Well it’s probably not most people’s idea of a tropical vacation, but the tropical rains gave the garden and pastures a really nice drink of water and the farmers a little bit of time on their hands to regroup a bit from the busy season. The garden is now 100% planted. In order to plant more we need to harvest, retill and plant another crop. The radish beds were the first to be emptied. They have already been replanted with poblano peppers. This week we’ll be harvesting the kohlrabi and replacing it with a succession of carrots. We did lose quite a few kohlrabi plants to weather so the harvest is a bit lighter than we hoped, but we will try again in the fall. Our cauliflower is also not looking so good and we are going to try again for a fall crop. On the brighter side of things… there are a few new items this week in the CSA box. Snow peas, turnips, carrots, garlic scapes, and the aforementioned kohlrabi all make their 2013 debut this week, We have some favorite recipes on the recipe page if you are looking for ideas.
CSA Box week 4
Strawberries
Lettuce Mix
Spinach
Garlic Scapes
Kale
Kohlrabi
Scallions
Snow Peas
Turnips
Herbs: Oregano, Dill, Parsley, Cilantro
The weather this year has been whiplash inducing. I think we can finally put the heavy sweatshirts away for a few months though. A new casualty of the cold snap emerged surprisingly this weekend. The red beets have started to push to seed. I never encountered this before, so a little internet research revealed that too many nights of exposure below 45 degrees will cause them to go to seed on the next warm spell. It’s not a total loss but we will start to pick them this week either for greens or baby beets before it becomes one! Good news is beets can be planted in successions throughout the year and we have another shot at a successful crop. More good news…. Strawberries are here! We have partnered with Seiple Farms for our strawberries. Last June we planted the “plugs” and 1 year later we have a bumper crop. They are worth the wait! They were given preventative treatment for disease in the offseason, but are safe to eat right out of the box. Along with the strawberries we’ll also include a pound of rhubarb. There is a strawberry rhubarb crisp recipe on our recipe section.
The cut your own herb garden is really starting to grow. For off the farm members (Pharo garden center and Bath market members) if you are interested in receiving herbs for the week let me know either by phone or email. This week we have cilantro, dill and oregano. In the future we will have sage, chamomile, lavender, parsley, rosemary, marjoram, basil, chives, and thyme.
So the CSA box this week looks like this.
Strawberries
Rhubarb
Lettuce Mix
Spinach
Kale
Swiss Chard
Baby Beets/Beet Greens
Scallions
Herbs: Cilantro, Oregano, Dill