Early Spring Surprises—and Mystery Boxes!

Napa Cabbage, planted in the greenhouse in September is ready to flower now in this early spring.

This winter has been warmer, and wetter than usual. We finally did get the tractor unstuck in January, after getting it pretty well secured in the mud. This has never been an issue before in our 17 years here on this property. We measured (unscientifically) over 18″ of rain between Halloween and New Year’s Day.

We planted almost 1,000 of these last July, hoping that they would be a lovely change come spring.

So, yes, it’s incredibly soggy. Too wet to do anything outside really. Any kind of planting or ground preparation. But the greenhouses are gearing up! We’ve got the first round of extra early carrots planted, sugar snap peas are coming along, and the first of the baby lettuce. Turnips and radishes will go in this week, and green onions.

Kale is durable, hardy, and delicious through the winter. But this is the reward for waiting all winter: Kale Broccolini.

Most of our earliest crops are wintered-over. We plant in the late summer/early fall with the intention of harvesting in March and April. But last year, I planned for extra. We have a half-acre of turnips, destined not for a root crop, but for tender, bittersweet Rapini! We’ve got 1,000 Sprouting Purple Broccoli plants, and they’re about ready to harvest now. Thyme, Sorrel, and Italian Parsley are harvestable. Green Onions and Leeks are holding their own, as are the Savoy Cabbages and Napa Cabbage from last year. So, we actually have a lot of things to eat. But they are maturing sporadically, so there isn’t enough to justify a market weekend.

HOWEVER, I HAVE A PLAN!

I’m going to take orders for Mystery Boxes of these tasty, February goodies. $25 per box will get you:
• Napa Cabbage
• Savoy Cabbage
• Sprouting Broccoli
• Flower Sprouts (a.k.a. Kalettes)
• Leeks, Green Onions
• Purple Salad Mustard
• Italian Parsley
• Thyme
• Sorrel

Shoot me an email if you’re interested—I’m pretty sure I can fill 20-ish boxes. shelley@whistlingtrainfarm.com

These were a big experiment last year. They are a cross between Brussels Sprouts and Red Russian Kale. They take 140 days to mature from transplanting (which we did in July) and we’ve been devouring them all winter. Sweet, and lovely to look at. We like them sautéed with garlic or roasted in the oven.

We still have space in our Summer/Fall/Winter CSA seasons! Click here to sign up today. AND, to celebrate National CSA Day on February 26 (yes, it’s a thing now), we are offering a free week of Summer CSA produce to anyone who refers a friend or relative! Spread the word! 2016 is going to be amazing!