What are those green curly things?
Crop Talk: June 23, 2014
The Newsletter of Great Country Farms
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U-Pick, U-Play, U-Grow
Word From Your Farmer

The word this week is garlic scapes. "There's no use in trying to hide it," Crisper Whisperer Carolyn Cope admits, "so I'm just gonna go ahead and lay it on you from the start: I get a little unnaturally excited about garlic scapes -- the way some people do about football teams or politics or hamburgers."

Scapes are firm, green flower shoots removes to encourage the growth of the underground bulb.

"A handful of years ago, I was a passably respectable corporate lawyer who had never even heard of scapes," Cope explains. "Then somehow I became a crazy CSA lady. Fast-forward to last spring, when the economy was imploding and everyone was feeling grimmer than usual. I made and froze like a dozen batches of scape pesto; and I am not kidding when I say that the prospect of cracking them open one by one in the depths of winter to stir into twelve steaming pots of pasta gave me a sense of hope that no friend or news report or even chocolate cake could give."

 

"Whew! That felt good. I feel like I can really talk to you guys. So. Thanks for that."

 

Cope's scape pesto recipe and six other scape suggestions are available at seriouseats.com. Other adventurous cooks have blanched them like green beans and served them with lemon butter, chopped them and baked them into souffles with gruyere cheese, or plopped them uncut on the grill alongside strips of zucchini or yellow squash, which are also in this week's box, along with
lettuce, collard greens, and spring onions.  

 

 
Farm News
Upcoming Events
In The Farm Market June 24-29
Zucchini $1.29/lb
Broccoli $2.89/lb
Kale $3.79/lb
Onions $.99/bunch 
Tomatoes $1.99/lb

CSA Bonus
June 24 -- 29
CSA Bonus this week will be a half-pint of delicious rubus occidentalis, a.k.a. black raspberries. Come and get 'em!

 
CSA Bonus Ticker
Guests have asked us over the years to help quantify the u-pick value in our CSA shares.  Last year we did a u-pick value ticker so members could track their bonus value.  Last year's ticker wrapped up just over $165.00 in market value.  We hope you are able to make it out at least once a month to enjoy a picnic at the farm, chat with your farmers, and do a little bonus picking to add value to your CSA share.

CSA Bonus Ticker: 

Week 6/24: $4.00
Year to Date: $11.26
Solar Power Comes to GCF

Fifty-two solar panels grace the roof of the farm store.
The roofs of the farm store and the Zurschmeide house have been converted into power plants. The next step in the process is to connect the panels to the power grid and to a video monitor in the store which will show how much power the panels have generated in any given day, week, or month. That information will also be available online once Independent Solar Solutions a web monitor to its site. For more information about this project, speak to Mark Zurschmeide or contact Independent Solar Solutions directly.


 

Watching out for Lyme Disease
Fauquier Health reminds us that summer is Lyme disease season. The disease is transmitted to people by deer ticks, which can be as small as poppy seeds. Here are Fauquier Health's suggestions for keeping them at bay:

* Use insect repellents with 20 to 30 percent DEET. Apply to exposed skin areas and clothing. Permethrin, another insect repellent, can be used on clothing only, not on skin.

 

* Wear long pants, long sleeves and long socks to keep ticks off your skin. Tuck pant legs into socks or boots and tuck shirts into pants.

 

* Wear light-colored clothing to help spot ticks.

 

* Do a full-body tick check at the end of every day. If you do find a tick, remove the tick promptly with tweezers, not with your fingers, by gently pulling it straight out. Be careful not to squeeze the tick while removing it.
 
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