Farm Happenings at Jenny Jack Farm
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Farm Happenings for first week of September, 2019

Posted on September 3rd, 2019 by Jenny Jackson

It's still feels very much like summer but we are planting like crazy for fall!

We started digging the first of the sweet potatoes last week, which will be cured and ready for your shares next week! It's an exciting time of transition to different crops and hopefully sooner than later, cooler weather. A few days in the mid 90s this week will certainly be hard on the newly planted crops, plus us farmers. But we'll keep the shade cloth on the most heat sensitive crops (spinach), keep the irrigation running non stop to cool off the poor little plants, and remind ourselves that hopefully this is the last of the extreme heat.

Until the cool weather crops are harvestable, we have late summer crops for your shares. One unique and delicious offering for this week is Thai Hibiscus. We harvest the bright red seed pods this time of year to be used for tea, or it makes a wonderfully tart jam similar in flavor to cranberry. Hibiscus is widely consumed around the world as a ruby-colored, lemony beverage (it’s the main ingredient in Red Zinger tea). We are making it daily around here to help keep us hydrated! Plus, recent studies show that hibiscus tea can lower blood pressure as effectively as some standard hypertension drugs can.

I also like to mince it up to add to salad dressings. You want to use the red parts that cover the green seed pod if making jam or adding to salads. The seed pod is too tough to chew, but if you are making tea just throw the whole thing in to brew!

Another late summer treat are the Aji Dulce peppers. These have the complex, citrusy flavor of habanero but with only a touch of heat! We love adding these bright orange beauties chopped up in salads, stir fry, fish dishes, or tacos. The flavor is just incredible!