This week we are harvesting baby arugula from our new farm at The Children’s Home! We are very excited to begin harvesting, things are growing very well at the new farm site, almost half the field is planted or ready to plant. We are now working hard to prepare the other half which will produce our spring potatoes among other things.
There’s been a little confusion – our new farm at The Children’s Home simply adds to the land that we have available to grow organic veggies for our members. It is not open to the public (unless you accompany us there to help in the fields). All of our main operations will remain at our Sweetwater Farm on Comanche Avenue as usual.
In the share this week is beet greens. We are working on thinning the beets bed in order to allow the remaining beets time and space to grow a large root. This method allows us to harvest two crops from one planting. Beet greens are delicious fresh in salads, sandwiches, juiced or as a cooking green. They are very high in vitamins K and A as well as antioxidants.
New in the share this week is Florence Fennel also known by its Italian name Finocchio, a highly aromatic Mediterranean herb which has a bulb that can be used as a vegetable. Try the bulb sliced in a salad, grilled, sauteed or baked. The leaves give an anise flavor to salads, juice or teas and act as a digestive aid.
Last week the Broccoli Raab was finally ready to harvest, sorry for all the false alarms in the past CSA share lists, it just grew slower then expected. Remember that all parts including stems, leaves and flowers can be eaten raw or cooked and can substitute broccoli in most recipes.
We still have some Daikon radish growing in the fields, it did much better then expected and loves growing during this cooler weather. The leaves are an excellent cooking green very high in vitamin A, while the root which can be eaten raw has a high amount of vitamin C. The roots are great shredded and placed over a salad, or in a veggie wrap, or try just cutting them into raw chips.
Enjoy creative seasonal cooking,
Peace