July 7 & 8, 2010 - Week 13
Greetings from the Garden! This week we have the following in the box: lettuce, Chinese cabbage, mizuna, radishes, green onions, garlic scapes, shell peas, carrots, broccoli,the first summer squash and green peppers, and shiso.
Field Notes. We are so glad to get more rain; the plants look great - and the weeds are growing, too. The top 1 inch of soil is like a seed bank, and in it are weed seeds. One of the reasons Ken gets out early and often to cultivate small weeds that are more easily killed, and so it doesn't disturb more weeds in the soil.
Ken has been hauling manure. This year we have a huge compost pile with llama, sheep, and horse manure with straw bedding and leaves. For Ken, compost is like money in the bank. As we grow and harvest vegetables, we are mining the soil and we need to put back those nutrients that we harvest off in the vegetables people eat. Compost is a major portion of what Ken adds back to the soil. He also adds minerals so the plants can take up minerals and make vitamins.
From the Kitchen. We have two wonderful Asian vegetables this week - a tall michillini type Chinese cabbage - great for braising or soup or stir fry, or tasty in salad. Mizuna is a mild Japanese mustard often found in baby mixes. Some people add mizuna to salads for a little zip. I usually saute an onion and wilt the mizuna then add dressing or we add mizuna to soup or stir fry just before serving. Add some shiso and you will amaze your family and friends with your authentic Asian cooking! For more shiso recipes, check the last blog entry.
Also this week we have shell peas - the traditional English pea that is shelled for the little round peas inside. And since I hate throwing anything out, I boil down the shelled pods for soup stock.
Farm Tour is Sunday, July 11th at 2 p.m. Please RSVP so I know how much food for snacks to prepare.
Til next week,
Ken and Judith
I thought the Keppers where more humane! Ken is out killing weeds! I just might need to inform the folks at PETW about this. The vegies look great, but little did I know that great veggies would cost so many weeds their young and innocent lives.
ReplyDeleteI may have to go back to eating Doritos...which can be made from plants produced in an environment without the wanton loss of weed life due to Roundup ready seeds.....or something like that.