While we see new growth coming up everywhere in this early spring weather, our veggie crops are always at their lowest point of the year. The only storage crops we have left are potatoes, and we rely on greenhouse greens from Harmony Grove Farm for the rest of our veggies. We also have freshly dug Jerusalem artichokes this week, great for roasting, mashing, or pan frying. Jerusalem artichokes are a low-carb potato substitute that are high in inulin, a powerful prebiotic. Interestingly, Jerusalem artichokes are native to North America and have nothing to do with the Middle East. Italian immigrants called the plant girasole, which is Italian for sunflower, and the name was mispronounced until it morphed into Jerusalem. Not sure what to do with them? You could try Roast Chicken with Jerusalem Artichokes and Lemon or Crispy Jerusalem Artichokes with Aged Balsamic.
The featured photo is of hakurei turnip seedlings from Glacial Till Farm getting a great start for shares this spring.
Hazy Hollow Farm still has their one ham that has been drastically discounted to less than $3.00/lb. Easter is just over a month away!
Farm News
Bushel and a Peck Farm: It's maple syrup season! We have been busy the last few weeks repairing tubing, tapping trees, and searching for leaks in the woods. Lots of prep goes into maple season, including dismantling the evaporator for cleaning, cleaning and placing all of the tanks that hold sap and wastewater, and cleaning and sanitizing all of the barrels that store our syrup until bottling or using in other products. And then there is the daily treks to the sap house, where all of the sap is collected from the tubing in the woods. A vacuum pump pulls the sap through the tubing to the tank, and then we use another pump to move it to the tank on the back of the truck. After it is shipped to our driveway, it is pumped again to the tank to start the reverse osmosis that removes plain water and concentrates the sap to make boiling faster. From the RO machine, it's pumped into another tank above the evaporator where it is gravity fed as needed into the evaporator.
The fire under the evaporator must be fed every 7-8 minutes for hours to achieve the best syrup.
As soon as the syrup in the finishing pans reaches 217.8 degrees, it is released through a spigot into a stainless steel bucket.
We then send it through this filter press loaded with food grade diatomaceous earth to filter out any impurities.
It then goes into a 30-gallon barrel for storing until we are ready to bottle it or use it in other products.
While we long for the warmer days of spring, the current weather is perfect for maple syrup making. We need cold nights (below freezing) and days in the 40s or low 50s to have the longest season. We loved the 70 degree day last week, but too many of those and the sap turns off and the trees start to bud. So if you love maple syrup as much as we do, then don't wish for warm days to come too quickly!
Spur Hollow Farm
From Jeff: "What a beautiful, foggy morning to build my permanent no-till market garden beds! Spreading compost is something I have become intimately familiar with."
Harvie changes coming
Harvie programmers have been working hard all winter to improve the order pages. Updates are in the testing phase, and once the bugs are worked out, you will see a new and improved share customization page. I don't have a timeline for the rollout, so be on the lookout for changes coming this spring.
Finally, don't forget to share your love of CSA with your friends. When you send them your unique referral code, you both get a $10 credit! So share away.
Enjoy winter's last hurrah this weekend. My family will be thankful for a couple of days to rest up from late-night boiling.
Amy
