Plant Profile: Tomatillos

By Nina Berryman

We are lucky this week to have tomatillos in our share, even though we ourselves did not plant them. They were grown by Weavers Way staff along with children who live at the Stenton Family Manor in Germantown. These fruits are not very common in the US, but very prevalent in Mexico. Physalis ixocarpa are in the Solanaceae family and are related to the tomato. They look like green tomatoes, surrounded by a papery husk. When the fruit gets so large it breaks open the husk, you know it is ready to pick. They are very similar to ground cherries, both botanically and in appearance. They are also very closely related to Chinese Lanterns, which are often planted for decoration, although they too are edible. Another name for tomatillos is “Mexican husk tomato.” They come in both green and purple varieties. To store them, leave the husks on, and put them in a cool place, like the refrigerator. Don’t place them in a plastic bag, let them breathe. Generally, they are very easy to grow and quite prolific. If you plant them one year, you will inevitably have tomatillo volunteers next year as they are excellent self-seeders.

Sources: Seed to Seed, Suzanne Ashworth

Hot Peppers We Grow

By Nicole Sugerman

We grow several different varieties of hot peppers on the farm. I like hot peppers because they are beautiful and usually very easy to grow. Hot peppers contain a resin-like compound called capsaicin which is responsible for their spice. The capsaicin is concentrated in the membranes around the seeds, so taking the seeds out of a hot pepper will reduce (but not eliminate) the pepper’s spice. When handling hot peppers, be careful not to touch your nose and eyes, because this will sting! Some people even harvest hot peppers with gloves on to avoid irritation. I have never had a problem harvesting hot peppers, but my hands burned for an entire day once when I made a big batch of jalepeno poppers.

The ‘spiciness’ of peppers is measure by the Scoville Scale, so named for its inventor, Wilbur Scoville, who devised the system in 1912. The Scoville scale measures the amount of capsaicin present in a type of pepper. The hottest pepper on the Scoville scale is reputed to be an Indian hot pepper called the Bhut Jolokia. We attempted to grow this pepper, but it did not germinate. To be honest, I am a little relieved.

Hot peppers have many traditional health benefits. Some people think they cool you down in the summertime by inducing sweating. Medicinally, hot peppers are used to help stimulate blood flow, treat psoriasis, neuralgia, pain, and headache, and as a disinfectant. Mixed with lemon juice, hot pepper makes an effective gargle for sore throats. A tincture (made by soaking an herb in alcohol) of hot peppers is thought to help arthritis.

In descending order of hotness, these are the varieties of hot peppers you might see in your share:

Fish Pepper-
This is the hottest pepper we have right now (habaneros are hotter, but not yet ripe). An heirloom pepper from the Philadelphia region that dates to pre-1947, the fish pepper has been traditionally used to cook fish and shellfish. Grows on beautiful plants with green and white striped leaves. The pepper is short and triangular, with a matte finish, and is white, green and white, or red.

Cayenne pepper-
One of the most common hot peppers. Forms the basis of the powdered cayenne pepper as well as red pepper flakes. It is a long, thin, red pepper that curls slightly.

Poblano pepper-
I am putting the poblano here in the list because, even though poblanos are thought to be mild hot peppers far less hot than jalepenos, our poblanos are always more spicy than our jalepenos. Poblano peppers are native to Mexico, and are used commonly in Mexican cuisine. When dried, they are known as ancho chile. They are dark, dark, green, larger than any of our other hot peppers, and have a bowl-shape around their stems.

Jalepeno pepper-
Also native to Mexico. Very common. Ours are very, very mild. Dark green, ovular, with blunt tip.

Hungarian Hot Wax pepper-
An heirloom pepper from Hungary. Virtually impossible to distinguish from the banana pepper, except by taste. Light green, long, with a tapered point.

Basil, Roasted Peppers and Montery Jack Corn Bread

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 3/4 cups cornmeal
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups shredded pepperjack cheese
• 1 1/3 cups corn kernels
• 2 ounces roasted marinated red bell peppers, drained and chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C). Butter a 9x9x2 inch baking pan.
Melt 1 tablespoon butter in medium nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Add onion and saute until tender, about 10 minutes. Cool.
Mix cornmeal with the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and baking soda in large bowl. Add 7 tablespoons butter and rub with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal.

Whisk buttermilk and eggs in medium bowl to blend. Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients and stir until blended. Mix in cheese, corn, red peppers, basil, and onion. Transfer to prepared pan.

Bake cornbread until golden and tester inserted comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool 20 minutes in pan. Cut cornbread into squares.

Eggplant Sandwiches

Submitted by shareholder Beige Berryman

Having tried it many times, I can vouch for the deliciousness and simplicity of this dish! -Nina

• 1 1/2 cups chopped seeded tomatoes
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
• 1 large eggplant, cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick slices
• Olive oil
• 6 large 1/2-inch-thick slices country-style French bread
• 9 ounces soft mild goat cheese (such as Montrachet)

Combine chopped tomatoes, chopped fresh basil and red wine vinegar in small bowl. Season mixture to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat) or preheat broiler. Brush 6 largest eggplant slices lightly with olive oil (reserve remaining eggplant for another use.) Brush bread lightly with olive oil. Grill eggplant and bread until golden, about 4 minutes per side for eggplant and 2 minutes per side for bread. Arrange bread slices on plates. Spread goat cheese over, dividing evenly. Top with eggplant slices. Season with salt and pepper. Using slotted spoon, mound tomato mixture on eggplant, spread to cover and serve.

www.epicurious.com

Salsa Verde

Ingredients
• 1 1/2 lb tomatillos
• 1/2 cup chopped white onion
• 1/2 cup cilantro leaves
• 1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• 2 Jalapeño peppers OR 2 serrano peppers, stemmed, seeded and chopped
• Salt to taste

Method
1. Remove papery husks from tomatillos and rinse well.
2a. Roasting method: Cut in half and place cut side down on a foil-lined baking sheet. Place under a broiler for about 5-7 minutes to lightly blacken the skin.
2b. Boiling method Place tomatillos in a saucepan, cover with water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove tomatillos with a slotted spoon.
3. Place tomatillos, lime juice, onions, cilantro, chili peppers, sugar in a food processor (or blender) and pulse until all ingredients are finely chopped and mixed.

Season to taste with salt. Cool in refrigerator.
Serve with chips or as a salsa accompaniment to Mexican dishes.

Makes 3 cups.

Weeds

By Nina Berryman

In Nicole’s last article she mentioned the difficulty of staying on top of weeds, especially in August. Ms. McAtamney, the AgroEcology teacher at Saul, stopped by the farm today and said, “your article made it sound like it was terrible down here, but everything looks fine!” In co-managing a farm for the first time this year, I am realizing that you are always your own harshest critic. I’ll walk around the farm and feel a wave of anxiety come over me as I see a lawn of grass where there should be cultivated soil, or when I watch a dusting of spiny amaranth seed float away in the wind. Then I’ll stop by one of the other Weavers Way farms and glance over the beds without a critical eye and see nothing but beautiful, orderly rows of vegetables. However, in recent conversations with my coworkers, we have laughed and comforted ourselves in the fact that every farm any of us have ever worked at has had to look for their onions beneath a field of weeds. We told ourselves that we should give ourselves a break when anxiety levels rise as we look at our own field of grass where our leeks are supposed to be thriving.

Every farmer’s approach towards weeds is different. Some people are perfectionists and spend all their time pulling every last weed. Others embrace what nature has to offer and welcome weeds as an unplanned source of food, a key to soil nutrient imbalances, or even a ground cover that they didn’t have to put down themselves. Generally speaking, a weed is any plant you don’t desire in your garden or farm. Simply learning more about a specific weed, such as its edibility for instance, can change your perspective on its desirability and perhaps even promote it out of anxiety-causing weed status. Here are a few common “weeds” that are actually quite tasty and nutritious:
• Purslane (Portulace oleracea)- great eaten fresh in salads, has a watery, slightly citrus flavor
• Lamb’s quarters (Chenopodium album) -similar to spinach, eat raw or cook lightly
• Chickweed (Stellaria media)- a mild, refreshing taste, eaten raw, crush the fresh leaves to help heal a skin irritation or insect bite
• Wood Sorrel (Oxalis species)- citrus tasting leaves, eat fresh
• Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)- eat the leaves fresh, has a bitter taste

It’s no wonder weeds occupy so much of a farmer’s time and concern: one cubic foot of soil can contain as many as 7,000 viable seeds! With such numbers, it seems wise to capitalize on their multiple functions, if possible. In addition to serving as a source of food, some weed varieties can serve as a type of living mulch. A living mulch is a mulch that is growing in the ground underneath the crops. Clover is often used as a living mulch. Chickweed is one of the best living mulches I have ever worked used. Of course, it is no simple task to get chickweed to grow in the places you want it to and not in the places you don’t!

Weeds reproduce in two ways- either by division or by seed. You might be familiar with the term “division” in reference to dividing a perennial flower. The same concept applies- you take the roots, you break them apart, now you have more plants! This is unfortunately what happens when we are weeding grass with long rhizomes (a type of root). It is nearly impossible to remove the entire root structure and we inevitably leave some in the bed which will then re-sprout in a few days. Reproduction by seed happens when a dandelion goes to seed and releases its white dander into the wind. These seeds can land in the soil and either sprout right away, or become buried and remain dormant in the soil for years and years. Cultivating the soil brings many of these dormant seeds to the surface, exposing them to light and causing them to germinate. Because of this process weeds are known as the primary succession of vegetative growth after a disturbance. Herein lies on of the main arguments for not tilling the land, a method called no-till farming.

For those of you who are interested in neither embracing the weeds and letting them grow, nor weeding by hand for fear of leaving roots in the ground, nor cultivating the soil for fear of encouraging the germination of weed seed, there is another option- smothering! This the traditional mulching technique of layering a thick layer of leaves, wood chips, cardboard or anything else to suppress the weeds. The word “mulch” comes from the German word meaning “soft,” however not all mulches need to be soft. Small pebbles are a popular much in landscaping. We are experimenting with using burlap coffee bags in one of our pathways. Some people do a combination approach of pulling out weeds by hand and then laying them back on the bed to act as a mulch. This approach only really works if you have weeds that do not re-root easily.

At Henry Got Crops! we use primarily the “pull out as much as you can as fast as you can” method. 99% of our weeds are perennial grass. This is because up until this spring that whole area was maintained as lawn. I think I am not alone in saying that perennial grasses are one of the worst weeds! Their root systems are extremely extensive, aggressive and resilient. Plus, they also produce seeds rather quickly, so we are combating them both from above and below! If we had more mulch supplies, such as leaves or cardboard or burlap bags I would like to do much more mulching at the farm as opposed to the hand-weeding and tilling we primarily do. I would also like to experiment more with living mulches, although I would probably seed clover instead of waiting for chickweed to pop up in the right places! We experimented with seeding clover as a living mulch in one bed of broccoli this year. However it didn’t germinate well (perhaps not enough sun) and soon the grass took over.

If any of you have weeding techniques or stories to share, we’d love to hear them!

Sources:
Coleman, Elliot. The New Organic Grower. Camden East, ON. Old Bridge Press, 1989

Storl, Wolf D. Culture and Horticulture. Wyoming, RI: Biodynamic Literature, 1979.
Dawson, Adele. Herbs, Partners in Life. Healing Arts Press, Rochester, Vermont. 2000.

Newcomb, Lawrence. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Little, Brown and Company, New York. 1977.