Beautiful Broccoli and a Work Day Invitation

Another Bountiful Harvest

Beets

Broccoli 

Cabbage

Carrots

Cauliflower

Cut Flowers

Eggplant

Garlic

Green Beans

Herbs: Dill, Cilantro, Parsley,

           Mint

Kale

Lettuce Mix

Onions

Green Onions

Bell Peppers

Hot Peppers

Potatoes

Swiss Chard

Tomatoes

Zucchini and Summer Squash

Updates from the Farm and Upcoming Opportunities for Land School Connections

Autumn has boldly arrived here at the Land School: the pumpkins are orange, the woods are aglow with fiery leaves, the corn is beginning to rustle in the fields, and the land is alive with the voices of children. So far this September, we have had orientation visits with all of the E1 classes, day visits with Classes F and G, and a 2-night overnight with Class F. We look forward to Class G's overnight next week, as well as to welcoming Class H first for garlic planting in October, and then for their overnight in November. I am delighted by the additional interest from E1 and E2 students to organize smaller trips to the Land School on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. This week we had a group from Class H who came to draw and collect seeds, and a group from Class E who made candles, hiked, and helped harvest dry beans.

The Harvest Festival is only two weeks away. It will be on Sunday, October 5; more details to come. In anticipation of this event, I invite you to come to the Land School this coming Sunday, September 28, to help with various projects around the farm. There are winter squash to bring in from the fields, broccoli, kale and tomatoes to preserve for use during the four upcoming Farm Stays, onions to bag, and more! Send me an email if you'd like to come, and let me know if you would like me to connect you with others who may be coming for carpooling options. We'll do a simple potluck lunch.

Sunday, September 28
Work Day                                                                                
10:30 AM - 2:30 PM

Sunday, October 5
Harvest Festival!

Recipe

One of our CSA members sent me this recipe to share with all of you a few weeks ago. We do not have any more napa cabbage in the gardens, but I think it would work well with regular cabbage too. Give it a try and let me know!

4 oz. thin rice noodles
6 Tbs. sweet chile sauce (I used red chile garlic sauce)
2 Tbs. lime juice
3 cups thinly sliced napa cabbage
2 rainbow carrots, sliced into thin coins (1 cup) (I used regular carrots)
¾ cup cooked chickpeas
¼ cup cilantro leaves
2 Tbs. finely chopped fresh mint
¼ cup toasted unsalted cashews, chopped (I was so hungry, I didn’t chop the cashews)
1. Prepare rice noodles according to package directions. Drain in colander, and rinse under cold water until completely cooled.

2. Stir together sweet chile sauce and lime juice in measuring cup or small bowl.

3. Combine noodles, cabbage, carrots, chickpeas, cilantro, and mint in large bowl. Add chile sauce mixture, and toss to coat. Garnish with toasted cashews.

This Week's Harvest

Beets
Bok Choi
Broccoli
Cabbage
Carrots?
Cauliflower
Cut Flowers
Eggplant
Garlic
Green Beans?
Herbs: Dill, Cilantro, Parsley,
           Mint
Kale
Lettuce Mix
Onions
Green Onions
Bell Peppers
Hot Peppers
Potatoes
Swiss Chard
Tomatoes
Zucchini and Summer Squash

Photos and updates coming soon! 

A Harvest with Help from Class G!

Class G will be at the Land School for a day visit this Thursday and will be helping with the harvest for this week's market. We look forward to having them here. Here is the list of beautiful produce they will help bring in from the fields!
 
Beets
Bok Choi
Broccoli
Cabbage
Carrots
Cucumbers
Cut Flowers
Edamame
Eggplant
Garlic
Green Beans
Herbs: Dill, Cilantro, Parsley,
           Mint
Kale
Lettuce Mix
Onions
Green Onions
Bell Peppers
Hot Peppers
Potatoes
Sweet Corn
Swiss Chard
Tomatoes
Zucchini and Summer Squash

A Busy Week at the Land School

100 students and their staff members from Great River High School arrived here on Monday morning and will be here until tomorrow afternoon. Along with their own micro-economy projects, creative and physical expression, games, meals, bonfires, and other activities, they have been helping us work on many projects around the farm. These have included: cleaning out the new chicken coop and llama/sheep pen, organizing the lower level of the Red Barn, disassembling the temporary chicken coop in the Red Barn, drying herbs and preserving other produce, cleaning out the root cellar, taking down garlic from the rafters of the Long Barn and preparing it for market, mulching the raspberries, clearing trails, reinstalling bridges on the trails that had been washed away by the rain, and re-wood-chipping the trail between the Homestead and Farmstead. 

Class F came for a day visit on Tuesday. They harvested edamame, green beans and zucchini and did work on the trails alongside groups of the high school students. They were able to take a hike to the pond and do observations. My group found a log near the pond's edge on which we rested for twenty minutes, and after a very active morning, I appreciated the opportunity to sit in silence, to notice the ways in which these E2ers were engaged with their surroundings and each other, and to listen to the wind blowing gently through the woods. We certainly enjoy the day visits, and we also look forward to having more extensive time with all of the E2 students during each class' overnight that will happen this fall.
 

 

Class F thoroughly enjoyed meeting the kittens yesterday. After lunch, one of the students exclaimed: if you haven't seen the kittens yet, you have to, because they are completely adorable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As summer fades into fall...

A harvest from a land where the sky rains every day

The amount of rain that we have gotten this year, both this spring and now this ending of our summer, has made this a challenging season for farming. Despite the ongoing saturation of the garden beds, and an August that has felt lacking in sunshine, the Land School's plants are still offering us their abundance of beautiful fruits. Here is a projected harvest list for the week:

Beets
Bok Choi
Broccoli
Cabbage
Carrots? (we may have an off week until the next bed's carrots size up a bit more)
Cucumbers
Cut Flowers
Eggplant
Garlic
Green Beans
Herbs: Dill, Cilantro, Parsley,
           Mint,
Kale
Lettuce Mix
Onions
Green Onions
Hot Peppers
Bell Peppers
Potatoes
Sweet Corn?
Swiss Chard
Tomatoes
Zucchini and Summer Squash

Here are some preservation ideas to carry this season's bounty into the winter months:

Fermented Green Beans:

In addition to freezing and canning, green beans can also be fermented. The process is simple, and for those who enjoy fermented foods, such as kimchi or sauerkraut, the end result is delicious!

Wash beans. Snap tips off of ends and pack tightly into a clean quart jar. Mix together one quart water with 2-3 tablespoons salt. Pour this salt-water brine into jar, over beans. Cover and let sit at room temperature for 3-10 days, tasting occasionally and moving into the fridge when they have reached your desired level of tanginess. 

Sauerkraut:

Cut cabbage into very thin strips. Mix cabbage with salt in a ratio of 5 pounds cabbage to 3 tablespoons salt. In a large bowl, punch down on the cabbage-salt mixture until the juices from the cabbage are released. The salt will pull enough liquid from the cabbage to submerge it beneath its own liquid. When the cabbage is broken down to this point, pack into clean quart or gallon jar, or fermenting crock. Continue pushing down on cabbage until it is submerged beneath the liquid. Place a weight on top of the cabbage (a ziplock bag full of water can act as this weight) to keep it submerged. Leave at room temperature for 2-4 weeks, tasting periodically. When it has fermented to your liking, put a lid on the jar and move to the refrigerator. If any mold develops, simply scrape it off, clean around the mouth of the jar, and replace weight.

Updates from the Land School

Donna, Katie, Laura and the kittens in front of the new chicken coop

Donna is away for two weeks on the junior high odyssey trip, headed west to Crow Canyon, Colorado. Katie, Erin (this year's facilities intern), Jen and I will all be welcoming 100 high school students from Great River School this coming Monday for their annual fall visit. Lake Country class visits will also begin next week: Class F on Tuesday, Class G on Thursday, and Class E on Friday. We look forwarding to having students back on the farm with us!

Thursday's Market, and a New Craft at the Land School!

Our Last August Harvest

The onions are being harvested and laid out in the
greenhouse to cure. They are a crop that we can
store and use all throughout the winter. 

Beets
Carrots
Cucumbers
Cut Flowers
Eggplant
Garlic
Green Beans (Purple Beans, actually)
Herbs: Basil, Dill, Cilantro, Parsley,
           Mint, Rosemary
Kale
Lettuce Mix
Melons?
Napa Cabbage
Onions
Green Onions
Pak Choi
Hot Peppers
Bell Peppers
Potatoes
Sweet Corn?
Swiss Chard
Tomatoes
Zucchini and Summer Squash

Broom Corn!

This past February, Donna took a class on broom-making at the North House Folk School in Grand Marais, Minnesota. Seeing this as an exciting new opportunity for nature-based craft at the Land School, we now have "broom corn" growing in the garden! You'll have to wait for photos of the finished brooms, but here are some captioned photos to pique your interest.

This photo shows the corn at it's full height - often 12 feet or more. The seeds are on the
top where corn usually only tassels. It's the seed stalks that become the bristles for broom making.

Erin, our Land School facilities intern, is cutting the stalk part way through
so that it can be bent down. This is important to promote straight bristles.

The beautiful yellow future bristles are visible here - now vertical, they
can become part of an excellent broom after drying and being harvested.

Garden Photos

The plums are ripening; New mulch is going
in under the Land School's fruit trees

Lettuce beds beginning to grow!

Purple beans for next week's market

Our beloved Pippa

Arugula? Spinach? Dill? Are you coming?

Relief comes to the previously choked out basil

Raspberry season!

Gourds in the little hoophouse

Harvest of the Week

Beautiful Beets

Carrots 

Cucumbers 

Cut Flowers

Eggplant

Garlic

Green Beans

Herbs: Basil, Dill, Cilantro, Parsley, 

            Peppermint, Rosemary

Kale

Lettuce Mix

Onions

Green Onions

Hot Peppers

Potatoes

Sweet Corn? (let's hope!)

Swiss Chard

Tomatoes

Zucchini and Summer Squash

Upcoming Harvests

With a wet, slow start to the season, and with an intention to shift the garden's major time of production to fall during the school year, there are many things growing in the garden which we have yet to harvest and bring into market. We are hoping to have sweet corn for tomorrow. Edamame, melons, our usual abundance of tomatoes, bell peppers, and all of the broccoli family crops (cabbage, cauliflower etc.) should be coming soon!

Edamame, dill, beets, and cilantro

Summer's Fresh Herbs

As usual, we will have a luscious array of herbs at the market tomorrow: dill, cilantro, parsley, basil, oregano, rosemary and peppermint. Fresh herbs are one of my favorite gifts from summer's gardens. They encapsulate the season for me with their bright green intensity and their lively, energizing flavors. What can we do with these small yet exciting plants? I love to eat them in salad, chopping them up to add to lettuce mix. Rosemary is the perfect addition to roasted potatoes; parsley goes wonderfully with boiled potatoes. Here is another idea:

Chimichurri 

Chimichurri is a sauce whose origins lie in Argentina. It was introduced to me by my dear Puerto Rican sister-in-law; Puerto Rican cuisine has also adopted this lovely green sauce, and now it finds its way to our kitchens of the Midwest. Try it on top of rice, meat, on a sandwich, or as your favorite new chip dip. 

1/2 cup fresh cilantro

1/2 cup fresh parsley

1 tablespoon fresh oregano

1 clove garlic

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes, or 1/2 Land School jalapeño pepper

1 tablespoon minced onion or shallot

3 tablespoons lemon or lime juice

1/4 cup olive oil

Place all ingredients except olive oil in a food processor or blender. While processing/blending, slowly drizzle in olive oil. Adjust seasonings to taste. 

The kittens have been named! They are Castor and Pollux,
named after the Gemini stars. This is Pollux, in his full cuteness. 

Eight rows of beautifully weeded carrots that
will feed us through the Fall and Winter!