May 2009
May 1, 2009
Farmers are like artists. We are passionate about the work we do. Our canvas is the land, our medium is the plants we tend and instead of paint brushes, our tools are tractors, hoes, shovels and muscle. The landscape is like a painting that begins each season as a rough draft in the mind of the farmer who considers the best place to seed each crop. There are many considerations when creating the composition of this painting. Unlike the artist’s blank canvas, however, a farmer begins with a dynamic, living surface. My husband, Stewart, knows this land well and has shown me how there are sections that are sandy and not suitable for many crops. He knows where, long ago, a wash ran through a field as evidenced by a wide, rocky band of earth, near which he has unearthed matates and manos left by artisans of the past. Only the farmer with an intimate connection to his land knows the subtle slopes, climbs and dips of his canvas that dictate the flow of water. Crops that are heavy nitrogen feeders like corn, need to be planted where previously nitrogen fixing plants, like legumes grew, or, even better, these crops can be seeded alongside each other, working symbiotically to feed one another while one crop provides a natural trellis for the other. In considering the composition of the gardens, the farmer must recall what grew there before so as not to deplete the soil. Perhaps a hedge of sorgam should grow along the perimeter to buffer hungry deer from the vegetable garden. To make harvesting easier, alley-ways should be carved into the ground alongside heavy crops like melons, squash and pumpkins. Vegetables planted for customers to pick like beans, squash and cucumbers should be seeded as close to the farm stand as possible as should flowers which, in our case, double as a “butterfly garden” for kindergarten students here for field trips.
All this Stewart considers as he plans the seeding year round. He asks my opinion (and sometimes takes it). And he paints his acreage with seed and sweat. Right now on the farm spring lettuce grow neatly in rows of bright and dark green, deep reds and purples, striping the earth with an edible rainbow. The tall, thin greens of garlic and onions are pointing to the sky waiting for an early June harvest. Small shoots of corn have peeked out of the ground between rows of beans that will soon reach inward and grab onto their taller neighbors. Sugar snap peas are fat and sweet, ready to be picked. Sunflower plants are only eight inches tall and to the untrained eye are unimpressive, but the artist knows that soon they will tower over our heads and huge blooms will trace the migration of the sun across the sky throughout each day. Arugula that has passed it’s time is tall and flowering, making seeds that will re-grow like weeds next year with or without the approval of the farmer and, in the meantime, create a habitat for ladybugs and other beneficial insects.
This year’s canvas is colored with more garlic and onions than we have ever grown. Right now we are “robbing” the plants of their delicious scapes – the green shoot that, if left alone, a flower would eventually grow. The shoots are a culinary delight – the onion greens are uses like a green onion and the garlic scape has a mild, sweet garlic flavor. We are also harvesting immature garlic called “green garlic”, celebrated for having that distinct flavor, without the bite. These are treats only enjoyed if you have access to a garden. Grocery stores don’t carry them. Soon – by the beginning of June – the tops the onions plants will signal harvest time by flopping over. The garlic leaves will surrender their green pigment and begin to yellow. The savory alliums will be harvested making the way for the repainting/replanting of those acres. Pumpkins, perhaps…
*This year’s garlic harvest will include stiff neck and soft neck varieties as well as elephant garlic (which isn’t actually garlic at all, but related more to an onion and leek). We also grew our famous sweet yellow onions and have added a red onion to the mix.
Roasted Elephant Garlic (Elephant Garlic will only be available at our Garlic & Onion Festival)
1 Elephant Garlic
1 t Olive Oil
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel the outer layers of papery skin from a full fist (cluster) of elephant garlic, leaving a small amount of skin behind. Cut the very tops off the cloves with a sharp knife – only about 1/4 of an inch, just enough to expose the individual cloves inside the skin. Wrap in aluminum foil, and drizzle some olive oil in with the garlic before closing the foil completely. Bake for 30-45 minutes, or until garlic feels soft when pressed. Allow to cool slightly, and carefully squeeze garlic out of the skins, or gently slice open the sides and remove with a fork.
Roasted Elephant Garlic is delicious eaten as is, or mashed into a paste and spread over warm French bread or toasted crostini. It is also delicious mixed with mashed or baked potatoes, or on bagels with sour cream.
The more the merrier for our garlic and onion harvest. Get in touch with us if you feel like getting your hands dirty the first week or so of June. Then, come to our Garlic and Onion Festival for the celebration. Other local farms will be here as well as some food and craft venders. We will have live music and a good time, June 19 and 20 in the evenings from 5pm to 9pm. www.AguaLindaFarm.net
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