16 Jun Tue 2009
Please Don't Eat the Daisies!
Once a month we will feature Veggies & a Movie!
Tonight it is Please Don’t Eat the Daisies! Ever since our first year we have been delivering daisies this time of year. They grow naturally in our fields and are quite pretty swaying in the breeze. Just a little something extra to brighten up your day.(Sorry no recipe – just put in a vase with water and enjoy). Upcoming features may include Citizen Kale, Lawrence of Arugula.... you get the idea!
We usually don’t like to deliver the same item two weeks in a row, but the Texas Super Sweet Onions still had such beautiful greens that we didn’t want to lose them. Also the spinach crop was abundant and delivering it was better than waiting another week where it may start to bolt if the temperatures start going up.
The crew started the garlic curl harvest and depending on the delivery site you may be receiving garlic curls instead of green garlic this week. We will start the garlic harvest soon in both our fields & Scott’s. We will start to deliver some garlic heads, but prefer to pull them and start the drying and curing process. It is during this process that the intense flavors will set in.
From the Fields: This week we seeded Brussel sprouts, chard & more lettuce. We also got ready for the last planting of peppers, tomatoes & eggplant. We delivered transplants to Scott’s farm as he is devoting probably over 2 acres of fields for crops for our CSA members. Squash & cucumbers have already been planted there this week and more tomatoes, peppers & eggplant are ready to go in (we just need a break in the rain). Farmer Rich also seeded zukes & cukes for the next planting. Our crew cleaned up one of the lettuce beds, as the lettuce had begun to bolt. This is when the lettuce is starting to go to seed and it easy to identify. A long center stalk will appear with flowers. Though still edible, it will have a bitter taste and we prefer not to deliver it to the members.
Over 1000 pounds of potatoes have already been planted and we hope to get another 350 pounds in this week. It just needs to dry out a bit.
Weather Report:Rain, rain and more rain! Farmer Rich lost track of exactly how much rain fell during the week, but it was well over 5”. With such a lack of sun, the greens seem to wilt in the field with just a peek of sun during the day. Our fields do lay wet and fortunately the raised beds save the crops from destruction. On the positive size, the field crops have doubled in size over the last week. Probably a little more sun and they will double in size again!
Animal report: As long as the foliage outside the fence stays lush, the groundhogs are content to eat out there and not break into our fields. Last year at this time it was very dry and our newsletter heading was Score of the Week: Members 150 lettuces, Groundhog 400 lettuces. Needless to say we had lost that crop. So far there are no signs of them breaking in, and we hope that it stays that way.
Pick of the Week:
Mixed Lettuce
Fava Greens
Spinach
Crimson Giant Radishes
Texas Super Sweet Onions w/green tops
Garlic Curls (use in place of garlic)
Daisies
Herb of the Week: Oregano
Enjoy the harvest,
Sue & Farmer Rich
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