Picket Fence Farm Newsletter #10

Picket Fence Farm Happenings
Season 2 Issue #10

What’s Happening on the Farm

This week on the farm we started planting for a fall harvest of veggies. So far we have planted carrots, beets, chard, greens, and kohlrabi. In another week or so we will start to plant more lettuces and microgreens. We have tried out our new flame weeder and it seems to work pretty well. The chickens are laying more eggs, so we decided to give the members each a 1/2 dozen to try (adding value to your bags, since we have had a few weeks of lighter than normal produce). Please return your egg cartons when you are finished with them so we can reuse them. In not so great news, we have discovered that we have lost one of our bee hives. We were skeptical that one of them did not have a Queen (and without a Queen, you don’t get new worker bees). Worker bees only have a lifespan of a few weeks normally, so we are thinking they all died off. The other hive is going strong and does have honey in it, so we will have to see how much we will have to harvest and sell. We hope to add more hives to the farm next year.

What’s in the Box?

Potatoes--White
Sweet Corn- Incredible
Tomatoes-Big Beef, Roma, assorted cherry types
Cucumbers- Tendergreen or Diva
Zucchini-**Friday pick-ups only
Okra- **Saturday deliveries only
1/2 dozen eggs

Recipe Ideas
The following recipe is from a Gooseberry Patch cookbook, Farmer’s Market Favorites.

Iowa’s Best Corn Soup
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 c onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp ground cumin
4 c fresh corn kernels
2 new potatoes, diced
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/8 tsp pepper
4 c vegetable broth
3/4 c milk
1 tsp fresh cilantro, chopped
Heat oil in a stockpot over medium heat. Saute onion, garlic, and cumin for 5 minutes, or until onion is tender. Add remaining ingredients except milk and cilantro; bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Add milk and cilantro; cook and stir to heat through. Makes 8 servings.