Our first early planting of peas is coming along. Happy that we planted in the Easter dry weather window, we should have peas at the beginning of our Summer CSA season—mid-June!
THIS WEEK’S SUBSCRIBER MENU:
• Green Garlic
• Pea Shoots
• Baby Turnips with Greens
• Swiss Chard
• Beet Greens
• Fresh Thyme
Click on the links above for information and recipes about these crops.
COMING SOON:
Arugula
Radishes
Carrots
Green onions on the left, green garlic on the right. Fork in the middle of the road.
What exactly is up with this weather? Yesterday it was 85°, finally today it has cooled to the 70°’s, which is still warm for May, but at least it’s reasonable. We were in a pickle—so many things to plant out, mostly the 30,000 or so onions—but it was just too hot. If we had started planting, even with water, we would have lost many to the scorching heat. We couldn’t put out baby lettuce, broccoli, or anything else either. It’s just too much of a shock to be thrown out into that heat, and only an inch deep in the soil.
And so we wait.
But we are planting our next round of seeded crops—spinach, arugula, carrots, beets, peas, fava beans, other greens. I even gambled on a patch of green beans. We don’t need to worry about them rotting in these temperatures, and if they work, we’ll have green beans in early July. We never even attempt to plant this early, because it’s too cold and wet and we would lose them to rotting. We may even be planting cucumbers and squash next week, and that would be a record date as well.
Our first planting of radishes is coming along under the protection of fabric tunnels. The tunnels keep the root maggot flies and flea beetles out.
Our farm interns, Dan and Kerri, have settled-in, and we couldn’t be happier. They both fit in well with our farm and our family, and we are excited about the coming season. More stories will come, but for now they are learning the ropes and quickly becoming invaluable.
Shawna and Duane have put together another spring produce cooking video, which is linked below. This time, they are using Pea Shoots (and other spring veggies) to make a risotto and a delicious salad.
http://www.youtube.com/edit?video_id=5EM0rjb51q0&ns=1
I also have to share a dish I put together tonight for dinner. Dan picked a few handfuls of pea shoots and baby turnips. I cut off the turnips from their leaves, halved the larger ones, and sautéed them gently in butter. When they were caramelized and tender I removed them and squeezed two oranges into the pan, with the pulp. I reduced the liquid a bit, added a dollop of honey and a splash or two of rice vinegar, and some salt and pepper and cooked it down a bit more, until it was syrupy. I cut the pea shoots and turnip greens into bite-sized pieces and tossed them together, then tossed the turnips in the “sauce” before I poured it on the greens and tossed it all together. It was SO tasty. (And it was delicious with the cheese ravioli and pesto, and baked salmon that we had with the greens.)
Whistling Train Farm 