In the Share: Week Four

In the Share 

STRAWBERRIES: Here they come! Enjoy these first pickings. Be sure to save some for use in strawberry salad dressing (see below).

CHARD OR KALE: So good for you, these spring greens are at their peak. Unlike their spring buddies in the high tunnel, these greens have been able to enjoy the outdoors for the last several months, and grow with direct sunlight. Enjoy the difference each crop brings.

ROMAINE LETTUCE: We love romaine lettuce. Crunchy for a sandwich, or in a wholesome salad.

RED LEAF LETTUCE: A favorite time of year for us is when the fresh Spring lettuces meet strawberry season.

ASPARAGUS: One last picking this week. Once the strawberries come on, it is time to stop picking the asparagus and let it grow ferns for the summer.

SPROUTING BROCCOLI: Great in a frittata, or raw in a crudité with a mustardy dip.

GARLIC SCAPES: The garlic is ready for the shares, in scape form. This flower stalk is a great in a strawberry dressing. https://fairsharenews.blogspot.com/search?q=garlic+scape+dressing   Add extra strawberries and some mayo for an even creamier dressing.

SPRING ROOTS: A mix of turnips and radishes from the field.

Farm report 

The farm is flush with growth with the recent rains. After a month long dry spell in which whole days were spent laying irrigation, it feels good to have some damp. The new transplants and the ripening Spring crops are drinking up the moisture and growing before our eyes. The potatoes are ready for another hilling.

The Swiss Chard is ridiculously happy. Next door our insectary of flowers (not many flowering yet) and old seed has given us an early flush of roots, an unexpected bonus of radishes and turnips for the shares.

Rain means softer soil, and good conditions for turning under the cover crops in preparation for the sweet potato and fall crops. This was a particularly beautiful stand of ladino clover, crimson clover, sweet clover and barley.

If you have a chance, we encourage you to check out Farmer Tom’s presentation he gave on soil health for a recent Growing Growers workshop, which covers how we feed our soil the same way we feed our body, and what improvements we have made to the land during our 18 years of farming. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwjrPgl89xo&t=140s

In the Share: Week 3

In the Share 
KALE: First picking from the field, these bunches highlight several varieties of kale that we grow. They all are a bit different, some smooth and some frilly. Let us know what you think. 

BUTTERHEAD LETUCE: It is lettuce heaven at the farm right now. The butterheads are living up to their name. Quarter is and have it as a wedge, or break it apart for lettuce wraps.

FRISEE ENDIVE: Another frilly vegetable in the share, this mild salad green adds flavor, texture and color to a salad.

RED LEAF LETTUCE: Rounding out the trio of salad greens, our dependable New Red Fire.

SPRING ONIONS: We started these onions last August. They are a variety that can overwinter, bringing us an early crop. Welcome back onions!

CILANTRO/DILL MIX: Chop the bunch together and add some oil and crushed nuts for a fresh, spring pesto.

ASPARAGUS: The amount you get will depend on your distribution location. The harvest slowed down with the recent frosts. We are looking for a flush once the warm weather returns.

SPROUTING BROCCOLI: Our outdoor planting is kicking into gear, giving us a bounty of early growth. The shoots are edible and tender. Have them raw with some dip or dressing.

Farm Report 
While the share may look similar to recent ones, there is actually a big shift taking place, as our harvest moves to the field. The Spring fields look good which is a relief after what was a very cold and extremely windy start to the growing season. The hard work of repeatedly re-pinning wind-whipped covers is hopefully behind us now. The reward is big salads and nutritious greens for weeks to come.

 The farm feels eerily normal at times despite the pandemic. We continue to wear masks inside the buildings and the washing and packing area, but out in the field today planting the summer crops one could almost forget the troubles of our world. It is not hard to stay six feet apart when you are putting in long rows of plants on the contour.

 Today, we finally decided that the frosts are behind us and planted the majority of the summer crops: hundreds of tomatoes and peppers also eggplant, okra, basil and lots of flowers. Our new electric workhorse pulling it’s little trailer was the perfect vehicle for bringing the plants to the field.

In the midst of a flurry of harvest and planting, CSA member Andy arrived with his drone and got some great photos of the farm.

 You can see our berms and swales running about every forty feet on the contour. Also visible are the tracks of the subsoiler that we have dragged 18 inches down running parallel to the berms. Our old pattern of rectangles is giving way to the undulations of the earth itself.