Rocket Punch Farm LLC
After having done the nobori-style farm flag earlier this summer, Jason still had the screen on hand and had not cleaned it yet. On his way to finally wash it out, he had a thought that maybe it would work as a limited t-shirt design.
So, here in our shop, are four XL and three 2XL BIG-print Rocket Punch Farm t-shirts, white ink on dark heather grey, now available. These are all there will be as he’s washed out the screen. Ready to ship out to you or for local pickup.
Since we recently harvested the last tomatoes for the 2022 season, obviously tomatoes are still on our minds. We love tomatoes and there are so many varieties to choose from. When selecting varieties of any vegetable, we evaluate it based on a number of criteria including climate adaption, productivity, taste, nutrition, appearance, and ease of growing. Here’s a sneak peak at the varieties we’re choosing for 2023.
Returning champions: cherry tomatoes. We love cherry tomatoes in multiple colors for salads and snacking. We’ve grown Harvest Luck and Galina’s Cherry for the past two years and we’re trying out a couple new varieties in 2023.
Returning champions: heirloom tomatoes. Our two favorite heirloom tomatoes are Paul Robeson and Fantome du Laos.
Returning champions: burger slicers. In 2022, we were pleased by the introduction of Katja, a large pink slicer. For 2023, we’re adding Azoychka, a slightly smaller slicer, a junior burger, if you will.
Returning champions: sauce/canning tomatoes (Roma types). Of course we grow red tomatoes for canning and making pasta sauce, salsa, barbecue sauce, etc. The egg-shaped Graham’s Good Keeper is our favorite from 2022 and we’re adding the globe-shaped Illini Star for 2023.
New Addition: special purpose tomatoes. We grew Belmonte Pear this year, but we didn’t share them because we didn’t have very many plants. Belmonte Pear is an Italian heirloom tomato grown especially for sauce. For 2023, we’re adding Long Keeper, a semi-determinate variety that is planted later in the season to be picked green before the first autumn frost and ripened indoors for fresh tomatoes in the winter. And finally, we’re adding Principe Borghese, the famous sun-drying tomato that can also be tied into ristras for winter storage.
NOTE: photos of tomato varieties from Adaptive Seeds and Southern Exposure Seed Exchange.
Sourdough is a 2-day process to make and so it can only be purchased through pre-order from our website. Choose Traditional ($12) or one of our flavored loaves ($15): Green Chile & Cheese, Red Chile & Honey, Blue Corn, Beer & Barley, or German Christmas (dried fruit and chocolate chips).
All remaining tomatoes are on sale, $1 off. Green (unripe), red Roma-types, and pink slicers now $2 per pound. Heirloom tomatoes now $3 per pound.
New for autumn: fingerling potatoes and purple sweet potatoes, both $3 per pound. Fingerling potatoes are a gourmet delicacy and are best enjoyed roasted. Purple sweet potatoes are best roasted whole or steamed until tender; they can then be mashed and used for holiday pies, cheesecakes, and other delights.
We have greens, $3: collards, Swiss chard, and lemony sorrel. We love greens in soups, stews, pastas, enchiladas, egg dishes, bean dishes, you name it!
Pickles: bread and butter cucumber pickles, chile dilly beans, achari masala beans, and celtuce in wheat-free soy sauce. We also have dehydrated apples.
Seeds for your garden: giant Mongolian sunflower, cardoon, and zinnia.
Don’t forget our logo t-shirts, logo stickers, and wooden goods for your kitchen.
Tuesday-Friday, 9am-5pm (extended until 6pm for those picking up pre-ordered sourdough). 14 Gonzales Rd, Belen. 505-302-5657. Please park in our driveway and ring the front doorbell for service.
Rocket Punch Farm will be closed next week. We’ve got a lot of work to do to wrap up the active growing season and transition into the sourdough bread baking season. We will reopen on Tuesday, November 1 with our pickles, dehydrated apples, purple sweet potatoes, fingerling potatoes, leafy greens, and herbs.
But what about the bread? Our online store will go live Friday, October 28 to accept pre-paid advance orders. We’re offering 6 flavors: Traditional, Beer & Barley, Green Chile and Cheese, Red Chile & Honey, Blue Corn, and German Christmas (a stollen-inspired loaf with dried fruit and dark chocolate). Pick-up for sourdough bread orders will be Tuesdays through Fridays, 4pm-6pm. Traditional sourdough is $12, all the other loaves with additional ingredients are $15. More details when our online store goes live.
Last call for garden beans, pattypan squash, lemon cucumbers, Persian cucumbers, and eggplant.
Tomatoes will continue for a few more weeks. We’ll be picking green tomatoes to ripen them indoors to extend their harvest.
Of course hardy greens like collards and sorrel don’t mind the cold weather. (We’ve also planted cold-hardy kale, mustard greens, spinach, beets, lettuces, and radicchio, but those aren’t ready to harvest yet…stay tuned.)
Our preserved foods include our pickles and dehydrated apples.
Other foods to come in the next few weeks include purple sweet potatoes for pies and holiday baking, fingerling potatoes, and sourdough bread. Again, stay tuned.
Our business hours are currently Tuesday-Friday, 9am-5pm. 14 Gonzales Rd, Belen. 505-302-5656. Please park in our driveway and ring our front doorbell for service.
We pulled the eggplants in our greenhouse yesterday so that we can plant lettuces today, for salads all winter.
We’re eating caldo verde for dinner tonight, a delicious soup of greens, potatoes, and beans and/or smoked pork, depending on your dietary preferences.
We still have tomatoes: red Roma-types, pink slicers, heirloom beefsteaks and cherry tomatoes.
We expect that cucurbit season is coming to an end with the cooler weather we’re seeing. Expect this week and next week to be the end of the availability of cantaloupes, pattypan squash, lemon cucumbers, and Persian cucumbers. We’ll still have bread and butter cucumber pickles for as long as supplies last.
We also have bean pickles in two flavors: garden beans with achari masala and also yardlong beans with dill and chile. And don’t forget our celtuce pickles, a delicious Asian vegetable that tastes great with stir-fries, rice, and noodle dishes.
Please call ahead if you are interested in our salad mix, as it takes a little preparation. We harvest young leaves from many greens and herbs that we grow and mix it all up together. Because there are some bold flavors in the mix, we recommend enjoying it with a more assertive viniagrette.
Of course you may enjoy leafy greens and herbs on their own: Swiss chard, sweet potato greens, sorrel, New Zealand spinach, Malabar spinach, parsley, sage, thyme, oregano, chives, lovage, salad burnet…
We’ve reorganized out store front and put the t-shirts and wooden kitchen goods back on display. And we’re hard at work on our online store to begin taking sourdough bread orders in November. Stay tuned.
Our business hours are Tuesday-Friday, 9am-5pm. 14 Gonzales Rd, Belen. 505-302-5657. Please park in our driveway and ring our front doorbell for service.
