Through his Lens

Through his Lens

Seeing life through another’s lens and seeking to understand their perspective can bring such peace and joy. Sam asked to take the camera and take photos for the blog. At first, I was excited that someone else had taken the lead on photos and excited to see what he would capture.

When he returned to show me his photos, I was in awe. He said he wanted to capture all the different colors of flowers in the gardens. Then he proceeded to explain the remainder of his perspectives and what he saw.

His perspective through the lens truly brought peace. As he explained picture by picture what he liked, and why he took a photo of each it was so insightful as to how he views the world. It also helped me to take a step back and enjoy the view through his eyes.

So enjoy the colors of what Sam captured. Truly a young man who enjoys a color palate as he looks at how God painted the picture.

Garden Science

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Japanese Beetles feed on the leaves of over 300 species of plants. Adults feed on the leaves of plants between the veins, leaving a skeleton of brown fibers where the leaves used to be. Learn more from the University of Minnesota Extension at https://extension.umn.edu/yard-and-garden-insects/japanese-beetles These bugs are evidently a problem across the state of Minnesota this year as they were the featured nuisance at the county fair.

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This small insect is one of the culprits to eating our vegetables this year – including kale, kohlrabi and radishes. I believe it is possible that it is a young Japanese Beetle.

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I’m hopeful that the ladybugs have been on top of eating some of the negative insects.

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, and 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.

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Black Seeded Simpson and Oak Leaf Lettuce freshly cut each Wednesday. The cool thing about this crop is the leaves grow back so that you can harvest a planting multiple times.

Black Seeded Simpson/Red Oak Leaf Lettuce Both of these  crops taste good on a sandwich or salad.

Spinach/Kale Great for salads – a new crop of Kale was included this week.

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Banana Peppers… notice how they grow up not down.

Banana Peppers – They may be small, but they pack quite the taste.

Beets – An old garden favorite of mine. Learn how to use them here.

Radishes – The radishes have been challenged by insects this year. We finally have a few for you.

Carrots – Esperanza carrots – enjoy these summer delights.

Cucumbers – These crop of cucumbers is bountiful harvesting 75 pounds today.

Sugar Snap Peas – A new crop of peas!

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Dragon Tongue Beans

Dragon Tongue Beans – This heritage variety crop took quite awhile to come in. We hope you enjoy the variety on your plates. We enjoy this crop cut into 1/2 inch pieces sautéed in olive oil with a dash of salt and pepper. I have also used this crop in Tatar Tot Hotdish and enjoyed it there as well.

Onions –Enjoy on your burgers, brats or hotdogs. I cut my onions up and freeze them to use – the year. It makes cooking much easier when I have onions pre-cut, frozen and ready for a hotdish.

Potatoes – The first harvesting attempt of the season which reaped some small potatoes which would taste delicious boiled or variety of other ways. Check out this link for more information.

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Golden Egg Hybrid Summer Squash

Summer Squash – This crop is slowly coming on with either Golden Egg Hybrid or Zucchini. We are hoping the Peter Pan Squash is ready next week.

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Fourth of July tomatoes

Tomatoes – This summer favorite is coming on. Included this week are some of  the 4th of July tomatoes and some SunGold cherry tomatoes.

Fresh cut arrangement – Hosta Leaves and zinnias

 

Recipe of the Week

Homemade French Fries

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We cut up both Blue, Norland and Kennebec potatoes into 1/4 – 1/2 inch thick slices. Placed them in a bowl of ice water and placed in refrigerator overnight. Before placing in the deep fat fryer, take them out of the water and gently pat them dry  with a cloth.

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Then place the potato fries in the deep fat fryer for a few minutes and remove when golden brown. I was quite excited when Sam said he wanted to eat these French fries not the store bought.

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A beautiful variety of French fries to offer with your meal.

Weeding through to See Potential

Weeding through to See Potential

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Green beans that have been weeded.

We have spent much of our time this week controlling and managing pests in the crops. The weeds seem to always thrive and hinder the growth and health of the crops. But once you take away the obstacle of the pest and the weeds the crops really grow.

Have you ever wondered why, for the oddest reason, weeding seems therapeutic even though it is a dreaded process? Why do we feel so satisfied when a garden or a field has been cleaned of the weeds and pests? It reminds me of events or things in life that drag us down, that don’t let us or those we love thrive to be their best self. I feel that weeding for that moment in time allows me to be in control of something.

There are so many things that are out of our control, but if we can focus on one “weed or pest” at a time, eventually we will get to the end of the field and look back and see that for a moment in time we have conquered what ever was holding us back. Just like the crops that we want to grow, we need to rid ourselves of the weeds or pests that hold us back from achieving our true potential.

Yes, the weeds and pests will come back if we allow them to but just like in agriculture, we need to constantly troubleshoot and find better ways to show constant improvement to strive to be our best self.

So the moral of the story: don’t let weeds or pests stand in your way of seeking your sunshine to stand tall and proud to achieve your maximum potential. Face what you dread head on, and the end result will be worth your efforts.

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Crop scouting for potato bugs.

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The last planting of potatoes was hilled which means using the tiller with a special attachment to push more dirt up along the potato plant and providing the plant more room to grow potatoes.

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The tomatoes were tied up so they are not growing on in the ground. This they are cleaner and less chance for soil born plant disease.

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We were able to continue learning about other areas of agriculture on a 4-H field trip to the University of Minnesota touring a variety of their research farms.

Garden Science

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Japanese beetles feed on the leaves of over 300 species of plants. Adults feed on the leaves of plants between the veins, leaving a skeleton of brown fibers where the leaves used to be. Learn more here.

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Tomato Hornworms is a very destructive pest to tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and potatoes.

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, and 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.

Red Oak Leaf Lettuce – Red Oak leaf lettuce have elongated, lobed and loosely serrated leaves similar to those of oak leaves. The vibrant burgundy stained leaves form a semi-tight rosette, growing upward and outward. Red Oak Leaf lettuce has a buttery texture and an incredibly mellow, nutty and sweet flavor. It is known for its sweetness, which may be an even more memorable quality than its attractive foliage.

Spinach – Great for salads – check out last week’s recipe

Cucumbers – The cucumbers are growing like crazy. Here are a few ideas on how to use them from Martha Stewart.

Beets An old garden favorite of mine. The beetroot is the taproot portion of the beet plant. It is one of several of the cultivated varieties of grown for their edible taproots and their leaves called beet greens. Learn how to use them here.

Carrots – The carrots are finally ready! Enjoy.

Swiss Chard The green leafy vegetable has the leaf stalks and often leaf blade or stalk that can be eaten. The leaf blade can be green or reddish in color; the leaf stalks are usually white, yellow, or red.

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Sugar snap peas were first developed in 1952 by cross-breeding snow pea with a mutant shell pea plant. Researchers hoped that the cross might counteract twisting and buckling seen in varieties at the time. With this cross, they developed a new class of snow pea.[2] Snap peas, like all other peas, are pod fruits. An edible-podded pea is less fibrous, and edible when young. Pods of the edible-podded pea, including snap peas, do not have a membrane and do not open when ripe.

Sugar Snap Peas –Eat the whole edible pod. Enjoy this garden favorite.

Onions –Enjoy on your burgers, brats or hotdogs.

Summer SquashYou don’t have to peel the squash, just wash it. Here are a few ways to use it from Country Living. Shareholders either have the golden egg or a zucchini in their box.

CilantroDid you know that ¼ cup of cilantro only has 1 calorie. Here are a few ideas from Martha Stewart to use your cilantro.

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A variety of zinnias and sunflowers.

Fresh cut arrangement –zinnias, hostas, sunflowers and hydrangeas.

Recipe of the Week

Freezing Herbs

This is step by step instructions that I posted a few years ago, but it was worth reposting. From time to time, I will be setting out additional herbs in case you don’t have those herbs in your pot, or you would just like more. Help yourself, and use this method to have a taste of the garden throughout the winter.

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Wondering how to preserve your herbs for making salsa or chilli? I wash them and place in a small ice cube tray and then place in a small Ziploc bag so I have them when I need them. First, wash herbs under cold water.

 

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Cut or pull herbs apart and place smaller portions in the separate compartments in an ice cube tray. This tray I found in the $1 isle at Target.

 

 

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Run water over the herbs and place in the freezer. Once frozen, take out of tray and place in labeled bag or container. These will come in handy throughout the year when a recipe calls for an herb. Just take the ice cube and place in the recipe. Fresh herbs throughout the year.