Oak Slough Farm

6.11.24

Last Row 

Last week we planted our 67^th and final vegetable row.  Our vegetable patch now stretches from one end of our make-shift deer fence to the other.  We are hoping to transition into a no-till system, but we haven’t figured out how to successfully plant without first creating a nice, clean seedbed.  Right now, we prepare the vegetable beds by disking the area, which cuts the ground and buries any plant residue, and then we use a rototiller to make a nice fine seedbed into which to plant our seeds and transplants.  Rototilling is especially hard on the soil structure because it pulverizes it into smaller pieces.  It also disturbs the soil’s microscopic life.  We try to make up for this damage by doing a lot of mulching.  We also try to only rototill when the soil is moist, but not wet.  Last time we rototilled, it was too dry and I felt terrible about how it seemed to turn the soil into dust.  I vowed not to rototill again until we got some rain, but we didn’t get our buckeye rains.  So, we opted to plant into the already disked soil.  Kat and Asa hoed the weeds that came up, and then we did our best to hand rake the area into rows.  Then we planted it using a walk-behind push planter that makes a little furrow for the seed and drops and covers the seed.  We planted corn, which is a big seed.  We’re watering the rows with drip tape and some of the seed are already germinating.  Jessica is our corn girl and we are hoping her corn works out.  I’m worried because we’ve seen a lot of racoon tracks in the garden, and we’ve never had a very good crop of corn in the little gardens we’ve done for ourselves.

Rut-Row

While we finished planting our last fresh row, many of the old rows are done producing, and we hoped to replant them with new things.  Asa used a walk-behind mower to mow down all the old plants and weeds, and I was supposed to go behind him with the tractor and rototiller to finish preparing the old beds for new planting.

Our plan was foiled when I drove the tractor over a spiked harrow and popped two tires.  I was so sad when it happened.  Asa and Kat took the tires off the tractor for me, so I wouldn’t have to look at my mistake, and Jess took them to town to be repaired.  Maybe we will be able to do some more planting next week.  Sadie is excited to try growing arugula in the summer.  Normally, it is a cool season crop, but she wants to see if we can get at least one cutting off of it. 

Recipe-Potato-Crust Quiche

It started as a gluten-free alternative to traditional crust but has become popular in our family for being quick and delicious without the hassle of blind-baking a pie crust. Its also a great way to use early summer potatoes and handfuls of greens!

Oven 400º. Lightly coat your baking pan in oil. Thinly slice 1-2 potatoes and put down a single, over-lapping layer on the bottom and sides of the pan. Drizzle more oil, sprinkle salt, pepper, granulated garlic, and thyme over potatoes and bake till golden and sizzling. Meanwhile, sauté onions (green onions work too!), garlic, handfuls of chard and kale and any other veggies. While you can add zucchini here, I like to ribbon with a peeler and make its own layer. Deglaze once cooked with cooking wine and cook off. In a bowl, beat eggs (I use 4-6 eggs for a pie pan and 8-10 for a 9×13), milk, salt, pepper and a big handful of chopped basil. Finally, a dash of nutmeg—it’s the secret ingredient that will put any egg bake over the top. Drop the oven to 375º and assemble: put down veggies first, add a layer of cheese, your optional ribboned zucchini and top with egg mix. Thinly slice tomatoes or halve cherry tomatoes for the top. Bake til the egg is set or an inserted knife comes out clean. 

Cukes and Toms

This week the cucumbers really started producing.  We have three varieties, a standard slicer type, a Japanese type, and lemon cucumbers.  The slicing tomatoes are also starting to ripen.  We’ve enjoyed eating several salsas and it is fun to see whose tastes the best.

Stay Well – Josh