Change of Location: Big Red Farmstand at Upper House on Wednesday, June 26, 1pm to 6pm

So, to make a very long story short, our well-pump at the farm has blown, and we have no water.  (For the long version, stop by the farmstand tomorrow and ask us -- it's a good story!)  For that reason, Wednesday's farmstand will take place on the Lawrenceville School campus in front of Upper House.  If you're coming from off campus, enter through the main gate on Rt 206 (opposite Craven Lane and the Lawrenceville Post Office), bear right into the circle, and you'll see signs for the farmstand.

Carrots in the upper field

Moving on to happier news, this week we will have some exciting new veggies for you!  We previewed summer squash last Saturday, but I still think that counts as new, and we'll also have some scallions and some very lovely little carrots.  Also this week, we'll start to have a few bouquets of cut flowers from the farm and environs; we have zinnias blooming in our flower garden, and a few other things blooming around the property, which we think would look great on your table, beautifully complementing your Big Red Farm vegetables!

First Zinnia!

Also, I was wrong about the garlic scapes and the sugar snap peas -- we will still have some of both this week, though not huge quantities.  And, finally, eggs are back!  We still wish we had more to meet the demand, but until the new babies start laying, we're going to be a bit limited.  Thanks for your patience!


RECIPES:

"Raven" summer squash

When it's this early in the summer, it's easy to be excited about zucchini.  The famous zucchini-madness of late summer, brought on by an overabundance of baseball-bat sized fruit in the garden and zucchini bread in the freezer, which makes otherwise perfectly sane people creep around in the night stuffing zucchini into their friends' mailboxes, is still hard to imagine.  This simple preparation is the perfect way to enjoy summer squash when it's new.  (Sauteed Summer Squash)

Our second recipe is a versatile soup, easily adaptable to different seasons and ingredients.  Make it with chard now, and consider serving it cold for lunch on a hot day; this fall, make it with kale and serve it hot for a nourishing appetizer.  I got this recipe from an interview with cookbook author Anna Thomas on the wonderful public radio show The Splendid Table.  (Basic Green Soup)


ON THE FARM:

Not done hoeing yet...

Well, we're making some headway over at the Big Red Farm.  All three of us have been putting in some pretty serious hoeing and weeding time, trying to rescue the upper field from its cover of volunteer buckwheat.  We planted buckwheat as a cover crop in 2012, then plowed it in in the fall to break down and provide organic matter to the soil.  However, we inadvertently waited for the 2012 buckwheat to bloom and set seed before plowing it in, so this spring all those hundreds of thousands of seeds began to germinate as soon as we tilled the upper field in preparation for planting vegetables.  Then, with the wet weather I keep going on about, we weren't able to stay ahead of the buckwheat control, and it grew tall very quickly and produced hundreds of thousands more flowers -- which are, incidentally, beloved of honeybees and other pollinators.

Unfortunately, despite its excellent soil-building and pollinator-attracting properties, the buckwheat is competing with our crops for valuable water and nutrients, so it has to go.  And now that we've had several dry days in a row, we are starting to see some improvement!  Hoeing in hot weather is real work, and we want to commend Laura in particular for her diligent and uncomplaining attitude.  As we clear the buckwheat and other weeds from each successive bed, we can almost hear the little onions, leeks and cabbages heave a deep sigh of relief!

This week, we hope to have the following available on Wednesday and Saturday from 1pm to 6pm:

• Baby Lettuce Mix - $2.50 bag
• Beets - $2.50 bunch
• Carrots - $2.50 bunch
• Chard - $2.50 bunch
• Eggs - $5.00 dozen (limit 1 dozen per customer)
• Flowers - $2.50 bouquet
• Garlic Scapes - 25 cents each
• Kohlrabi - $1.00 each
• Lettuce - $2.50 head
• Scallions - $1.50 bunch
• Shelling Peas - $3.00 quart
• Sugar Snap Peas - $2.50 pint
• Summer Squash/Zucchini - 2 for $1.00

HOW TO FIND US:

This week, the Big Red Farmstand will be located in front of Upper House, just inside the main gate of the Lawrenceville School Campus.  Our hours, as usual, will be 1pm to 6pm.  Hope to see you there!