back. Not sure if he was visiting someone? 😊 Katy did not get too close when she took this picture. And the other surprise was on the pigs who followed the wrong person – me. I did not have the feed buckets and they were getting pretty insistent – and an absolutely beautiful dragonfly greeted me on the steps to the post office Monday.

Seth and I took pictures of the sunset this week and of course his picture had to include his beloved goats!

Living in a multi-generational household takes some adjusting. There are days when we find ourselves pretty far apart in our approach to daily life and other days when we are in agreement. Our sense of humor is stretched thin at times so the other night, when I finished milking Pearl, I emptied my bucket into the strainer and went back into the milking room to set up for the next cow. Katy came in the door and I yelled that Pearl was in the strainer and the “literalist” that I live with, Izzy Cheuvront, more or less said that she would like to see that - meaning she would like to see Pearl in the strainer. With salty sweat dripping down my glasses and back and the prospect of 3 more cows coming in the door, it took a minute or maybe two for me to start grinning at the picture of my feisty little Jersey sitting in the milk strainer! 😊

Blessings from the farm – and from Pearl who is not in the strainer yet – Teresa, Izzy, Seth, Dan, Katy, Zach and Jen