Big Red Farm Stand, Wednesday August 13, 1-5pm

The cutting garden

Hello friends,

I have a few things to tell you about this week, but before we get to any of that, I want to let you all know that the farm stand will be CLOSED next Wednesday, August 20.  The farm family is going on vacation for a few days.  We feel really weird about this -- what responsible farmer goes on vacation in August? -- but very grateful for the opportunity of a few days of R & R before school madness starts up again!  Anyway, we'll be back in business as usual on the following Wednesday, August 27, and we'll hope to see you then.

Taste some of these guys
 at the farm in September!

Also, mark your calendars now for September 13, the second Saturday in the month, because we're having another farm party!  Tomato tastings, farm tours, pick-your-own flower bouquets and cherry tomatoes, a potluck dinner, and much more!  Stay tuned for updates in September.


ON THE FARM

This week brought an exciting new addition to the Big Red Farm: pasture fence!  Of our roughly 15-acre piece of land, we use only about seven acres, either directly or indirectly, for growing food crops.  A portion of the acreage is also taken up by roads, parking areas, and buffer zones between us and neighboring operations, but this still leaves a good-sized chunk of land, at least by our standards!

That's a nice, straight fence-line

We have 6 acres or so, unprotected by deer fence, that has historically been regarded as the area least suited for growing crops; it's rocky (and let me tell you, on our place that's saying something) and the terrain rolls quite a bit.  We rotate the sheep (and, in the old days, the chickens) through this area, but since they were only contained by flimsy portable electric net-fence, we did have the occasional exciting escape.  While these make for good party anecdotes, we were losing quite a bit of sleep on windy nights, wondering where the sheep might be, so we finally made the decision to fence this piece of land, and thereby commit it to a permanent existence as pasture.

We can't predict how the Big Red Farm may grow and evolve in the coming years, but animals will always form an important part of the farm's identity as a diversified, sustainable operation.  The addition of this beautiful, high-quality fence, suitable for containing and protecting many different types of livestock, will help to ensure the future of diverse agriculture at the Lawrenceville School.  And, in the meantime, it will help the current farmers sleep a little more easily.  Many thanks to Sam Lapp and his crew, who do all our fencing!


RECIPES

Fun with summer squash

This will probably be our last week for zucchini and summer squash, at least for awhile, but since quality and quantity are both still good, I wanted to share two new (to me) zucchini recipes that we have recently enjoyed.  First, our colleague and friend Lorry brought a Thai-style zucchini salad to our house for dinner.  It was full of flavors that I adore, and substituted "spiralized" zucchini and summer squash for traditional noodles.  I don't currently own a spiralizer (grating the squash works fine, though it's not as noodle-y), but am almost inspired to get one... {Thai Zucchini-Noodle Salad}

Second, yes, this is basically zucchini bread, but the muffin form is so much more portable!  {Summer Squash Muffins}


AT THE FARM STAND

Spot the farm baby

This week we hope to have the following available from 1pm to 5pm in front of Pop Hall:

• Beets (limited quantity) - $2.50 bunch
• Carrots - $3.00 lb
• Cherry Tomatoes - $3.50 pt
• Flowers - $5.00 bouquet
• Garlic - $1.00 bulb
• Heirloom Tomatoes (limited quantity) - $3.50 lb
• Kale - $2.50 bunch
• Lettuce - $2.50 head
• Mint - $1.50 bunch
• Okra (limited quantity) - $2.50 pt
• Mixed New Potatoes - $3.00 lb
• Rainbow Chard - $2.50 bunch
• Slicing Tomatoes - $2.50 lb
• Summer Squash/Zucchini - $2.00 lb
• Sweet Corn (from Village Farms) - 2/$1.00

HOW TO FIND US:

The farm stand is located right in front of Pop Hall, at the top of the stairs that lead down into the Bowl. Enter campus by the main gate on Route 206 (opposite the Lawrenceville Post Office and Craven Lane) and bear right into the circle. Bear right again at the fork in the road and continue straight until you see the Farm Stand signs.