QUAIL HILL FARM E-NEWS - Peconic Land Trust

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WEATHER REPORT: A Conversation with Scott by Jane Weissman Like any farmer, Scott is hedging his bets, So far, it’s been a very good year. No doubt, everyone picking in the fields will concur, harvest baskets overflowing. The weather is a major factor and having a great crew certainly has helped, too and it couldn't have been better, Scott explains. June was spectacular, sunny days, and cool breezy nights enjoyed by both people and crops. The humidity stayed low which plants like as long as they get water and we did have to irrigate a bit. All in all, excellent growing conditions. Plants have matured quickly. As many of us recall, 2006 was a tough growing year, frustrating for both farmers and share members. Not only was the weather too extreme, it constantly flip-flopped. It was either too hot or too rainy. Five-inch downpours after weeks of no rain hinders as much as it helps. According to Scott, The past few weeks have been friendly to the plants. No extremes. We had two nice rains and they were gentle enough (a half to an inch). The timing was perfect, too, providing a nice boost to the potatoes and the garlic just before it got harvested. The farmers have planted more than ever before and everything looks good. The peas had a good long run and, for those who haven’t heard, it was crows with whom we were sharing the shucking peas something Scott had never seen. It was great to see fresh garlic at the stand this past weekend. Despite last autumn’s heavy rains, which washed out a goodly number of plants, we will enjoy it for the rest of the season and there will be plenty for winter shares, too. There will just be a bit less seed from our own plants for seeding in October The early potatoes are in and it was good to literally get our hands in the dirt, a sure way to unearth even more of those delicious spuds. The farm is growing about 20 varieties, many in the Town Lane fields including some trial plants thru NOFA. One new variety is King Harry, special to Scott as Harry was his father’s name, which has hairy leaves to repel Colorado potato beetles. Good news: they came, they were conquered, they are gone. It’s a treat to have lettuce pretty continually throughout the season. There’s a patch coming along on Hurricane Hill, but as deer have on occasion made a meal of it, lettuce is also grown on Town Lane behind an impregnable deer fence. It was some of that got harvested and brought to the farm stand this past weekend, including a new variety, Cimarron, red, crunchy and delicious. The cukes are in, as early as this correspondent can remember. The Armenian variety, long, skinny and curved, a favorite, takes longer to mature and should soon be ready. The eggplants look good and are about to flower. They are a bit slow this year as they like hot weather, which only recently set in. Plus they had to fight off the beetles And the tomatoes are pretty unbelievable. Things have been going so well that the farmers had time to put in a third planting (usually not done) on Town Lane another 600-700 seedlings. And those dang crows pulled out every one of the plants. Adding insult to injury, they didn’t even bother to eat them. The farmers are already looking to fall crops. The autumn squash was seeded and has germinated nicely. Sweet potatoes were planted and they too look good. Scott explains that sweet potatoes are not related to potatoes. While both are tubers, they belong to different families. Not a nightshade (potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant), sweet potatoes are a member of the morning glory family. And what gets planted is not a seed potato (a chunk of potato with an eye or spud), but rather a root with a couple of leaves. Also sweet potatoes are not yams, even though many are marketed as such. It turns out that yams don’t even grow in the U.S. Days and days cultivating, a fancy word for weeding. The onions which will get harvested when the tops die back in early August, maybe late July, have already been hoed four times. Not too long ago, the farmers spent an entire day cultivating melons, and only just some of them. All this work is enormously helped by the efforts many terrific volunteers. Thanks always to Nick, ever ready to lend a hand. And appreciative thanks to Matt and Max, Gilda and Mel Berger’s grandsons, who are here for July and spending many days at the farm. And to Sean, and to John Landes. Recently, a group joined the farmers in weeding the raspberries, making picking for members a lot easier: Ira, Ursula and Frank, Fran and Landon, and Jane as well as Max, Matt and Sean. Happy harvesting and healthy eating!
EVENTS and ANNOUNCEMENTS POT LUCK SUPPER: July 21, 2007 QUAIL HILL FARM'S 4TH ANNUAL POT LUCK SUPPER A Thank You From the Quail Hill Farm Committee We would like to thank all who came to the Pot Luck Supper last Saturday evening. Your food was glorious, your children and guests enchanting and the smore's divine! If you missed it, try to come next year and partake in some of the magic of belonging to a CSA farm community. Thanks also to the Peconic Land Trust for donating the libations and to our outstanding interns who worked all day, joined us for dinner and cleaned up after we all went home. There have been requests for copies of the recipes of the dishes served at the dinner. If you are so inclined, email Linda Lacchia lles@optonline.net and we will circulate them to members who request it. Some will be published in the next edition of this newsletter. “The Real Dirt on Farmer John”, Saturday, August 1 A superb, award winning documentary about an Illinois farmer whose home farm has been transformed into a dynamic CSA and learning center will screen at the Sag Harbor Cinema. Scott has traveled with this colorful character and recommends the experience! For the real dirt on Farmer Scott tune in to WLIU, 88.3, Wednesdays at around 8:30 a.m., “In the Morning” (Nature: news and views). TOMATO TASTING: September 1, 2007 the 10th annual GREAT TOMATO TASTE OFF Saturday, September 1, 2007: 9-12 in The Apple Orchard Taste and rate the 50 varieties of tomatoes grown at Quail Hill Farm. Cherries, paste, standard. Red, pink, yellow, orange, purple and green. This year, the farm has planted 21 new varieties. Let's see how they stand up to our favorites. A fact sheet with descriptions of all the varieties will soon be at the farm stand. Volunteers are needed! To harvest on Friday and run the event on Saturday! Watch the farm stand for a sign up sheet. Or contact Jane: urbecoart@aol.com, 212.989.3006 To help offset event costs and to generate revenue (which helps keep share prices down) we are charging: $10 nonmembers $5 members (suggested contribution), Free: kids under 12
Page 1: July 18, 2007 Vol. 2, July News Pec
Page 5 and 6: CROSSWORD PUZZLE: by John de Cuevas
Page 7 and 8: OF OTHER INTEREST EDIBLE FLOWERS by

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