Pictured above:
1. Winter Squash and Melon planting.
2. Winter Squash and Melon under floating row cover for insect protection.
3. Potatoes half sprayed with Surround.
Protecting your plants.
1. Winter Squash and Melon planting.
2. Winter Squash and Melon under floating row cover for insect protection.
3. Potatoes half sprayed with Surround.
Protecting your plants.
Being
a farmer can be hard. An organic farmer, even tougher. It seems like everything
is out to get your plants. How do we as organic growers protect our plant from
everything out there?
A
healthy plant. One of the best ways to keep your plants free from bugs and
disease is to keep it strong. Water and feed it consistently. This will allow
your plants to help you in the fight against bugs and disease.
Give
them cover. Another thing we do here on the farm is covering plants. We use
this both for temperature when its cold and bugs when they show up. It is
probably not the hardest thing in the world for the bugs to overcome, but that
extra layer of protection is definitely helpful.
Finally,
something new to the farm. We are trying out this clay spray that the bugs
aren't supposed to like called kaolin, a white chalky powder if you can see
from the pictures. It's an interesting idea. The one down side of it is that it
requires constant reapplication and requires a fair amount of time and product.
We're still not sure how effective it is. It is still in the experimental
stage, as you can see from my pictures.
Restaurant-Style
Zuppa Toscana
Ingredients
1
(16 ounce) package smoked sausage 2 potatoes, cut into 1/4-inch slices 3/4 cup
chopped onion 6 slices bacon 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic 2 cups kale -
washed, dried, and shredded 2 tablespoons chicken soup base 1 quart water 1/3
cup heavy whipping cream
Directions
1.
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). 2. Place sausage links onto a
sheet pan and bake for 25 minutes, or until done. Cut links in half lengthwise,
then cut at an angle into 1/2-inch slices. 3. Place onions and bacon slices in
a large saucepan and cook over medium heat until onions are almost clear.
Remove bacon and crumble. Set aside. 4. Add garlic to the onions and cook an
additional 1 minute. Add chicken soup base, water, and potatoes, simmer 15
minutes. 5. Add crumbled bacon, sausage, kale, and cream. Simmer 4 minutes and
serve.
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