Summer Solstice

Delighted to welcome Summer with the Madison Plein Air Painters beautifully gracing our fields.

How Do You Prepare Pea Shoots?

There are many ways to prepare pea shoots.  Some thoughts from friends include:

• Alone and crisp;
• In a salad with a light vinaigrette;
• On sandwiches;
• Sautéed and put into an omelette, quesadilla, or tossed with pasta; and
• Alongside some grilled tuna or salmon.

Clio Newton at Tart Gallery, Zürich, June 22 - June 23, 2017

Photograph of Artist Clio Newton with Charcoal Drawing is Used with Permission

Join Clio Newton next Friday night for her most recent exhibition of large scale drawings, "Go from Home".

When: June 23rd 6 pm for the finissage with drinks and snacks

Where: Tart Gallery, Gotthardstrasse 54, Zürich.

As part of the exhibition she'll be drawing in the gallery all Thursday.

• Tart Gallery <http://tartart.ch/exhibitions/24hrs-project-go-from-home-with-clio-newton/>

Around the Farm

Welcome to summer (almost).  We have been busy, getting ready for our farm share community.  After studying the forecasts and crop progress, we have announced the first of the scheduled pickup, which are:

• 15th of June for the Thursday pickups;
• 17th of June for Saturday; and 
• 20th of June for Tuesday.  

While also preparing for markets and our stand, yesterday was our first wedding of the season.  And we have some just hatched chicks, and our new little pig is making sure there is never a dull moment.

We look forward to seeing our old CSA friends while making new ones, and for those who have not been by the farm, here are some pictures of what has been going on.

Rhubarb Compote (Stewed Rhubarb) over Ice Cream

Fresh rhubarb is in season for many.  Here is an easy recipe for a surprisingly tasty topping used over vanilla or chocolate ice cream. While some may call it "rhubarb compote," many others prefer the more descriptive "stewed rhubarb."

Preparing for the Farmers' Markets, Farm Stand, and CSA

Earth Day

The creation of Earth Day in 1970 is somewhat akin to a corporation producing a new site of ethics guidelines.  It is less the formalization of a spontaneous celebration and more the result of a culture acknowledging the reaching of some dystopian-predicting threshold.   Whether we have avoided those days of future past or not, time will tell.

Regardless, Earth Day is a convenient time to get one's hands dirty.  (It doesn't take long to realize how different dirt is in different places, from the wonderful black, slightly moist soil to the sandy, inert fill used around construction projects.)

Our greenhouse tomatoes benefit from our farm grown soil as well.

There are plenty of people who believe that crops grown in better soil are just better. That is why we are so careful with our soil.

Our Maremma takes her job of guarding plants very seriously. 

No chemicals are ever added to this soil.

 Instead, people drop off their unwanted leaves here every fall.  During the winter, the leaves break down.

Furrows are made in the leaves, exposing the rich soil below.  Plants are put in the newly exposed soil, and when they grow large enough, the farmers pull the leaves back around the crops to keep in moisture and keep out weeds.

The process reduces the amount of additional water the crops take as well, to nearly none. Crops are watered only when initially planted and in cases of extreme drought. .

This completely organic process must make for healthier animals as well.