What’s in the Box: Strawberries, kohlrabi, chioggia beets with greens, red Russian kale, Swiss chard, radish, basil, baby zucchini or squash, broccoli (Bi-weekly only).
What’s going on at the farm: Strawberries are here and coming in fast! They should be in abundance for the next week but its hard to say depending on weather and a few other factors. Our current producing plants are in their first year and we are just loaded with berries this week so expect a healthy portion in your share. Besides having them available in shares we also have flats of berries available for those who would like to freeze some up or make jam etc… Flats of 12 for $30 is the going rate for members. Let us know if your interested and I can pack flats for farm pick up or pack them at the market drop sites on Tuesday or Thursday, sorry but we are not delivering flats of berries to W. Side, Janesville, or Oregon locations for now. Our peas are flowering heavily and setting pods heavily and quickly but we wait for them to be as full and sweet as possible and they are just not quite there yet, so they should be in heavy production later this week and distributed widely for the next few weeks. It looks like very good yields coming and if anything changes by morning and we have enough time to pick them all you may yet see them added to the list this week but likely not until next week. These two crops alone require many hours of picking by many hands as both need to be harvested every other day and of course require many many pieces to make a harvest so they will keep us more then occupied in the coming days. Our spring broccoli headed up well and is an item for bi-weekly members only this week with the rest of the harvest being distributed to members last week. Broccoli is one of those crops that we only harvest once in the spring and is ready when its ready and now that space will be plowed in to open room to plant for fall crops. Chioggia (kee-oh-ja) beets are new to some of you this week and are delicious sauteed and my favorite way, roasted. Remember to use the greens on your beets as well. They are very tender and tasty and should be used just like swiss chard. I love the rich flavor when they are sautéed with olive oil and find the taste resembles spinach and chard combined. Swiss chard and kale are also in the box this week and are fantastic sauté greens, but kale chips, and chard with lentils and feta are some of my favorites for these two crops. Swiss chard can also be used anywhere you would use spinach substitute in the summer and therefore is great with eggs, and in pasta dishes. Kohlrabi is short for cabbage apple and this crisp and sweet bulb is great cooked in cream and your favorite seasoning or used raw, sliced, or grated in salads or as a snack. A little taste of summer coming in your boxes this week too with a sample of the first basil, and baby squash/zucchini. Not too many of these summer treats yet but more coming over the summer weeks. The weather trend was above average temps this week and it looks like some warmer weather will speed up growth for our summer crops like peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, melons, etc… and keep us sweating in the fields as we keep on working hard to bring in the harvests and control the weeds. More tomato pruning to do this week too. Our crop is looking great shooting up over 6 feet and setting fruit well. Looks like a nice tomato crop starting in just a few weeks. June is always a stormy month as warm summer winds come in so hoping for nothing severe and gentle rains as we approach summer solstice, the longest day of the year. Other crops we have coming in soon include baby english cucumbers, squash including zucchini, patty pan, and summer, green top onions, sugar snap peas, cabbage, golden beets, collard greens, carrots, and more coming soon. Enjoy!
