- Celeriac or cabbage
- Green onions or leeks
- Salad mix (escarole, radicchio, spinach, puntarelle( looks like a dandelion)
- Shallots
- Swiss chard
- Fennel
We made it through the heavy snow and ice with all greenhouses intact. Friday was pretty dicey with multiple sweepings of ice and snow off of the hoop houses. We were happy that we did not have a harvest last weekend there would’ve been no way to get vegetables out from under the snow. Because we knew the cold weather was coming we tucked all the vegetables under their little blankets and hoped for the best and most things seem to have done just fine. The crops that were outside in the field could not get covered due to windy conditions and some of them look a bit rough. I am skeptical about the possibilities of the beautiful spring cauliflower and sprouting broccoli but we will have to see.
Today was miraculous. We managed after five months to get the plastic back on greenhouse #1 with the help of Luna and Kody. It took several hours but all of the prep work that Juvencio did paid off. The sun came out and immediately the hoop house felt warm like spring. I guess I must feel this way every year, at least Sue Kass and my sister tell me so; that the weather will never turn, the plants will never grow and we will never manage to feed 120 families come spring. For now we have 46 of you to worry about and we will take it week by week.
This week we managed to find enough salad and cabbage and Swiss chard to offer you something to nourish your family with. The salad mix does hold up quite well but It is best eaten in the first few days.The cabbage, the leaks, the celeriac will all keep longer. Before the winter storm hit juvencio and I stole away for two days to celebrate our anniversary and his birthday. We managed to finish off a full share of any leftovers from the harvest that week. We ate the greens with a salad every day. We ate some sprouting broccoli and some fennel it was all quite enjoyable to have.
The weather is predicted to rain all week but I remain hopeful that the hoop houses that are covered can be planted with some of the small seedlings that we have managed to keep alive during this cold time. We start the spring season on April 4 11th. Many of you have already let us know if your intention to continue through the regular season some of you have not. Please take time to let us know your intentions and leave us a $100 deposit. This week is the share fair and we will be previewing the real video about CSA Farms. You guys all know why you belong to our CSA but maybe you want to share the short video with friends who are considering this type of endeavor. We have a few more spots and we would love to welcome your friends and family into our CSA community. I will attach the link in an email later on this week.
If you’re wondering how to eat your vegetables this week please consider making a salad, wash those greens well as Mr. and Mrs. slug seem to love escarole as much as I do. Shave the fennel into that salad for a nice mild anise flavor and good crunch. We’ve been having chard for breakfast after sautéing a bit of garlic we add the chard stems and then the greens and a dash of soy sauce a little water and cover for a few minutes. That has been the bed for a poached egg. We use the green onion inside of hamburger patties, the celeriac makes an excellent soup, cabbage makes a nice coleslaw and shallots can be used in any way that you would use an onion.