Fall transplants

Lilac being moved to its new home.


Lilac in its new home
Fall is a great time to move plants to new locations. The trees are starting to go dormant as are shrubs so you will not disturb their growing cycle. And, if you plant them in the fall, it gives them a head start on the spring growing season. Make sure you water them in well during the day and give them a good layer of mulch so the roots won't freeze.
Another lilac next to his sibling

Today is likely one of the last 60 degree days at One Love Farm. Karen and I moved several small plants like hosta and asilbe to make room for some lilacs. We have had these lilacs since friends of ours gave them to us 12 years ago (maybe even longer than that!). They moved with us from Warwick to Hope Valley. For the last six years we have been trying to coax them along in an area of the front yard. But, no matter what we did, they would not thrive. They didn't die, they just didn't do as well as I knew they could. In fact, some of their siblings were planted at Karen's mom's house where they thrived, growing eight feet tall or more and blooming like crazy in the spring. The original lilacs in Warwick are doing well, also, growing to over 12 feet in height. So today we moved three lilacs to the back of the house. There they will get very warm morning sun and be against a wall that will radiate heat at night. In addition, the wall will help protect the lilacs from the hard winds we get during the cold weather months.

End of the season

Since our beets won't be fully mature before the end of the market season, we are harvesting them as greens. Beet greens are wonderful mixed with lettuce in salads. They are also nice when lightly sauteed in olive oil with salt and garlic. This picture show a new variety we are growing this year called blood red. You can tell from the color of the leaves where it gets its name. The green is some arugula that is also growing in the bed.

This Saturday is the last market of the year at the Richmond Farmers' Market. It has been a great first year and we're already planning to make next year's market bigger and better! If you are a vendor who would like to participate in the market or know someone who has an acoustic style band who like to perform at the market, please send us an email. In the meantime, we hope to see you Saturday for the last market of the year. If you can't make it to the market and need some chili powder as a stocking stuffer, send us an email and we will try to accomodate you. We only have a very limited supply since it takes a lot of chilis to make one jar of powder.

Frost

Zinnias after a frost

We had an early frost at One Love Farm. That shouldn't surprise us, being in Hope Valley, we usually get an early frost in October. As always, the frost was not predicted by the weather forecasters. The frost took out all the basil, tomatoes and flowers. Heartier annuals like peppers, lettuce, arugula, radishes and beets were fine. In fact, beets, radishes and arugula like cool nights which intensify the flavor of the vegetables.




We leave gourds outside during winter attached to their vines. This allows then to dry out and aquire their attractive wood looking finish. We'll pick them in the late winter and prepare them as planters and bird houses

Beets and Arugula love the cold weather. We have been harvesting our second planting or arugula for several weeks. Hopefully, we will get some beets before winter. If not, we will harvest the beet greens for salads. This is a variety called Blood Red.

Chili Powder

I love spicy food. One of the reasons I started growning my own food was to get fresh spicy chilis that are sometimes difficult to find in New England. At One Love Farm, we grow Cayenne, Cherry, Pablano and Ancho chilis. Usually, we grow Jalapeno and Habanero, but this year we gave those varieties and rest.

Several years ago I began experimenting with dried chilis. I tried drying everything from Jalapenos to Sweet Bell Peppers. The most successful types were the chilis with thinner walls that dried more easily. These types included Cayenne, Ancho and Habanero. There are several ways to dry chilis. You can tie them up by their stems and hang them in a closet or shed until they dry (this will take several weeks or months). Just make sure you have good air circulation so they do not mold. You can also put them on a cookie sheet in an oven on a very low setting (under 200 degrees). Watch them carefully so they do not burn. It will take several hours before they dry.

At One Love Farm, we use a dehydrador to dry our herbs and chilis. You put the chilis in a single layer on the tray and stack the trays on the dehydrador. It takes about two days dry and you don't have to constantly monitor the process. A word to the wise, if you use a dehydrador, put it in the basement. The fumes from the chili oil can cause some people to cough or sneeze.

Once the chilis are dry, we put them in a blender and crush them until fine. Crush the seeds (but not the stems) in the blender with the chilis for extra heat. Then we put our dried herbs in the blender and crush them into a powder. You can use a wide variety of herbs, but we use a lot of parsley and orageno in addition to other other herbs on our chili powder. Mix the chilis with the herbs and you have a wonderful fresh chili powder.

Remember to wear a mask when grinding and mixing chilis! The powder will make you cough and sneeze and make breathing seem difficult!

Once the powder is made, we put it in an airtight jar or shaker. It will keep for a 6 months to a year and is so much better than the junk you buy in the grocery store that has fillers and who knows what else in it!

You can use chili powder in all kinds of dishes. Of course, it is wonderful in chili. In just the past week, I have also used chili powder in salsa, soup, pesto, and with herbs and oil as a marinade. People also use it to spice up their eggs in the morning!

Fall Crops

Arugula

Fall (yes, it's coming fast!) means wonderful fall crops like butternut squash, pumpkins and even grapes. At One Love Farm we also have second harvests of crops normally harvested in the spring. Greens and root crops typically like the cool nights of the spring and fall. French long radishes and beets were a big hit at the Richmond Farmers' Market in the spring and we should have both ready for harvest in late September or October.

We also harvest Arugula in the fall. Arugula is a spicy green used in salads, on pizza and as a pesto. And, if you are wondering about the tiny holes in the Arulula leaves, those are from a common pest to the plant. Flea beatles feed on Arugula and other greens. Since we don't use pesticides at One Love Farm, we have to rely on organic controls. So far, I have yet to find and fully effictive organic control for flea beatles. However, their damage to the crop is visual only and doesn't harm the plant or affect the flavor of the leaves.

Arugula sets seeds in the hot months of the summer. We harvest the dry pods in the summer to save the seeds for next year. Inevitably, seeds drop in the dirt and we get Arugula sprouts in August. We don't even have to plants the seeds. That is the magic of nature at its finest. The plant has such a strong genetic disposition to reproduce that it will germinate wherever it hits the ground and gets rain. In fact, we have Aruguala growing outside the beds from the seed pods flopping over the side of the border and in the paths from where I carried seed back to basement. Arugula is truly an amazing plant! Next week, I will make a mix of radish greens and Arugula for a spicy salad mix available at the Richmond Farmers' Market. Come see us on Saturday.

Love Lies Bleeding

Amaranthus caudatus is also known commonly as Love Lies Bleeding, Pendant Amaranth, Tassal Flower, Velvet Flower and Foxtail Amaranth among other names. The plant is an annual and is easily grown from seed. At One Love Farm we sow seeds directly into the ground after danger of frost has passed, but you can also be successful sowing seeds indoors and transplanting after your last frost date. Love Lies Bleeding is edible and used as food in India and South America where the leaves and seeds are eaten. We enjoy using Love Lies Bleeding in bouquets where its striking red color and weeping character are enjoyed.

Eggplant

Asian Eggplant

Without a doubt, one of my favorite summer vegetables is eggplant. Although Karen is Italian in heritage, and we love Italian vegetables (look for an upcoming post on San Marzano tomatoes) we greatly prefer the Asian eggplant to the Italian varieties. The Asian variety is slimmer with a tapered end compared to pear shaped Italian fruit. What makes Asian eggplant the best is the seeds, or lack thereof. Unless picked early, Italian eggplant starts getting big seeds inside the fruit. These seeds tend to be bitter, especially when cooked. Asian eggplant, meanwhile has fewer and smaller seeds.

Asian eggplant is used the same way as its Italain cousin. We roast it in the oven with other veggies, marinate it with pesto and herbs, grill it with zucchini and bread it and bake it or deep fry it. However, by far our favorite way to cook eggplant is to make eggplant balls.

Just peel and cube your eggplant and roast it with olive oil and salt until very tender. Eggplant, I think, has an unpleasant palate when undercooked, so make sure it is very soft when you take it out of the oven. Let the eggplant cool and put it in a food processor with a clove of garlic and a pinch of red pepper. Drizzle in olive oil while pulsing on the food processor until smooth. Then, add bread crumbs and process. Add enough bread crumbs to get the consistency of dry meatballs. Take a large tablespoon of the mixture and roll into a meatball shape. Roll in flour and fry in a pan or bake in the oven at 400 degrees until cooked through. You can use them just like meatballs on pasta or in a grinder (hero sandwich). We often make dozens and dozens of eggplant balls, let them cool and bag them up. They freeze well and we love taking out a dozen for a hearty pasta dinner on a cold night January!