Ps11farmmkt’s Weblog

I hope everyone saw Irene through safely. While the PS 11 Farm Market will be open this week (Wednesday from 8-10) at 320 West 21st Street, Stoneledge Farm was hit quite hard by the storm. Deb and her family picked and packed all the crops they could before the storm hit so we will receive our delivery this week. However, the fields were under water after the storm and they are unsure about what crops will remain (see letter below.)

Here are the items that will be available this week:

Tomatoes • Sun Gold Cherry Tomatoes • Leeks • Peppers •
Carrots • Hot Peppers • Summer Savory or Summer Thyme-(Almost dry. If you would like to finish drying the bunch, hang up and you can use it later during the cold months) • Peaches • Vanier Plums

Letter from Stoneledge Farm:

Our farm and the surrounding area has been devastated by the storm.

We received 10-14 inches of rain and have had severe flooding. The
National Guard has now arrived in the area and clean up has started on
the roads and bridges. Our fields were under 4-10 feet of water .
Everyone is OK. Pete and my house is on high ground and so we had a
place for everyone to gather until the water went down. We are going
to start to get the major trees cleared today and as the sun shines
and dries things out, we will be better able to take a look at what
crops remain. I will keep you posted.

We harvested this weeks’ share before the storm hit so Peter will be
making the delivery tomorrow.
Deb

PS 11 Farm Market, Wednesday, 8-10. We will have eggs – please email me if you would like a dozen. We only ordered 4 dozen – so first lucky four will get them!! See you at the market.

Deborah

Letter from Stoneledge Farm:

It seems that every year there is a vegetable of the season that just simply produces more than we could have imagined. A couple of years ago it was the beets. This year it looks like it will be carrots. Carrots always amaze me but this year they have grown incredibly well. Pete and I have wanted to move aside slowly so the next generation could move in and Peter and Arliss now have the complete responsibility of all our production and harvest. They also do all of the driving to distribute the shares. A lot on young shoulders. They say the amazing carrot production is due to their superior management of the garden so confidence is not in short supply. Not sure, but there are a lot of carrots. The seed of the carrot is so light and the plants take so long to germinate that it is a constant battle keeping the weeds under control and the feathery leaves of the carrots growing. What a grand reward when we start to dig them.

What about the onions this season? They are the sweetest and largest we have ever grown. Try slicing them and roasting them. Just delicious. Peppers are so plentiful and the flavor is very good. Everything balances out in the end.

The tomatoes are plentiful although you may find that some have a green or yellow top. Just too much rain and cool and not enough heat and sun. But there are tomatoes and there is nothing like a tomato slice with a basil leaf sprinkled with salt. The Sun Gold Cherries continue on and just can not be beat for their flavor. Savor the summer flavors.
Enjoy the Vegetables
Deborah, for everyone at Stoneledge Farm
Pete, Peter, Arliss and Brenna

Tomatoes • Tomatoes-Sun Gold Cherry • Edamame (Soybeans) • Onions-Wala Wala Sweet • Carrots •
Peppers-Lilac • Hot Peppers-Serrano (They are hot, so be careful after cutting them.) • Lime Basil •
Okra • Eggplant-Zebra • Red Clapp Pears • Ruby Queen Black Plums and Ruby Queen Red Plums

Stoneledge Farm LLC
info@stoneledgefarmny.org
www.stoneledgefarmny.org
359 Ross Ruland Road
South Cairo, NY 12482

WEEK_10_RECIPES_EGGPLANTS_TOMATOES,_ONIONS,_PEPPERS,_TOMATILLOS,_BASIL

Don’t forget about us…. Market is running straight through the summer. Wednesdays, from 8-10 in front of PS11,320 West 21st Street.

Look forward to seeing you.

Deborah

Letter from Stoneledge Farm:

The middle of summer and the tomatoes are starting to ripen. There are different varieties that will be coming your way as we go through the season. The first ones are the small salad type that ripen first. They are solid and firm. We are trying a new variety this season that was developed by Johnnys’ Select Seeds to be Late Blight resistant. In 2009 most of NY state farms, organic and conventional, lost their tomato crops to Late Blight. Since that devastating year, we are on guard and willing to give a new variety a try if it proclaims that it is resistant to the Blight. Hopefully we will not be put in the position to see it in action. Not this season with the ample sunshine and dry weather. Better safe than sorry, though.

Sun Gold Cherry Tomatoes, small orange deliciously sweet, are a favorite and they also are some of the first tomatoes to ripen. We will try to keep up with them as they fill the vines each week. Just like a bite of summer. They probably don’t make it home from the CSA pickup.

There will be orange tomatoes that are an heirloom variety, large round red tomatoes, plum tomatoes. Each week we harvest the tomato patch and fill the crates for the CSA sites from the baskets as they come into the packing barn. There is no telling which varieties will be delivered to which CSA site. All delicious and the season comes and goes so quickly. Enjoy them while the sun shines.

Enjoy the Vegetables
Deborah
for everyone at Stoneledge Farm

Tomatoes-Slicing-
Tomatoes-Sun Gold Cherry
Eggplant-Black Bell & Raveena
Edamame-Soy Beans-(take the pods from the plant, rinse and steam for 3-5 minutes. Add salt if you like. Pop the seeds from the pod right into your mouth.)
Wala Wala Onions
Tomatillos-
Basil
Peppers-Biscayne-This is a Cubanelle Frying Pepper
Red Nectarines
Donut Peaches (Different varieties ripen at different times and so the season continues.)

Last week of summer camp, so last time to see the students in action before the school year begins. The Farm Market remains open though – every Wednesday from 8-10 a.m. in front of the school, 320 West 21st Street. In addition to the amazing produce, we will have coffee, honey, maple syrup and a new addition, homemade dill pickles. See you at the market.

Deborah Osborne

Letter from Stoneledge Farm:

We finally had rain and the ground softened enough so we could finish the garlic harvest. We worked all day and pulled the bulbs from the earth, crated and then hung the bulbs to dry until cured in the barn. The harvest looks wonderful .

Garlic is one of the favorites of CSA members and also farmers. We harvest the heads in July, hang to cure. When the heads are dry we separate the heads into bulbs and plant the bulbs in October. The garlic bulb stays in the garden until the next spring time when first the garlic leaves and then the Garlic Scapes emerge. Some of the first greens of spring time and the scapes are a treat after the long winter without fresh vegetables. We tend the rows of tall garlic leaves until we are ready to once again pull the bulbs and start the process all over.

We save about 1/3 of our harvest for seed stock for planting in the fall. Each head has 5 or so bulbs and each bulb will produce a head the next summer.

We have been adding products to the Market Place at the farm website slowly but surely. Along with the Coffee, Honey and Maple Syrup, our first batch of Dill Pickles are ready and can be purchased online from the Market Place. We are working with Jim Hyland of Winter Sun Farms, the Winter CSA share, and his partner business Farm to Table Co-Packers. We grow the vegetables and Jim and his crew process them. We plan on offering more products as the season goes on and I will let you know as they are available.

Enjoy the Vegetables
Deborah for everyone at Stoneledge Farm

Early Jersey Wakefiled Cabbage, Thyme, Summer Squash, Cucumbers (skins are getting tough as the summer wears on. Better to skin them now.), Wala Wala Onions, Okra, Sun Gold Cherry Tomatoes, Carrots, Peppers-Biscayne, Eggplant-Raveena a light green, long eggplant, Slicing Tomatoes, White Nectarines and Donut Peaches

Week_9_Recipes_Tomatoes,_Carrots,_Eggplants_Pdf

Just read this in the Just Food Newsletter.
Tuscan Carrot Top Soup
3 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Medium Onion diced
2 carrots, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
6 cups vegetable broth
1/4 cup rice uncooked
1 1/2 cups carrot tops, chopped
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
Saute onion, carrots, celery and garlic in oil, approximately 5 min. Add broth, salt, pepper and rice and let simmer 15 minutes until the rice in tender. Add carrot tops and let simmer 5 minutes. Add cheese and serve.

Tuscan+Carrot+Top+Soup

Week_8_Recipes_Summer_Spinach,_Lilac_Peppers,_Wala_Wala_Onions_PDF

Deborah from Stoneledge Farms says it all this week.

See you at the market. Honey, Maple Syrup & Coffee will be available this week.

Deborah Osborne

Letter from Stoneledge Farm:

This year our farm is delivering to 18 different CSA Locations. Each CSA location that we work with is independent, organized and run by the members. Each CSA location reflects their community.

One project that we have worked with for a number of years is the PS 11 CSA Farm Market The PS 11 Farm Market is branch of the Chelsea CSA. The PS 11 Farm Market has been in operation since June 2008 and operates Wednesday mornings from 8 am to 10 AM in front of PS 11, 320 West 21st Street from mid-June through late November. Our farm delivers shares to the school each Tuesday. The third grade students run the market each Wednesday morning using the shares that were delivered. They research the vegetables, price, display and then handle the sales for the market. Debbie Osborn is the organizer and spirit behind the market. This year Chef Melissa Muller Daka from Eolo on 21st Street and 7th Avenue has been providing the program with recipes specifically for the produce each week. All the recipes are available on the PS 11 blog – ps11farmmkt.wordpress.com – or at the market on Wednesdays.

What an opportunity for children to learn about local, fresh vegetables, math and consumer relations all in a really delicious way. Debbie Osborn writes, “ Also, thought you would be interested to know that PS11 is the unofficial pilot site for using CSAs in the school kitchen. We are the only public school in NYC approved. Hopefully not the last. Debbie” There was a nice article and photo in Now Chelsea , head line “PS 11’s Produce Absolutely Delightful”.

If you have a project that your CSA is involved with and would like to share, please let me know. Lets’ spread the good word and good works.

Enjoy the Vegetables
Deborah, for everyone at Stoneledge Farm

Summer Squash (yes, the Summer Squash has been feeling the heat and is starting to slow down),
Cucumbers, Wala Wala Onion, Okra, Lilac Peppers, Tomatillo, Sun Gold Cherry Tomatoes,
Slicing Tomatoes, Orient Eggplant, Summer Spinach, Opal Basil,Yellow Peaches and White Nectarines

PS 11 Programs Inc.
320 West 21st Street
New York, NY 10011
917.653.0594
ps11programs@aol.com

Week_7_Recipes_Cabbage,_Blueberries,_Swiss_Chard_PDF