We picked snow peas today, for the 3rd and final time. Ever!

Snow peas are a crop we all love to hate! As one of the first vegetables to be planted each spring, there is much excitement & anticipation as we eagerly wait for them to germinate and poke their heads out of the ground.

We love to eat snow peas – mostly out in the patch, freshly picked. Even those that make it into the kitchen are rarely cooked. We prefer them raw.

But nobody likes picking snow peas. It’s slow, tedious and hard on the back. And it’s usually just us around to pick them. Our summer labour force is still in school and not available to help yet.

We used to make 3 plantings. Then we cut it down to 2. These last few years we make only one planting – that still is too much at picking time!! And so the decision has been made to stop growing snow peas – a decision we make every year at this time, but somehow we end up planting them anyway.

What will happen next spring??

It is a jungle out in the snow pea patch! We grow the peas in a wide row, so by this 3rd picking the plants are getting scraggly and falling all over. The Asian greens next to them have mostly been picked but whatever was left has gone to flower. The row of kale from last season has finished flowering and gone to seed. The plants are weakening and falling over. There’s also weeds – just a few 🙂 – cropping up.

Overall it looks quite messy and people who visit the farm must shake their heads at areas like this. But we like it and leave it this way purposely. It’s a haven for insects and pollinators of all types. They need areas like this for food & shelter. Their presence benefits us so we need to create habitat for them. Now that we’ve finished with the peas we will probably mow everything down and prepare the soil for the next vegetables to be planted here – providing there is another nearby spot for the insects to move to. It isn’t a neat & tidy way to farm, but we feel it is a good way!

What’s in the box?

Garlic scapes, arugula, radishes, salad turnips, spicy salad mix,

mini romaine lettuce, green onions,

Snow peas – Tuesday only.

• First it was green garlic. Now there are garlic scapes. Scapes grow out of the top of the garlic plant and curl around in a loose coil. If we left them they would eventually flower and go to seed. But we prefer that the plant uses its energy to form large garlic bulbs underground instead, so we remove the scapes. They are delicious! Use them wherever garlic bulbs are used – raw or cooked. Their flavour is a bit milder. They are also great on the BBQ. Coat the whole garlic scape with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt & pepper. Grill for a few minutes on each side until well charred & tender.  Garlic scape pesto is also a good way to use the scapes. Here’s a link to an interesting article, “10 things to do with garlic scapes, the best veg you’re not cooking yet”.  https://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/ingredients/article/garlic-scapes

• Arugula is delicious – a bit spicy & nutty. Use it in salads, on pizza. If you find the taste a bit strong on its own, combine it with our lettuce for an amazing salad.
• Enjoy the last of our spring radishes – as a snack, in your salad or sliced in sandwiches. Soak them in ice-cold water for 20 minutes to cut some of the sharpness & also make them crisper.

• Salad turnips are similar to radishes, but usually milder. We like to eat them raw, but they can also be stir fried, sautéed, or steamed.
• This week’s salad mix is the same colourful lettuce blend as the first 2 weeks – plus! We call it spicy salad mix with the spice or sharpness coming from arugula, mizuna, endive and mustards … which we have added to kick the flavour up a notch. Let us know how you like it!
• Mini-romaine lettuce & green onions complete the box this week,
• … except for those who pick up on Tuesday. You will also have a small bag of snow peas – which everyone else received last week.

*** Remember – all our greens have been washed & spun dry once. You may want to wash them again. Store them in a bag in the fridge and they should keep for at least a week.

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Around the farm this week …