Autumn is heading our way.....
This month our BLOG will announce all the wonderful produce and share items you can expect to see in September PLUS we are providing the details of this month's upcoming Food Preservation Workshop; and you will find a super simple recipe for Skillet Potatoes with Onions & Peppers.
Your "Heart Team" sleuth reporters will be working on a new column in the Newsletter, called "The Farm Ecosystem" where we can learn about and enjoy the amazing life all around the farm.
We are also working to capture the look and feel of an old-style Newspaper for our Newsletter articles, to reflect the age and era of Sycamore Spring Farm-over 350 years old. Still working on that but the color photos have got to stay!
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As the CSA season slows down, let us take time to reflect on the importance of our Wonderful Volunteers and Interns and SHOUT OUT a huge THANK YOU to each and every one for their Hard Work, Dedication and Love for the Farm.
The September Harvest is not only Bountiful but also in Transition as the Summer crops finish up and the fall crops begin production. What's on the pick list for September shares? Expect to see Summer and Winter Squashes, Zucchini, Collards, Cucumbers, Onions, & Kale, Dried Lentils, Persimmons, Sweet Corn, Carrots, Dried Beans, Okra, Dried Peas, Potatoes & Sweet Potatoes, Celery, Chick-Peas, Pumpkins, Tomatoes, Pears, Peppers, Eggplant, Melons, Celery, Peaches, Green Beans, Apples, Paw Paws, Kiwis and Chestnuts
The Food Preservation Workshop will take place on On Saturday September 27th from 10am – 2pm at The Gathering Place, on the Farm. Come and join us and learn how to preserve your produce. Canning, fermentation, dehydrating, freezing drying and root cellaring will all be demonstrated and discussed.
The hands-on Tomato canning sessions will be at 11am &1pm at the Gazebo and all else will be ongoing demonstrations at various stations around the farm. Free for Members with Q&A time and samples!
The hands-on Tomato canning sessions will be at 11am &1pm at the Gazebo and all else will be ongoing demonstrations at various stations around the farm. Free for Members with Q&A time and samples!
Skillet or Roasted Potatoes, Peppers and Onions
Potatoes, red and green bell peppers, and yellow onions are combined in a colorful and flavorful combination that is perfect for breakfast, lunch, or dinner
This is so easy and delicious and can be ready to eat in 25 minutes-if you do the dicing ahead of time. Store the diced veggies in the fridge and coat with olive oil, salt and pepper to taste and roast or fry until cooked through and browning.
You do not even have to measure anything just dice everything in like sizes and cook as much as you want as tender or crispy as you want. Your family will love to eat this combo at least weekly during the fall and winter months ENJOY!
Potatoes, red and green bell peppers, and yellow onions are combined in a colorful and flavorful combination that is perfect for breakfast, lunch, or dinner
This is so easy and delicious and can be ready to eat in 25 minutes-if you do the dicing ahead of time. Store the diced veggies in the fridge and coat with olive oil, salt and pepper to taste and roast or fry until cooked through and browning.
You do not even have to measure anything just dice everything in like sizes and cook as much as you want as tender or crispy as you want. Your family will love to eat this combo at least weekly during the fall and winter months ENJOY!
The Farm Ecosystem, It‘s all connected……
A farm ecosystem is a human-managed system where crops, livestock, soil, and surrounding natural elements interact to produce food. For example, our diversified farm includes crop gardens, grazing pastures and a flowing spring. There is a food forest with hedgerows for beneficial insects, and a woodlot for wildlife. ALL TOGETHER it creates a complex network that cycles nutrients, controls pests, and supports biodiversity.
This new column will bring our members closer to the fascinating "other life" around the farm. We’ll introduce you to fungi and raptors, livestock, soil microbes and insects you’ve likely never met.
Did you know about our garden trenching or our current battle with the Spotted Lanternfly? How about our underground, mycorrhizal network which enables our plants to communicate, share resources and support one another sustaining the entire farm ecosystem? What?
You are going to love reading about a lot of good, bad and sometimes ugly stuff that is intricately woven into the Farm Ecosystem.
A farm ecosystem is a human-managed system where crops, livestock, soil, and surrounding natural elements interact to produce food. For example, our diversified farm includes crop gardens, grazing pastures and a flowing spring. There is a food forest with hedgerows for beneficial insects, and a woodlot for wildlife. ALL TOGETHER it creates a complex network that cycles nutrients, controls pests, and supports biodiversity.
This new column will bring our members closer to the fascinating "other life" around the farm. We’ll introduce you to fungi and raptors, livestock, soil microbes and insects you’ve likely never met.
Did you know about our garden trenching or our current battle with the Spotted Lanternfly? How about our underground, mycorrhizal network which enables our plants to communicate, share resources and support one another sustaining the entire farm ecosystem? What?
You are going to love reading about a lot of good, bad and sometimes ugly stuff that is intricately woven into the Farm Ecosystem.
The Discovery of a NEW Friend by Farmer Carol
What are these little pieces of grass that keep fluttering down to the ground, I wondered, every time I opened the van door? Something was building a nest in the door gasket, but what? Definitely not a bird or even a really dumb mouse but what else could it be. Several weeks of this action and reaction occurred time after time during July and August. It was a mystery, but intriguing, to me because at my age I don’t get to see much that I haven’t seen before. So, I pondered the matter and even asked a few farmer friends if they had any idea what might be dragging the grasses into the vehicle. All were surprised at the story as they had never heard of such a situation. Especially since the vehicle was moved regularly.
As many of you know, i have a very deep love for the wee creatures all around us and a huge desire to understand and get to know them when possible. I had pretty much deduced that the culprit had to be an insect. But what insect would continue to take tiny pieces of soft grass and pack them into the door track, repeatedly, for weeks and all the while their efforts were being destroyed? Hhhmmm.
Some days later, while driving on the highway, this shiny blue-black mud dabber type wasp appeared in the front windshield. “Uh oh, not allowed”, I said to the wasp as I reached for an implement to “do it in” and in that instant I thought ‘Could this be our mystery insect’? It was rather unique looking compared to the common wasps that I was familiar with. It had the tiniest of wasp waists and a blueish sheen to its wings not much to go on but I had to find out. So Google's Gemini was contacted and asked- "Is there a dark wasp that builds a nest out of tiny pieces of grass"?
Gemini replied, "The Grass-Carrying Wasps are amazing solitary, thread-waisted wasps that build nests lined with grass in existing cavities, such as hollow plant stems, old insect burrows, and window frame tracks. These gentle, non-aggressive wasps are beneficial pollinators, with the adults feeding on flower nectar and paralyzing grasshoppers and crickets to feed their larvae. Their most notable characteristic is the female's behavior of collecting blades of grass in her mandibles to construct their nests. WOW! I was just speechless what a PERFECT NAME and why had I never known about this fantastic insect before?? I was covered with a smile about it all. Can you feel the SMILE?
It is with great pleasure that I introduce you to our newest friend of the farm, The Grass Carrying Wasp. Thought you Ought to Know and now you can pass on the facts about these amazing, gentle, beneficial members of the Farm Ecosystem.
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