I love the leaves of this New England Pie Pumpkin start. The primary leaves so round and then the toothy scalloped edge of the squash leaves begin. This variety did very well in an unirrigated 3 Sisters planting in the hot then wet summer of 2013. Recommended.
Tag Archives: biodynamic
Cheese class at Hawthorne Valley Farms
Attended the second sold out mozzarella making class on Saturday, November 3rd. Instructor Peter Kindel walked us through the 5 major steps and managed temperature control and PH. He used a thermophilic bacteria to start the process and then rennet. We then worked from curds which he had started 3 hours earlier. We cut these and stretched them in warm water. Each class participant got to make their own balls of mozzarella.
At the end of the class we each left with our fresh mozzarella in a small tub of brine, swimming like a little goldfish…until dinner time.
Check their website for up coming classes: http://hawthornevalleyfarm.org/calendar/month
For those who don’t want to make your own, the Farm will soon feature weekly batches of fresh mozzarella made on site and sent out the door warm.
Picking tomatoes… to grow in 2014
I grew about 18 varieties last year and kept records so I am sorting out what to make space for this year and I need to get some seeds started. I picked all of these on the same day and the bigger ones aren’t as ripe as they could be. The growing season in 2013 was very warm and windy early then hot into June then problematically wet into August.
I loved the green zebras on pizza, kind of tart and they popped taste wise. The brandywine is delicious but needs extra space and support. Sungold and Sweet 100s are both good producers and good with greens or in pasta salads. Juliet was a very good producer and very resiliant. A good tomato for drying. Easy to clean and roast with olive oil and rosemary also.
The Stupice (stu-pee-chay) was bland and almost plasticky in texture. Celebrity was a good resister when blight came in, eats like a smaller Beefsteak. I had cracking issues due to water and NPK issues, mostly in the bigger tomatoes. The Beeksteak was a great plant, classic and nice tomatoes, especially good for burgers or sandwiches. I grill thick slices in a little butter and salt. But again, mine were cracky on the tops and my support scheme was inadequate when the plants really got heavy with fruit.