Sundog Farms

Sundog CSA September 29th, 2025

LAST BAG of the 2025 Season! This has been the fastest season yet – I feel like I am still in the garden planning stages and it is time to plant cover crops for fall!

This week has been a mix of weather with rain and clouds and then gorgeous sunshine for the past three days. We had a total of .83 here on the hill this week which is more than enough rain to make mud! It was such a sticky mud that the cows were kicking backwards while standing in the barn, trying to get it off their feet! It was kind of like playing “cow dodgeball”! 😊 For three days, there were these mutant looking faces sticking out of their huts down in the goat pen because they do not like rain falling. They don’t like mud either but rain is #1 on their list of dislikes. On the other hand, the pigs are absolutely in mud heaven! They love mud. They come running in the evenings after having their “mud soaks” and give Katy leg rubs are she carries their supper out to the pen which they treat as a hotel these days. So, if you come by and see that Katy has blue jeans that are half brown jeans, you will know that the bottom half was painted by the pigs. The pigs stop in at their pen to have lunch or breakfast and then tear off to do whatever free ranging pigs do. So far, they have stayed within the confines of the 40 acres and we are hoping they continue to stay within that boundary. We have cheated with the chickens. The weather has been so beautiful the past couple of days that we let them out around noon every day. It has been confusing to Hank who is supposed to be the farm security dog. He has no idea who is supposed to be where and today when Katy tried to get him to help herd, he just chased her instead. Hank is enjoying another fall ritual on the hill. There is something satisfying about playing “hedge ball” – hearing the bat sound of “splat” when you make a good connection is just part of fall. Hank doesn’t bat but he could play outfield!

Tomato production is really slowing down along with the cucumbers and squash. The okra was never able to come back from the hail storm nor were the green beans. We are definitely going to have to work on the nematode problem as it limited sweet pepper production and was a factor in not having eggplant in the bag this year. In reading about the microscopic pests, the recommendation is soil solarization so we may have to try that again this fall. The temperature has to be 125 degrees to kill them instantly. We tried it last year but there were a couple of steps such as wetting the soil first that we were not aware of and that may make a difference. Up to now, squash bugs were #1 on our dislike pest list but I think that nematodes are overtaking them. We feel lucky that our late planting of squash and cucumbers produced and that it was in the tunnels when the hail came through. The cucumbers that we have been eating have been delicious.

YOUR BAG THIS WEEK

  • Tomatoes
  • Squash/Zucchini – a mixture of green, white or yellow
  • Cucumbers – variety of colors and kinds
  • Onion
  • Carrots and Beets – these are small thanks to the goats trimming!
  • Potatoes
  • Sweet Peppers
  • Hot Peppers
  • Basil

RECIPE SHARE –

From “Too Many Tomatoes, Squash, Beans, and other good Things; a Cookbook for when your Garden Explodes” Cucumber Dip

½ cup finely chopped cucumber 8 ounces cream cheese 2 tablespoons sour cream ½ clove garlic, minced 1/8 teaspoon pepper 2 teaspoons wine vinegar 2 tablespoons fresh minced parsley 3 tablespoons paprika Mix to blend well. Chill at least 2 hours. NOTE: makes 1 ½ cups. “This is a delightful pink dip flecked with green. Serve with corn chips, assorted vegetables, or chunks of French bread.

Chinese Cucumber Salad

1-2 cucumbers (small to medium) 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar 2 tablespoons soy sauce 2 tablespoons sugar 2 teaspoons sesame oil 1 teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon Tabasco Peel your cucumbers if you wish, cut lengthwise, and scrape out any large seeds if you are using larger cucumbers. Slice ¼ inch thick. Soak in salted ice water for 30 minutes. Drain. Mix the remainder of the ingredients and pour over cucumbers. Let stand for 30 minutes prior to serving. NOTE: Serves 2

CUCUMBER SAUCE

1 cucumber, seeded and finely chopped 1 green onion, chopped 1 Tablespoon salt

1 cup plain yogurt 1 tomato, seeded and chopped 1 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander or parsley 1 teaspoon cumin powder Mix cucumber, green onion and salt and let sit at least 10 minutes. Drain.
Add the remainder of the ingredient list and chill. NOTE: Makes one pint. Make at least one hour before serving. This sauce is a refreshing side dish for curry along with peanuts, raisins and coconut.

BUGS and SNAKES – Weeding the irises was a little tricky for Katy this week with her new found friend keeping track of what she was pulling out and then there was this mantis that we think was pregnant climbing on the pampas grass and finally we found a moth that we have seen many times but never identified and we love the long name – platyptilia carduidactyla or more commonly called an artichoke plume moth.

We want to thank everyone for the encouragement and support for growing this season. The conversations, compliments, bouquets of flowers left for us are all appreciated. Wishing everyone a safe and healthy fall and winter and hope to see you next season!

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

…. No, it wasn’t my birthday Friday evening and it was not a holiday so I was not expecting a present. Friday was the end of the work week and we had headed out to milk cows and goats. I was in the barn milking my first cow and Katy was mixing up some pig feed and Seth came busting in the door, yelling to come and see these strange birds in the goat pen. Everything that Seth sees is worth calling to the world and saying, come and see this new thing I have found so Katy went slowly following a speeding Seth who pointed in disappointment at the pond where nothing seemed any different than any other day and then he saw them circling. Huge white birds with beaks as big as soup ladles – Seth’s strange birds were pelicans. We had seen them once before at the neighbors “wetland’s project” and that was a car stopping, roadside event for us having never seen pelicans up close before. This time they were on our pond and even though they did not stay long, it was a present – so unexpected and so special!