It should be simple & straightforward.
- We decide on a start date for our CSA program.
- We check how long it takes each vegetable to reach maturity.
- A bit of easy math and we can figure out when to seed & plant.
- The crops grow, ripen and are harvested.
- CSA begins – right on schedule!
Except…
It is never quite so simple nor straightforward!
- The sun shines warmly and speeds up growth, or temperatures drop and slow things down.
- The spring rains do not come and seeds do not germinate, or the spring rains come and come … and it is too wet to plant, or the rains are timely and growth is lush.
- An unexpected frost nips tender seedlings – and we have to start again.
- Hungry bugs feast on our vegetables – and we have to start again.
- Or maybe everything works out according to the plan and there is an abundance to harvest. 🙂
How about all of the above!
And the end result is an early start to our CSA.
Surprise!
What’s in the box?
Salad greens (possibly lettuce mix, spicy salad mix, arugula, baby kale, spinach…), salad turnips, radishes, rhubarb.
It’s salad time! 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, bag them & store in the refrigerator. They should last at least a week.
- Your salad greens this week may include any of the following … Our lettuce mix is a combination of many colours and leaf shapes of lettuce. It is both beautiful and tasty! Spicy salad mix is always a favourite! Kale, mustard, mizuna, arugula … are added to our lettuce to make this salad mix. With a slight kick from the added greens, it makes for an amazingly flavourful salad. 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. We call it baby kale as the leaves are small – small enough and tender enough to eat fresh in a salad. Our kale is a mix of several varieties with different colours and leaf shapes. Enjoy this beautiful, tasty and healthy green! Spinach is always one of our most popular greens. Eaten fresh in a salad or lightly steamed, it is always delicious – and nutritious! Sometimes the leaves are small – baby spinach – and sometimes they are full-size. It all depends on the weather and how mature the spinach is on picking day.
- Salad turnips are small, round, white turnips that resemble radishes, but without the bite (usually)! Mild in flavour, crisp, and quite tender, they are best eaten raw – simply wash, cut off the tops and enjoy! They can also be stir fried, sautéed, or steamed – both the turnips & the green tops.
- We are growing several kinds of radishes this year. French Breakfast radishes are long and pink with a white tip. They have a similar taste & bite to the more common round red radish which we also grow. Soaking radishes in ice-cold water for 20 minutes will cut some of the sharpness & also make them crisper.
- Rhubarb is a perennial crop which means it grows every year. It’s not a lot of work but yields an abundant crop. There should be enough to make a small pie, or – almost as good and way easier & faster – make a rhubarb crisp or crumble. We also enjoy stewed rhubarb. Chop rhubarb and cook in a saucepan with a bit of water until tender. Add sweetener (sugar, honey, maple syrup) to taste. We sometimes add apples or other fruit to cut the tartness of the rhubarb. Delicious on it’s own or poured over ice cream, pudding or custard.
Here is our go-to recipe for fruit crisp. It is quick & easy and great with our rhubarb!
Aunt Elvira’s Fruit Crisp
Cut up rhubarb (or your choice of fruit) and put in a pie plate.
Mix together:
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/3 cup rolled oats
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter
Sprinkle on top of the fruit.
Bake for 12 minutes in the microwave, or 20-25 minutes in the oven or toaster oven @ 350F. (while the oven takes longer than the microwave, the top will carmelize nicely with a lovely brown colour)
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Around the farm this week …
Tomato planting.
Cover crop blooming.
Spring beauty!
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