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  • From: John and Katy Ehrlich <johnkaty AT shaw.ca>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [Market-farming] Zuchini problem
  • Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2010 13:39:30 -0700

Anyone know why my zuchini fruits do not fully fill out, with the end shrunken and soft, etc. 
Thanks, John 


On 12-Jul-10, at 12:49 PM, Rob Wallbridge wrote:

Thanks, Richard -- that's great information!

Rob Wallbridge
Songberry Organic Farm
24 Sixth Line, Bristol, QC J0X 1G0
email: rob AT songberry.ca
web: www.songberry.ca
facebook: become a fan of "Songberry Organic Farm"

-----Original Message-----
From: market-farming-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:market-farming-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Richard Moyer
Sent: Monday, July 12, 2010 2:15 PM
To: market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Stinging Nettle

Rob and Laurie,
We've been harvesting, cooking and eating stinging nettle for years,
primarily in mid spring during and after morel season.  My wife would
cook and freeze nettles in small portions (such as in ice cube trays)
for later use, depending on when the child was due.  A
non-constipating source of prenatal iron.

With care and concentration, nettles can be picked bare-handed, but
gloves or bagged hand recommended.  I usually grasp a leaf at the top
of the plant, then cut off the tender portion with scissors, throwing
the tops in a bucket or tote.  2, 4 or 6 pairs of leaves, depending on
tenderness as you cut the stem.  You get a feel for it.  Once the
bloom buds appear, the plant stem and leaf ribs get tough, so less
desirable for eating whole.  I understand why chefs would want only
the leaves from older plants, but I would steam them first to make
sure the leaf stem and midrib is not tough.  From younger plants, the
whole top can be used so harvesting is much quicker.  The season is
spread out by collecting later from shaded areas and north slopes.
But still very much a seasonal product, like young lambsquarter or
milkweed greens.

If someone is drying nettles, then pulverizing the leaves perhaps
older, tougher plants still work.

We sold the first of it this year, priced the same as other spring
greens, which we tend to do by the amount of labor we put in it,
somewhere between $5-$18 per lb.

Richard Moyer
SW VA

From: "Rob Wallbridge" <rob AT songberry.ca>
To: "'Market Farming'" <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Stinging Nettle (WAS: squash blossoms)
Message-ID: <E138ABF4CF9941ED850B1B2A39E1A816@OrganicMeadoPC>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Hi Laurie,

I'm afraid I'm no stinging nettle expert! This woman approached me two
weeks
ago and asked if I had it, and I knew we had wild patches all over the
farm,
so I asked her to email me late in the week to remind me to harvest it for
her.

I just went out with a pair of shears and heavy gloves and cut the stalks
off near the ground, bunched them with an elastic and shoved them in a
grocery bag -- probably about 10 stalks and I asked her for $5.00 -- she
reacted as if she'd be willing to pay more, but how much do you charge to
get rid of a weed that's practically growing at your back door?

They were big plants -- a foot or more tall, and starting to flower. Years
ago I ate them steamed and in a quiche when they were harvested as young
leaves in the spring, so I wasn't even sure if she'd take them, but she
said
she'd make soup and dry the rest for tea. They were for her thyroid, I
think. Maybe I should be drying the plants, then stripping off the leaves
and packaging them for the herbal medicine market, who knows?

Wish I could be more help -- for me, it was quick attempt to meet a
customer
request, and I didn't put a lot of thought or research into it, to be
truthful.

Cheers,
Rob

Rob Wallbridge
Songberry Organic Farm
24 Sixth Line, Bristol, QC J0X 1G0
email: rob AT songberry.ca
web: www.songberry.ca
facebook: become a fan of "Songberry Organic Farm"


-----Original Message-----
From: market-farming-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:market-farming-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Barking Cat
Farm
Sent: Monday, July 12, 2010 12:06 PM
To: Market Farming
Subject: [Market-farming] Stinging Nettle (WAS: squash blossoms)

Rob,

Thanks for sharing your experiences.  If you don't mind sharing, I have
several questions about how you packaged and priced stinging nettle.

What kind of price did your stinging nettle fetch?  Did you cultivate it,
or
did it grow wild?  We have it all over our farm, and we have some
interested
chefs so my pricing would have to be wholesale level.

Also, how did you deliver it?  Did you bunch or bag just the leaves or
include the stem as well?  About how big was your bunch?  One of our
interested chefs has indicated they want just the leaves, but I've not
seen
it packaged for sale anywhere, so am looking for pointers.

Last thing I can think of now is how tall was the plant when you
harvested,
and how big were the leaves?  I have no idea at what stage to harvest.

I'm not thinking I'll get rich harvesting this "weed" for some of my
customers, that stings like the devil and I have to mow down anyway.   But
to those who like to cook with it, it's just another little something out
of
the ordinary I can offer.

Thanks in advance,
Laurie
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------------------------------

Message: 2
Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2010 10:13:49 -0700
From: Samish Heirlooms Farm <info AT samishheirloomsfarm.com>
To: market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: [Market-farming] Degradable Mulch
Message-ID:
<B1F58C7D-89DA-40FA-9C32-B24F164BC022 AT samishheirloomsfarm.com">B1F58C7D-89DA-40FA-9C32-B24F164BC022 AT samishheirloomsfarm.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Here is a link to research done at WSU on the referenced subject:
http://vegetables.wsu.edu/AltMulch.html

Bradley Smith
Samish Heirlooms Farm
Sedro Woolley, WA
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End of Market-farming Digest, Vol 90, Issue 20
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John and Katy Ehrlich
Alderlea Farm
3390 Glenora Rd
Duncan, BC V9L 6S1
250 715-0799








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