Night and Day

For the past several months the only reliable indication of seasonal change has been the relative length of days and nights. Although the mornings have cooled into the 50s and 60s for the past couple of weeks, the daytime temps have still been climbing into the 90s. These warm daytime temperatures are making it hard to get cool-weather crops to germinate from seed outdoors. So I decided to start greens and other non-root crops indoors to ensure a quick start for these crops.

I am trying out some new varieties of greens this year which I am excited about. The Te You Broccoli (Brassica oleracia) looks especially promising as a new crop for fall. The marketing information ^[1] says that this plant tolerates fluctuations of heat and cold, and is resistant to powdery mildew. It also reaches maturity much faster than regular broccoli so it can provide an early broccoli type crop for us while the regular broccoli is setting nice, big heads. Two other new and interesting fall crop additions are the Kaboko Cabbage (Brassica oleracea var Pekinensis) ^[2] and the Farao Cabbage (Brassica oleracea) ^[3]. I chose the Kaboko Cabbage specifically because of its compact growth habit and resistance to bolting. The appealing aspects of the Farao Cabbage are its compact size, which lends itself to intensive plantings, as well as its heat tolerance.

We are also trying out a couple of new varieties of pumpkins and winter squash this fall. I’m looking forward to making some pumpkin pies this Thanksgiving using Baby Pam Pumpkins ^[4]. According to the marketing info on this variety it is stringless, smooth and sugary – yum! I’m also growing Cider Jack ^[5] pumpkins which are early producing and have a more bushy growth habit which suits our compact growing area.

Other exciting developments here on the farm include some new infrastructure elements that Farmer Ron has been working on. The most important infrastructure improvement is one that is not easily seen, but has multiple, significant benefits. We have finally completed the project that I call waterworks central. This project involved the separation of each of our water sources, well water, rain water, and trucked-in water, and the interconnection of these sources at the well house so that we can route which ever type of water we want to whatever location we wish.

We also completed the vegetable preparation and packing area and storage area of the greenhouse which enabled us to organize our growing and packing supplies much more efficiently.

And last, but not least, Ron has almost completed our new compost system. I like this design because it has front panels that slide out for easy access to the piles and more bins can be added easily to expand the capacity.

Recipe of the Week

Swiss Chard and Mushroom Lasagna

This recipe was adapted from Emeril’s Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna ^[6].

Ingredients:

Chard and Mushroom Filling:
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 ½ cups diced onion
2 tablespoons minced garlic
8 oz mushrooms
1 ¼ teaspoons salt
10 cups chopped fresh swiss chard
3 cups tomato sauce
1 cup vegetable stock
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons each chopped fresh basil, parsley, thyme, marjoram and oregano

Cheese Filling:
3 cups low fat cottage cheese
¼ tsp nutmeg

To Assemble:
Vegetable oil cooking spray
1 pound fresh or par cooked pasta sheets, cut to fit baking dish
3 cups (about 12 ounces) shredded mozzarella
2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Method:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Chard Mushroom Filling:
Place a large skillet on medium heat and add the butter and olive oil.
Add the onions and sauté until soft and translucent, 3 to 4 minutes.
Add 1 the garlic, mushrooms, salt, pepper and fresh herbs.
Continue to cook until mushrooms are soft and wilted, 5 to 6 minutes.
Add the swiss chard in batches until wilted, 3 to 4 minutes.
Add the tomato sauce and vegetable stock and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the sauce reaches your desired consistency. Remove the pan from heat and set aside.

Cheese Filling:
In a bowl, combine 1/2 tsp salt, cottage cheese, and nutmeg.

To Assemble:
Coat a 9.5″ x 13″ baking pan with olive oil.
Arrange lasagna noodles on the bottom of the pan until most of the surface area is covered, but the noodles are not overlapping.
Spread a layer of the cottage cheese mixture, then the spinach mushroom filling, then 1/3 mozzarella and Parmesan.
Repeat layers, ending with mozzarella and Parmesan.
Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Uncover and continue to bake until cheese bubbles and is lightly browned, about 15 minutes.

To Serve:
Cool at least 20 minutes before cutting.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings