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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.

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