July 29, 2018
New and Abundant
By Linda Dansbury

Husk/ground cherries will be included in shares starting this week and into the foreseeable future. They get their ground cherry name because when they are ripe, they fall to the ground - and are thus so easy to pick. Even better, for this season the farmers experimented with landscape fabric to suppress weeds over the entire patch (same as with tomatillos) making harvesting easy and comfortable. The "husks" protecting the inner fruit dries up - keep the husks on the fruit until ready to eat. Ground cherries are amazing - they keep almost indefinitely just sitting on your kitchen counter - I would recommend spreading them out on a towel to let them thoroughly dry before keeping in a bowl, since we continually have wet fields to contend with. They were grown and enjoyed by the pioneers because of the extraordinary shelf life. They are a good source of beta-carotene, calcium, iron and other nutrients. Husk cherries have a tropical-like taste with a texture somewhere between a tomato and a grape. They can be eaten raw as a snack or added to salads, or cooked into pie filling. Search this site for recipes. My favorite is the Ground Cherry Salsa, which combines ground cherries, tomatoes, peppers, hot peppers and cilantro. It requires a lot of chopping (I guess you could break out the food processor), but the yummy taste is worth it.

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/New-and-Abundant-2128/

July 29, 2018
U-Pick Note
By Linda Dansbury

Two quick notes for this week:

Blackberries - as with raspberries, tug gently on the berry. If it doesn't release easily, it is not ripe. Look for the berries that are black all over - if they still have some lighter spots, they will not be nearly as sweet.

Tomatillos - I heard someone in the U-Pick field saying that the tomatillo husks need to be yellow to pick them (not true). The tomatillos are ready for picking as soon as the fruit fully fills out and expands the husk and the husk can even split - using this method, you find your share very, very quickly.

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/UPick-Note-2129/

July 29, 2018
Eggplant Recipe
By Linda Dansbury

From fellow member Alissa Reinhardt - she said it converted her "non-eggplant eating husband so she needed to share". Thanks so much Alissa - it sounds delicious. This recipe is listed as a Spanish Appetizer, so in Spain it is considered a Tapas - I love making a number of small dishes and just eating a few appetizers and a salad as dinner. This recipe would complement the Pan con Tomate (tomato bread) I described last week. In emailing back and forth with Alissa, she said she got the inspiration after she had dinner at a Spanish restaurant. Check out Baked Eggplant Tapas.

Please send your suggestions to me at Lindadansbury@comcast.net and please put Anchor Run in the subject line so I can find your email.

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Eggplant-Recipe-2130/

July 29, 2018
An Abundance of Salads
By Linda Dansbury

This week, I was out a couple of times, and even had leftovers from a restaurant, so I didn't cook very much - I hope to spend a few hours today cooking.

I did have what I like to refer to as Summer Salads:

I use a combination of whatever greens I have on hand and a mixture of veggies from the farm. Try a combination of tomatoes, cucumbers, greens, basil and/or parsley. Add salt and pepper and good quality olive oil and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar - other optional add-ins include feta cheese and chick peas.

I also like using leftovers from grilling, including eggplant, squash and scallions plus sausage. Add a combination of robust greens and mix everything together. Make a simple lemon Dijon Vinaigrette and mix all together with fresh herbs. Yum!

How did you enjoy your harvest? Please email me at lindadansbury@comcast.net and please put Anchor Run in the subject line.

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/An-Abundance-of-Salads-2131/

July 29, 2018
Tasty Time of Year
by Farmer Derek

Harvest #11 (Week A) should include watermelon, carrots, zucchini, cucumbers, eggplant, tomatoes, sweet peppers, hot peppers, okra, dill, cilantro, basil, chard, lettuce, scallions, garlic, cabbage, and beets. U-pick should include yellow snap beans, husk cherries, tomatillos, cherry and grape tomatoes, flowers, blackberries, and herbs.

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Tasty-Time-of-Year-2132/

July 29, 2018
Workshifts for Week of 7/30/18
Farmer Derek

Workshifts scheduled for this week

Workshift sign-up instructions may be found here.

Workshifts typically meet under the large red maple just outside of the pick up room. Please wear appropriate clothes and footwear for working outside and bring your own gloves and water.

Thank you!

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Workshifts-for-Week-of-73018-2133/

July 29, 2018
Off and On Monsoon
By Derek McGeehan

It's safe to say it's been a difficult week on the farm though it could have been worse. We only received 4-5" of rain whereas locations in Central PA received 12-16". We're definitely super thankful for the sunshine the past couple of days as well as for Friday's rainfall missing us. We are lucky that the soil has dried out just enough for weed-killing tillage and bed-shaping which will allow us to transplant beets, chard, kale, lettuce, dill, and cilantro and direct seed carrots and rutabaga this week and thus stay on our planting schedule. Tomorrow, Monday, with hopefully enough time to for subsequent drying, we'll manually cultivate the thousands of feet of broccoli and cauliflower (and wherever else we have time for after a morning of harvesting for pick up). Tuesday, hopefully before another inundation of moisture, we'll do all the planting and seeding we have to do for the week. After that it will be whatever crop maintenance and harvesting the weather will allow for.

So far we've harvested 40% of the onion patch and will plan to harvest the remainder over the next couple of weeks. We let them semi-cure in the field before we transfer them to cold storage. They'll be in shares very soon. Round 1 of watermelon has been safely stowed and is currently being distributed in shares; we're monitoring round 2 closely and will hopefully be able to harvest it before it succumbs to excess moisture and disease pressure. Same goes for the cantaloupe. The earliest variety of potatoes could be harvested whenever the ground dries out enough for us to use our tractor-pulled potato digger. Winter squashes are slowly beginning to mature but also are battling disease pressure. Beginning in mid-August we'll think about retrieving the early varieties.

Thank you for your support and understanding during this difficult and challenging weather season - it could end up being our wettest or 2nd wettest season in 10 years! So far it feels like shares haven't been negatively affected by the extreme weather and we'll hope for continued quality and quantity.

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Off-and-On-Monsoon-2134/

July 22, 2018
Tomatillos, Okra and More!
By Linda Dansbury

We are at the heart of the season now and summer veggies are peaking. This past week, we received fresh garlic - which simply means it has just come out of the ground and hasn't cured. I am sure you have or will notice the garlic hanging all over the barn. We will receive all this garlic that is hanging from now through the winter shares into 2019! Use the garlic we receive now as you would any other garlic, but store it in the fridge. Note that it is potent at this stage so you may want to try it and use a little less than normal - unless of course you want to scare the vampires away!

We had a nice surprise with the tomatillos on the U Pick board this past week. It is one of the veggies I didn't appreciate until I was an Anchor Run member. Tomatillos look like small green tomatoes and in fact in the same family. Nutritionally speaking, they are low in calories, high in dietary fiber and good contributors of vitamins A, B, C, K as well as the minerals potassium, magnesium and copper. Tomatillos store very well in the fridge, lasting for at least 2-3 weeks. I normally use them once I have 2 weeks worth of my share. A lot can be done with tomatillos - raw, they can be added to salads or used to make a salsa, either as a primary ingredient or in combination with tomatoes. Some of my favorites on this site from over the years include Chicken Stew with Tomatillo Sauce - I make batches of the sauce when I receive my share and freeze it in 2 cup batches. Then I can use the sauce as either a salsa or as the base for the chicken recipe, which comes out delicious as written but is really stepped up when put in a pressure cooker. Also, Grilled Salsa Verde and the Slow Cooker Chicken or Pork Chile Verde are both amazing!

Okra is another veggie I didn't know much about until Anchor Run. I had used it in making my version of Gumbo, but since I always make it in the winter for Super Bowl, I had only used frozen okra. Okra is a nutritional powerhouse, containing the vitamins A, B, C, E and K, plus calcium, magnesium, potassium and iron. Okra does not store for very long and is best used within 3-4 days. Some of my favorite recipes on this site are Easy Indian-Style Stewed Okra, Louisiana Shrimp Gumbo (a much lighter version than what a "typical" gumbo is - this one also includes celery and celery leaves), and the Okra with Corn and Tomatoes.

Enjoy the harvest!

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Tomatillos-Okra-and-More-2122/

July 22, 2018
A Summer Bounty!
By Linda Dansbury

The variety and abundance right now makes me so happy! I love that for a lot of the veggies we are offered choices of rather than having to take everything. For me, I grow a lot of things in my own gardens so this system enables me to take more of what I don't grow and less or none of what I grow myself. I love most veggies, so I don't avoid anything due to taste. I do realize however, that many members, especially recent ones, may be shying away from ingredients not familiar to them - if you are among this group, you are missing out. Until recent years, there was not much choice in the pick up room. At some point in the season, we received everything that was grown on the farm. I am greatful for this experience - even though I am an adventurous eater, without Anchor Run, I would not have tried many of the veggies that are grown. Please don't skip trying veggies such as okra and tomatillos (u pick). We have so many recipes on this site, tried and true by me, the farmers, interns and fellow members - all have contributed recipes to help you enjoy your membership. This is your opportunity to try something new at its peak flavor. If you don't like it, it is okay. My guess is that like me, you will find new favorite veggies and recipes!

Garlic scapes (the last of them, so sad), tomatoes, basil - made bruschetta - our go-to for sitting out on the deck. We grill or bake the bread which has olive oil drizzled on it and then lightly salted when it comes out of the oven. Bruschetta is nothing more than chopped up tomatoes, garlic, basil and good olive oil. No salt added, or the tomatoes will become watery.

Tomatoes, garlic - made pan con tomate - literal translation is Tomato Bread. This is a staple in Spain, in particular, the Catelonia region, where Barcelona is located. There are many recipes for it, but with the delicious local tomatoes I keep it very simple: do the bread as I do for bruschetta, but rub the slices with a split garlic clove when it comes out of the oven. Place a box grater over a bowl. Cut the top off tomato and then using your palm, grate the tomato on the large holes - it is easy, grate until there is nothing left but the skin. Add a little olive oil to the tomato and a bit of salt and serve - Yum! I made this for a friend last year and she single-handedly ate almost an entire loaf of bread - she still talks about it!

Basil, garlic - made the Pistou recipe I posted last week. I even used the mortar and pestle rather than the processor.

Eggplant, garlic, Thai basil - made the Taiwanese Braised Eggplant I posted last week. It was really delicious. I realized I did not have the black bean chili paste called for in the recipe - I did have black bean paste, so I used that and a squirt of Sriracha - it worked great. Served this with grilled Asian marinated chicken drums and thighs.

Eggplant, squash, fennel, pepper, scallions - grilled veggies and had as an antipasti platter along with the tomato bread - this was a wonderful meal sitting out on the deck.

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/A-Summer-Bounty-2123/

July 22, 2018
Veggie Stew
By Linda Dansbury

Fellow member Carrie Muench sent me a recipe she used for a Vegetable Stew. Soups and stews are a great way to use a lot of your veggies at one time. In most of these recipes, ingredients may be swapped in and out based on what the farm is offering that particular week. I particularly like stews in the summer. For a small family, like mine, you then have an easy dish for a few days - or, freeze some for later in the year. Served over rice or other grain, it makes a delicious vegetarian meal, or have a simple grilled meat or fish alongside. This version is called Vegetable Provencal Stew. If you are wondering what makes it Provencal, it is typically the addition of fennel and tarragon. This one looks pretty Italian to me though! Thank you so much for sharing Carrie!

Please share what you are cooking with fellow members by emailing me at lindadansbury@comcast.net and remember to put Anchor Run in the subject line so I can find your email.

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Veggie-Stew-2124/

July 22, 2018
Workshifts for Week of 7/23/18
by Farmer Dana

Workshifts scheduled for this week:

Workshift sign-up instructions may be found here.

Workshifts typically meet under the large red maple just outside of the pick up room. Please wear appropriate clothes and footwear for working outside and bring your own gloves and water.

Thank you!

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Workshifts-for-Week-of-72318-2125/

July 22, 2018
Introducing Watermelon
by Farmer Dana

Main Season Harvest #10 (Week B) should include watermelon, tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, lettuce, fresh garlic, eggplant, sweet peppers, hot peppers, okra, scallions, beets, cabbage, celery, carrots, Swiss chard, Italian dandelion, Italian basil, Thai basil, cilantro, parsley, and dill. Some items will be a choice. U-pick should include tomatillos, yellow snap beans, cherry and grape tomatoes, flowers, and herbs.

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Introducing-Watermelon-2126/

July 22, 2018
Dry to Wet
by Farmer Derek

Based on the forecast it appears we're in for a wet stretch of weather. Of course nothing is in moderation these days so we may receive rain each and everyday this week. Fortunately there's not much pressing field work that requires the tractor this week. However there is a lot of transplanting and direct seeding the following week so we'll hope for dry weather later this week and into next weekend.

This week we'll march on with lots of human power, hand-weeding many crops like leeks, new strawberries, celeriac, and scallions. We'll embark on the first round of harvesting watermelons and fresh onions. Watermelons will fill up an entire storage room and will be distributed, along with the 2nd planting, hopefully for the next 5-6 weeks. We grow 5 varieties of onions, 2 for eating fresh, 3 for curing and storing. Look for the fresh onions starting in a week or two.

This week we'll also continue crop maintenance by mowing, weed-whacking, pruning, and trellising. Spent crops will be cleaned up and prepared for sowing cover crops. We'll continue seeding in the greenhouse for future harvests. Weed-growth is at its collective seasonal peak so much of our focus right now is keeping them under control. Here we go.

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Dry-to-Wet-2127/

July 15, 2018
Wonderful Bounty
By Linda Dansbury

This time of year, the weight of the harvest really starts to increase, so bring your strong bags and muscles to the pick up room! The sheer variety and amount of produce makes it pretty easy to figure out what to eat each day. Please share how you enjoyed your harvest by emailing me at lindadansbury@comcast.net and please put Anchor Run in the subject line. Here is some of how I enjoyed my harvest this week.

Summer squash, eggplant, scallions - grilled veggies along with our protein for the night, which kept the kitchen cool and clean up to a minimum. Cut the veggies up, drizzled with a bit of olive oil and grill, being careful to turn them so they don't burn. Removed from grill and sprinkled a bit of salt - we like to use a sea salt for finishing plus chopped herbs. This is one of my favorite ways to enjoy these. Any leftovers can be made into or added to a salad.

Lettuce, summer squash, garlic scapes - made the Warm Sausage with Summer Squash Salad. Again, this is a go-to dish for my house on a warm, summer night.

Summer squash, garlic scapes, basil, scallions, green beans, tomatoes - a couple of weeks ago, I added a new recipe to this site called Summer Squash Noodles with Early Summer Veggies and Basil Vinaigrette. It was originally a recipe calling for asparagus and frozen peas. We like it so much that I changed it up last night. I started by sauteing scallions and locally raised mushrooms and a few cut up green beans. When they were to desired texture, I added a few cut up cherry tomatoes and moved them around until the juices started to be released. I then added the summer squash noodles and stirred them until warm, removed pan from heat and added some of the Basil Vinaigrette - it was delicious! And...I am thinking of renaming the dish to say Summer Squash Noodles with Whatever Else you want to put in the Dish...!

Cilantro, Thai Basil, pepper - for anyone that has read my articles for years, you know I like southeast Asian food. Last night we grilled a whole fish and I made a Thai sauce for topping it - combined cilantro, Thai basil, hot chili pepper (frozen from last year), fish sauce, tamarind paste, brown sugar, water, thinly sliced galangal (can use ginger) and water in food processor. Then put in small saucepan and added a chopped up sweet pepper. Simmered for a few minutes while fish grilled. Removed fish fillets from bones, topped with the sauce and grated some fresh lime zest over.

Scallions, garlic scapes, green beans, summer squash, greens, herbs - made a large stir fry - there are so many recipes on line that I have only posted a few of them on this site. I do some type of stir fry just about every week. Once you do them a few times, they become pretty easy and fun to make. Chop up whatever you want to use - don't worry about what veggies a recipe lists - I always incorporate an onion flavor and garlic flavor and I also love ginger, but if you don't that's okay. I also make sure I have a good combination of veggies so the final dish ends up having both soft and crunchy elements in it. And, I always finish the dish with a bright flavor - chopped fresh herbs and/or a squeeze of lime.

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Wonderful-Bounty-2117/

July 15, 2018
Basil, Basil, Basil
By Linda Dansbury

Beautiful basil is in the pick up room for us and there is also some we can be cutting ourselves in the herb garden. You may have noticed there are 2 different looking plants.

Sweet/Genovese/Italian basil - this is the one most of us are familiar with. It has large, soft leaves and green stems. It is the basil used most often, when recipes just say to use basil. I love it this time of year in bruschetta with our wonderful tomatoes, chopped and put on top of grilled veggies, added to marinades, salads, and more. To preserve what we are receiving, make the Basil Vinaigrette in batches to use as a salad dressing or as a topping for fish, chicken or tofu. It keeps about a week in the fridge. For longer storage make pesto or pistou. The main difference between the two is that Pesto contains cheese and pine nuts, but traditional Pistou just has 4 ingredients: basil, garlic, olive oil, and sea salt (the article I read about it says you must use a good quality sea salt to truly bring out the deliciousness of the fresh basil). I have added a Pistou recipe to this site so you can see the ratio of ingredients and of course there are also Pesto recipes on the site.

Thai Basil - the plant is in the same botanical family as sweet basil, but in looks it is distinguished by purple stems and the leaves are more pointed and sturdy. Thai basil does taste different, and has definite undertones of licorice and is overall more pungent than sweet basil. Some chefs say they are interchangeable, others do not. Thai basil is used in many southeast Asian cuisines including Vietnamese, Cambodian, Taiwan and of course Thai. Interestingly though, Thai's famous green curry uses sweet basil as its base, not Thai basil. I have added a recipe for Taiwanese Braised Eggplant that features adding Thai basil at the end of cooking - try it to see if you notice a difference in the flavor.

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Basil-Basil-Basil-2118/

July 15, 2018
Welcoming New Ones
by Farmer Derek

Main Season Harvest #9 (Week A) should include carrots, zucchini, cucumbers, eggplant, tomatoes, lettuce, Swiss chard, Italian dandelion, fresh garlic, scallions, cabbage, fennel, celery, sweet peppers, hot peppers, okra, and herbs (Italian basil, Thai basil, cilantro, parsley). Some items will be a choice. U-pick should include yellow snap beans, tomatillos, herbs, flowers, and hopefully cherry and grape tomatoes (though the farmers may end up picking them for the pick up room).

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Welcoming-New-Ones-2119/

July 15, 2018
Workshifts for Week of 7/16/18
by Farmer Dana

Workshifts scheduled for this week:

Workshift sign-up instructions may be found here.

Workshifts typically meet under the large red maple just outside of the pick up room. Please wear appropriate clothes and footwear for working outside and bring your own gloves and water.

Thank you!

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Workshifts-for-Week-of-71618-2120/

July 15, 2018
Whew
by Farmer Derek

Tired, relieved, thankful. Carrots and garlic are out of the soil and resting in the safety of the barn. Both will be in shares starting this week. Carrots look and taste great (in our humble acceptance of a variety of sizes and strange shapes). For a mid-summer carrot the ones I've sampled are definitely sweeter than I remember. Our farm crew probably spent about 40 cumulative hours retrieving these from the soil with the help of 4-5 workshifts; they're out and we're very happy about that. There was even enough time Friday afternoon and Saturday morning to chisel plow, sow a cover crop, and disc it in there plus where the peas, strawberries, spring greens, spring brassicas, and spring lettuces were.

Today's epic garlic harvest was also a major success. Around 45-50 CSA members came out over the course of 4 hours to help pull, clean, pile, retrieve, tie, prune, and hang around 12,000 garlic plants. Added to the already frantic nature of this immense task was imminent incoming rain which conveniently, thankfully, beneficially held off until the final truck load was driven back to the barn (amidst rumbles of thunder). We did end up having to move everything inside the barn into any and all available space to continue tying for hanging. Amazingly it all went smoothly and successfully and we even finished up 15 minutes early. I was truly exhausted after the 4 hours of hustling, very thirsty after forgoing water for 5 hours, thinking about breakfast at 12:30pm, and running low on the 1 mug of coffee I enjoyed around 7am. Completing this kind of job done with so many great members of our food community is one of the main reasons I love Community Supported Agriculture. Thank you folks!

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Whew-2121/

July 8, 2018
Upcoming Events
by Farmer Dana

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Upcoming-Events-2071/

July 8, 2018
Light, Flavorful Dishes
By Linda Dansbury

We just got out from under a wicked heatwave. Even the dogs didn't want to be outside running around! I focused on using veggies in ways that were light and flavorful. Below are a few of my dishes from this week. Please send your ideas to me at lindadansbury@comcast.net and please put Anchor Run in the subject line so I can find your email.

kohlrabi, peas, celery, cucumbers - ate with my lunches - veggies this fresh and delicious do not need anything with them to enjoy.

Summer squash, garlic scapes, lettuce, parsley - made the Warm Summer Squash and Sausage Salad. (click on recipes, type in summer squash and you will find the recipe, along with many others that are delicious). This is another go-to dish for the summer. Simple, fast, healthy and one pan/one bowl dinner. As with other dishes I have described, since I used the scapes, I added them late in the process.

Summer squash, peas, basil, scapes - I made a new dish originally called Zucchini Noodles with Asparagus, Peas and Basil Vinaigrette. For this site, I have renamed it Summer Squash Noodles, Early Summer Veggies and Basil Vinaigrette. I state the original name of the dish to show you again how to be versatile in thinking through recipes. Asparagus and squash are not available at the same time, but the other ingredients are. The recipe also called for frozen peas. I used my snap peas and cut them up. I will make this dish again, but will replace peas/asparagus with green beans, allowing a bit of additional cooking time for the beans. The recipe states the vinaigrette is great with chicken, shrimp, pork and as a salad dressing. It is a bit thinner and more vinegary than pesto, but can be used similarly. It keeps for a week in fridge and is yummy!

Cabbage, turnips, radicchio, scallions - made the Asian Cole Slaw, again, being versatile by using greens we have in addition to the cabbage we have. I also added scallions, which are not part of this particular recipe.

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Light-Flavorful-Dishes-2111/

July 8, 2018
U-pick Tips
By Linda Dansbury

I truly hope everyone is taking advantage of the U-pick fields. The time is well worth it, and it is so relaxing and peaceful to be in the field. It is also great to meet other members who have the same interest in healthy and delicious food.

A couple tips:

Be sure to come out and pick!!

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Upick-Tips-2112/

July 8, 2018
Celery Uses
By Linda Dansbury

Maybe you are thinking "enough with the celery already". For the first couple of weeks, I figured everyone would be effectively using their celery with no problem, but now that we are still receiving it and will be for a couple more weeks (hopefully), I thought I should take a few minutes and talk about it.

I think it is one of the most under used and under appreciated veggies. People only think of it as being used raw in crudite platters, or added to salads or stuffed with peanut butter. And, even worse, the beautiful leaves from farm celery find their way to the compost pile.

For the celery, try the Celery and Mushroom Salad - a surprisingly delicious salad! Or, the Braised Celery, which can also incorporate cabbage and/or fennel. Again, truly delicious.

Celery leaves are known primarily as a throwaway top to an already underappreciated vegetable and are so often discarded. It’s a real shame. Celery leaves are actually a bonus to their stalks and completely virtuous on their own. Celery leaves are delicious, nutritious, and packed with intense celery flavor. Prep them like you would any herb: minced, coarsely chopped, or left in their true, whole-leaf form. Toss the tender leaves with salad greens and vinaigrette. Throw them into stir-fries, stocks, soups, and sauces. And...they make delicious pesto - just use your favorite pesto recipe using celery leaves instead of basil, parsley, kale, etc.

Store your celery in a plastic bag in the fridge and it should stay crisp for a week or two.

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Celery-Uses-2113/

July 8, 2018
Productive Produce
by Farmer Derek

Main Season Harvest #8 (Week B) should include cabbage, zucchini (yellow, green), cucumbers, scallions, lettuce, greens (chard, dandelion), herbs (basil, dill, cilantro, parsley), tomatoes, eggplant, fennel, and celery. Some items will be a choice. U-pick should include green and yellow snap/bush/string/wax beans, herbs, flowers, tomatoes (cherry, grape), and raspberries.

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Productive-Produce-2114/

July 8, 2018
Big Harvest Time
by Farmer Derek

It's upon us, the time to harvest carrots and garlic. Carrots were direct seeded into cold and chickweed-threatened raised beds back in early April, went through multiple rounds of cultivating and weeding, and appear to have made it through our wettest-ever month of May. Raised beds and a slightly pitched field hopefully kept all of the carrots in perfect condition by draining most of the excess water away. We won't know the truth of this until we undercut the beds to loosen the soil and extract all of the roots, but our test tugs have revealed tasty orange carrots. Our goal this week will be to harvest the approximate 5000' row feet and begin distributing them next week. Dry soil allows for tractor-loosening the beds which makes this task 10-100 times easier and faster.

Garlic, garlic, garlic. Garlic is an amazing crop. Planted in November as a clove, it spends the winter under an inch of soil and several inches of straw, growing rapidly above and below ground April through June after the soil sufficiently warms to its liking. Anchor Run has saved and used its own garlic cloves as seed since 2004 and we now have our own unique varieties. This may or may not be fully true, though, since we basically are planting clove clones each year. They're not really mixing genes since they don't flower and there is no cross pollination followed by seeds. This is because we pull out and eat the scape, which would eventually turn into the flower. By removing the scape we're forcing the plant to redirect its energy into its bulb instead of for reproduction (so cruel). So, by saving cloves based on flavor, size, performance, etc, we are basically narrowing down to a variety that suits us best. At this point, though, we'd rather have a nice mix of varieties with a variety of flavor and size of bulbs, cloves, and let what we save and plant be random, up to chance.

We all enjoyed the green garlic in the early spring, then the scapes were a treat. Next we'll enjoy the fresh garlic from uncured bulbs straight out of the soil, followed by cured and shelf-stable bulbs through the remainder of the season. Around 300 pounds of the cured garlic will then be planted as seed this coming fall and the cycle will continue.

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Big-Harvest-Time-2115/

July 8, 2018
Workshifts this Week: Carrots and Garlic!
by Farmer Dana

Workshifts scheduled for this week:

Workshift sign-up instructions may be found here.

Workshifts typically meet under the large red maple just outside of the pick up room. Please wear appropriate clothes and footwear for working outside and bring your own gloves and water.

Thank you!

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Workshifts-this-Week-Carrots-and-Garlic-2116/

July 1, 2018
U Pick Flowers Note
By Linda Dansbury

I hope everyone is enjoying their U Pick - I could tell this week that peas had been picked so am happy many of you got out there to get your share. If you are planning to go in the next few days, remember to hydrate well, wear hats, sunglasses, sunscreen and comfy, but sturdy shoes. The peas are much more difficult to find now, but if you really look within the middle of the plants, you will find "pockets" of peas close together and the quality is still great.

The flowers are among my favorite u pick items because I love having fresh flowers around my home. A very important note is that flowers wilt significantly very, very quickly after cutting, especially in this heat. I always bring some type of jar with me that has water in it so that right after I finish cutting the stems, they go right into the jar with water. I also do my flower cutting last. When I get home, I re-cut the stems again and place in my vase of choice. Flowers this fresh last a long time so enjoy the beauty in your own home.

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/U-Pick-Flowers-Note-2105/

July 1, 2018
Transition into Summer
By Linda Dansbury

We are now quickly moving from spring veggies into summer with the arrival of zucchini and the first of the green beans. This week was a busy week, so cooking was pretty simple - beautiful mixed green salads with scallions, turnips, cucumbers and herbs. The weather was aboslutely perfect for being outside grilling and eating so I took advantage of it before the blistering heat arrived. Here are a few things that I cooked this past week - please send me how you enjoyed your harvest to lindadansbury@comcast.net and please put Anchor Run in the subject line so I can find your email.

Scapes, scallions, sumer squash, herbs - grilled the 3 veggies. When they were cooked as we like them, I chopped them up and placed in a bowl with chopped fresh herbs, olive oil, a very small splash of balsamic vinegar and some grated parm cheese. It was a very delicious summer salad.

Herbs, scapes - used in a marinade for lamb chops, then grilled the lamb chops.

Peas, scapes, mint - I just quick sauteed the peas and scapes in a bit of olive oil. When they were slightly browned and barely tender, I topped with fresh chopped mint.

Kale, chard, dandelion, scapes, cilantro, basil - made the Kale Rice Bowl. This is a go-to for weeknight meals - easy and delicious. The recipe calls for cooking garlic, ginger and pork all together, but because I was using scapes, I added them along with the greens toward the end of cooking so we could taste the garlic. If you haven't made this dish, try it. Use Hershberger ground pork rather than grocery store pork - the added flavor makes a huge difference.

Peas, squash, scapes, scallions, greens, cilantro - made a large stir fry - I always make sure I have pantry ingredients - sesame oil, tamari, fish sauce, hoisin, chili sauces (in different types) because stir fries are delicious, healthy, fast and easy once you have the method down.

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Transition-into-Summer-2106/

July 1, 2018
Cool Treats
Farmer Derek

Main Season Harvest #7 (Week A) should include cabbage, zucchini (yellow, green), cucumbers, scallions, lettuce, greens (chard, kale, dandelion), herbs (basil, dill, cilantro, parsley), raspberries, fennel, and celery. Some items will be a choice. U-pick should include green snap beans, herbs, flowers, and raspberries.

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Cool-Treats-2107/

July 1, 2018
Workshifts For Week of 7/2
by Dana Hunting

Workshifts scheduled for this week:

Workshift sign-up instructions may be found here.

Workshifts typically meet under the large red maple just outside of the pick up room. Please wear appropriate clothes and footwear for working outside and bring your own gloves and water.

Thank you!

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Workshifts-For-Week-of-72-2108/

July 1, 2018
Raspberries Versus Strawberries
by Farmer Derek

Our two-year-old raspberry plants are yielding nicely and the last-to-ripen strawberry variety has been fruiting concurrently. We treat strawberry plants as annuals, rotating the patch around our multiple u-pick fields. The raspberry patch, conversely, is perennial, and will remain in the same location for 5-10 years. Because these plants are closely related (in the rose family) and can potentially suffer from the same pests and diseases we've been trying to prevent any movement between the two crops. This is why we were picking raspberries with workshifts while keeping strawberries open for u-pick. Now that the strawberries are finished we'll open up raspberries for u-pick. This is the first year both crops yielded simultaneously and is also the first year we've grown this very late strawberry variety. Overall it was a later strawberry harvest than past years. Next season they probably won't overlap. Either way, we're hopeful that you're enjoying the raspberries that are in the pick up room. This is our first foray into the raspberry storage world and we have realized that they don't keep very well in our storage cooler. We sincerely apologize if your 1/2-pint of raspberries had any moldy fruit.

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Raspberries-Versus-Strawberries-2109/

July 1, 2018
Amidst A Heat Wave
By Derek McGeehan

It's very hot but that's okay. It would be less okay if we hadn't received a generous dose of rain last Thursday. We'll still be irrigating this week, though, since the 3" that came down came fast and furious and probably mostly ran off, ran downhill. With the heat we're saying goodbye to peas and strawberries until next season but will be welcoming the start of cherry and grape tomatoes and will be opening raspberries for u-pick.

Last week we enjoyed wonderful weather for working outside. Next year's 7,000 strawberry plants were planted as well as more lettuces. Winter squash, cantaloupe, and the 2nd planting of watermelon was uncovered to give pollinators access to their flowers. High tunnel and field tomatoes were pruned and clipped to their trellis twine and wire, respectively. Sweet and hot peppers were buttressed with twine to prevent them from flopping. Cover crops of oats, peas, and sunflowers were mowed on fallow fields (see above photo).

We're now safely into the time of season when we can begin spring crop clean up. Crop residue will be mowed and turned into the soil to feed the succeeding cover crop as well as next year's harvestable crop. Irrigation, trellising, and weed suppression fabric will be removed. We were once at our maximum footprint, now we begin to reign it in, sort of mimicking reducing daylight after the summer solstice. We still have a few more months of planting fall and winter crops, though, and have much, much, much harvesting to do, but at least the bulk of the planting is behind us for this season.

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Amidst-A-Heat-Wave-2110/