Month: July 2022

Harvest Contests
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Harvest Contests

I always enjoy harvesting vegetables because it feels like a treasure hunt. Who doesn’t enjoy a good treasure hunt full of surprises and unexpected rewards? Yet, harvesting vegetables when you have a few other projects to complete, or you simply want to rest can be a challenging chore.

Sam and Steve have found a fun way to accomplish this task by having different types of contests. This week, it was seeing who could find the longest green bean. I believe this heated contest ended in a tie with both harvesting eight-inch-long green beans. We also find ourselves making a game out of harvesting zucchini and cucumbers…resembling catch and quick hands.

Finding Joy in the small, simple items in life can bring peace to the craziness that life presents.

See the world through the eyes of your inner child. The eyes that sparkle in awe and amazement as they see love, magic and mystery in the most ordinary things. – Henna Sohail

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.

Spinach/Red Oak Lettuce/Black Seeded Simpson Mix – The dry weather has put pressure on the crops that were planted mid-June. We are grateful for the rain we received last night. You will notice that there has been insect pressure on the spinach eating small holes in some of the leaves.

Green Beans – The green beans are plentiful. I’d encourage you to consider freezing or canning some for this fall. Learn more about green bean production from America’s Heartland here.

Carrot tops
Carrots are a wonderful root vegetable. Place in your refrigerator and eat raw or cooked.

Carrots – The carrot crop is progressing. It is so interesting to see how the root vegetables have been adapting to grow deeper to reach moisture. Learn how we get baby carrots in the grocery store on America’s Heartland.

Radishes – This crop has been long lasting this year. Wash, cut off the tops and also the bottoms, slice and enjoy in salads or put in hot dishes. Some enjoy dipping in salt. Some radish recipes from Taste of Home.

Dark Red Beets – Some of our shareholders like to cut these up and eat these raw in their salads. I enjoy cooking them, peeling off the skin and putting a little bit of butter on them. This is an interesting resource from NDSU Extension.

Cucumbers – The cucumbers have kicked production into high gear. Let us know if you would like to make pickles. We do have dill that you could use.

Potatoes – Red Norland potatoes are good as boiled or mashed potatoes. Learn more about how potatoes are grown here.

Sun Gold Hybrid tomatoes
Fourth of July tomatoes

Tomatoes – Fourth of July and Sun Gold Hybrid cherry tomatoes this week.

Onions – yellow onions

Sunburst Hybrid Summer Squash

Zucchini –So many wonderful ways to use Zucchini. Try this pasta primavera recipe from Martha Stewart.

Fresh cut arrangement – Sunflowers and Zinnia.

Recipe of the Week

Zucchini Cobbler

8 cups chopped seeded peeled zucchini (about 3 pounds untrimmed)

2/3 cup lemon juice

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

CRUST:

4 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups sugar

1-1/2 cups cold butter, cubed

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large saucepan over medium-low heat, cook and stir zucchini and lemon juice until zucchini is tender, 15-20 minutes. Stir in sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg; cook 1 minute longer. Remove from the heat; set aside.

2. In a large bowl, combine flour and sugar; cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir 1/2 cup into zucchini mixture. Press half the remaining crust mixture into a greased 15x10x1-in. baking pan. Spread zucchini mixture over top; crumble remaining crust mixture over zucchini. Sprinkle with cinnamon.

3. Bake until golden and bubbly, 35-40 minutes. Cool in pan on a wire rack.

Source: Taste of Home

Why 4-H?
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Why 4-H?

This week is fair week. If you have never shown at the fair or had family members that have shown, let me paint a picture for you. The house and laundry are chaos. Meals are served in the barn. Tension is very high, and sleep deprivation is present. Families learn to navigate and operate together under high stress situations. Many wonder, why do you do this?

Fair week is where 4-H projects outcomes become a realization. We watch children grow and achieve personal growth that they didn’t know was possible. 4-Hers learn, fail, succeed, face challenges and grow in a safe environment.

Our boys bring both general projects and livestock projects to the fair. On Monday, they bring in general projects from shop to foods to photography to gardening to safety to so much more! 4-H isn’t just for farm kids, it is for everyone.

Keith’s 4-H vegetable box ready for judging.
Sam received grand champion giant vegetable with his zucchini. Keith received grand champion vegetable box.

I ask the boys to do general projects because general projects are life skills in action, developing new skillsets, exploring new areas and visiting with an adult judge explaining all they have learned. While the judging might appear nerve racking, the boys both enjoy visiting with the judge about their projects and sharing their knowledge.

Livestock projects develop different skill sets including growing their knowledge of agriculture and developing an understanding and passion for feeding people. Thinking of others, putting people first while being compassionate caretakers for animals. Not to many people can say that they enjoy working with a nearly 300 pound animal…their pig.

Why are 4-H projects judged? To Make the Best Better. Each 4-H project allows youth to reflect on new goals they can set, new ways to challenge themselves and to foster a growth mindset towards a positive perspective.

4-H provides an opportunity to network and learn from others, cultivate communication and leadership skills, and provides unique situations to develop lifelong skill sets.

The 4-H Pledge

I PLEDGE my HEAD to clearer thinking,
my HEART to greater loyalty,
my HANDS to larger service,
and my HEALTH to better living,
for my family, my club, my community, my country and my world.

I encourage you to support our youth and encourage them to be involved in 4-H. 4-H helps us to grow and develop our future leaders for our communities. We all know we need good leaders. Our youth our worth our time and investment.

Why do we stretch ourselves thin on fair week and with our involvement in 4-H? Our kids are our why. Our kids our worth our time and investment. The future of our communities and all areas that need leadership are worth it. Learn more at your county Extension office or search 4-H in your state.

Garden Science

These beetles are eating the flowers and other plants. Japanese beetles (Popillia japonica) were first found in the United States in 1916, after being accidentally introduced into New Jersey. Until that time, this insect was restricted to Japan where it is not a major pest. This pest is considered to be an invasive species. It is now found throughout the eastern U.S., except for Florida, and continues to move westward.

Learn more at University of Minnesota Extension.

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.

Super Sugar Snap Peas – This garden favorite is producing like crazy. It is hard to keep up. The second crop of peas was planted mid-June. Due to the dry weather, it has been slower growing. While I love to just eat these peas fresh. Here are a few ideas from Taste of Home for additional ways to use them.

Green Beans growing on the plant.

Green Beans – Learn more about green bean production from America’s Heartland here.

Radishes – Wash, cut off the tops and also the bottoms, slice and enjoy in salads. Some enjoy dipping in salt. Some radish recipes from Taste of Home.

Dark Red Beets – Some of our shareholders like to cut these up and eat these raw in their salads. This is an interesting resource from NDSU Extension.

Carrots – First round of carrots. More to come!

Cucumbers – The first cucumbers of the season. Here is a simple cucumber salad recipe from Martha Stewart.

You have small new Kennebec potatoes in your box. If you have a few red ones they are Norlands.

Potatoes – Kennebec potatoes good for baked potatoes. Learn more here.

Zucchini – The first of the season. So many wonderful ways to use Zucchini. I have posted

Fresh cut flowers

Fresh cut arrangement – Hydrangeas, Sunflowers and Zinnia.

Recipe of the Week

Chocolate Zucchini Brownies

Fudgy Zucchini Brownies

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup baking cocoa

1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups shredded zucchini

1-1/2 cups sugar

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Frosting

1/4 cup butter, cubed

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup miniature marshmallows

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup chopped walnuts, optional

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. In a small bowl, combine the zucchini, sugar and oil; stir into dry ingredients until blended. Stir in walnuts and vanilla.

2. Pour into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes.

3. In a large saucepan, melt butter; stir in sugar and milk. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently. Cook and stir 1 minute or until smooth. Remove from the heat. Stir in chips and marshmallows until melted and smooth; add vanilla. Spread over brownies. Sprinkle with walnuts if desired.

Source: Taste of Home

Positively impacting the world
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Positively impacting the world

This week, I have had the opportunity to listen to many researchers share their knowledge with farmers and ranchers at some of NDSU Research Extension Center’s field days. These field days are open to the public to learn more and to see how they can apply what they learn to improve their farm or ranch.

It is absolutely fascinating to hear what the researchers are working on, and their passion and desire to improve our food supply chain exudes them. It is so fun to watch people do what they love and know that what they do will positively impact the world.

I’ve had the great opportunity to work with researchers and Extension personnel in four states: Minnesota, South Dakota, Wisconsin and North Dakota. I can say without a doubt that I wish the general public new how much work goes into each and every step of the food supply chain. The true passion and desire to make the best better and to feed the world is real and grounded at the very beginning of each of our food supply processes.

Field Tours
Chickpeas
Field Peas
Pollinator Garden
Canola

Garden Science

Colorado potato beetles feed primarily on potatoes. They can also attack other plants in the night shade family (Solanaceae), including: eggplant, tomato and peppers. Learn more from the University of Minnesota Extension.

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.

Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce – One of my favorite garden crops. Some of the crops are ran under cold well water to take the field heat off of them so they last longer in your refrigerators. They are not washed – just cooled. So remember to wash your vegetables before eating. With all the lettuce, I thought you’d appreciate these resources with recipes from NDSU Extension.

Red Oak Leaf Lettuce – I love this beautiful red lettuce leaf. It adds such a wonderful color to your salads.

Did you know that when we harvest cucumbers that they have small spikes on them? Cucumbers may have become spiny for the same reason that some animals are camouflaged or have horns…to protect themselves from predators.

Cucumbers – The first cucumbers of the season.

Super Sugar Snap Peas – This garden favorite is producing like crazy. It is hard to keep up The second crop of peas was planted mid-June. Due to the dry weather, it has been slower growing. While I love to just eat these peas fresh. Here are a few ideas from Taste of Home for additional ways to use them.

Radishes – Wash, cut off the tops and also the bottoms, slice and enjoy in salads. Some enjoy dipping in salt. Some radish recipes from Taste of Home.

Dark Red Beets – Some of our shareholders like to cut these up and eat these raw in their salads. This is an interesting resource from NDSU Extension.

Zucchini – The first of the season.

Fresh cut arrangement – Hydrangeas, Sunflowers and Zinnia.

Sunflower
Zinnia

Recipe of the Week

Sugar Snap Peas with Sesame Seeds

1 pound sugar snap peas

Dark sesame oil

Sesame seeds

Kosher salt

Toss sugar snap peas in a bowl with sesame oil, sesame seeds, and kosher salt, to taste. Serve.

What’s Growing On?
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What’s Growing On?

There is a lot growing on in the garden. The much-needed shot of rain last week did help give the crops a boost. Last night’s rain did not amount to much. While that was good for the boys’ baseball games it was not so good for the plants. Here’s a glimpse of a few of the crops.

Carrots – still need some time to develop but are coming along nicely.
Another crop of carrots emerged this week.
Onions
Notice the baby cucumber growing below the yellow flower and connected to the vine.
While in Ohio over the 4th of July weekend, we were able to help Steve’s dad plant his garden. We planted sweet corn, green beans and cucumbers.

Garden Science

Velvet leaf growing in the lettuce row.
Velvet Leaf – Velvetleaf is an extremely competitive plant, that will take nutrients and water away from crops, reducing yields. Velvetleaf is considered to be a noxious weed in several states. Its common name comes from the soft leaves which are covered in short hairs, creating a velvety feel.

The heart-shaped leaves are soft and velvety. Velvetleaf is usually considered to be an annual. It can grow up to 8 feet tall in a single season but is usually 2-4 feet tall. It has been grown in China since around 2000 B.C. for its strong, jute-like fiber in the erect stem for making cords, nets, woven bags, rugs and other coarse textiles. The Chinese also used the plant for medicinal purposes to treat fever, dysentery, stomach aches and other problems. Source: University of Wisconsin Extension

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.

The last crop of rhubarb this week is in your boxes.

Rhubarb – This is the last week of rhubarb. One-pound equals about 3 cups. Wash, cut the ends off, cut off any bad parts damaged by wind, chop into 1/4 – 1/2-inch pieces. No need to peel You can freeze it in a Ziploc bag (no blanching) and use for months to come. Our family loves it in muffins, breads, jam, pie, crisp, sauce and torte. One or two more weeks of rhubarb. Make the most of it! Make the most of your rhubarb. Make it into jam and freeze it for your year ahead. Check out the recipe below.

Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce – One of my favorite garden crops. Some of the crops are ran under cold well water to take the field heat off of them so they last longer in your refrigerators. They are not washed – just cooled. So remember to wash your vegetables before eating. With all the lettuce, I thought you’d appreciate these resources with recipes from NDSU Extension.

Red Oak Leaf Lettuce – I love this beautiful red lettuce leaf. It adds such a wonderful color to your salads.

Spinach – Remember to wash before eating. A combination of these vegetables will make such a wonderful meal! Check out Taste of Home’s spinach recipes

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.

.Super Sugar Snap Peas – This garden favorite is on the verge of a lot of production. Enjoy! The second crop of peas was planted three weeks ago, but just started to emerge. It is quite a bit behind due to the hot conditions and lack of moisture from Mother Nature. No amount of watering seems to be able to replace what Mother Nature provides.

Radishes – Wash, cut off the tops and also the bottoms, slice and enjoy in salads. Some enjoy dipping in salt.

Detroit Dark Red Beets

Dark Red Beets – Some of our shareholders like to cut these up and eat these raw in their salads. This is an interesting resource from NDSU Extension.

Fresh cut arrangement – Hosta leaves, Hydrangeas, Spirea and Zinnia.

Recipe of the Week

A view of what the rhubarb will look like after cutting it up.
Mix together 6 cups of sliced rhubarb with 3 cups of sugar.
Mix in the sugar coating the rhubarb. Let it sit until it makes its own juice and most of the granular sugar has changed into sugar juice. This takes about an hour or so. I go back and mix it every so often.
Once the juice has formed, place on the stove over medium heat and add 1 can of cherry, blueberry, raspberry or strawberry pie filling. Cook for 20 minutes.
Cook for 20 minutes once the pie filling is mixed in. Stir constantly and bring to a boil.
The rhubarb will begin a gentle boil. Turn the heat down so it is not in a rapid boil but rather a simmering boil.
Stir in a 3 oz package of Jello until dissolved.
We are grateful that we received Steve’s Grandpa and Grandma Gifford’s canning and gardening gadgets and tools. They make these projects easier and more fun. What boy doesn’t love an interesting gadget or tool. In this photo, you guessed it – the gadget from the Gifford’s was the funnel.
After cooling it down in the refrigerator, place in freezer after a day or two days. It will keep several months in the freezer. Enjoy!

Rhubarb Jam

Mix together and set aside until a juice forms:

6 cups rhubarb sliced into 1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces

3 cups granulated sugar

Next:

Add one can of pie filling (cherry, raspberry, blueberry, strawberry)

Cook these ingredients for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and add 1 package of 3 oz Jello (use Jello that is of the same flavor as the pie filling). Mix well. Pour into containers. Refrigerate or freeze.