Once covered with dirt, these sweet potato slips will grow shoots in about 5 weeks
1) In Your Box this Week
2) Farm News:
- From the Farmer’s Perspective … Sweet Potatoes and Red Tomatoes
- Of Chickens and Raccoons… by Grit Ramuschkat, JBG Resident
3) Updates, Meetings, and Events
- Save the Date! JBG’s Annual Spring Potluck will be Saturday, April 10
- Slow Money Austin 2010 Conference at Austin City Hall, April 21st
- Interested in Becoming a CSA Site Host?
- New Workshare Policy
4) Quotable Food
5) Recipes
- Dandelion Greens
- Carrot Coriander Soup
6) Produce Storage Tips
7) Johnson’s Backyard Garden Contact Info
After that, we'll cut the shoots and replant them at River Road
1) In Your Box this Week
Carrots
Beets
Bok Choy
Kale or Collards
Kohlrabi
Green Onions
Lettuce
Endive
Parsley or Dill
Baby Arugula
Grapefruit (G and S Groves)
Oranges (G and S Groves)
2) Farm News:
- From the Farmer’s Perspective ….
You may have noticed that our web site was down for about a day and a half there! Some sort of internet blip with our web host. But although our site stopped, we certainly didn’t! We have been busily planting summer crops at the River Road property: tomatoes, eggplant, and peppers. The potatoes we planted back in February also are coming up nicely, and we expect a great harvest at the beginning of May. Last week, we also seeded green beans, and this week we are making headway on cukes and squash. Meanwhile, at the Hergotz farm, the heat is making all of our produce shoot up, and the harvest crew is busy keeping up. Soon, the crew will have to come in around 5 or 6am, in order to get everything harvested before it gets too hot!
Also last week, we planted several thousand sweet potato slips at the Hergotz Farm. We laid them out one by one on a narrow bed, so they were very close but not touching. Keeping the slips from touching is a way to prevent the spread of disease. In about 5 weeks, the sweet potatoes will send up shoots. We’ll cut those down, and then plant those at the River Road farm. Those shoots are what will give us our sweet potato harvest this summer!
We are expecting all of our very productive summer crops to start appearing in May, so get ready for tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, melons, and corn. In the meantime, enjoy the fall and winter crops: kale, collards, kohlrabi, and turnips, while they are still around.
By the summer, we'll have sweet potatoes!
- Of Chickens and Raccoons… By Grit Ramuschkat, JBG Resident
Drenched Chicken
3) Updates, Meetings, and Events
- Save the Date! JBG’s Annual Spring Potluck will be Saturday, April 10
Saturday, April 10th, Johnson’s Backyard Garden will host its Annual Spring Potluck from 4 p.m. ’til dark. Join us for live music, great food, tractor rides around the farm, and lots of fun activities for the kids. Our CSA members are some of the best cooks in Austin, so come hungry to this locavore heaven, with tons of locally-raised and prepared dishes. We’re ready for this year’s potluck to be the best one yet!
- Slow Money Austin 2010 Conference at Austin City Hall, April 21st
- Interested in Becoming a CSA Site Host?
JBG is always looking for new delivery locations that are convenient for our members. If you’re interested in becoming a CSA host, there are a few things you should consider: What you need:
- A shady, covered carport or porch, preferably that’s air-conditioned.
- Space for at least 10 CSA boxes.
- Convenient parking for other members to drop by and pick up their boxes.
- A pickup site that’s accessible every week from mid-afternoon (around 3 p.m.) until 7 p.m.
What you do:
- Hosts store empty boxes until our delivery driver picks them up the following week. JBG asks that you put away the boxes that day or the next.
- After the delivery period ends, you distribute unclaimed veggies to charity or a needy family.
- You do not have to be present during pickup hours. Pickups are self-serve and on the honor system.
Perks:
- Hosts receive a complimentary CSA box every quarter.
JBG will work with you to determine which weekday fits best with the delivery route and schedule. If you’re interested in becoming a CSA host, please email farm@jbgorganic.com.
- New Workshare Policy
We always appreciate when workshares come out to help us on boxing days. Recently, we’ve been getting such a great turnout that we don’t always know what to do with everyone! So it’s probably time we got organized. If you’d like to come workshare, please email us on Mondays. We will send you a confirmation if we have space for you to come, and we’ll have a list for you to sign off on when you get here. Please don’t come until you get a confirmation, and thanks so much for all your hard work!
“Treat the Earth well. It was not given to you by your parents. It was loaned to you by your children”
- Kenyan Proverb
5) Recipes
- Dandelion Greens
Ingredients:
* 1/2 cup chopped onion
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 1 whole small dried hot chile pepper, seeds removed, crushed
* 1/4 cup cooking oil
* salt and pepper
* Parmesan cheesePreparation:
Discard dandelion green roots; wash greens well in salted water. Cut leaves into 2-inch pieces. Cook greens uncovered in small amount of salted water until tender, about 10 minutes. Sauté onion, garlic, and chile pepper in oil. Drain greens; add to onion garlic mixture. Taste dandelion greens and season with salt and pepper. Serve dandelion greens with grated Parmesan cheese.
Recipe for dandelion greens serves 4.
- Carrot Corriander Soup
Ingredients:
1 lb of chopped carrots, chopped.
1 small onion, finely chopped.
1 garlic clove, crushed.
3 ½ cups of vegetable stock.
1 tablespoon of freshly chopped coriander.
6 teaspoons of olive oil.
1 teaspoon of coriander seeds, crushed.
1 teaspoon of ground coriander.
¼ cup of chopped sultanas (optional).
Salt and pepper, to taste.
Preparation:
Heat the olive oil in large saucepan. Add the chopped onion, garlic and carrots; cook gently for 10 minutes. Stir in the crushed and ground coriander, then cook for one minute. Add three quarters of the vegetable stock, then cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until carrots are tender. Purée the soup in a blender or food processor. Add the remaining vegetable stock. Add the salt and pepper, and if your including them the chopped sultanas. Garnish with chopped coriander and serve.
6) Produce Storage Tips
To store kohlrabi for several weeks, remove the leaf stems and place, unwashed, in sealed plastic bags in the refrigerator. Save the greens to eat!
Freshly picked dill leaves have the best flavor. However, they keep for several days in the refrigerator, their stems in a jar of water and covered with a plastic bag.
7) Johnson’s Backyard Garden Contact Info
Johnson’s Backyard Garden
9515 Hergotz Lane, Box E
Austin, TX 78742
Office Phone: 512.386.5273
Office Hours: M-Th 8am to 5pm, Friday 8am to 12pm
The farm office is closed 12 pm to 1 pm for lunch.
e-mail: farm@jbgorganic.com