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The Cover CropVolume III Issue 3 June 23, 2011

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Welcome Back!Its week three! We saw yet anotherrecord-breaking turnout last week!

This Weeks HarvestNot too interesting this week- things

will start getting exciting in the next

couple weeks! After two phenomenal

first shares, a lull.

Kale (Red Russian), Beets (various

cultivars), mixed Lettuce

Student StuffSome Comments and RemindersAs some of you have noticed, orPizza Money jar has been

refurbished into a Popsicle FundsJar. This notable change is due to

what the interns feel is a more noblecause for donations: delicious, cool

ice pops. Pizza is just too hot for

this weather!

A reiteration: wash your produce!Often the greens come straight out

of the ground and into our walk-incooler to wait for your arrival. This

process will involve a spray or soak

of water but dirt and the occasionalcreepy crawlie will piggie back on

the produce. So give your veggies agood wash back home!

To ensure you get all the insects off,if you are especially phobic of bugs

or are certain you saw somecrawling around, try soaking the lesscosmetic of the greens (kale,

arugula) in a salt water bath. Thisisnt always necessary but should

give you peace of mind. Includingthis as part of your producecleansing will remove dirt- and

unexpected protein.This weeks story

A lot went down at the farm this

week! Our tomatoes have, by large,taken to the soil under their plasticmulching and are gaining height.We drove the stakes into the rows

this week, a preemptive move toprepare for trelissing! We alsopruned and re-trained ourcucumbers in the high tunnels,taking off lateral buds. In other

news, our chard, finally liberatedfrom the confines of the spinach,

has begun to grow by leaps andbounds!

Crop Of The Week:

Kale (Red Russian)(Brassica oleracea)Kale is a member of the Brassicafamily, alongside last weeksKomatsuna, as well as broccoli andcauliflower, and is technically a

form of cabbage. Red Russian is amore colorful variety, noted for itsnon-curly broad, long leaves andred-purple stems. Kales popularity

began in Europe, though regional

cultivars exist worldwide.

Did you know? Kale was anintegral part of Great Britains Dig

for Victory campaign during WWII,

designed to help bolster meagerdomestic food production during a

time of rationing and blockade. Easyto grow and extremely nutritious,Kale was an obvious choice. How

nutritious? Kale is known for,amongst other nutrients, beta-carotene, vitamins C and K,calcium, iron and includes

xanthophyll carotenoids lutein andzeaxanthin (crucial for goodeyesight!). What CANT Kale do?Admittedly, its bitter and hard toget creative with.

Our Kale, in-field.

Thats why the internet is flooded

with creative recipes to incorporateKale into our diets. Though difficulto chew and digest, various methods

can be used to begin to break downthe leaves. Please see this weeks

Recipe, adopted from the blogI

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effectively by plucking at the baseof the tell-tale purple stem,evacuating the entire root system(the length of your middle finger).

This root system is pinkish red, andgives the plant its common name. Its

most dubious quality is its ability torapidly grow taller than seedlings,competing for light and nutrients.

But did you know? Pigweed is aterm applied simply to a few weedyspecies of Amaranth- and Amaranthis harvestable as a food! Apparently,

the leaves of the plant can be usedas a salad green in lieu of spinach.

Lambs Quarters, as it is known,is not endorsed for eating by this

particular writer, but if you see thisnot-so-awful seeming weed in themarket, give it a try. The SSF does

not endorse eating just anythinggrowing on the periphery of yourgarden. Consult appropriate texts

and authorities, etc. More onAmaranth (a truly intriguing plant)

at a later date!

Shown here, growing through rusted-

out metal.

Know Your Interns:Tatiana Quiroz

Preexisting Nickname:Tat (as in taught)

Tatiana is new to the farm this year.Hailing from Hawthorne, NJ, sheenters her fourth year of study at the

Rutgers School of Environmentaland Biological Sciences planning to

complete a major in Plant Science,and a possible minor inAgroecology. She currently lives in

New Brunswick, and loves the city.Her talents include fashioningclothes and jewelry, gardening,cooking (at least once a day), and

whacking her shins (and, this week,head) on anything sharp or blunt

within sight.

Herfavorite plant out at the farm is

eggplant. She lacks a least-favorite;whats not to love? Tatianas gotstrong opinions on feng shui,family, being polite, and theweather. She reports that some of

the sounds emitted by the automatedscarecrows out at the breeding

cornfields at the back of the farm(not our plants) are not unlike some

of those screeched by the birds ofher homeland, Colombia! Go figure.

Recipes of the Week:Massaged Kale(from the blog I