Welcome to week 4 of the 2022 Flat Tack Farm CSA program!
What's Happening?!
We have been expanding our perennial crop areas! This past week we buffed up our
bramble berries by planting Chester Thornless Blackberries, Canby Red Raspberries,
and Black Raspberries. While we will not be able to taste the fruits of our labor this
year, the investment of time and effort will bring beautiful fruit for years to come.
An additional benefit (or sometimes burden) of growing cane fruit is that they
readily reproduce themselves through runners, layering, fallen fruit, and brought in
fruit via birds and other critters. This ability to reproduce quickly will allow us to
greatly expand the area in cane fruit in just a few seasons.
While working in this area of the farm we took the opportunity to show some love
to the hop trellis and rescue some plants from the severely overgrown grass. We
were able to save a hardy kiwi plant from being smothered, give the grapes some
breathing room and were treated to a most excellent surprise...one Fuzzy Kiwi
STILL LIVES! We are amazed this plant survived several winter nights in the teens!!!
Lastly, we had to rescue a couple of American Paw Paw trees from the back garden
area and relocate them to the fruit tree row at the end of the main crop area.
Moving Paw Paw trees once they have been planted is not advisable, however these
trees were not doing well at all due to incredible weed pressure and unreliable
watering through the summer months. Paw Paws aka Prairie Bananas are native to
the Eastern US and have a similar flavor to a banana and mango with a custard like
flesh.
Get to know your farmers
Kelly and Patrick
A few facts you might not know:
-We met at the local climbing gym- The Source in 2014, through our mutual friend
Katie.
-Patrick’s favorite vegetable by season: Spring – Carrots, Summer – Peppers, Autumn –
Broccoli, Winter – Squash
-Kelly’s favorite vegetable by season: Spring – Asparagus, Summer - Garlic, Autumn –
Sweet Peppers, Winter - Potatoes
-Patrick’s least favorite vegetable: Hmmm, I am not a big fan of growing brussels
sprouts, but I like eating all veggies.
-Kelly’s least favorite vegetable: I’m not a huge fan of radish unless it’s mixed with
something else.
-Kelly plays guitar in a rock/punk band and has a great love of music!
-Patrick is a wonderful artist and has a degree in animation / media arts.
Product Highlights
Asparagus - We’ve been enjoying some very delicious Asparagus for the past couple of
weeks from Volehalla farm in Ridgefield, WA. It’s a quintessential spring vegetable that
is only available for a month or so depending on the weather. Asparagus is high in
Vitamin A, B, K, Zinc and Iron with zero fat and a low-calorie content. It goes great
with anything grilled, seafood, pasta, and even just slightly pan fried with garlic and
served on top of a salad.
Asparagus is known to make your urine smell- this is totally normal and happens due to
certain compounds in the asparagus. When digesting the “asparagusic acid”, the body
puts out sulfur and ammonia. However, not everyone can smell this.
Interesting facts about asparagus- it takes a minimum of 3 years from seeding to be
able to get your first harvest. Asparagus is a perennial and can live up to 30 years!
White asparagus is just regular asparagus that is totally excluded from light (usually
grown in tall dirt mounds) and is the most labor-intensive crop!
Asparagus is also a great companion plant for tomatoes! The tomatoes ward of
asparagus beetles and the asparagus helps prevent soil borne pests (nematodes) from
attacking the tomatoes.
To store asparagus- rinse and cut off 1” of bottom. Place in a cup with a little water at
the bottom and keep in your fridge. Change the water when it turns cloudy (every other
day or so). This keeps your asparagus crisp and fresh.
Farm Recipe Idea of the week
Grilled Asparagus
Cut off the bottom 1” or so of the asparagus and roll in butter or olive oil, add chopped garlic, salt and
pepper to taste then grill for just a couple of minutes on each side. It should stay bright green and have
a nice little char. You can then cut it up and add it to dishes, or eat is as a side. We’ve been making
asparagus tacos lately, and they sure are tasty!
We hope you enjoy this week's offerings!
Your Farmers,
Kelly & Patrick
