May 2008 Newsletter  Volume 3, Issue 5
Dunlooken Farm Extra
 

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"Don't knock the weather: nine-tenths of the people couldn't start a conversation
if it didn't change once in a while."
-   Kin Hubbard

"If it's drama that you sigh for, plant a garden and you'll get it.  You will know the thrill of battle fighting foes that will beset it.
If you long for entertainment and for pageantry most glowing, plant a garden and this summer spend your time with green things growing."
-   Edward A. Guest, Plant a Garden 

This month does seem to have us concerned about the weather and drama in the garden.  It’s been just plain cold and dreary for much of the month so far.  This morning’s weather forecast does seem to hold out hope for a little bit of warmth in the upcoming weeks.  I’ll believe it when I see it.

All farmers are behind, whether you’re planting a garden or planting corn and beans.  We put the first seeds in the garden this year on April 19^th.  I noticed yesterday, May 13, that the peas planted that day are up about an inch and the radishes still have only 2 leaves.  Last year we had lettuce and spinach ready to eat by now.

But all isn’t dreary.  We have a beautiful pair of red breasted grosbeaks coming to our feeders.  Yesterday I saw that our orioles were back.  The swallows came back last week, the same time as last year, though since there don’t seem to be any bugs around I don’t know what they’re eating.

The lilac are budding, we have a few tulips blooming.  The currents, sand cherries and one plum tree are full of bloom.  Spring is coming even though it’s a good 2 weeks or more late.

The Animals

 Baby goats are being weaned and we are looking for our two calves that we want to raise this year.  So far no one seems to have bull calves.  I don’t like buying from dairymen that I don’t know so it takes us a bit longer to find them than it might.  We want to be sure the babies come from healthy herds and have had proper care in the first few days of their lives.

The chickens are laying well.  The free range Banty hens are doing a good job of hiding nests.  There are many fewer hens running around than there were just a few weeks ago.  We even have one duck that seems to have started setting tight on her eggs.  Other ducks have made nests, but like normal Pekin ducks they aren’t interested in sitting.

 The CSA

Most of our spring veggies have been planted in the garden and the rows have been mulched.  Unfortunately there isn’t much to see but the mulch!  We planted all the cole crops that were started for us by Holasek Greenhouse in Lester Prairie.  We also took home the tomatoes and peppers plus a few herbs.  Our tiny little greenhouse is full to over flowing.  I sure hope we can get these warm weather plants into the garden soon!

We had a number of beet seeds left over from past years.  I planted them all fairly thickly yesterday.  The idea is that the older seed won’t germinate well and by planting the seed closely I’ll end up with correct placement.  This is how it works in theory but seldom in practice.  Either very little of the seed will germinate or all of it will!  Beets love cooler weather, so if they do germinate we should have a great crop.

So in honor of all those seeds we’re going to make BEETS our veggie of the month.

Veggie of the Month: Beets

In the beginning beets grew wild around the Mediterranean Sea.  Only the leaves were eaten; the roots were used as medicine. 

By the 2^nd century the Romans had recipes for using the beet root.  The next recipes we have come from 14^th century England.

Beets weren’t very common or popular in early America.  In 1800 only one type has been found listed in seed catalogs.  But soon Americans learned what the Russians already knew and the number of varieties increased as did the colors.  We are growing white, gold, striped and deep red beets.  One of my seed catalogs has 10 varieties and all together I counted 18 different varieties in just the catalogs I receive.

There are also many health benefits from eating beets.  One website I checked out mentions a number of them. It also tells how to store beets and gives a few recipes. http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=49

One reason people give for not liking beets is the mess they can make.  This isn’t a problem with the white and gold beets and the red ones can easily be dealt with.  Don’t cut the root and cut the leaves off leaving at least a couple of inches of stem.  Then you can bake, boil or microwave your beets and all the color will stay within.  If you’re boiling them a little vinegar in the water will also help keep the color bright.

I adore pickled beets.  The internet has a number of recipes or you can just pop the cooked beets into the left over juice from pickles.  I also like them shredded raw on a salad.