Category Archives: broccoli

In the Share: Week 3

broccoli, butterhead lettuce, csa distribution, lifted spirits

STRAWBERRIES F2/P1  We thank our 2015 crew who planted the new patch just in time for the 2007 patch to dwindle out.

BUTTERHEAD LETTUCE F/P  Here is Tom’s yummy recipe for strawberry garlic scape dressing for your butterhead lettuce salad.  Highly recommended.

RED LEAF LETTUCE F

BROCCOLI F/P

TAT SOI F  Tat soi is bok choy’s thinner-stemmed, darker-green cousin.

SPINACH P

KALE F

GARLIC SCAPES F/P  The young flower bud of the hardneck garlic plant.

HERB CHOICE F/P  Cilantro, mint, tarragon.

NEXT WEEK:  Lettuce, swiss chard, strawberries, broccoli, sugarsnap peas and herbs.

FARM REPORT:
With the third week of the field harvest season upon us we are happy with how it is going.  The lettuces continue to be huge and beautiful.  There is nothing quite like a blushed butterhead that is just as heavy as it is delicate.

Expect another few weeks of Spring greens before we transition to the summer fruits and roots.  The weather has given the crops a nice amount of rain and sunshine.  We missed the five inch downpour on Sunday and count ourselves lucky.  Fourteen years of experience plus good weather equals healthy plants and happy farmers.

We are up to 129 CSA members and counting.  We have had a string of new memberships coming in.  I want to welcome all the newbies.  We don’t have as much time to get to know folks this time of year, but I hope you stick with us and we look forward to seeing you out at the farm this season.

The new Crossroads site at Lifted Spirits is working out great.  We are so very grateful to Michael, Darren and Kyle for letting us take over their space for a few hours every week.  Here’s the haul from last week along with the very pretty sign courtesy of distribution coordinator and artist, Stacey Cook.

In the Share – Week 1 (extended season)

Allis Chalmers G, broccoli, chicken coop, chickens, cultivating, irrigation, leeks

EGGS  This week only, we have enough eggs to add to the shares.  Our hens have been busy fertilizing, weeding and eating bugs for us, when they aren’t sitting in the coop laying their healthy and colorful eggs. (eggs will be offered on the bulk list for the next two weeks.  Egg shares start the first week of the regular season in three weeks.)

LETTUCE  From the high tunnel, butterhead or red leaf varieties.

FRISEE ENDIVE  Add to your lettuce for a frilly salad.

SPINACH  We may be out of spinach after this week, it had a long run from its original seeding in September 2015.

GAILAN  Also planted back in September, broccoli’s more slender cousin.

ARUGULA OR SWISS CHARD  More greens from the high tunnel.

CARROTS  From cold storage of the fall 2015 crop.

POTATOES  Ditto on these.

HERB CHOICE  garlic chives and/or tarragon

NEXT WEEK:  Lettuce, green onions, hakurei turnips, radishes, and bok choy

FARM REPORT:

Welcome to the first week of the CSA! The harvest has begun just in time for Earth Day.  Organic farming and community participation is what sustainability is all about.  Thank you for caring about your Mother Earth!

The planting of the Spring crops is all but complete.  The fields are full of peas, potatoes, onions, broccoli, cabbage, kale, chard, carrots, beets, spinach, leeks and loads of lettuce.  Here we are last week putting the finishing touches on the leek planting.

 The rain has given us a temporary break from planting work.  Instead we filled our time giving the packing room and wash area a good Spring cleaning.  We adhere to and train our crew in good food safety practices.  This includes cleaning and sanitizing all of the crates and tools that we use for harvest.  It is a big task, but well worth the effort.

Up until two days ago, the fields were very dry.  Dry weather has its pros and cons.  Last year during the torrential rains I told more than one person that it is much easier to bring water to the plants than to take it away.

Other pros of dry weather: it was dry enough to kill lots of weeds!  Here’s me and the cultivating tractor, our Allis Chalmers G, getting things tidy.

However, there is a big con of dry weather:  it was necessary to walk out irrigation tape in April, which is not always necessary but was very necessary two weeks ago.  This takes time, but was totally worth it.  All of our transplants look amazing after a nice drink from the pond followed by a good bath from the sky.

So, I’m sticking to my assertion that a dry year is better than a way-too-wet one.  Although this week’s rain was tremendous and impossible to duplicate.  Thank your Mother Earth!

In the Share – Week 22

broccoli, high tunnel

O’HENRY SWEET POTATOES F/P  We love these sweet buttery beauties.

BROCCOLI F  A short harvest this time around.  We will get some to the partials next week. 

LETTUCE P  So, we had a little break-in with a deer last week, hence the paltry supply of lettuce.  We have the area they didn’t find well-covered now and hope to have more lettuce for you all before the end of the season. 

SMALL CABBAGE F  Read all about our stellar fall cabbage crop below.

BOK CHOY  F  I recommend stir-fry with the hakureis.

SWEET PEPPER F/P  Cooler temperatures means less ripening, so expect more green and purple ones from now on.

EGGPLANT or BEETS F/P The first of the fall beets (no tops, just roots) and nearing the end of the eggplant.

HAKUREI TURNIPS F/P  Salad turnips that we rarely cook and instead prefer straight out of the field.  Exception:  stir-fry with bok choy.

TOMATOES F/P The end of tomato season is coming soon, but here’s a few more.

HERB CHOICE F Sage, cilantro, dill or hot peppers

NEXT WEEK:  Sweet potatoes, carrots (finally!), tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, garlic, broccoli, lettuce, greens and herbs.

FARM REPORT:

The small cabbages that are in the full shares this week are the best of the fall crop.  Our favorite fall vegetable, the one we hope to depend on for income in our old age, failed.  At the time that we planted them we knew we were taking a risk.  We had waited as long as we could before preparing the soil for planting.  After the seemingly never-ending rain, we didn’t know if we would have another chance.  We ended up with cloddy soil, but we were able to get the plants in and thought the transplants would be able to handle it.  Two months later it is clear that no such handling took place.  A good half-acre of crop including cauliflower, broccoli, turnips and radishes- is a bust.  Luckily we planted in other areas after the soil conditions had improved so that we have enough of other crops to get us through the end of the CSA season. 

On a brighter note, we put the roof back on the high tunnel this week.  It was a team effort and a success.  See Tom’s post for a view from the top. 

In the Share – Week 12

basil, broccoli, onion trimming, shade structure
 
Basil

TOMATOES F/P  It is tasting like summer now!

CHERRY TOMATOES F/P  The perfect summertime snack.

CARROTS F/P  The last of the Spring harvest, sadly.  Enjoy them now, we won’t have more until Fall.

BASIL, MINT OR HOT PEPPERS F/P  We grow jalapenos,  Anaheim and banana hot peppers which will be a choice with the mint and the lemon and Genovese basil this week.

SQUASH OR CUCUMBERS F  Still not much of either.  The second planting is succumbing to bacterial wilt spread by the cucumber beetles.

SALSA PACK OR SWEET PEPPERS P  The tomatillos have started to really kick in so expect more salsa packs in your future.

ONIONS F  An assortment of some of our sweet varieties.  The onion harvest is in full swing now. 

SWEET PEPPERS F  The peppers survived the wet weather in good shape and making some nice early peppers. 

EGGPLANT F  Ditto on the eggplant.  Our black Italian variety is putting out lovely fruit right now.

NEXT WEEK:  tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, eggplant, peppers and potatoes and garlic.

FARM REPORT:
Finally it is starting to feel like a normal summer on the farm.  The heat is high, the tomatoes are ripening and we are in the middle of the fall transplanting.  

 
With nothing but sun and heat in the forecast the broccolis got irrigation tape laid next to each row as soon as they went in the ground on Friday.  For the first time this year, the irrigation pond is put to work.
 
Back at the greenhouse shade structure, there are many more plants awaiting the same treatment.
 


In the Share – Week 4

broccoli, fermentation on wheels

BROCCOLI F/P  A favorite crop of mine.  It can be challenging to grow and so it is extra nice when it does as well as it is now.

LETTUCES F/P  Everyone is getting two lettuces this week:  butterheads, red leaf and romaine types.

STRAWBERRIES F/P  Even after a swarm of u-pickers descended on the patch last weekend, there are still plenty of berries.  Everyone will get a quart this week.  By next week there will be less.

KOHLRABI F  See Tom’s post for some helpful hints on preparing broccoli’s space-age cousin.

GARLIC SCAPES F/P  The young flower stalk of the garlic plant.  See Tom’s post on this one also.

RADISHES F/P  Pink radishes from the second planting.  It may be the last of the radishes until fall.

PEAS F  The first picking of sugarsnap and snow peas, with hopefully enough for all by next week. 

BOK CHOY F  The last of the Asian greens until fall.

NEXT WEEK:  Lettuces, kale and chard, peas, kohlrabi, turnips, and strawberries. 

FARM REPORT:
One benefit to living on the farm is the steady stream of fun and interesting people who visit us.  Mostly these folks are CSA members along with their children, parents, grandchildren, friends, co-workers, etc. in tow out to complete their work shifts.  With the u-pick strawberry option this past weekend we had quite the crowd. 

This past Thursday we had a visitor of a different sort, Tara with Fermentation on Wheels.  She is driving a 40 ft. bus across the country to spread knowledge about fermented foods.

The bus serves as her home and classroom with a long two-tier countertop of krauts, misos, kefirs, kombuchas, beers and meads.  Fermentation on Wheels came to the Bad Seed last weekend and was a success until her bus had mechanical problems.  Lucky for us Tara needed a place to park while some parts were replaced.

During her stay she enthusiastically joined us in our daily work and has generously shared her knowledge and precious ferments.  Tom and I have enjoyed her visit and wish her well on the rest of her journey.  Next stop:  Des Moines, Iowa. 

In the Share – Week 21

broccoli, Goatsbeard Farm

BROCCOLI F/P  Partial shares get a choice with cauliflower.
 
POTATOES F A mixture of Desiree (pink) and Bintje (yellow) varieties

SWEET POTATOES F/P  The sweets did not do well this year.  We can only figure our cool summer stunted their growth.  What we have is nice, but in limited supply. O’Henry (white) and Beauregard (orange) varieties.

GARLIC F/P  More softneck Artichoke

CHOICE F/P  Sage, tarragon or radishes

TOMATOES F  A mixture of a few slicers and cherries

SWEET PEPPERS AND EGGPLANT P 

KOHLRABI F/P  Plenty of members mention their disinterest in this vegetable.  We usually eat it raw after peeling it well.  A yogurt or peanut dip makes it even better.

GREENS CHOICE  F  Swiss Chard, bok choy, or rapini (our rapini has no broccoli florets but we are picking it anyway as it is huge and won’t fit in the crates if it grows any more)

HOT PEPPERS F  jalapenos, anaheims or hot wax.

NEXT WEEK:  More broccoli, cauliflower, greens, peppers and eggplant.  Carrots and onions

FARM REPORT:

This has to be the best time of year to be a farmer.  The harvest is in,  the days are getting shorter,  and the weather is perfect.  As if it wasn’t nice enough, we were graced by a beautiful rainbow at sunrise the other morning.

Another benefit on the farm has been the arrival each week of the cheese share.  This week our cheese shares will feature the award-winning Franklin Island feta from Ken and Jen Munro at Goatsbeard Farm.  Back in August this very cheese was awarded a Silver from the American Cheese Society.  Read all about it here.

In the Share – Week 18

broccoli, cauliflower, chickens, onions

YELLOW ONIONS F/P  We are very proud of our onion crop this year.  This week we begin to share with you these big beautiful yellow ones, which are also our best keepers.

CARROTS F/P

GREENS F  Turnip greens, kale or maybe some rapini (broccoli raab) by Saturday. 

SWEET PEPPER F/P

EGGPLANT, SALSA PACK OR GROUND CHERRIES F

TOMATOES F/P Just one or two or some cherry tomatoes

HOT PEPPERS F/P  See Tom’s post on roasting the Anaheims

HERB CHOICE F  Chives, parsley or a dried herb

NEXT WEEK:  A few more summer fruits:  peppers, tomatoes, eggplant along with potatoes, garlic, bok choy, kohlrabi and lettuce.

FARM REPORT:
The summer harvest is dwindling and the fall crops are just starting to produce.  During the transition from one season to the next, the shares will be lighter.  Less time harvesting means more time to tend to the crops.  Today we tackled the broccoli and cauliflower beds. 

On Monday we pulled the chicken coop down the row a pace to some fresh crabgrass.  Unfortunately, we are really good at growing crabgrass.  Lucky for us the chickens love it and it is fun to see them stripping the stems of those pesky seeds.  You can see in the photo that they did a fabulous job of cleaning up their old spot in just three short weeks. 

In the Share – Week 4

broccoli, sugar snap peas

SUGARSNAP PEAS F/P  If you are new to these, pinch off the stem and pop the pod in your mouth. 

BROCCOLI F/P  Whoa, nelly!  The Spring broccoli crop is off the charts!   Everyone gets a good amount, full shares more than partials.  If you want to freeze some for later, order off of the bulk list as it won’t be around much longer. 

STRAWBERRIES F/P  The patch is loaded with more berries than we can pick.  We will be opening the patch for U-pick for this coming weekend if not sooner.  An email will go out soon with more info.

LETTUCE F2/P  The butterheads are heading out, but the leaf lettuce and romaines are holding for awhile longer.

GARLIC SCAPES F/P They only appear once a year!  See Tom’s post for thoughts on uses. 

KOHLRABI F2/P1  I think one trick with kohlrabi, turnips and other mustardy root-type vegetables like radishes is to not let them dry out after cutting them.  They are great raw, but must be eaten immediately after being chopped before they get dehydrated and bitter.  Or store them chopped up in a bowl of water.

PARSLEY, OREGANO or GREEN ONION F/P  A sprig for the partials, larger bunches for the full shares.

HAKUREI TURNIPS F/P  Not your grandmother’s turnip, these are sweet and juicy and best eaten raw or lightly cooked.

NEXT WEEK:  More lettuce, broccoli, turnips, peas and greens.  Perhaps the first zucchini and baby beets.

FARM REPORT:

The Spring Field

The farm is bursting with crops for harvest.  The strawberries continue to ripen while we harvest hundreds of pounds of broccoli.  The lettuces response to the heat is to all be ready at once and the turnips and kohlrabi are begging to be picked. Thank you to those who have time to come out to help with the harvest tomorrow. 

today’s broccoli harvest

The fields are glowing in shades of green thanks to a little over an inch of rain last week.  It came at a good time as we were starting to be concerned with the peas, onions and other early crops that we usually don’t need to irrigate.  Instead we could turn our attention from irrigation to the crops and the weeds that are growing vigorously. 

weeding and pruning the summer crops

In the Share – Week 2

broccoli, carrots, chickens, cover crops, freeze, potatoes, tomatoes

ASPARAGUS OR BROCCOLI F/P  The freeze slowed the asparagus harvest to a non-event, luckily the broccoli is starting to mature.

RED LEAF LETTUCE F/P  We love these red ruffley lettuces.  Half green & half red they make a beautiful salad all by themselves.

BUTTERHEAD OR ROMAINE HEIRLOOM LETTUCES Full shares get one of each.  Partial shares get a choice.  The heat is kicking in and we have a lot of lettuce in the field, so we are picking extra this week to keep ahead. 

ARUGULA  Full shares get both an herb choice and arugula, partial shares choose.   Add to your salad for a nice kick.

HERB CHOICE  Cilantro, dill, tarragon

BOK CHOY/TAT SOI  Add to some fried rice with farm eggs and you have yourself a meal!

GREENS CHOICE  Kale, Gail lan, Swiss Chard.  Partial shares can also choose the bok choy

GREEN GARLIC  the same concept as green onions, the young plants.  Use it fresh in salads.

NEXT WEEK:  More lettuce, broccoli, greens and herbs. 

FARM REPORT:  All hell broke loose after we last reported.  Two nights of freezing temperatures threatened to stop the harvest when we had barely begun.  In preparation, we covered the fields including the strawberries with their flowers and young fruit and the newly transplanted tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, squash, cukes and tender herbs. 

We thought we were prepared for the forecasted 36 degrees F Friday morning.  Unfortunately, it was much colder than that.  We registered 32 on our temperature gauge behind the greenhouse.  Out in the far field it must have been even colder.  Under the row cover the tomatoes were hit hard. 

Surprisingly, the plants without mulch fared better, including the peppers, eggplant, squash and cucumbers.  The potatoes lost much of their foliage but were better by yesterday.  After some time to evaluate, it looks like the damage is temporary and many of the plants will grow back with good health.  We have replaced the worst of the tomatoes with extra plants from the greenhouse.  We also send much appreciation to the fine folks at Gibbs Road Farm (KC,KS) for giving us extra plants. 

Meanwhile, the chickens were oblivious to all the plant drama this week.  Instead they are happily exploring their new home in the spring-planted cover crop of oats and peas.  

In the Share – Week 22

barn, broccoli, sweet potatoes

BROCCOLI (F/P) We have picked most of the first heads and now are picking the side shoots.  Full shares get broccoli and a choice of more broccoli or cauliflower.

SWEET POTATOES (F/P)  big, beautiful orange-fleshed Beauregards

LETTUCE (F/P)  A mix of varieties from the field.

BULB FENNEL (F/P)  Whoa there, the fennel has grown fast and large.  See Tom’s post for some culinary suggestions.

CHOICE OF GREENS (F) Bok choy, tat soi, kale or arugula

BEETS OR SWEET PEPPERS (F/P) 

KOHLRABI (F)  These are the larger, fall season varieties.  Don’t let their size scare you, they are tender and juicy.

GARLIC (F/P)  We are saving all of the rest of the garlic for planting later this month. 

TOMATOES (F)  We picked green tomatoes today.  Expect them in your share next week.  Until then enjoy the last of the ripe ones.

WATERMELON RADISH (F/P)  See Tom’s post for more on this vivid fall treat.

HERB CHOICE (F/P) Cilantro, dill, thyme, or rosemary

NEXT WEEK:  Broccoli, green peppers, green tomatoes, fingerling potatoes, sweet potatoes, cabbage, carrots, lettuce and leeks.

FARM REPORT:

The farm crew gave up a day off last week to take advantage of the beautiful weather for re-siding the back of the barn.  Thanks to a good platform designed by my dad, we had a sturdy work area.  The old lumber came off quickly in the morning and the boards went up in the afternoon.   

The end result looks pretty nice if we do say so ourselves.

With frost coming any day now, we have been very focused on harvesting the tender crops.  The sweet potato harvest continues with 400 feet left to dig.