I guess there won’t be any more complaining about a cool spring. It appears summer is here. At least the summer vegetables are enjoying the warmer weather.
This means the end of the greens and cool season vegetables but I’m ready to be finished with greens. I can’t wait for the first squash casserole and I really can’t wait for the sweet corn. This time of year I can eat just vegetables and be very content. Don’t get me wrong I’ll always be a meat eater, you can’t grow up on a beef cattle farm and not be, but I do enjoy fresh summer vegetables.
My husband Rick is waiting for that first red ripe tomato for that perfect tomato sandwich. Tomatoes are the one summer vegetable that I don’t like. Yes, I know it’s weird that I’m from Johns Island and don’t like tomatoes. I love anything with cooked tomatoes but just don’t like the acid taste of raw tomatoes. We are still adding names to the list of people interested in buying 20 lb. boxes of tomatoes. I’ll also send out an email when they are ready but the folks on the list will get first chance on them. I think we are about 3 weeks from having tomatoes ready. We are also taking names for butterbeans. Call us 843-559-0788 or email us if you want to get on the list. We have all the vegetables planted now and are in the maintaining phase. This means, watering, weeding, adding fertilizer, and most importantly picking. The picking is the rewarding part for most people and while I enjoy the fruits of this part, I really enjoy the planting part more.
I find a great satisfaction from looking back over a neatly planted field with great anticipation. At this point you still have so much optimism that it is going to be the best year ever and you just know a bumper crop is coming. When we get to the picking phase, we know that it is good or not. The drought may have affected the harvest or there may be insect damage. All of the mystery is gone.
The CSA vegetable deliveries are going well. This week will be the 5th week of deliveries. I have been adding new members even though we are already several weeks into the season. I just prorate the amount by the weeks left. The best advertising is word of mouth from existing CSA members. We are still offering the Butchers Club for buying meat at a discount. We still don’t have any chicken available but plenty of beef and pork. We are also teaming up with Ham It Up Specialty Hams. They are curing our hams and smoking them to order. You can call them at 843-568-8204 for information or to order one.
The Rent A Chick chicks are continuing to grow by leaps and bounds. They moved into their new pen this past weekend. They won’t start laying eggs till the fall but require a lot of work and feed before we get to that point. I always find it incredible how much money and time is in a chicken before we get the first penny back out of them. On top of all the work and money, we have to worry about all the predators that can’t wait for a good chicken meal. The chicken really does have a lot of predators, the raccoon, the fox, the coyote, the hawks, and eagles, just to name a few. If you think about everything it takes to get a dozen eggs, it surprising they don’t cost $20 per dozen.
We are doing an after party for an Electric Foam Run this Saturday 5/31/14. The party is free so if you would like to come out and hear the music, eat some Legare Farms’ food and drink a beverage, come by between 7 and 10 pm on Saturday.
If you are a runner you might want to come earlier and sign up to run the 5K race but that’s not free. We aren’t putting on the race just doing the party after the race. Farming for us is so different than when my Daddy and Grandfather and all the generations before us were doing it. We have had to learn to combine the actual farming with events and entertainment.
We are always looking for new things to do to bring in additional income. Sometimes we have to be event planners and sometimes we have to be farmers.
Calendar
May 31 Light/Foam Run
June 6/16-20 Summer Camp 6-8 year olds
June 21 Solust Music Festival
June 6/23-27 Summer Camp 9-11 year olds
August 16 Zombie Run
September 27 Charleston Mega Mud Run
October Pumpkin Patch
Feature of the Month The Feature of the Month is Candied Dill Pickles. I chose these pickles because it’s my favorite of all the pickles we do. I love the okra pickles and pickled asparagus but those aren’t sweet pickles. I’m a fan of the sweet pickle and like the hint of dill. You need to try these pickles.
Special of the Month We’ve had a good month of sales on the ground beef so I’m going to continue the sale for another month. Normal price on ground beef is $6/lb. and it’s on sale for $4.50/lb. Stock up now while it’s on sale.
Recipe Of the Month Green Beans with Zucchini
1 pound fresh green beans ¼ cup butter ½ cup minced onion 2 medium zucchini, cut into ¼ inch slices 4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled ¾ teaspoon salt
Dash of pepper
Remove strings from beans; cut beans into 1 ½ inch pieces. Wash thoroughly. Cook beans in boiling salted water 15 to 20 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain. Melt butter in large skillet; add onion and sauté about 3 minutes. Add zucchini and cook over medium-high heat 3 to 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in beans, bacon, salt, and pepper; cook 1 minute.
Yield: 6 servings.
If you have any questions about the farm or our products, please don’t hesitate to call or email. I want to remind you that you can stop by one of the CSA vegetable drops and visit or purchase. You don’t have to be a CSA member. I have eggs, jams, pickles, salsas, and some meat with me for sale. Our drops and times are: Tues, at the Pour House on James Island 4:30 till 6; Wed. at Trident Tech 3:30 till 4:15 and at the West Island Center on Hwy 17 4:45 till 6; Thurs. in Mt Pleasant at the Pickled Palate 411 Hibben St. 4:30 till 6.