CSA 2023 – Week 1

May 29, 2023 by Thiessen Farms 2 Comments

It was a great day!

The weather was perfect, we were all on our A-game, & everything went according to plan.

That doesn’t always happen – especially on a Monday – and is something we do not take for granted.

(Plus, we had our littlest fella with us for the day which guarantees an increase in happiness – and a big decrease in productivity.)

Did we get everything done that was on the list? Never! But perhaps our list was too ambitious – it always is this time of the season.

Here’s some of what we managed to accomplish today …

a big chunk of weeding.
transplanted all the eggplant (10 varieties, about 270 plants) and hot peppers (400 plants of at least 25 varieties) into the field. Recording & mapping all of this is what really takes the time!
planted herbs – dill, basil, cilantro, parsley, arugula as well as green onions, fall cabbage & salad greens in the field.
watered everything that was put in the ground today, and all the plants on the driveway & trailers.
filled trays for seeding greens tomorrow.
filled pots for seeding squash soon.
moved trays of seedlings out of the greenhouse to the yard to harden off.
seeded many boxes of pea shoots for CSA next week.
washed bins for picking & washing vegetables tomorrow.
continued getting the barn ready for CSA pick-up.
check over the vegetable beds and decide what will be in the CSA boxes this week.
write this CSA newsletter.

What’s in the box?

Radishes, lettuce mix, spinach, arugula, & green garlic.

All our lettuce and other greens have been rinsed once to remove most of the field soil. You may want to wash them more thoroughly. Bagged & stored in the refrigerator, they will last at least a week.

Radishes are one of the first vegetables of spring. Their taste can range from fairly mild to quite sharp or hot – it depends a lot on the weather. Soaking them in ice-cold water for 20 minutes will cut some of the sharpness & also make them crisper.
Our lettuce mix is a combination of many kinds & colours of lettuce. It makes a delicious and beautiful salad!
Spinach is always one of our most popular greens. Eaten fresh in a salad or lightly steamed, it is always delicious – and nutritious!
Arugula is a bit spicy & nutty. Use it in salads, sandwiches or wraps, on pizza … If you find the taste a bit strong on its own, combine it with our lettuce for an amazing salad.
Green garlic is a fresh garlic plant. At this time of year the bulb has not yet formed below ground, and the green top is still tender enough to eat, like a scallion or green onion. Green garlic is milder than fall garlic bulbs. Use them raw (sliced into salads or mashed with goat cheese for a spread) or cooked (sautéed with scrambled eggs maybe) anywhere you would use garlic bulbs. Store green garlic in the fridge.

A reminder that as a member of our CSA you have access to http://www.cookwithwhatyouhave.com. This website has 900+ recipes, templates, storage and preserving tips, pantry stocking suggestions and vegetable prep videos, organized by vegetable and created using CSA Produce. Log in using the access key you received at sign up or ask us to send it to you again.