A lovely Caprese Salad- tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil- what can beat that summer treat?
The entrance to our permaculture garden...Farm Update
Being in the swing of wedding season, it has been kind of crazy here lately. We had two weddings last weekend and actually provided flowers for three weddings this weekend. This is on top of doing the orders for the florists, prepping for Whole Foods, and also going to two markets a week.
Luckily this year, we have had some help. I look back and wonder how we did all this on our own before. We have a floral designer that has been helping with the weddings, and have had a couple employees here at the farm. And, even with help it has still been pretty hectic around here.
Whole Foods would take 1,000 stems of sunflowers from us a week if we could keep up with them. We have been selling them so much that it is hard for us to even keep with having enough for the farmer’s markets. Summer is also the time for both of our birthdays and our wedding anniversary, so we try to squeeze some fun things in there too.
Last night we actually went to a class in Yellow Springs to learn more about Permaculture. This is a theory where perennials are used to build ecosystems that mimic how things would naturally grow in a forest. Meaning, making sure everything included in your garden is serving some purpose. I ordered the books for Steve for Christmas and we were able to go see the author speak about his theory (which is much easier to grasp the concept rather than reading an entire textbook about it).
Dave Jacke spoke about using native plants or reintroducing ones that have been crowded out by monocultures in our current agriculture system. So, to put it in English: we are too focused on having large fields of corn and soybeans that are sprayed with lots of chemicals, deplete the soil, and don’t create habitats for beneficial insects or other animals. In the permaculture theory, you focus more on creating a whole system by planting fruit or nut trees for the canopy above, while having blueberry bushes or rhubarb plants below. This allows you to better utilize your space because you are gardening vertically which is how nature does it, rather than horizontally in rows as most farmers do.
I’m sure it’s really confusing reading it for the first time, as I still didn’t understand everything that he talked about last night, but there is a lot of information out there should you be interested. His name is Dave Jacke and his book is called “Edible Forest Gardening”. You can also look up Bill Mollison, another author who wrote about permaculture. They even talked about turning a small yard into something that will feed your family rather than just a lawn. Very interesting, so check it out!
What’s included this week?
1. Green Beans
2. Tomatoes
3. Basil
4. Squash
5. Okra- slice then coat with egg, dip in flour, and fry. Do not stir it around while it is cooking, let the mixture cook on one side and then flip it all at once. The more you toss it around, the more of the coating will come off of the okra. This can also be used in any stews or stir fry to help thicken.
Recipe of the Week
Simple Spaghetti Sauce
Quart of tomatoes
Handful of basil
1 onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, smashed and diced
Splash of lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
Cut any large tomatoes into quarters and put in large sauce pan. The tomatoes will take the longest to cook into sauce. All of the juices will come out of the tomatoes and then you will see the juice start to cook off and evaporate. That is when you add any other ingredients to your sauce. Make sure to stir the mixture often as any sticking to the bottom of the pan will burn during this process. How long you let the tomatoes cook down is really your personal preference. I leave some juices in there for a thinner sauce because I like to toss my cooked pasta into the sauce and absorb some of those juices. This can be used for any Italian dish too, not just spaghetti!
Being in the swing of wedding season, it has been kind of crazy here lately. We had two weddings last weekend and actually provided flowers for three weddings this weekend. This is on top of doing the orders for the florists, prepping for Whole Foods, and also going to two markets a week.
Luckily this year, we have had some help. I look back and wonder how we did all this on our own before. We have a floral designer that has been helping with the weddings, and have had a couple employees here at the farm. And, even with help it has still been pretty hectic around here.
Whole Foods would take 1,000 stems of sunflowers from us a week if we could keep up with them. We have been selling them so much that it is hard for us to even keep with having enough for the farmer’s markets. Summer is also the time for both of our birthdays and our wedding anniversary, so we try to squeeze some fun things in there too.
Last night we actually went to a class in Yellow Springs to learn more about Permaculture. This is a theory where perennials are used to build ecosystems that mimic how things would naturally grow in a forest. Meaning, making sure everything included in your garden is serving some purpose. I ordered the books for Steve for Christmas and we were able to go see the author speak about his theory (which is much easier to grasp the concept rather than reading an entire textbook about it).
Dave Jacke spoke about using native plants or reintroducing ones that have been crowded out by monocultures in our current agriculture system. So, to put it in English: we are too focused on having large fields of corn and soybeans that are sprayed with lots of chemicals, deplete the soil, and don’t create habitats for beneficial insects or other animals. In the permaculture theory, you focus more on creating a whole system by planting fruit or nut trees for the canopy above, while having blueberry bushes or rhubarb plants below. This allows you to better utilize your space because you are gardening vertically which is how nature does it, rather than horizontally in rows as most farmers do.
I’m sure it’s really confusing reading it for the first time, as I still didn’t understand everything that he talked about last night, but there is a lot of information out there should you be interested. His name is Dave Jacke and his book is called “Edible Forest Gardening”. You can also look up Bill Mollison, another author who wrote about permaculture. They even talked about turning a small yard into something that will feed your family rather than just a lawn. Very interesting, so check it out!
What’s included this week?
1. Green Beans
2. Tomatoes
3. Basil
4. Squash
5. Okra- slice then coat with egg, dip in flour, and fry. Do not stir it around while it is cooking, let the mixture cook on one side and then flip it all at once. The more you toss it around, the more of the coating will come off of the okra. This can also be used in any stews or stir fry to help thicken.
Recipe of the Week
Simple Spaghetti Sauce
Quart of tomatoes
Handful of basil
1 onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, smashed and diced
Splash of lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
Cut any large tomatoes into quarters and put in large sauce pan. The tomatoes will take the longest to cook into sauce. All of the juices will come out of the tomatoes and then you will see the juice start to cook off and evaporate. That is when you add any other ingredients to your sauce. Make sure to stir the mixture often as any sticking to the bottom of the pan will burn during this process. How long you let the tomatoes cook down is really your personal preference. I leave some juices in there for a thinner sauce because I like to toss my cooked pasta into the sauce and absorb some of those juices. This can be used for any Italian dish too, not just spaghetti!
Thank you for your support,
Gretel and Steve
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