CSA Newsletter

The garden in warm weather this week

Greetings from the Garden!  This box has salad greens - different types of lettuce, claytonia, tatsoi, pea shoots; braising greens like mustards, red mizuna; spinach,  green onions, sorrel, bulb onions, radishes, potatoes, and the last of the sunchokes.

Piglets with their "nanny" Oscar

Field Notes. Last night we picked up this year's piglets.  It looks like they will have a warm week for their transition from barn to outdoors with a shelter.  Pigs are an integral part of the farm.  They turn leaves for compost, eat garden waste like lower cabbage leaves and corn stalks.  They love to dig, and giving them a project like clearing a fence line or renovating a section of the field helps the farm.  For photos, see prior blog post.

Ken is balancing field work and getting pottery ready for our spring opener this weekend.  We are not only selling pottery.  Honey and maple syrup, eggs, and greens will also be available.  Many people come and check out the animals, fields, or just enjoy a walk in the woods.  The trillium are starting to bloom.

The planting for annual crops has begun.  Leeks and onions for next fall and winter go into the soil now.  Ken has started  peppers and tomatoes inside and they are reaching size.  He is starting seeds for  the curcurbit family - cucumbers, squash, melons.

From the Kitchen.  We have been eating green this week.  Each day we have a tossed green salad for mid day meal.  Sometimes evening as well.  I have been making either spinach omelets or poaching eggs in a clear broth with green onions and braising greens for breakfast or supper. 

Radishes are part of our daily routine.  I rinse and add to the condiment tray with our cultured vegetables.  We have not had them for breakfast yet, but they are also a nice side to pasta with pesto, another evening meal.

If the greens like spinach begin to overwhelm you, I suggest cooking them.  They shrink dramatically.  In Japan they often serve blanched spinach with a dressing of sesame oil, a mild vinegar, a bit of sweet wine (honey would be a good substitute), a bit of ground red pepper, tamari or soy sauce, and some toasted sesame seeds.

Coming Soon: asparagus!

Enjoy the week - hope you can make the spring opener.