The other day I overheard the kids talking. The older one said to the younger one, “I’m so awesome that your standing next to me makes you awesome too.” My comment to the two of them was, “That’s called awesomosis, the process of gradual or unconscious assimilation of awesomeness.” I feel this is what makes Fresh Earth Farms so awesome. All the awesomosis we get from our awesome members!
Enough silliness. On to the important questions of the day (as sent in by our members). For those know-it-alls among us, you can skip down to the announcements at the bottom of the newsletter.
“What to do with fennel fronds?” Check out our Pinterest board for Summer Vegetable recipes. It includes a couple recipes that use fennel fronds.
“Cilantro. How do I pick it correctly? And why after I pick a bunch of it it starts growing all those spindly leaves and some flowers and no more cilantro leaves?” Let’s first waylay one of your fears. It is not the way you are harvesting the cilantro. The cilantro plant is just doing what most plants (and many of us animals) want to do; it is trying to reproduce (please see picture of carrots included). It does so by growing a tall stalk and flowers. The problem with cilantro is that it has an incredibly short production timeframe. There is probably two to three weeks between the time the plant is sufficiently large to provide leaves and yet not bolted, e.g. going to seed. The only way to have cilantro over the course of a summer is to plant many successions. For us it is four successions to be exact. As one planting is bolting the next planting is ramping up to full production. So if you want cilantro all season long you just need to keep on planting it. There is no other magic I know of. By the way, if you need coriander, save the seeds from the bolted cilantro plant. That is what coriander is, cilantro seed.
“Could you take pictures and give the names of the tomato varieties that you’re growing? My kids love the green stripy medium-sized ones and the little orange cherry ones.” Yes we can do this and in fact we already have. See this posting from last season to view the tomatoes we grow. There is one new regular sized tomato this season – a striped red one named tigerella – and one small tomato — a red grape tomato called smarty, but otherwise we have the same tomatoes as last season.
“How do I make my cut flowers last longer?” I suggest when you get them home you cut the stems and put them in a clean vase with clean water and a few drops of bleach. The bleach will kill any pathogens that may be on the stems. Changing the water/bleach every day will make them last even longer.
“It’s taken me a few weeks, but I finally discovered that keeping the veggies 1.) moist 2.) in a plastic bag 3.) in the fridge is the best way for them to stay fresh. Any other tips or advice about how to keep them fresh for more than a day or two? Thanks!” Well that all depends on the veggie. Your approach will work well for some veggies but not others. Here is a posting from 2009 (pre-blog) that explains how to store various veggies. Unfortunately I don’t recall the original source for the information.
Vegetables are like people. Some like cool temperatures. Some like warm temps. Some like humidity. Some like it dry. Some smell good. Some don’t, especially if they’ve been sitting out in the hot sun for a while. Trying to store each vegetable (or person for that matter) at its ideal storage temperature and humidity level is quite difficult if not impossible for the typical household. To provide the proper temperatures for the vegetables, ideally a household would have two refrigerators (not including the beer fridge) – one set at 40 degrees or lower (which could be the beer fridge) and the other set around 45 to 50 degrees (which is too warm for beer or milk or other perishables). Additionally it would be beneficial to have an area of the house that stays cool – around 55 to 60 degrees. How many of you have a place like this in the summer time?
As a rule of thumb, most vegetables do not like to be stored sitting in water, however some like high humidity. Since most home refrigerators do not maintain humidity we need to invent ways to maintain proper humidity. Cold air is dry air. Cold air can’t hold as much moisture as warm air. So when refrigerators cool air the air becomes drier much like how air conditioners remove humidity.
Vegetables are mostly water. As they sit around, they transpire some of this water to the air. So, if we can keep this humidified air close to the vegetable we can keep the humidity around the vegetable high. One way we do this is through the controls on the fridge storage drawers. To keep the humidity high the control closes off air flow to the drawer. To lower the humidity, the control lets in more air. Another way to accomplish this is by putting vegetables in bags. A sealed bag may keep the moisture level too high so perforated bags work best.
However, not all vegetable want to be stored in a high humidity area. For these we need to take them out of the bag before we store them in the fridge. And we don’t want to put them in the high-humidity drawer.
Then there are the vegetables that don’t want to be “refrigerator cold”. We need to find a cool space in our house if we want to store these for any length of time. And as with the refrigerator storage, if the vegetable prefers humidity we can store it in a perforated bag. If it likes it dry we need to ensure it has good air circulation.
If you think this is complicated just wait for the discussion on how to grow the different vegetables. Hot, cold, humid, dry, nitrogen fertilizer, no nitrogen, bugs, weeds, irrigation, days to maturity, etc. etc. etc. Now that’s complicated. But to make vegetable storage less complicated we have put together this handy guide that summarizes the vegetables’ storage requirements. Storage life in the descriptions is under ideal conditions. I’ve added my own comments in parenthesis as appropriate.
Cold, moist storage
32 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit (beer refrigerator temperatures)
90 to 95 percent relative humidity (perforated bags keep the humidity high)
•Beets: Wash roots, trim tops to 1/2 inch, place in perforated plastic bags and store in refrigerator. Storage life is 2 to 4 months.
•Carrots: Wash roots, trim tops to 1/2 inch, place in perforated plastic bags and store in refrigerator. Storage life is 2 to 4 months.
•Potato: Ideal storage conditions are 40 degrees Fahrenheit, 85 to 90 percent relative humidity. Keep humidity high and provide good ventilation. (Keeping humidity high and providing good air circulation is difficult in a home). Storage time is 2 to 4 months.
•Radish: Wash roots; trim both taproot and tops and store in plastic bags in a refrigerator for up to a month.
•Broccoli: Store in perforated plastic bags for up to one week in the refrigerator. Freeze any surplus. Best quality is from plants grown in cool weather.
•Brussels sprouts: Store in the refrigerator in perforated bags for up to 3 weeks. Freeze any surplus.
•Cabbage: Store cabbage in refrigerator for up to 2 months. (Cabbage leaves provide their own “wrapper” so no need to put in a plastic bag to keep the humidity high).
•Cauliflower: Cauliflower is susceptible to shipping damage and mold. Remove any damaged areas prior to storing. Store in perforated plastic bags in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Freeze any surplus. (Cauliflower in general does not store well. Eat it as soon as possible).
•Chinese cabbage: Store in perforated plastic bags in the refrigerator. Chinese cabbage will keep for up to 2 months.
•Kohlrabi: Cut off root and leaf stems and store in perforated bags in refrigerator. Storage life is 2 to 4 weeks.
•Chard: Store in plastic bags up to 2 weeks in refrigerator.
•Kale: Store in plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
•Lettuce: Head, semi-head and leaf lettuce can be stored for up to 2 weeks in perforated plastic bags in the refrigerator.
•Peas: Store in a perforated plastic bag in the refrigerator for about a week. Freeze or can surplus.
•Onions, green: Cut off roots; remove top, leaving an inch of green. Place in plastic bag and store in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. (I don’t think the roots or tops need to be cut off. The best way to store them is in the fridge with the roots in water).
•Sweet corn: Store in plastic bags for no more than two days in the refrigerator. The new super sweet varieties will store for a week or more. Freeze or can surplus corn. (Seems like the plastic bag is overkill if you are storing for only two days).
Cool, moist storage
45 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit (warmer than most refrigerators)
80 to 90 percent relative humidity (perforated bags)
•Cantaloupe (muskmelon): Store ripe melons in the refrigerator in a plastic bag for up to 10 days.
•Squash, summer: Store for up to a week in a perforated plastic bag in the refrigerator. (We store them in the walk-in cooler without any problems).
•Cucumber: Store slicing cucumbers in the warmest part of the refrigerator (45 to 50 degrees). Place in plastic bag. Storage life is about one week. (We store them in the walk-in cooler with no problems).
•Watermelon: Watermelons will store at room temperature for about a week and at a temperature of 45 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit for 2 or 3 weeks.
•Eggplant: Keep in warmest part of refrigerator (45 to 50 degrees) for about a week. (The variety we grow seems to do fine in the walk-in cooler).
•Beans, green: Store green beans up to one week in perforated plastic bags in the warmest part of the refrigerator. Can or freeze surplus. (Do not wash them until you are ready to use them. Wet beans will rot).
•Peppers, sweet: Sweet peppers can be stored for 2 to 3 weeks in the warmest part of the refrigerator in plastic bags.
Cool, dry storage
32 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit
50 to 60 percent relative humidity (not in bags)
•Onions, dry: Store in mesh bags in as cool a place as can be found (32 to 35 degrees). Keep well ventilated and check on onions weekly. (We’ve found they can store for at least several weeks at room temperature. Some varieties can store for months).
•Peppers, hot: For short term storage store as sweet peppers. For long term storage, hang to dry in a warm place. Once dry, store in a dry cool place. (Jalapeno peppers do not dry by hanging. They will rot first).
Warm, dry storage
55 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit
60 to 70 percent relative humidity
•Pumpkins, winter squash: Store in an unheated area of the house. Store on shelves in a single layer so air can circulate around them.
Warm, moist storage
55 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit
80 to 85 percent relative humidity
•Tomato: Ripe tomatoes will keep for a week at 55 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit, far shorter at normal room temperatures. Ripen unripe tomatoes at room temperature. Do not store tomatoes in the refrigerator.
•Basil: Do not put it in the fridge. It will turn black. Keep it at room temperature or a little colder if possible. Cover with a damp towel. If you have stems you can put them in water like flowers (no bleach).
Hopefully this will help you keep and enjoy your produce.
What is on tap this week? New this week is sweet corn! I’m not sure how much we will have but we will have some. The first variety — a small early variety called sugar buns — seems to be maturing quite randomly. Also this week will be a whole lot of carrots, plus beans, cukes, squash, eggplant, kohlrabi, some broccoli (same problem as the sweet corn), kale, chard, onions, basil, some tomatoes, some cherry tomatoes, and possibly beets.
First Annual Fresh Earth Farms Fall Film Fest. Here is this week’s reminder to RSVP for the next member event. We need to get an idea of how many people will attend so we know how much salmon to buy (as well as how much ice cream!) Let us know if you are coming. Date: Saturday September 7th. Potato digging starts at 2:00. Potluck dinner at 5:00. Film fest and bonfire starts at dusk (around 7:30). This is THE event of the fall farm fashion season. Overalls not required. Also, send in links to fun, interesting, etc. videos you have made or found. Must be less than six minutes in length and appropriate for viewing by children.
No Fruit, no eggs, no coffee, no cheese, and no salmon this week.
MeatShare comes on Friday.
HOWEVER, we are going ahead with our latest “share”, ShroomShare. Starting on Monday we will be delivering oyster mushrooms to those who ordered ShroomShare. We still have a few spots available. A small ShroomShare is 4 oz every two weeks for six deliveries/pick-ups. The price is $27. Large is 8 oz for $48. These mushrooms are certified organic, and locally grown here in Minnesota. Let me know if you’ like to add ShroomShare.