VOLUME 7, ISSUE 12
WWW.BURROAKGARDENS.COM
BURR OAK GARDENS, LLC
To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves- Mohondas Gandhi
This Week on the Farm
We had an excellent honey harvest this year. Our new hives
did very, very well for their first season and our year old hive
also did well. Honey is now for sale if you are interested in
purchasing some. Please email [email protected]
with your order. Once we have received payment we will
send honey along with your next CSA tote.
The potato yield for the Peter Wilcox (the variety in your box
this week) was better than we had anticipated. The first two
varieties that we harvested had very poor yields and it took
us much longer to harvest and more rows of potatoes than
usual to get the poundage we needed for the CSA boxes.
Tyler said after the last two seasons there are just some
varieties that we should not bother growing. The yields on
the smaller potato varieties (like the Adirondack Red or the
French Fingerling) seem to be much lower and it is not
worth the time it takes to cut, plant, weed, inspect for
Colorado Potato Beetles, harvest, and bag given what they
yield.
Next year we are going to focus our efforts on Peter Wilcox and Dark Red Norland since our growing
records show that they are more productive on our farm. We also planted a russet type this season
that we have not yet harvested, so we will see how that one fairs. We are hoping to get the rest of the
potatoes harvested this week and next week so we can start doing field clean up in our back fields, but
it is a lot of labor and it might take a little longer now that some of our help has gone back to school.
The winter squash and pie pumpkins are looking good. Tyler thought that by late next week we could
probably start harvesting them and getting them in the greenhouse to cure. We tried several new
varieties this year and it will be interested to see how they yield. One of the more interesting varieties
is a “bush” Delicata. Delicata squash growth habit is usually as a vine (more like a pumpkin), but this
variety was bread to grow more like an acorn squash. We had left over seed of the vining type from
2015 so we can do a comparison between the two types. It will be interesting to see if there is a
difference in yield, or ease of harvest between the two.
I am looking forward to harvesting winter squash since it is one of the few fall jobs that I will be able
to help with this season. We usually have one to two people with pruners who trim the squash off of
the vines, one to two people following behind picking up the squashes and placing them in trays, and
one person driving the truck next to the row to put the filled trays into. I will be the designated truck
driver as it is getting harder and harder for me to bend and lift with my growing belly.
Tyler got the last field plowed for the fall planting this weekend and Don disced the area on Monday.
We will get the last of the direct seeding done on Wednesday this week, just in time for the rain. We
!1
VOLUME 7, ISSUE 12
WWW.BURROAKGARDENS.COM
are a few days behind schedule, but it shouldn’t be a huge deal. It took
more time to pull the drip tapes and get those out of the field than we had
anticipated since we were busy getting the pack shed ready for honey
harvest. I will be glad when everything is in the ground and we can check
planting off of our long list of fall tasks.
The last of the garlic was cleaned and graded this week. We are very
pleased with how it graded out and we will not have to purchase any seed
garlic for the varieties that we planted this year. We are looking at
purchasing around ten pounds of another hardneck variety to increase our
garlic scape count in the spring. I am going to look at several different seed
suppliers to see if I can find a hardneck with a similar day length to Music
(the hardneck that we currently grow), but with a different flavor.
We discovered this year that it is important to have varieties with similar
day lengths since we try to harvest everything at once. Mid-July we don’t
have time to be continually harvesting garlic and we need to get it all in at
once and hung up to cure quickly. We had one variety this season that
should have been harvested earlier, the result of the delayed harvest being
about half of the bulbs were missing the protective wrappers. When bulbs
don’t have the protective wrappers they get put in a reject box since they
will not store well and it is difficult to get them clean since dirt can get in
between the cloves. We decided to forgo planting that variety this fall and
any usable bulbs will go to our CSA members this year. Our other varieties
were productive enough that we were able to make up that lost weight for
seed garlic for this year.
Honey Now On Sale
$8 per pound (Sold in one pound jars)
Contact [email protected] to place an order.
Make check out to Burr Oak Gardens, LLC and send payment
to Burr Oak Gardens, LLC
W5511 County Road B
Rio, WI 53960
(Honey will be placed in your next CSA tote after payment is
received)
Annual Farm Fiesta
September 17th from 2PM to 7PM
Come join us on the farm for farm tour, potluck and bonfire!
The food is always great and we love to see everyone!
Please RSVP to [email protected] by
Friday September 16th.
Your Box This
Week
!Garlic- Store in a
cool dry place out of
direct sunlight.
!Tomatoes- Store
on the countertop
(not in the fridge!)
!Roma TomatoesSame as tomatoes.
!Cherry
Tomatoes- Same
as tomatoes.
!Bumblebee
Tomatoes- Same
as tomatoes.
!Potatoes- Store
corn in the fridge.
Store potatoes in a
cool, dry place out of
direct sunlight.
!Hungarian Hot
Wax Peppers
(Fatter peppers
with heat of a
jalapeño)-Store in
fridge in a paper
bag.
!Red Flame
Peppers (Thin
red peppers, very
hot!)-Store in
fridge in a paper
bag.
!Bell PeppersSame as hot
peppers.
!Sora Radishes-
Remove the tops
and store in a plastic
bag in fridge.
!
!2
VOLUME 7, ISSUE 12
Tomato Pie
4 tomatoes, peeled and sliced
10 fresh basil leaves, chopped
1/2 cup chopped green onion
1 (9-inch) prebaked deep dish pie shell
1 cup grated mozzarella
1 cup grated cheddar
1 cup mayonnaise
Salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place the tomatoes in a
colander in the sink in 1 layer.
Sprinkle with salt and allow to drain for 10 minutes.
Layer the tomato slices, basil, and onion in pie shell.
Season with salt and pepper. Combine the grated cheeses
and mayonnaise together. Spread mixture on top of the
tomatoes and bake for 30 minutes or until lightly browned.
To serve, cut into slices and serve warm. (From Paula Dean
www.foodnetwork.com)
Tomato Feta Pasta Salad
1/2 pound fusilli (spirals) pasta
Kosher salt
Good olive oil
1 pound ripe tomatoes, medium-diced
3/4 cup good black olives, such as kalamata, pitted and
diced
1 pound good feta cheese, medium-diced
6 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and chopped
For the dressing:
5 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
6 tablespoons good olive oil
1 garlic clove, diced
1 teaspoon capers, drained
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 cup packed flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water with a
splash of oil to keep it from sticking together. Boil for 12
minutes, or according to the directions on the package.
Drain well and allow to cool. Place the pasta in a bowl and
add the tomatoes, olives, feta and chopped sun-dried
tomatoes.
For the dressing, combine the sun-dried tomatoes, vinegar,
olive oil, garlic, capers, salt and pepper in a food processor
until almost smooth. Pour the dressing over the pasta, sprinkle
with the Parmesan and parsley, and toss well. (From Ina
Garten www.foodnetwork.com)
Thai Beef w/ Peppers
1 package pad Thai rice noodles or linguine
1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
3 tablespoons sherry
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon red chili paste or a few dashes red chili oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lime, halved
1 pound flank steak, sliced very thin against the grain
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium yellow onion, sliced
1 red bell pepper, cored and sliced into rings
1 teaspoon diced hot pepper
Fresh basil leaves, for garnish
Fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish
WWW.BURROAKGARDENS.COM
Cook the noodles according to the package directions.
In a small bowl, mix the soy sauce, sherry, cornstarch, brown
sugar, ginger, chili paste, garlic and the juice of half the lime.
Pour a third of the marinade into a bowl with the sliced beef
and toss to coat. Reserve the rest of the marinade for later.
Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high
to high heat. When it is very hot, throw in the onions and cook
for a minute or so. Add the bell peppers and jalapeños. Cook
for a minute, tossing until the peppers have brown/black bits
but are still firm. Remove the vegetables to a plate.
Into the hot skillet, add the remaining tablespoon of oil. Add the
meat mixture, evenly distributing it over the surface of the
skillet. Allow to sit for 45 seconds, then turn with tongs. Cook
for another 30 seconds, then add the onions and peppers back
into the skillet. Reduce the heat to low. Pour in the remaining
marinade and stir. Allow to simmer on low for a few minutes;
the sauce will slowly thicken. Turn off the heat.
Drain the noodles, then add half of them to the stir-fry. Toss and
add more noodles as desired. Stir in some very hot water if
needed to thin the sauce.
Top with basil and cilantro leaves and serve immediately with a
squeeze of the remaining lime half. (From Ree Drummond
www.foodnetwork.com)
Spicy Quick Pickled Radishes
1 bunch radishes
¾ cup white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
¾ cup water
3 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (this yields very spicy
pickles, so use ½ teaspoon for medium spicy pickles or
none at all)
½ teaspoon whole mustard seeds (optional)
Optional add-ins: garlic cloves, black peppercorns,
fennel seeds, coriander seeds
To prepare the radishes: Slice off the tops and bottoms of
the radishes, then use a sharp chef's knife or mandoline to
slice the radishes into very thin rounds. Pack the rounds into
a pint-sized canning jar. Top the rounds with red pepper
flakes and mustard seeds.
To prepare the brine: In a small saucepan, combine the
vinegar, water, honey or maple syrup and salt. Bring the
mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally, then pour the mixture
over the radishes.
Let the mixture cool to room temperature. You can serve the
pickles immediately or cover and refrigerate for later
consumption. The pickles will keep well in the refrigerator for
several weeks, although they are in their most fresh and crisp
state for about 5 days after pickling. (From cookieandkate.com)
Cherry Tomato Salad w/ Buttermilk-Basil
Dressing
6 cups red and yellow cherry tomatoes, halved if large
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2/3 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil leaves
1 shallot, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
Put the cherry tomatoes in a large serving bowl. Season
with salt and pepper and toss.
In another bowl, whisk the buttermilk, sour cream, basil,
shallot and garlic. Season with pepper. Drizzle the dressing
over the tomatoes and toss. (From The Neelys
!3
www.foodnetwork.com)