Heritage-breed pigs arrive at Wishful Acres Farm!

We had a long day today! We brought 4 heritage-breed piglets to our farm. Then had to build their fenced-in area when we got them home (procrastination is a bad thing on a farm). The piglets will be raised on pasture, and we should have the most delicious pork available for our customers to purchase this fall.
www.WishfulAcresFarm.com

Dragon green beans

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This is my first harvest of a different variety of heirloom green bean. It's called "Dragon" or "Dragon's Tongue", something like that!



It's a cream-colored Romano-style green bean, with purple stripes. I think it's beautiful!

Once cooked, the purple disappears and it looks like a plain yellow wax bean.

Now if you thought green beans had to be green, I'm here to tell you they come in all colors. Red, purple, yellow, etc. The "green" in "green bean" actually doesn't refer to a color at all! Have I lost you? The "green" in green bean actually means immature. "Green" beans are simply all beans eaten at an early stage, while the bean inside is still small and immature, rather than when they become large and allowed to dry out like a soup bean.

Make sense? So, really, even beans typically dried (such as pinto, black, etc) could technically be eaten as "green beans" if harvested while young.

I know you just love these random facts I throw at you. :-)




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Baked Beets

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I love beets. This year I planted 3 heirloom varieties. The typical red beet, a golden beet (orange color) and a beet called Chioggia.

Chioggia is a dark pink beet, and when sliced open has beautiful stripes, like a gorgeous bulls-eye.


When cooked, the stripes disappear. Isn't it beautiful?

I've found the easiest way to cook beets is to bake them.

Baked Beets (recipe)
Beets, all about the same size
Roasting or large cake pan
Aluminum foil

Wash beets, remove leaves. Place in the pan. Cover pan with aluminum foil. Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour. Remove from oven. Test beets by poking with a fork. If they are tender enough, let them cool. Once cooled, the skins simply slip right off.

I love cold cooked beets drizzled with my favorite vinaigrette salad dressing. They are also great warm with a bit of butter. Pickled beets are also great.





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Zucchini! Cooking and preserving ideas!

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I harvested my first zucchini on July 9. I hope to plant it earlier next year for an earlier harvest!
I love zucchini. It just keeps coming. The more you pick, the more it will grow. Harvest them small, at 6 inches is best. If they are allowed to become too large, they will not be as tender and the seeds will be huge. Plus, if you pick them small the plant can devote more energy to producing more new zucchini.

Pictured here are 3 heirloom varieties.



Golden Zucchini, Bennings Green Tint and Black. (I'm still waiting on 1 or 2 varieties to produce, including a Patty Pan).

I love the tiny zucchini, harvested at about 4-6 inches long. They are so tender & delicious. They are wonderful chopped raw onto a salad or sliced for eating raw with a dip.

To saute zucchini, slice into circles and cook with a bit of olive oil in the pan. They are great cooked with onions. For a great breakfast, saute zucchini with onion and mix with scrambled eggs. You can also cook it with swiss chard (or other greens), garlic, potatoes, etc. and top the eggs with cheese.

For baked zucchini fries, slice into strips. Coat with canola oil, sprinkle with chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper. Lay in single layer on cookie sheet and bake at 450 degrees for about 15 minutes. Delicious!

Zucchini is great in soup. Try a minestrone recipe.

Saute it with other vegetables and toss with pasta coated in some olive oil.

Last year, I dehydrated some zucchini slices on an electric dehydrator. They come out crispy and can be used in place of potato chips. Much healthier and absolutely delicious!

I freeze zucchini slices & hunks to toss into crockpot soups all winter.

Many people shred zucchini, freeze it, and use this all winter in zucchini breads and other zucchini baked goods.



Enjoy!






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First Harvest

The first harvest item from the 1/2 acre farm garden plot is lettuce.
Two heirloom varieties were harvested last week: "Martina's Sweet" (pictured above) and "Amish Deer Tongue".
We had the lettuce eaten quickly. Luckily, the farmers where I rent the land were kind enough to pass on a lot of their extra lettuce as well. They sell at a couple of farmer's markets during the week but sometimes have leftovers.
I prefer to wash lettuce in a sink full of water (clean your sink very well first). First I rinse it, then drop it all in the sink and swish it around a bit. I dry it on bath towels then place it all in a plastic bag (reuse your shopping bags here) in the fridge with a few towels (paper or cotton) thrown in to absorb the excess moisture (keeps the lettuce fresh longer).

Heirloom Tomato & Peppers grown 2009

Tomatoes

Yellow Stuffer (Heirloom). Indeterminate.  (Click here to see how I cooked these delicious tomatoes in August!)
Click here to see how we cooked them in September (Italian Stuffed Tomatoes recipe).

Yellow tomatoes, shaped like bell peppers, are perfect for stuffing. Vigorous vines produce loads of 3 to 4-lobed fruits.









Another description: Gourmet Yellow Stuffer Tomato:
Resembles a golden pepper with seeds clustered near the top. Core removes easily for stuffing. Try stuffing with a mixture of spinach and cheese, or any other mixture. Australian origin, fruits keep for an extended period when refrigerated. Indeterminate, 85 days from transplant.

Yellow Cherry Tomato (Heirloom). Indeterminate.
Lots of small, 1/2", pretty fruits to toss in your salads. Strong vines produce high yields of yellow jewels, preferred by taste-testers about the same percentage as for Super Sweet 100.
These tomatoes were good, nice and sweet, and one of the earliest to ripen for us!

Silvery Fir Tree Tomato (Heirloom). Determinate.
Makes an attractive patio plant, with silvery-gray, unusual, lacy, fern-like foliage. Very early producer of 3 to 4", flattened, oblate fruits ranging from deep orange to red, with excellent acidic flavor. Good disease resistance. Requires stakes or cages.
Along with our Yellow Cherry, our first to ripen in 2009, as advertised!

Another description:
Distinctive carrot-like silvery-gray foliage on compact 24" plants. Heavy crops of round, slightly flattened 3-3½" red fruits. Extremely decorative variety that is a real eye-catcher. Does extremely well in hanging baskets or on patios. Determinate, 58 days from transplant.


Black Sea Man Tomato (Heirloom). Determinate. (So cool looking - I'm excited about this one.)
A hardy Russian heirloom that looks odd but tastes delicious. Rich, tangy tomato flavor in medium-sized, 4 to 8 oz. fruits with brown-black skins and pink shoulders. Fruits are slightly plum-shaped, revealing skeleton-like veins when blanched and peeled. Short, potato leaf plants. Plant early for best results.
These were neat! Tasted like a typical acidic red tomato but looked so distinctive!

Another description:
Small plants with medium-sized deep brown fruits, rich flavor. Looks incredibly odd when blanched and peeled, revealing skeletonlike veins under the skin. Potato leaf, but determinate, 75 days from transplant


Pineapple Tomato (Heirloom). Indeterminate.
Enormous, uniquely-patterned, yellow-red striped fruits will be the center of attraction. Beefsteak-type fruits easily grow to 5" and larger, and are orange-yellow with red streaks. Fruits have meaty flesh, mild flavor, and no green shoulders. Heavy foliaged plants produce good yields.

Unfortunately, this year was such a bad year for tomatoes.  Almost all of our larger tomatoes failed (it was cold & rainy all summer).  The few of these we tasted were delicious. Sweet & mild.






Mortgage Lifter Tomato (Heirloom). Indeterminate.
Also called Radiator Charlie. Longtime favorite with good yields of very large, smooth, pink-skinned fruits even in droughts. Very meaty fruits with few seeds, much like Giant Belgium, but not quite as large. Very mild, delectable, sweet flavor. 85 days.

Again, most of our large tomatoes failed this year. We had a few of these biggies!

Another description:
HEIRLOOM Indeterminate. The story is that a gentleman named Radiator Charlie bred this variety with crossed between German Johnson, Beefsteak, and other varieties. He was able to earn enough selling the seed to pay off his mortgage during the Depression. The very large, pink skinned, sweet tomatoes.


Isis Candy Tomato (Heirloom). Indeterminate.
Superior quality fruits, marbled in red and with a cat's-eye starbust on each blossom end. 1-1/2" fruits are a silky blend of sugary sweetness and rich fruitiness. Heavy yields, with season-long production of short trusses, in double rows of 6 to 8 fruits each. 70-80 days

These ripened later than our other cherry-sized (yellow) tomatoes. They were incredibly sweet and they seemed to keep producing after almost all the other varieties succumbed to blight.





Martinos Roma Tomato (Heirloom). Determinate.
You can't go wrong with this Italian heirloom, no matter what you have in mind: sauces, salsas, pastes, farmer's market--bring it on! Richly flavored, meaty, pear-shaped fruits set heavily on compact plants with rugose, dark green foliage. So heavily productive, the 2 oz., 3" fruits tend to drop from the vine when ripe. Most often used for cooking, but perfectly suited to eating fresh.

Great!  Used in all of our canning! Made great sauces & salsas.

Another description:
Italian heirloom. Mild-flavored meaty productive paste tomato with pretty rugose (puckered) foliage. Very heavy set of 2-3 ounce fruits perfectly suited for making sauce, salsa and paste. Extremely reliable variety for home or market. Has a tendency to fall off the vine when fully ripe. Rugose, 75 days from transplant.


Brandywine Tomato (Heirloom). Indeterminate.
An Amish heirloom that dates back to 1885 and is generally considered to be the world's best-flavored tomato. Plants look like potato vines with good yields of extra-large (weighing up to 1-1/2 lbs.), firm, clear-skinned, light rosy-pink fruits.

Another of our large tomatoes, which failed from too much rain.

Another description:
First introduced in 1885 by Amish farmers in Chester County, Pennsylvania, the large vines produce fruit that are 8–12 ounces and deep red in color. Very productive, excellent taste. Indeterminate, 80 days.

Saucey Tomato (Heirloom). Determinate.
This heavy producer easily out performs other tomatoes of its type in earliness and yield. Plants produce many robust clusters of plum-shaped fruits that ripen simultaneously for one major harvest. Smooth, meaty fruits can be easily shaken from the plants when mature. Satisfying to grow, and is sure to electrify sauces and salsas with intense, "real tomato" taste. 75-85 days.

These were also good.  Seemed resistant to the blight which killed off the larger tomato plants.  Great in sauces & salsa.

(Saucey is a Roma-type tomato)




Cherokee Purple Tomato (Heirloom). Indeterminate.
A reliable producer of unusual, medium pink-purple fruits that appear brown in color, and average 8 to 12 oz., apiece. Fruits are round to oblate, with no cracking. Exhibits tolerance to mild drought as well as to common diseases.

Again, failed with too much rain.  I did have a couple. Beautiful color, good taste.

Unique dusty rose color. Flavor rivals Brandywine, extremely sweet. Productive plants, large crops of 12 oz. fruits. Indeterminate, 80 days from transplant



Moonglow Tomato (Heirloom). Indeterminate.
A very pretty tomato and one of the best for straight-from-the- vine eating. Medium-sized, bright orange fruits glow with neon intensity against 36" vines. A high yielder and good keeper, producing loads of tasty, 3 to 4 oz., globe shaped fruits that are dense and meaty, with thick walls and few seeds. Flavor is sweet, with a hint of tartness, but without that strong acidic taste.

Best of show 2009!!  These tomatoes will definitely be grown in my garden for many years to come.  Kept right on growing, despite the terrible tomato weather.  Taste was superb.  Sweet.  Awesome.

Another description:
Medium-sized bright orange fruits. Solid orange meat, few seeds and wonderful flavor. One of our favorites since we first grew it in 1996. Indeterminate, 80 days from transplant.


Green Husk Tomatillo (Heirloom). Indeterminate (?)
Unusual 2" fruits are harvested green - the husks are removed before cooking. A staple ingredient in Mexican Salsa Verde (green sauce). Tart, yellow-green fruits can also be used to add a distinctive taste to salads.

Awesome as well.  Great for my Salsa Verde recipe .  These were also resistant to the blight & bad tomato weather.  They kept producing right up until frost. No problems with bugs, slugs, or animals taking bites from them because of the outer husk!!!  A winner.  Has definitely earned a permanent spot at the farm.

Another description:
Mexican husk tomato, prolific bushy plant 3-4' tall and across. Green 2" sweet fruits are ripe when the fruits burst through husks. Blended with hot peppers to make traditional Mexican green sauce. 90 days from transplant.




Jetsonic Hybrid Tomato (Hybrid. Only hybrid I'm growing.). Indeterminate.
A Jet Star type with large, bright red, 7 oz. firm fruits that are oblate to deep oblate shaped, with uniform, green shoulders and smooth skin. Vigorous plants. 68 days.

I may have had a few of these. The seed company sent them with my order, for free, otherwise I would never have grown a hybrid in my heirloom-only gardens.









Pepper Plants

Early Jalapeno Pepper (Heirloom)
Very hot, ideal for Mexican dishes. Deep green fruits mature to red. Sausage-shaped fruits, 3-1/2" by 1-1/2", are also perfect for pickling. Just like Jalapeno, but earlier and better adapted to cool coastal conditions. Compact, non-brittle bushes. 60-65 days

These just kept producing and producing.  We were swimming in jalapenos this year. We grew almost 100 jalapeno plants at the farm! That meant thousands of jalapenos. Lovely. Low maintenance.  Great for Salsa Verde, pickling, etc.






King Of The North Pepper (Sweet Bell Pepper). Heirloom.
Excellent in short-season gardens of Northern climates, due to early bearing and the huge, blocky shape of its thick-walled, bright red, 6" by 4" fruits. Great for stuffing. Mild taste becomes even more mellow as the fruits mature. 68-70 days

Great! Low maintenance, heavy producer.




Golden Calwonder Pepper (Sweet Bell Pepper). Heirloom.
Very similar to California Wonder (#03121), except that its smooth, glossy fruits ripen to a beautiful, golden-yellow. Adds rich color to salads and dishes. 72 days.

Delicious, sweet flavor. These were great.





Alma Paprika Pepper (Sweet, non-bell pepper). Heirloom.
Paprika is a kitchen staple that's easy-to-grow and process. One of the best paprika for drying, grinding, or picked straight from the prolific plants and eaten fresh. Thick-walled, sweet fruits start out creamy-white, then mature to orange, and finally red. 70-80 days

Neat. Cute.  That's about all I can say. I didn't do a lot with them. They were just too cute to pass in the seed catalog.





Napolean Sweet Pepper (sweet non-bell). Heirloom.
Home gardeners everywhere will love this heirloom dating back to the 1920's. High yielding, 24" tall plants produce 8" long, thick fleshed fruits consistently up until frost. Flavor is as mild and sweet as an apple when green-even sweeter when red. Excellent for fresh use, frying or drying. 70-90 days

Very sweet! The sweetest pepper I've ever tasted. Delicious! Very good stuffed.




Sweet Chocolate Pepper (Sweet bell). Heirloom.
One of the easiest sweet bells to grow, even in Northern gardens. Medium-sized, blocky, 3 to 4-lobed fruits average 2 to 3 ounces each, with thick flesh that adds a hint of spice to traditional sweet bell flavor. Harvest while green and enjoy with no aftertaste...or ripen fully to a rich chocolate. Exotic color and bright maroon interior give salads a gourmet look. 86 days.


These were awesome. Great in chiles rellanos.


Volcano Pepper. Mildly Hot. (Hybrid. Only hybrid pepper I'm growing).
Hungarian type with slightly taller plants and larger fruits than Hungarian Yellow Wax. Pendant borne fruits, 4 to 6" long, are glossy greenish-yellow to red at maturity and are mildly pungent averaging 2,000-4,000 scovilles. Excellent for pickling, roasting and fresh use. 60-70 days

Good. We canned them with our jalapenos.  Freebie from seed company.