Gong Garden

This is a great recipe for Kale (but I would think you could use other greens as well)

1T olive oil 2(15oz) cans white beans such as cannellini or navy
8 large garlic cloves crushed
1 med onion chopped
4 cups kale
4 cups broth (we used veg)
4 plum tomatoes
2 t Italian herb seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
1 c chopped parsley

heat olive oil, add garlic and onion saute until soft. Add kale and saute stirring until wilted. Add 3 cups broth, 2 cups beans and all of the tomato herbs salt and pepper. Simmer 5 min. In blender or food processor mix the remaining beans and broth until smooth. Stir into soup to thicken simmer 15 min. ladle into bowls and sprinkle with chopped parsley.

We ommitted the blender/food processor part. I just added all to the pot and used a potatoe masher to mash some of it.

This is great tasting soup!

*courtesy of Judi Lutz-Woods

Moroccan carrot salad
6 carrots, shredded
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon lemon pepper
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pinch red pepper flakes
Place carrots and onions in a medium serving bowl.
In a separate bowl, combine remaining ingredients.
Toss with the carrots.
Serve cold or at room temperature.
*Courtesy of Priscilla Titus

The most difficult part of the CSA for us is telling you the shareholders when some sowed seeds failed to germinate or we had a crop failure due to insects, rodents, deer or weather.
The labor we don't mind. The anxiety we thrive on. The preparation we enjoy.
We never claim to be master gardeners. We do claiim to have a little experience and to try our best.

Out of the three gardens we grow your veggies on, one has taken a big hit from moisture stress. The six inches and more of rain we received in the first two weeks of August have stressed out the garden north of the grapes on Webster Rd. The lower two gardens are on a sl;ight slope which was enough to let water flow and the plants stayed healthy, well somewhat, some of them.  read more »

A storm went through the gardens last night. We had a strong wind and hail as large as marbles and then the size of peas.
This morning we saw the damage .... a half dozen green pepper plants blown over, some tomato plants also. The leaves on most plants look like old shredded prayer plags. The new crop of Swiss Chard is destroyed, the squash leaves shredded and sad looking.

More rain also. So wet this season. Yesterday, Saturday, we spent the day pulling up most of the onions because they were getting soggy in the fields. Hope this saved them. We have stored them in our neighbors barn on an old flat bed. We also pulled all of the garlic, bundled them and hung them on the beams of the distribution stand to dry and cure.  read more »

The 8th distribution day included the first yellow squash of the season, blue scotch and lacinato kale, edible pod peas, beet greens, kohlrabi and scallions.

We're very busy right now and getting to the internet has not been a priority.

Our 6th distribution included a pound of lettuces, more than a pound of Kale, a pound of Mizuna greens, a bunch of dill and red amaranth.
Greens greens greeens! We grow them and hope you like them!

With the wet weather comes tons of weeds.
We need some hot sun for the eggplants, peppers and toms. Everything esle is enjoying this weather.

Keep coming up to the farm on Thursdays for your shares and thank you all!

June 5th was our third distribution day.
Included were various lettuce, spinach, mustard greens, tat soi, radishes, arugula and some red amaranth leaves. Each share received over three pounds of green veggies. Good eating.

We have been using Ghee to cook the greens such as Bok Choi, Tat Soi, Spinach, and Mustards. The Ghee gives the greens a shiny appearance, coats the leaves to stop escaping vitamins and minerals. Cooking with Ghee in the frying pan reminds me of living in India and the wonderful aroma that is associated with the sizzle of cooking.

We chop the greens up into any size or shape we wish, put a tbls. of ghee into the hot pan and cook a very short time. It's beautiful over rice! Simple and healthy.

The second distribution day included lettuce, radishes, arugula, mustard, bok choi & tat soi.

We will probably stop growing the white icicle radish as they are a bit too spicy.

Garden Update
We finally have a temporary fence up on the new garden site and started transplanting cabbage, brussels sproouts, broccoli raab. The potaoes and leeks are up there also.

On the other garden we transplanted 350 sweet pepper plants into black plastic. We also planted pole beans along the fence line.
Other transplants were onons, lettuces.

We weeded the beet row and also the swiss chard row.  read more »

We had our first distribution day on Thursday May 22nd.
There were radishes: French Breakfast, White Icicle and Cherry Belles. Spinach, and different greens: Arugula, Southern Curly Mustard, Chinese Mustard, & Mizuna.

Over the weekend we planted potatoes: Yukon Golds, Red Pontiac, Kennebuck, Purple and yellow fingerlings.
Transplanted broccoli, cabbage & broccoli raab. They will get covered with the agribond white cloth this afternoon.
We made seedballs of sunflowers and nasturtiums and put those out.
We transplanted the cilantro and we'll keep it covered at night.
We thought about putting the green peppers and eggplants out in the black plastic but decided against it. Good thing, it will be in the thirties tonight.  read more »

Ah .... rain. finally. Flowers seem to pop out of the ground overnight and grow six inches.

Now we hope it doesn't snow again. Because this is western New York!

We have put in the soil more than 4000 onions plants and 1200 leek plants.
Also a hundred onion bulbs and four pounds of shallots.

Transplanted 10 flats of Kale. We have three types of Kale, Blue Scotch curly leaf, Winterbor, Redbor which is a red curly leaf, and Dinosaur which is a dark green bumpy leaf. That's more than 400 kale plants.

Also transplanted are flats of lettuce: buttercrunch, oak leaf, and red sails.

Growing from seed under row covers are spinach and radish, mizuna, mustard, aragula, & bok choi.

Also, beds have been seeded with Swiss Chard and Beets.  read more »

Also called cole and borecole. kale has been in the European diet since the Greeks & Romans. In De Agricultura, the ROman philosopher Cato describes several varieties of kale favored by is countrymen. the name comes via Scotland from the Greek & Roman words coles and caulis, which referred to vegetables of the cabbage family.

brassica oleracea var, acephala is the Latin name, placing kale in the family of Cruciferea. Acephala means without a head.  read more »

Dialogue heard in the field: "What are those funny looking plants over there?" "Kohlrabi." "Cold rabbi?" "They're in the cabbage family." "They look like golf balls with leaves on top!"

The earliest mention of kohlrabi comes from Pliny in ancient Rome: a Brassica in which the stem is thin just above the roots, but swell out in the region that bears the leaves, which are few and slender." The name is German from kohl - cabbage - and rabi - turnip. The plant does share the characteristics of these two vegetables. The edible stem enlargement resembles a turnip, and the leaves taste like cabbage.

Like broccloi, kohlrabi bears the Latin name Brassica oleracea and belongs to the Cruciferae family.

Kohlrabi is a high carbohydrate, high fiber food, an excellent source of cellulose and lignin. It is a good source of vit. C (100 gr. contains 66 mg. ascorbic acid), low in sodium, and high in potassium (372 mg. per 100 gr.).  read more »

Quick growing broccoli raab has a deep broccoli flavor enhanced by a subtle peppery zip and a tantalizing bittersweet note. Broccoli raab is also known as broccoli rabe, cima di rapa, rapini, and Italian turnip greens.

A serving of cooked broccoli raab provides a healthy dose of vitamin A and vitamin C. Also an excellent source of calcium and iron.

I haven't yet discovered the geographical origin of broccoli raab.

Gardeners unfamiliar with the veggie may be disheartened because it bolts - sends up a flower stalk - so quickly. Not to worry as you want it to bolt because the tender flower stalk and buds, along with the thin leaves, are the tasty parts of this plant.

Pizza with broccoli raab
Roughly chop a pound of broccoli raaab. Mash 2 or 3 big garlic cloves along
with salt in a motar. Heat olive oil in a large skillet. stir in the garlic,
and toss in the broccoli raab. Season with red pepper flakes. Saute' for 5
minutes until tender crisp.  read more »

A relative newcomer to the human diet, lettuce was first cultivated about 4500 b.c. Plants resembling romaine lettuce appear painted on the walls of Egyptian tombs. Lettuce was popular with the Greeks & Romans, and is eaten all over western Europe. Romaine (also called cos) got its name when the Pope moved to Avignon in the 14th century, and his Italian gardener introduced this lettuce to the French. The first definite evidence of the iceberg varieties was in 1543. There are four salad types: crisphead (or iceberg), butterhead, romaine (or cos), and leaf. Iceberg does not grow especially well in the northeast ... we don't grow it at all.

Lactuca sativa is a member of the Compositae family.  read more »

Hello Shareholders,

I've been trying to find time to send info and recipes for some of the veggies we grow. Here's the first one. I'll try to keep up on this. IF anyone would like to share recipes with other shareholders, this would be the place to do it.

We are very busy folks, trying to be worthy of your great support. the gardeners

Spinach is native to southwestern Asia and grown where ever there is cool, moist climates. One cup of cooked spinach provides 5 gr. of protein. It is low in fat and fiber. In one cup there are 700 mg. potassium, 167 mg. calcium, 4 mg. iron, 14,580 i.u. vit. A, .25 mg. riboflavin, and 50 mg. ascorbic acid. Spinach also contains oxalic acid and astringent tannis. Spinach oleracea belongs to the Chenopodiaceae family, along with beets and chard.  read more »

Some weather, eh? 87 degrees mid April.

The greenhouse is full with flats of Broccoli, Cabbage, Kohlrabi, Brussels Sprouts, Kale, all growing vigorously.

The starting room is jam packed full with Tomatoes and Peppers under lights.

We are having a slow start this year with Eggplant. Can not figure out why. Started more flats today again to germinate.

Peas have been in the field for over a week. Spinach and radish are also coming up, radish already thinned once.

Stop by. Take a look anytime. Feel Free to look into the Greenhouse and at the fields. It's your food.

Art has been plowing the fields. We've been busy putting up new and old fencing. Art is making more compost piles with the loads of leaves and wood chips we get from the village.

Trees are budding. We are a couple of weeks behind downtown Fredonia. Daffodils are up. Yellow.

HI Everyone,
We've tried to get everyone registered on the site. Please let us know of any difficulties.

We hope this site is more interactive. It certainly looks better!

As of March 28, 2008, Gong Garden Farm CSA has filled all the shareholders openings. Thank you for your interest. Please visit our website at www.gonggarden.com in January 2009 for next year's registration form.

Please send us your questions using our online contact form!