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Quail Frittes
Grilled quail served with French fries loaded with seasonal toppings
$11
Recipe of the Week:
Grilled quail
2 butterflied quail
1 pack of bird rub, or your favorite seasoning- coat both sides until well seasoned
Put on a medium high grill
Top with bacon
Additionally, grill onions, okra, carrots, or corn for a side
Cook for 15-20 minutes, or until cooked all the way through , depends on your grill
10 minutes then flip
Featured Artist(s): LoveLight Candle Company
What's in Season?
Cabbage $1.00/ lb
Cucumbers $1.99/lb
Torpedo Onions $3.00/quart
Basil $1.50/ bunch
Red Noodle Beans $4/ pound
Okra $3/ pound
Cherry tomatoes $3/ pint 5/quart
Slicing tomatoes $3/lb
Jalapeños $3/ pint $5/qt
Peppers $2.99/lb
Radishes $3/bunch
Beets $3/bunch
Beet greens $1.50/ bunch
Fresh Chicken Eggs $4.00/dzn
Quail Eggs $6.50/2dzn
We will also have available:
Basil Jelly $6
Jalapeño Jelly $6
Mint Jelly $6
PopPop’s Relish $6
Dill Carrot Relish $)
Mulberry Jelly $6
Blackberry Syrup $10
Bird Rub $5 each
Butterflied Quail $10/ 2 pk
Blackberry Jam $5
We will also be selling our brand new basil jelly, mint Jelly, and pickled radishes this week, for just $4!
Contact us for Pick-Up ANY DAY this week.
We hope everyone fared well through the recent hurricane and torrential downpours! We are doing fine for the most part. We lost a couple hundred birds and a few crops have begun to rot; however, these things happen! Some may see it as a loss, and it is, but it is also an opportunity to learn and adapt. One way of turning the situation around is to look at it as free compost, worm food, and water for our crops!
With the excessive amount of rain recently, many farmers have been struggling with the proverbial double edged sword. The recent weather has been great for a number of things, but also bad for an equal amount. Some of the “pros” we have been experiencing are things like free irrigation. Right now we don’t have to run our well pumps or irrigation lines. This helps save water, man hours, and, ultimately, money. The rain also reduces the amount of time and water spent on our transplants. With fall planting right around the corner, this is a big money saver for us. With just over a thousand transplants ready to go into the ground, saving our resources is a huge plus right now.
Another added benefit is the weather isn’t favorable for many troublesome insects. The colder weather, reduced sunlight, and increased moisture causes developmental issues for many insects. Most of our pests can be monitored using degree-day charts, which allow you to predict when a population of insects will hatch, lay eggs, reproduce, etc. based on average temperatures. When temperatures are lower, such as now, they take longer to achieve their biological goals. For farmers, that means that we have longer periods of time in between our sprays--this goes for organic and conventional farmers. However, the periods of higher moisture with less sun can also be bad news as they are the perfect recipe for the development of diseases. Many fungal diseases thrive in these conditions or require them for germination. One such pest is powdery mildew. This is a common issue for the cucurbit family (cucumbers, melons, and squash), but can be spread to any of your crops. Periods of high moisture provide a method of travel for the fungal spores. When they reach their final destination, one afternoon of high humidity and sunlight is all it takes to initiate germination. Following this, the fungus lies dormant, waiting for the perfect combination of temperature and humidity, until it spreads like wildlife, causing grayish white "blooms" across the leaf surface of many plants.
How can you counteract it?
1 tbsp of BAKING SODA/1 gallon of DISTILLED WATER with just a few drops of DISH SOAP (dawn, or something organic or biodegradable). All this, mixed in a spray tank, is all you need for a wide variety of issues, including some pests. The bag of baking soda below is one of the best values we have been able to find.
BAKING SODA:
TANK:
Keeping aphids off your plants is another great way to prevent powdery mildew, as these guys are a popular vector for diseases. A great mixture you can use with your brand new 1 gallon spray tanks is 1 tbsp of dish soap 4 tbsp of alcohol, and enough water to fill to the 1 gallon mark. This will also help greatly to prevent some of the diseases the prior mixture does not. It will also kill most problematic insects and their eggs.
Another benefit of the recent rains is the ability to catch up on some organization and office work. It also affords us time to do some much needed planning for the future. Right now, it is especially helpful because we are hiring! That’s right, if you are looking for some farm experience, a job that will teach you some important skills, or something on the side, shoot us a message on social media, or email us (link below). We are looking for self motivated individuals that can work outdoors, with animals, and are interested in enhancing the local food scene.
Although it may seem small, dust suppression is a huge plus. A lot of times we have to wear some heavy duty masks (which are hard to come by right now) because of all the dust and ammonia birds create. Sometimes, the dust gets so bad it’s hard to drive around our bird farm. The rain helps keep this at a minimum which is healthier for the birds and safer for us.
But not everything is good when it comes to heavy rains. The hurricane really did a number on the farm. We had some minor damages from high winds blowing over plants and knocking off produce, lost a good bit of topsoil due to flooding, and unfortunately lost some of our younger game birds due to the long period of cold, damp conditions. Birds create all of their own heat and when they are presented with a circumstance like a hurricane, it causes their bodies to work overtime and sometimes can cause them to perish from exhaustion before exposure. Unfortunately, there isn’t anything we can do about it.
Our crops also suffer. Although they are getting ample water, they are also being introduced to a whole new host of issues. Diseases are more prevalent due to the ideal conditions of high moisture and cooler temperatures. Diseases like powdery mildew (as mentioned), root rot, and fruit rots occur more often. This is especially true for tomatoes. After periods of heavy rain, the fruits will begin to crack, or bust, which exposes the moisture and sugars within. Fungus and bacteria immediately colonize these tomatoes and can eventually ruin a whole crop. By removing them, you give your tomatoes a chance to fight another day.
The extended rains can also cause an issue with flavor. Most vegetables get unfortunately watery after high rains, causing diluted flavors.
Last, but certainly not least, is the weed boom. After torrential rains, weeds are notorious for springing to life and growing up faster than you can imagine. Even worse! We can’t operate much machinery right now because it will either get stuck in the mud or gum up with wet plant material. It’s never a good idea to run equipment when it’s wet. It’s also hard for personnel to walk through the muddy conditions. And, if we do, it can cause compaction around the roots of our crops ultimately causing more harm than good.
We also experience lower sales at our market due to reduced traffic. We have come up with a way to counteract it:
Drive up market!
We will begin posting what is available Saturday morning, you can message or call us to place an order, and when you drive up just honk for service so that we can get your info and bring your order to your vehicle. That simple.
This past weekend we did our “HONK FOR SERVICE” market at the farm. Folks drove up beside where we hold our markets, then HONKED, and someone came to their car with a list of what we have available, a card reader, and a mask on. We then had a gopher run and acquire the desired products! That way the customer, YOU, stayed dry! We also offered to make deliveries since we know driving out in the rain can be a hassle in and of itself.
Pretty soon we will be planting lots of the transplants we have ready to go, so we can begin fall planting. Greens, peppers, melons along with
Chard
Kale
Cabbage
Lettuce!
A few reminders:
Our Turkeys are averaging 12lbs right now so get your preorders in, they are almost ready! Just $15 to preorder yours today.
We are excited to get our pawpaw nursery. If you are interested in learning more, check out last week's post where we talk about them.
PawPaws are an indigenous north american fruit. It is found up and down the east coast and is the largest native fruit we have. It can be described as a tropical tasting fruit, much like the cross between a mango and banana. However, the texture is much more like a custard apple, which is the family to which it belongs.
CSA slots are still open. We are offering 5% off if you sign up in person at any of our markets!
Don't forget we also have slots available for volunteers. Need volunteer hours for a club or school? Looking to learn about where your food comes from and how it's produced? Are you just in need of a reason to get outside, maybe burn a few calories? Contact us today if you're interested!
@beavercreekgamefarms beavercreekgamefarm@gmail.com Check out our Facebook!