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Some of our beautiful waist high weeds
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What's happening on the farm right now:
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The potato fields are empty now. The potatoes are stacked in the barn waiting to be sold, but when the field was full of plants, I both dreaded and looked forward to the killing of the potato beetles. These small bugs have red and white stripes. Left unbothered, they will strip a potato plant of all its leaves and the plant will wither where it stands. Therefore, our first task of the day was to walk the beds and squish any and all beetles on sight. Their guts would stain my hands red, literally reminding me of the blood on my hands for the rest of the day.
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I start with this rather gory story because today, while planting our last succession of flowers, we talked about the concept of do no harm. Most people are familiar with this idea, and many try to implement it as a practice in their life. On the farm, it requires a nuanced perspective.
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First, what is harm? If a potato beetle must lose its life so that the potato plant can live, is this harmful? What about the potato plant itself? Surely, from the perspective of the plant, it would rather bolt, germinate, and spread its seeds than be uprooted from the ground and cast to die. But what if there is the knowledge that the potatoes are feeding people, providing nourishment and comfort?
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There are, of course, no clear answers, and the matter becomes even muddier when we begin to talk about spraying. Last week, our tomato plants began to show signs of downy mildew. The leaves shriveled and became brown and the fruit grew smaller and less… well… fruitful. On our farm walk Monday morning Vanessa said, “well darn, we should have sprayed sooner.” Nobody on the farm likes to spray, but it feels even worse to lose whole crops to disease and pests. The compromise is to spray with very specific organic sprays (and yes, organic crops can be sprayed too) that target the pest or disease and nothing else. Which is less harmful, to not spray and lose crops (and therefore capital) or to spray and kill something that is part of the ecosystem?
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I think part of the answer can come from examining what we deem valuable on a farm. Vanessa shared with us that in the past she felt envious when looking across our creek at our non-organic tomato farm neighbors. Their entire field is weed free. They do not have any pests. Vanessa said something to the effect that “I was trained to believe that that sort of extreme order is what makes a beautiful, well-run farm.” I see in this the statement the constraints of capitalism and its constant demand for efficiency, productivity, and perfection. Our farm, by comparison, is a jungle. At this time of year, some of the weeds come up to my chest. I look around me, at the intricate connection between all of the crops. I listen to the bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds flying around me, drunk on nectar from a multitude of different crops. My eyes are awash in color. I touch the soil, and marvel at its texture, its nutrients. I wonder what our neighbor’s connection to their soil is. Personally, I choose the jungle.
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Perhaps the solution is not to do no harm, but to do less harm. Instead of spraying our dahlias, we put mesh bags over the buds to save them from being eaten. We cover our chard to protect them from the ever hungry goldfinches. When we have to, we spray. We ask questions we do not always have answers to. We do what we can, and we keep asking questions.
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Nature's "pest" control: A caterpillar covered in parasitic wasp larvae.
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It looks like a particularly gruesome way to go from here but the caterpillar seemed in good spirits
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What's available in the store and at market this week?
It is August and we still have some sweet head lettuces, romaine, red butter, green oak leaf and red leaf. The mix is crisp and tender too. We have red beefsteak, heirloom, cherry tomatoes and cocktail tomatoes. Lots of kind of potatoes. The reds and blues are particularly good for potato salads. We have red, yellow and sweet onions. Shishito peppers and jalapenos. Maybe some colored peppers next week. Summer squash and cucumbers. Swiss chard and eggplant. Lots of sweet basil good for pesto and just little cilantro.
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The dahlias are blooming like mad and are making their way into our bouquets as well as straight bunches. At market we have bunches of celosias and gomphrena, flowers that are super easy to dry.
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North Asheville Tailgate Market hours are
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Saturdays 8am-12pm on the campus of UNC Asheville.
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River Arts District Farmers Market hours are
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Wednesdays 3-6pm at the Smoky Park Supper Club, 350 Riverside Drive.
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Because onions are beautiful too
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John's Recipe of the Week
| John Loyd is our dear friend, neighbor, CSA worker member and a gourmet Southern cook. His delightful observations on gardening and cooking appear here each week. |
It is is a week for guest authors:
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2 pounds of tomatoes – no need to peel, just core
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1 or 2 tbsp. sherry vinegar
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In a blender or food processor blend all the ingredients.
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Add ¼ to 1 cup of good olive oil as desired. Remember the more oil the more oily the gazpacho.
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TOMATO BISQUE WITH CURRIED CROUTONS – Gourmet January 1993 - This is fast and a good use of tomatoes. Serves 2
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1 tsp. curry powder, Madras curry from Fresh Market is just super
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2 slices of homemade-type white bread, crusts discarded and cut into 1/2-inch squares.
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1 small onion, chopped fine
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1 small garlic clove, minced
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2 cups drained plum or cherry type tomatoes or a 28-ounce can
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½ cup heavy cream or half and half
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scallions greens if you’ve got them, about 1/3 cup
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In a heavy skillet cook the curry powder in the butter over moderately low heat, stirring, for 1 minute, add salt to taste and the bread cubes, stirring to coat the bread with the curry mixture, and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until they are browned.
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In a heavy saucepan cook the onion in the oil over moderately low heat, stirring until it is soft and add the garlic, and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and water, simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes and then stir in the cream. Add the cayenne, the scallion, and salt to taste. Heat the bisque until it is hot and top with the croutons.
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NOTE: You may choose to puree a cup of so of the soup to make the dish smoother.. If so do before adding the cayenne, scallion and seasoning.
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What we do instead of using pre-emergent herbicides: hoe!
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Your farmers, Vanessa and Alex
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Love the flowers. Honor the vegetables. Let the weeds go!
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- Cheri Huber and Ashwini Narayanan
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