Greens are back! Spicy mix is on the left, and includes a mixture of arugula, red and green mizuna, baby red kale, tatsoi, and mustard greens all grown together. “Tokyo Bekana” is on the right, and is a mild buttery leaf with a crunchy rib that can be eaten raw in salads and on sandwiches, or cooked lightly in a stirfry. With the continual news of produce in grocery stores contaminated with food-borne pathogens we are happy to be growing fresh, clean, Organic greens right here.
This Week’s Share:
Ginger
Cucumbers or Green Beans
Spicy Mix and/or Tokyo Bekana
French Radishes or Squash
Potatoes
Tomatoes
Onions
Choice options may include: Sweet Peppers or Shishitos or Okra or Poblanos
Recipe:
Ginger Green Beans
Sweet beautiful baby ginger is BACK! It is simply delicious, spicy, fresh, unusual, and downright fun! It looks so different from grocery store ginger for two reasons. 1) Ours tends to be a little small (even though it’s been growing for 6 months!) because here in Maryland it doesn’t have the day length and steady tropical heat it needs to grow into enormous rhizomes. And 2) It’s bright yellow with pink tips and green shoots because it is given to you fresh from the ground, and hasn’t been cured, which is when it would develop the protective brown skin we are used to seeing on grocery store ginger. There is so much you can do with this plant, like: stir-fries and curries, candied ginger, ginger tea with both the root and leaves, and fresh ginger cocktails!
What’s on U-Pick?
In field “F”, through the gate, below the primary parking lot:
New zinnias are blooming all the way down past the tall sunflowers!
Sunflowers have mostly dropped their petals now but can still be harvested for sunflower seeds, for birds or for yourself to eat! Look for a drooping head that is yellow or brown, not green, and has hard dark seeds. If they’re still green for now keep waiting for them to mature on the stalk and look again next week.
Cherry and plum tomatoes and tomatillos are still available but winding down!
In field “G” behind the pizza oven/parking lot:
NEW plantings of Italian basil, Holy basil (for tea), and dill! Signs are marking the new beds. Parsley is also growing strong, but please do not pick the cilantro for now while we wait for it to get a little bigger. Scallions and more marigolds will be coming later in the fall but aren’t ready quite yet.
Hot peppers are now on u-pick! See photo above for varieties.
Lots of zinnias still for your bouquets!
In the raised brick beds, also known as the Cleeland Garden:
These are still going strong so help yourself to a few stems of herbs and flowers:
Marigolds
Mint
Oregano
Parsley
Greek Basil
Sorrel
Thyme, Sage, and Lemon Balm (to allow for healthy growback for these plants, pick the largest leaves from the outside, do not cut from the stem of the plant!)
In field “D7” directly beside the high tunnels:
Still some large tomatoes here but not too many left!
Reminder that U-picking hours are Monday-Saturday, 8am-6pm. Please do not come to the farm on Sundays, as we do not have staff on site who can be available in case of an emergency. If the main gates are closed when you arrive you can follow the paved road to the right, and then follow the curve of the road back to the left. This will take you in a loop around the main deer-fenced area and up to the wash station/parking lot.
Notes from the Field:
Shout out to this week’s Tuesday group of volunteers who picked up close to 500 pounds of potatoes from the field in 2 hours! We rely on volunteers so much, whether they join for just one day or come back again and again and really start to be part of the crew. When our last two beds of potatoes are dug (hopefully during this nice dry weather week), we can begin discing the field to prepare it for that fall cover crop. This team also finished removing the last of the plastic beds from the early squash field, which means it can also get ready for cover crop too! We are planning ahead for a few weeks down the line, when winter squash will start being ready to harvest, followed by sweet potatoes, and winter storage roots. We are happy to grow as many reliable storage crops as possible for the Winter CSA.