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June 15, 2019 M@D Newsletter
This Week’s Newsletter:
Welcome New Vendor
Buying “Organic” Part 5
Market Chitchat
Grower Notes
BLUE ACRES
In 2017, Pat and I purchased an existing blueberry farm that had been in operation for over 10 years. We are a U-pick farm as well as selling to a few small commercial sites. Our six acres of mature blueberry bushes are producing well making it a no-brainer to name the farm “Blue Acres”. We have several Southern Highbush (Farthing, Emerald and Sharp Blue) and Rabbit-eye (Climax, Brightwell, Tifblue, Savory and Premier) varieties.
While we are not certified organic nor certified naturally grown, our berries are grown as naturally as possible. This means that we do not use pesticides or other harmful agents on our berries.
Like many of you, we managed to survive the great storm Michael. Due to the residual storm damage to the orchard as well as the unusual weather preceding this year’s harvest, the berries have taken longer to ripen and are not as plentiful as in previous years. Although it has been a challenge to recover from the storm as well as continue with our regular farm activities, we have managed to complete a great deal and are now picking for the 2019 season.
LEMON BLUEBERRY BREAD (from Blue Acres)
This Lemon Blueberry Bread is the perfect summer treat! The result is an amazingly moist loaf of bread that’s brimming with bright, fresh lemon flavor and studded with sweet blueberries in every bite. Talk about delicious!
Servings: 12 Prep Time 15 minutes Cook Time 55 minutes Total Time 3 hours 10 minutes
Ingredients
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour (scoop and level to measure)
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups fresh blueberries
1 cup granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon lemon zest
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream
2 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Glaze
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F degrees. Grease an 8 1/2 X 4 1/2-inch or 9 X 5-inch loaf pan then dust with flour, shake out excess and set aside.
2. In a medium mixing bowl whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
3. Rinse blueberries and drain very well, transfer to a medium bowl and add 1 Tablespoon of the flour mixture and toss to coat, set aside.
4. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment whip together sugar, lemon zest and butter until mixture is pale and fluffy.
5. Mix in eggs one at a time and blend in vanilla.
6. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture and mix just until combined then mix in 1/2 the sour cream and lemon juice and mix just until combined. Repeat process once more.
7. Mix in last 1/3 of the flour mixture then remove bowl from stand mixer and gently fold in blueberries.
8. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan, spread even and bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out with a moist crumb or two, about 50 – 60 minutes.
9. Let cool for about 5 minutes, run knife around edges to ensure loaf has loosened then invert onto a wire rack. Cool on rack about 30 minutes then finish cooling in an airtight container.
10. Once cool, in a small mixing bowl whisk together powdered sugar and lemon juice (if you want it thicker add a little more powdered sugar), spoon over loaf.
11. Let glaze set then cut into slices. Store in an airtight container.
Nutrition Facts: Lemon Blueberry Bread
Amount Per Serving Calories 377 Calories from Fat 99
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 11g 17%, Saturated Fat 6g 30%, Cholesterol 72mg 24%, Sodium 125mg 5%, Potassium 148mg 4%, Total Carbohydrates 64g 21%, Dietary Fiber 1g 4%, Sugars 37g
WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
This is part 5 of a series reprinted with permission from the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. In an ongoing effort to become the best educated consumers possible, we felt it important to share what the US Department of Agriculture has to say about what certified organic is and is not, and also the practices they approve. Last week we finished up the Pest Management Section.
THE LEVELS OF ORGANIC FOODS
USDA NOP standards identify three official designations. Producers must follow these strict guidelines. Only producers who annually sell less than $5,000 worth of products are exempt from these labeling rules.
100 percent organic Whether a raw product, such as fruits, vegetables, and meat, or processed, such as breakfast cereal, all ingredients must be certified organic. Product labels must state the name of the certifying agent.
Organic These products contain at least 95 percent certified organic ingredients by weight. Noncertified ingredients must be from an approved list. The label states the certifying agent.
Made with organic These products contain at least 70 percent certified organic ingredients by weight and the noncertified ingredients must be from the approved list. The certifying agent is stated on the label, but the USDA organic seal cannot be used.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR HOME GARDENERS?
Because of the cost of becoming certified organic, few home gardeners will take the steps necessary to be truly organic (editors note – in USDA terminology “truly” means certified) emphasizing the use of renewable resources and conserving soil and water to preserve environmental quality. Proper pest identification to reduce pesticide use, soil testing for responsible fertilization, and dutiful attention to building soil organic matter are all part of a garden’s ability to support natural biological cycles. All of these can easily be done in a home garden without all the record keeping and costly certifications required for certified organic farmers.
by Charles Dowding showing his no dig method.
MARKET CHITCHAT
THANK YOU to everyone who ordered last week. Pickup Day was a bit more chaotic than usual (from what your Manager heard) and all of us appreciate your cooperation and patience and especially your communcation!
New & Relisted Products – Woo-Hoo!
- Bodacious Blueberries from Blue Acres
- 4” Cheesecake & Small Strawberry Sauce from Laura’s Confections
- Bok Choy from Smart Doc Resources
- Sour Cream Coffee Cake from Laura’s Confections
- Cantaloupe from Blue Acres
- Cream Puffs from Laura’s Confections
- Watermelon from Blue Acres
- Red Velvet Cake from Laura’s Confections
- Purple Basil from Smart Doc Resources
- Carrot Cake from Laura’s Confections
- Cranberry & Orange Scones from Laura’s Confections
- German Apple Cake from Laura’s Confections
THIS WEEK’S GROWER NOTES
We have the best Growers in the Wiregrass! Please learn more about them on our Grower Page.
GRIER ACRES This week has been a busy week. Our chickens continue to do well. Harry has been bush hogging around our new barn and we are looking to add a lean to the tractor barn for firewood – we have so much from hurricane! We also have smoking wood if anyone is ever interested. We have a pecan orchard and we have limbs we cut from it. We are hoping to have pecans this fall. We used a special organic fertilizer. Fencing is still going up for hopeful goat farming. It takes a lot longer than you would think to do. Our garden across the road has both the human/dog sachets for deer as well as electric fence. The ants has been a huge struggle especially with the okra. We are trying borax (organic & sustainable!) and it seems to be decreasing the population. Tomatoes are doing well. Jeannie saw a parasitic wasp on a tomato worm. Was so proud of her for leaving it. They put their eggs in the worms and control the population. We have some cukes that growing good as well. Our squash is growing but we think planted too close. Very little fruit. Our citrus plants are growing good right now but are not fruit bearing yet. Our blueberry trees have given us the first fruit ever. We got about 2 cups. We noticed our free ranging chickens were eating them. Jeannie made pecan and blueberry pancakes yesterday. Not sure if we will have enough to sell after we eat some. Our garlic is also curing inside. Hope to list them soon. The pears are growing in size. Will list these again when they ripen. We also have some bees which developed queen cells. Steve Loveland helped us get these from a swarm recovery. Our olives have struggled with the drought. We have lost one of our 20 trees. Two others are struggling. Jeannie is trying to water them twice a day with gallon jug containers. We don’t have water/pump on that side of the road and have to haul it across the road. We have obtained some totes for water on the garden side. Our neighbor is a local church which is allowing us to fill our totes to minimize the work on Jeannie watering. This has been a blessing. We hope you all are staying cool and getting the rain you need. We have only got about a 0.5 inch on the garden. Not much but we are grateful for it and especially for our sweet church neighbors who have graciously blessed us with an occasional water source.
Jeannie, Harry, Cammie cat and the chickens
DANNY’S GREENS This will probably be the last week Danny offers green onions or carrots for a while. The lettuce seems to have thrived on this week’s nice weather and is relisted.
FOOTNOTES
We would love to hear from you! If you have a favorite recipe, want to write a product review, have an idea or request for an article or information, let us know! You can reply to this newsletter or write marketatdothan@gmail.com.
Order Saturday 5pm to Tuesday 5pm weekly for Pickup the following Friday
Dothan Pickup: 10am – 12pm, Dothan Nurseries, 1300 Montgomery Highway, Dothan, AL 36303
Daleville Pickup: 11am – 11:30am, Parking area behind Daleville Chamber of Commerce
Enterprise Pickup: 12pm – 12:30pm, Grocery Advantage, 1032 Boll Weevil Circle, Enterprise
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We thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!