Bumper Crop

If you see me, you'd know. We're having a little bumper crop in September - our fourth baby boy!

Any advice on raising so many boys is heartily welcome.

I always think of an old coworker who told me, "My mom always says mothers of all boys are crazy."

Bring on the crazy!

Good Dirt

This week we've been dealing with our dirt. I mean that literally and figuratively. We're testing our soil in one of our garden beds. The seeds aren't coming up as fast in one section of new soil as they are in a more established bed that's been worked with compost for two years. We bought a home testing kit from the Flower Bin in Longmont so we can check pH, nitrogen, potassium and other levels. It will be interesting to see what happens in the next day or two and determine what we need to add to balance it all out.

We're also dealing with the figurative nitty gritty "dirt" of kids growing up. There's a balancing act going on around here about three boys pushing boundaries and consequences. Must be an end-of-the-school-year catharsis. It's exhausting, dirty business, but hopefully - can't help myself with the metaphor here - the seeds of a good groundwork will pay off.  If it were only as simple as adding a little nitrogen to even things out ...

This week's garden crop was French Breakfast radishes. They're longer and bit thinner than their traditional counterparts. Serve them sliced on toast with a little salt and butter for a real treat. We've also got more lemon cucumber plants per many requests from market goers. We won't be there next weekend for Memorial Day, but come down the following week and pick up a plant.

The market was cold and rainy this weekend. Not as many shoppers. We needed to pack a more robust lunch for our kiddos. They were all starving when the market ended. Need to address that Maslow hierarchy of needs. Take a moment to HALT -  address whether you're hungry, angry, lonely, tired. That would help with all of our moods and behavior.

Jack's exhaustion and hunger in the car threw him in to a tailspin of an existential crisis asking, "Is God even real? How did he know how to make the world? What does he do all day?"

We need some radishes stat.

Whey Good Weekend Food

Working at the farmer's market has its advantages. We got the spicy green salad mix from Aspen Moon Farm and a roasted red pepper and onion flatbread from Breadworks for dinner.

The salad was delicious because we topped it with the Creamy Green Goddess Dressing recipe from chef Mara King of Esoteric Foods. We used basil and it's spectacular.

Creamy Green Goddess 
Makes about 3/4 to 1 cup of dressing
by Chef Mara King

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 Tablespoons or more of white wine vinegar
3 Tablespoons fresh or sour cream, yogurt, mayonnaise or pureed soft tofu
1/2 to 3/4 cup tender, milder herbs like parsley, tarragon, chervil or basil
1 small garlic clove
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a blender and turn machine on; a creamy emulsion will form in 30 seconds. Taste and add vinegar a teaspoon or two at a time until the balance tastes right to you. If the mixture is too thick (it probably will be), add water one tablespoon at a time until the consistency is right. Taste, adjust the seasoning.

We also had a coupon from Live Well Moms for yogurt called, Better Whey of Life. We picked out the plain vanilla, and Dirk said, "What is this? It's the best yogurt I ever had." I liked it, too. The vanilla bean gave the yogurt an authentic flavor. There's whey protein in it to balance the protein and carb ratio. I would definitely buy this product again.

Next week, we're getting more greens from the market and we'll play around with the dressing variations.

Our Heirloom Tomato Varieties

Thank you to all of our customers today at the Boulder County Farmer's Market! Weather was perfect - crisp and warm, kids were happy and the plants loved the temperature. No freezing morning like last week. 

Heirloom tomatoes and basil were the huge hits of the day. The summer menu planning is in the works. We had four requests for lemon cucumbers today

We wanted to recap some of the descriptions and details about the varieties of tomatoes we are selling. All of our seeds come from Seed Savers Exchange in Decorah, Iowa. We like them because they have been in the heirloom seed movement for 35 years, and sales from their catalog fund their nonprofit mission to collect and distribute heirloom and open-pollinated seeds. They have literally thousands of varieties in their seed vault, which is one of the largest non-governmental seed banks in the US. 

Here's our list of tomatoes with descriptions directly from Seed Savers to help you choose which you would most like to grow and enjoy. 

Black Krim

Black Krim

(Solanum lycopersicum) (aka Black Crimea) Found in Krim, Russia in 1990 by Lars Olov Rosenstrom of Bromma, Sweden. Beefsteak fruits are a unique combination of violetbrown and purple-red—they turn almost black with sufficient sunlight and heat. Excellent full flavor. Indeterminate, 70-90 days from transplant.

Hungarian Heart

Hungarian Hearts - (We especially love these because the kids are part Hungarian.) 

(Solanum lycopersicum) Said to have originated in a village 20 miles from Budapest around 1900. Jerry Muller of Alabama (formerly of Tennessee) was the first SSE member to offer this variety; in 1988 he listed his seed source as Ed Simon of Pennsylvania. Huge pink oxheart fruits weigh upwards of one pound. Very few seeds and almost no cracking. One of our favorites for fresh eating, canning, and for making roasted tomato sauce. 

Italian Heirloom

Kolb

(Solanum lycopersicum) Outstanding heirloom from Italy. Plants are loaded with red fruits weighing over a pound. One of the most 

Italian Heirloom

productive varieties we have grown at Heritage Farm. Excellent full tomato flavor. Ideal for slicing and canning—very little waste and easy to peel.

Kolb

Moonglow

(Solanum lycopersicum) Originally from Kolb Greenhouse in Storm Lake, Iowa. Good yields of one pound pink beefsteak fruits with rich tomato flavor.

Moonglow 

(Solanum lycopersicum) Winner of SSE’s 2007 Heirloom Tomato Tasting. Uniform bright orange globes with solid flesh, few seeds, and mild sweetness. Excellent keeper. 

Nyagous

Nyagous

(Solanum lycopersicum) Introduced in the 1997 SSE Yearbook by Glenn Drowns. Great black tomato that is virtually blemish-free. Baseball-sized fruits are borne in clusters of up to six fruits, very productive. Excellent full flavor, great for markets.

Wapsipinicion Peach

Wapsipinicon Peach

(Solanum lycopersicum) (aka Yellow Peach, White Peach) Originated with Elbert S. Carman in 1890 under the name White Peach. This strain came from Dennis Schlicht and is named after the Wapsipinicon River in northeast Iowa. Heavy producer of 2" round fuzzy yellow fruits. Sweet, juicy, well-balanced flavor. Winner of SSE’s 2006 Heirloom Tomato Tasting. Rot resistant. 

 

 

Today's Market

Come out and see us today from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm. We're selling out fast. We have tomato, pumpkin, pepper, cucumber and basil plants. We also had French Breakfast Radishes, but we sold out. They were our first crop of the year! Exciting!