Welcome to another installment of “Ask Mr. Answer Person”, an occasional column where questions from readers are answered by Mr. Answer Person. This week he will focus on farm and food related questions.
Dear Mr. Answer Person: How do I best store the delicious basil I get from my farm. If I put it in the fridge it turns black. If I leave it out it wilts. Is there any way to store it so I can use it a few days from when I get it? – Cheryl, Clement Falls, OR
The best way to store basil is to wash it and place it in an open bag on the counter. You want there to be enough humidity in the bag to keep it from wilting but not too much to cause it to mold. Some people suggest putting the stems in a glass of water similar to flowers in a vase. I find that is just an accident waiting to happen, unless you have no kids or cats.
Dear Mr. Answer Person: Is it possible to get extra stuff from my farm to store, say something like more basil? –Bebe, Charleston, WV
Absolutely, especially basil. If you are looking to make a few batches of pesto to freeze for your enjoyment in the winter months simply contact your farm at least a day prior to your pickup. I bet they sell it for $10/pound. A pound is about a t-shirt bag full. And I am certain they would deliver it to a drop site as well!
Dear Mr. Answer Person: Why is it raining now? It hasn’t rained for weeks! – Glenda, Glendale, CA
Because it is time to dig the garlic.
Dear Mr. Answer Person: I’m trying to grow tomatoes in my home garden. How do I prune them? – Rivka, Crown Heights, AZ
People believe that they need to remove the “suckers” from tomato plants so the suckers don’t steal energy from the plant. An interesting idea. Let’s start with the question “Where does a plant get its energy?” If the suckers are pulling away this energy maybe we need to figure out where the energy came from in the first place. As we all recall from our high school biology class, plants get their energy from the sun. Then through the magic of photosynthesis they store the energy in their tissue. Where does the photosynthesis take place? In the leaves. Where are the leaves? On the stems. What are suckers? More stems. Do they have leaves? Certainly. Then wouldn’t these leaves contribute energy to the tomato plant? Absolutely. So why prune tomatoes? It seems like the more suckers it has the more leaves it has and the more energy it can store. There is no reason to prune suckers. You will get greater yield (read more mass) of tomatoes from an unpruned plant than a pruned plant. But, this presupposes you have sufficient air circulation to help prevent diseases. The main reason to prune tomatoes is to trellis them. The reason to trellis them is to increase air circulation and get the fruits off the ground. So if you plan to trellis your tomatoes plan to spend a significant amount of time pruning them. If you want more tomatoes, leave the suckers on and use cages made from 4”x4” (or larger) wire mesh (cement reinforcement wire mesh).
Dear Mr. Answer Person: I seem to be getting a lot of veggies from the farm this season. Can I expect to get this much every year? – Anonymous, Twin Cities, MN
Lucky you. With all the weather we’ve seen this summer it is surprising you are getting any produce at all! As we all know, past performance does not guarantee future success. I suspect you are getting a lot of produce this year due to the fact the farm is a true CSA farm and it did not sell out all its shares. So you are getting extra produce from unsold shares. Hopefully next season the farm is able to sell out all its shares and the amount of produce you get will go back to normal, whatever normal is…
Dear Mr. Answer Person: Does this mean I can purchase more shares? Can my friends join the farm even though the season has already started? – Anonymous, Twin Cities, MN
Absolutely. In fact the farm will prorate the shares for the remaining season. Contact the farm for more details.
Dear Mr, Answer Person: If you take the FAR out of Farming are you not left with just “ming”? And if true, what the heck is ming? – Frank, Baton Rouge, LA
Great question Frank! Ming is a C library for generating SWF (“Flash”) format movies. Ming includes a Python wrapper for the library. It is also a dynasty in China.
Dr. Mr. Answer Person: What the heck do I do with fennel? – Just about everyone, USA
Fennel is a wonderful veggie filled with fennel flavor. Many people eat the fennel bulb raw in a salad or on its own. Other people roast it or stir-fry it with other veggies. I’ve heard of people using the stems/fronds as a bed to grill/cook fish. The stems can also be used as drinking straws I’m told; adds a nice light flavor to your water. Of course there is always the Google to give you more ideas.
Dear Mr. Answer Person: When will I get sweet corn? – Helmut, Salt Lake City, UT
I suspect you will be getting sweet corn this week!
Dear Mr. Answer Person: What else do you suspect I will get from my farm this week? – Helmut again, still from Salt Lake City, UT
This is just a guess but I would suspect you’d get tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, green beans, yellow beans, cucumbers, eggplants, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, summer squash, basil, onions, and maybe a few other things.
Dear Mr. Answer Person: What will be in FruitShare this week? – Helmut once again, but relocated to Provo, UT
This week you will get Lapin cherries, blueberries, flame grapes and Dapple Fire pluots.
Dear Mr. Answer Person: My farm seems to have a problem with elephants. Any suggestions to get rid of them? – Ichabod, Toronto, Canada
Bees. Elephants are afraid of bees. See this article for more information.
If you have any more questions for Mr. Answer Person do not hesitate to send them in!