CSA Newsletter

Greetings from the Garden!  This box has lettuce, salad and braising greens, spinach, green onions, and carrots, potatoes and beets from storage, spring dug parsnips, sun chokes and gobo.

Field Notes.  Spring has arrived and the push is on!  Ken has been transplanting and planting.  The peas are in, the full season onion crops: Walla Walla sweet, red, storage and potato onions are transplanted.  Only leeks are left, and it was too wet to work the soil to dig a deep trench for those. 

Ken has also gotten the irrigation pump and all the hoses, fittings, and water storage tanks in place.  He irrigated the high tunnel and the field tunnel.  He irrigates, then fills a storage tank for the next time he needs to irrigate, and then moves the pump to the second location.  This means he only needs one pump and he does not have to move it as often.  

On the animal front, we have picked up our pigs.  Small piglets are very cute.  These three were a bit overwhelmed and shy for a few days - it is a big change to leave their familiar barn and experience sunshine, sod, and other animals like the dog, chickens and geese.  they are doing fine - digging eating and romping around.  Ken moves them frequently so they can get new ground to dig.  He incorporates a pig project each year - they have been things like clearing a fence line, expanding the garden and renovating a growing area

From the Kitchen.  We had a lovely beet salad today.  I cooked a couple beets until the skins slipped off easily, and set them aside.  I then toasted some pecans in a skillet. Then I chopped some rinsed arugula. I sliced the beets and chopped nuts in some olive oil and plated them up with some sour cream and the arugula.  For people who do eat dairy, I think a homemade mayonnaise would also be great. 

We have been eating lots of salad. All you need to make great salad dressing is to balance the following: a sour like vinegar or lemon juice, an oil or dairy like olive oil or sour cream, a small bit of sweet like honey or maple syrup, salt and pepper.  There are infinite varieties. For a mild green spring salad maybe raspberry vinegar and olive oil with some chopped chervil. 
With robust greens, how about chopped green onions, yogurt, lemon juice, honey, and salt and pepper?
Whatever you choose, enjoy the great spring greens!  "Til next week, Judith