Essex Farm: Owls and Bok Choy

Buckets of summer veggies at Essex Farm! (Credit: Kristin Kimball)

Check out this week’s Essex Farm news from the recent update at Kristin Kimball‘s blog:

“We are all rooting for the pullets to come into full lay, and for the older hens to regain their composure, stop going broody, and get back down to business. The hens have been through a series of ordeals this year. First, they were roosting outside the coop at night, and an owl discovered them. We close them in at dusk now, but their pasture is plagued with tall thistle that was difficult to fence, so they began escaping underneath the netting, and a few more became owl feed.

Scott got the whole field clipped with the horses this week, so now the thistle is gone, and the flock is contained, safe, happy, and hopefully focused on laying. Every day, the egg buckets come in a little heavier, but we are still barely keeping up with demand.

New Vegetables: Cabbages and Bok Choy

We have a lovely summer share today, with a few vegetable newcomers, and lots more waiting in the wings, two or three weeks from ready. We harvested the first of the conical cabbages and the first savoy cabbages today, two of my favorites. Also, the first of this year’s beets, with their beautiful nutritious greens.

We have put the entire final harvest of bok choy in the share today, as it was about to bolt. It looks a little rough around its leaves due to flea beetles but it is so delicious and so very good for you. I ate it three times this week, sautéed with garlic scapes and dressed with a little soy sauce and rice wine vinegar. Please take extra for the freezer.

Most people recommend blanching bok choy for two minutes, then cooling in ice water before freezing, but I think it does better (and is much easier) simply washed, chopped and frozen in zip-lock bags without blanching…” Continue reading this Essex Farm Note.

Essex Farm: End of June Report (www.essexonlakechamplain.com)
Essex Farm: Bird Scaring (www.essexonlakechamplain.com)
Essex Farm: Fields Filling with Green (www.essexonlakechamplain.com)
Snowy Owl Sighting (www.essexonlakechamplain.com)
Gastro Tourism in Essex, New York (www.essexonlakechamplain.com)
Getting to Know Birds of Prey (www.essexonlakechamplain.com)

About Essex Farm

In 2004 Mark and Kristin Kimball founded Essex Farm in Essex, NY. It was the first full-diet CSA farm formed (as far as they know)! Kristin wrote her memoir, The Dirty Life, chronicling her transition from city girl to farm wife and the first year of life at Essex Farm. Since then Kristin continues to chronicle life on the farm on her blog, which we give you snippets of here on the Essex on Lake Champlain Blog.