Lessons learned and applied today are from both our past and our present. This past weekend as we helped my dad with his restored Allis Chalmers it was easy to reflect on what I learned from both my grandparents who were farmers, what I learned from my dad who is a farmer and what we are trying to teach our children. Our children are applying what they are learning by sharing their knowledge about agriculture with their friends and teachers, and this past week Keith was sharing his knowledge at the Minnesota Farm Bureau booth at the Minnesota State Fair.

If you have a question about agriculture, please feel free to ask us. If we don’t know, we can connect you with a farmer or a professional in agriculture that would be able to answer your questions.

“Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.”  ― Marie Curie

Boxes of Produce

This list is prepared before we harvest your share. Some guesswork is involved! We do our best to predict which crops will be ready to harvest, but sometimes crops are on the list that are not in the share. Sometimes crops will be in the share even though they’re not on the list.

Remember food safety in your kitchen when preparing, always wash your hands before working with your produce and always wash your produce before eating.

Salad Mix – A mixture of Black Seeded Simpson and Red Oak Leaf. The lettuce I planted a few weeks ago is growing. I am hoping to harvest this next week.

Beets – The whole plant is edible.

Green Beans  – This is a new crop of beans.

Broccoli – Great to enjoy in your salads or cooked with some cheese sprinkled over it.

Carrots – Finally some growing conditions to produce some carrots!

Cucumbers – Nearing the end of this season

Peppers – Jalapeno peppers and Bell Peppers

Tomatoes – Baby Boomer cherry tomatoes, Big mamma, Sunny Boy (yellow), Honey Delight (small yellow) and Fourth of July  (medium red) – Let us know if you need some tomatoes for canning. We ask that for canning amounts that you give a free will donation. Here are some salsa ideas from Taste of Home.

Onions – Walla Walla, Snow White, yellow Candy and Giant Red Hamburger (purple)

Potatoes – Red Pontiac  – the link is to more potato basics and recipe ideas. Midnight Moon – a fun new variety this year, purple on the outside and white on the inside. Are you wondering more about the nutrition of these colored varieties? Check this handbook out.

Butternut Squash – Choice of squash tonight. For those of you that chose this squash, it is one of my favorites. Here are a few recipes from Martha Stewart.

Spaghetti Squash – Enjoy this as spaghetti. Here are different ways to cook it: by boiling or by roasting.

Sweet Corn – The next crop should be ready next week.

Fresh Arrangement – Zinnia, Rudbeckia or Sunflowers – Here are a few tips to try to keep your fresh-cut flowers fresh longer. I have tried the bleach trick, and it has worked for me.

Garden Science

 

Recipe of the Week

Pumpkin Bread

1 2/3 cup flour

1 1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup butter, softened

1 teaspoon soda

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cloves

Pinch of salt

1/3 cup cold water

2 eggs

1 cup canned pumpkin (I use 1 cup cooked squash) 

Combine flour, sugar, butter, soda, spices and salt in bowl. Add 1/3 cup cold water, eggs, and pumpkin (squash) mix well. Pour into greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Cool on wire rack.

Source: Pat Kuznik – West Polk County: Blue Ribbon Favorites Minnesota 4-H Foundation