THE YOUTH FARM at the High School for Public Service

NEWSLETTER Week of July 28

th
2014


www.HSPSFarm.blogspot.com
FROM THE FARMER
Hello, CSA members!

Sharing the farm space and farm duties amongst our
Urban Farm Training Program apprentices and Summer
Youth Farmers these past couple weeks has been a ton
of fun and incredibly productive! At this point in the farm
season, we are in the heart of harvest mode: we harvest
four days a week, for 2-4 hours, if you can believe it! All
those weeks of sowing in our greenhouse and prepping
soil in our beds has yielded to the constant maintenance
of our crops. Harvesting regularly is one important way
in which we can maintain healthy productive plants.
Callalloo unpicked will go to seed, Lettuce unpicked
turns bitter; Beans unpicked turn chewy and tough;
Fruiting crops rot on the vine, inviting pests and
pathogens. In order to have continued production and
nice variety in our CSA shares, we need to keep on top
of the constant output! We are working hard to also keep
up with the bevy of field work tasks that support healthy
production: weeding, trellising, watering, pest
management, etc.

In terms of whats growing on the farm, we have our
steady output of leafy greens: collards, swiss chard,
lacinato and curly kale, red bor kale, and callalloo. We
hope you have enjoyed specialty crops in your shares
like kohlrabi, beets, cabbage! We are also eagerly
anticipating new crops on the horizon which we cant
wait to share with our CSA members: you can expect to
receive more carrots, beets, and radish in the coming
weeks. Green beans, Fairy Tale eggplant, jalapeno
peppers and more lettuce are also on the verge of
readiness.

Possibly most exciting is the growing evidence of tomato
season, just around the corner! We have small cherry
and giant green tomatoes on the vine we are patiently
awaiting their ripening.

Just to look slightly more forward, we are also planning
for the production of fennel, dill, cilantro, dandelion,
winter squash, radicchio and other fall favorites

We hope youre enjoying the bounty and making use of
the surpluses of leafy greens. Todays newsletter shares
some tips for krauting cabbage (in case you still have it
around), and recipe ideas for leafy greens.

Enjoy!
Molly, Farm Manager
IN YOUR VEG SHARE THIS WEEK!
Collards
Green curly kale
Beets
Cucumbers
Bunching onions
Jalapeno peppers
Shishito peppers
Basil
Herbes de Provence

IN YOUR FLOWER SHARE THIS WEEK!
Sunflowers
Scabiosa
Bachelors Buttons
Dill flower
Christmas basil
Zinnias
Cosmos
Ageratum
Celosia
Salvia
Cilantro flower
Millet
Gomphrena

FARM UPDATES
By Madeleine Milan, Farm Apprentice

We harvested our first peppers this week (youll find
them in your share)! Only the jalapeos and shishito
peppers are ready for now, but we'll have lots more
(sweet peppers, habaneros, cayennes) on the way soon.

The youth have started cooking demonstrations at the
market on Wednesday afternoons, which is really fun
and adds great energy to the market. The recipe in this
week's newsletter is what they were cooking up at last
week's market--so I can vouch for its deliciousness! If
you can, stop by the market soon to say hi and try their
latest sample. We'd all love to see you.


THE YOUTH FARM at the High School for Public Service
NEWSLETTER Week of July 28
th
2014


www.HSPSFarm.blogspot.com
VEGGIE HIGHLIGHTS
This weeks stars are Herbes de Provence, shishito
peppers, and jalapeo peppers!
Herbes de Provence
A great mix of sage, thyme, and lavender for you to dry
at home and use later in the season when you need a
reminder of summer. Heres how to dry them:
Gently rinse your herbs in cold water and pat them
dry.
Tie them in a bundle using string or a rubber band.
Place the herb in a paper bag, so the stems are in
the mouth of the bag.
Gather the ends of the bag around the bundle and
tie closed.
Hang the bag by the stems in a warm, dry, airy
room.
Check in about two weeks to see how things are
progressing. Keep checking weekly until your herbs
are completely dry.
Once the herbs are completely dry, brush the leaves off
the stalks, crumble the leaves gently, and store in a
tightly sealed jar for up to six months.
Sprinkle them on everything! We suggest using them to
add flavor to roast chicken or sprinkling them over fresh
ricotta on toast, with a drizzle of honey and some sea
salt.
Shishito peppers
Shishitos are a small, ridged, sweet Japanese pepper
(although be careful 1 in 10 is unexpectedly spicy).
You can eat them whole, seeds and all. Theyre
delicious pan-fried in olive oil over a high heat until they
begin to blister, then served with a squeeze of lemon
and a generous pinch of flaky sea salt.
Jalapeo peppers
You might be more familiar with jalapeos than
shishitos. Theyre a great, fresh-tasting hot pepper that
you can dice and use raw in salsas or guacamole, or
cook them in corn, bean, or other dishes that use chiles.
RECIPE CORNER:
Collard Roll Ups with Coconut Curry Kale
Ingredients
4 large collard leaves
cup water
5 cups kale, torn into small pieces
2 tbsp coconut oil
2 tbsp garlic, minced
1 tbsp orange juice
1 tbsp maple syrup
tsp curry powder
tsp orange zest
tsp sea salt
1 avocado, sliced
1 carrot, cut into ribbons with peeler
1 tablespoon grated horseradish root (fresh or
from a jar)
Directions
1. Blanch collard leaves: In a large saut pan add
water to coat bottom of pan, about 1 inch. Bring to a
boil. Place a collard leaf in pan and blanch leaf until
it turns bright green in color, about 10 to 15 seconds
on each side. Repeat with remaining leaves. Let
cool, then cut out the thick part of the spine leaving
at least 8 inches to fill and roll. Set aside.
2. In a large saut pan over medium heat, add coconut
oil. Once melted, add garlic, orange juice, orange
zest, maple syrup, curry powder, and sea salt. Mix
well and saut until mixture begins to bubble,
approximately 2 to 3 minutes. Add kale and toss to
coat. Cook until the kale becomes tender and wilted,
approximately 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat
and set aside to cool.
3. Place a collard leaf top side down on a cutting
board. Layer of the sauted kale and spread it in
the center of the leaf horizontally. Then add a
quarter of your avocado slices and a of your
carrot ribbons. Roll collard from the bottom around
ingredients like a sushi roll. Cut any excess from the
leaf at the end. Slice with a sharp knife into 1 inch
sections. Sprinkle with freshly grated horseradish
and enjoy! Yum!



THE YOUTH FARM at the High School for Public Service
NEWSLETTER Week of July 28
th
2014


www.HSPSFarm.blogspot.com
Youth Farmer Profile: Althea Bourne, Summer
Youth Program

Where are you from?
Im from Guyana. I came up to the U.S.A. in 2008 and
Ive been living in Brooklyn ever since. +

Why did you want work as a Summer Youth Farmer?
At first, just to try something new because Id never
farmed before. I wasnt afraid to get dirty and I thought it
would be a good experience. Coming back this year, I
really looked forward to working with all the people here-
-Molly, Patricia, the other youth. Its just a really friendly,
calm environment to work in.

Do you see farming in your future?
I do see it in my future, but more as a hobby. But its
definitely something I enjoy so I think in the future Ill
have my own garden.

What's your favorite vegetable?
Broccoli. Because I like how it tastes when you steam it.
Plus, there are lots of different ways to cook it and eat it.

What's your favorite aspect of farming?
Creating something beautiful from scratch. All you have
is a little seed and you take care of it and nurture it and it
grows into something beautiful and bountiful for you.





NEWS AND UPCOMING EVENTS

Interested in interning at the farm?!
Our internships are on Tuesdays and Thursdays from
9am-3pm. For more info please email Liz at
Liz@bkfarmyards.com!

August Volunteer Days:
Join us on the farm for Farm Volunteer Days! Our
Volunteer Days are always:

1
st
and 3
rd
Saturday of the month, 10-4pm
AND
Every Wednesday, 2:30-6:30pm during our farmers
market!

Upcoming Volunteer Saturday Dates:
August 2
nd

August 16th

We would love to see you out on the farm!
Families and people of all ages are
welcome!