CSA Newsletter

baby beet and turnips to be thinned

Greetings from the Garden!  This box has lettuce, salad greens, spinach, turnip and beet thins, braising greens like kohlrabi tops, green onions, garlic scapes, radishes, baby carrots or baby beets, celery, asparagus, and snap peas.

Field Notes.  Ken remains busy, but did take some time to see family in Wadena last weekend.  Even when we are busy, it is really crucial to schedule some time off or away from the farm work.  Ken has been planting more full season crops - later than usual as a result of the cool and wet spring.  Soon I will help him with the cucumber fence in the garden.  Fences make sense for certain crops as it keeps the fruit off the ground to avoid bent or rotting cucumbers.  

Pea plant

Tuesday I picked the first snap peas.  Every few years I get excited by reading in a seed catalog there is a new, delicious variety that does not need fencing.  Peas are a short season crop, so it is tough to justify the time spent on fencing.  This year I tried a new variety, and the peas ARE delicious, but this variety would have done better with a fence - duped again!  

Green tomatoes

The tomatoes and peppers are growing and there are some green tomatoes - that is pretty exciting for most people. 

Cayenne?

 Peppers are blooming and have tiny fruit.  

Some of the full season crops like Brussels sprouts are really taking off out in the field.  I should have sequential shots of the same spot to highlight plant growth.  It is so satisfying when I actually take note!



FARM TOUR JULY 14th 2 - 4 p.m.  Here at Keppers.  RSVP so I know quantity of snacks from the garden to prepare.  It is a good time to see food growing and ask Ken why he does things the way he does.  Dress for the weather and a walk in the woods (mosquitoes, ticks, etc.)

From the Kitchen.  So many exciting new things this week!  First we have garlic scapes - the first taste of fresh garlic since last year.  I chop scapes and stem and use wherever I would use fresh garlic cloves.  Time for a Caesar salad!

This week we also have the first beets or carrots, and we will rotate beets or carrots through the crop.  The early beets have tasty tops.  The carrots and beets early in the season require less cooking time than the late season varieties.

Snap peas are one of the edible pod pea varieties.  Just snap off the cap at the stem end and "unzip" any strings there may be.  I usually blanch snap peas and either serve hot or in cold summer salads.  I make a pasta salad with salmon, snap peas, green onions, and a dressing of homemade mayonnaise, mustard, yogurt or sour cream and chopped herbs like parsley or dill.

I also like snap peas in an Asian style dressing with toasted sesame oil, sesame oil, toasted sesame seeds, mild vinegar, a bit of honey and organic no wheat tamari.

'Til Next Week!
Judith