A Surprisingly Wet Early Summer

The past few summers have been very hot and dry, causing a host of problems for fruit and vegetable growers as a result of plant stress, particularly reduced production over the course of a plant's production and at any given time.  This season has been very different, and although excess rain can cause its own problems, it is incredible how much healthier our plants are this season.  When plants suffer from heat- and drought-related stress, they are not only less productive but also much more prone to insect-damage (sometimes significant enough to cause total loss) and disease pressure (just like a person with a compromised immune system is much more likely to become sick and have a much harder time recovering from an illness).  Although these plant may produce food, the farmer recognizes that the plant isn't doing well and reduced production and early cessation of production is very common.  When it rains (even above and beyond a plant's or an ecosystem's needs), certain issues do present themselves (weeds!!!, planting delays due to wet ground, erosion if efforts are not made to prevent it, an increase in certain diseases for certain fruits and vegetables if there are not periods of sun, and a reduction or delay in production for fruits and vegetables that prefer hot, dry climates - okra, for example).  However, almost all of these issues can be solved with a little extra work in terms of hand weeding, patience in terms of delayed planting and delayed production, or variety selection for varieties that do better in humid conditions.  The conditions caused by heat and drought are much more difficult to solve, and varieties that are able to produce in such conditions are not readily available (most plants have a biological mechanism that begins to shut down production above 90 degrees particularly if weather is dry and nights are also warm).  The difference in terms of plant health in a year like this one and a dry year is what is really incredible.  Plants may produce a little later, but they are so much healthier, meaning that they produce more over a longer period of time and a larger percentage of what is produced is marketable.  Lack of plant stress also improves flavor of most vegetables (tomatoes and melons being the exception), and I imagine, nutrition.  When it rains, plants are also better able to use the nutrients available in the soil and better able to fight off insect and disease pressure.  The farm becomes a jungle: lush, green, and productive.

Updates: all the garlic and red onions have been harvested and are curing (drying).  We will hand them out later in the summer, along with shallots (which aren't ready yet).  We have 5 new older hens by way of a CSA member (a Silver-Laced Wyandotte, a Barred Rock, two Americaunas, and an Orpington).

Potatoes, Fennel, and Leeks

Potato-Leek Soup (Martha Stewart)
You can also add fennel to this soup, in place of celery or in addition to.

• • 2 dried bay leaves
  • 6 sprigs fresh rosemary, or 2 teaspoons crushed dried rosemary
  • 4 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 4 stalks celery, cut into 1/4-inch dice
  • 6 leeks, white parts only, washed well, thinly sliced
  • 4 shallots, diced
  • 6 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 1/2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 8 cups Homemade Chicken Stock Homemade Chicken Stock (http://www.marthastewart.com/261561/homemade-chicken-stock), or canned low-sodium chicken broth, skimmed of fat
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 
    
  • Make a bouquet garni: First wrap bay leaves, rosemary, parsley, and peppercorns in a piece of cheesecloth. Then tie with a piece of kitchen twine, and set aside.
  • Heat olive oil and butter in a medium stockpot. Add celery, leeks, shallots, and garlic; cook on medium-low heat until very soft, about 45 minutes, stirring only occasionally. Do not brown. Add potatoes, stock, and reserved bouquet garni. Bring mixture to a boil, and then reduce to a gentle simmer. Cook until potatoes are very tender, about 40 minutes. Remove bouquet garni, and discard.
  • Working in batches, pass half of the soup through a food mill, fitted with a medium disk, into a large saucepan. Add remaining chunky soup. Place the saucepan on medium-low heat to warm soup. Slowly stir in milk and cream, and season with salt and pepper. Serve hot.

  
  

  Potato,  Fennel,  and Leek Gratin (Ina Garten)

  2 small fennel bulbs
  1 yellow onion, thinly sliced or 2-4 leeks
  2 tablespoons good olive oil
  1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  2 pounds russet potatoes (4 large potatoes)
  2 cups plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream
  2 1/2 cups grated Gruyère cheese (1/2 pound)
  1 teaspoon kosher salt
  1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  
  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  
  Butter the inside of a 10-by-15-by-2-inch (10-cup) baking dish.
  
  Remove the stalks from the fennel and cut the bulbs in half lengthwise. Remove the cores and thinly slice the bulbs crosswise, making approximately 4 cups of sliced fennel. Saute the fennel and onions in the olive oil and butter on medium-low heat for 15 minutes, until tender.
  
  Peel the potatoes, then thinly slice them by hand or with a mandoline. Mix the sliced potatoes in a large bowl with 2 cups of cream, 2 cups of Gruyère, salt, and pepper. Add the sauteed fennel and onion and mix well.
  
  Pour the potatoes into the baking dish. Press down to smooth the potatoes. Combine the remaining 2 tablespoons of cream and 1/2 cup of Gruyère and sprinkle on the top. Bake for 1 1/2 hours, until the potatoes are very tender and the top is browned and bubbly. Allow to set for 10 minutes and serve.